It depends - how's that for fence-sitting? Some songs I love the melody ("Miguel" comes to mind) and for others I find the words moving/inspiring but not necessarily the tune.
Really, the one or the other question is like "do you prefer to inhale or exhale?" You can do one or the other exclusively for a short time but need both to be what's considered "breathing" (and living).
Someplace or other I read a similar discussion on Cole Porter's words and music, or maybe it was Irving Berlin's. You can read/listen to them separately but they really "sing" (pun intended) together, as they were meant to.
On a related topic, see
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7995265/
Scientists study how music stirs memories:
Quote:
The researchers were surprised to find a difference in how we recall songs with words versus instrumentals.
When the mute button was hit during the word-free theme from "The Pink Panther" (sorry to do that again) people relied on many different parts of the auditory cortex to fill in the blanks. Fewer brain parts were required to continue "hearing" songs with words.
"It makes us think that lyrics might be the focus of the memory," Kraemer said.
[ July 22, 2006, 20:11: Message edited by: Auburn Annie ]