WhatTheBeat

What WhatTheBeat is

WhatTheBeat reads lyrics rather than playing them. Enter a song title or artist and it returns an interpretation of the words, covering emotion, metaphor and theme, with a serious mode and a humorous mode for different moods.

What you can do with it

• Get an interpretation of a song's lyrics
• Switch between serious and playful readings
• Prepare reference material for writing about music
• Explore themes across artists you like
• Share interpretations socially

Who it is for

• Listeners curious about lyric meanings
• Music writers preparing commentary
• Teachers discussing songwriting

What to watch out for

• Interpretations are generated readings, not the songwriter's stated intent; treat them as opinion
• Reproducing copyrighted lyrics is a separate rights question from interpreting them
• Humorous mode is clearly not analysis
• Quoting interpretations publicly without checking them is a good way to publish something wrong