Lyrks
Lyrks
Lyrks
Cover Art

But Is It Art? Lyrics by Judge Smith

The Full English

0

Sampled drum loops like this are referred to as ‘beats'
And you can use them straight out of the box
This fake stuff often sounds lifeless and dull
But just occasionally it rocks
And originally, someone must have hit those drums
Maybe ten, maybe twenty years back
Some anonymous, hard-working session player
In a cheap Los Angeles twenty-four track
Perhaps the technology brings things together
Or perhaps the technology splits them apart
But I swear I can hear that drummer laughing. He says
‘It’s clever, but is it art?'
It's clever, but is it art?
But the rest of the drumming on this record
Comes from a human pair of hands
René Van Commenée, who recorded his tracks
In Utrecht, in the Netherlands
And Michael keeps his organs and accordions and so forth
More than fifty miles away
So he’s recorded all his stuff over there
It's how a lot of music's done today
I don't have some post-modern structural agenda
I'm not having a bit of conceptual fun
It's just that given the time, and given the budget
This is just how things came to be done. (But it made me think…)
So did this technology bring us together
Or did this technology keep us apart?
The devil sat on my shoulder and whispered
‘It's clever, but is it art?'
It’s clever, but is it art?
Only Fury’s here in the studio with me
Two grumpy old men rocking out
But look! He's still playing the bass, but now he’s got his guitar
I mean… Jesus! What's that all about?
All music's done with smoke and mirrors
It's truths always come with a dash of deceit
Mozart’s got more tricks than a barrel of monkeys
Even Bach and Beethoven cheat
But do the smoke and mirrors bring the music together
Or do the monkey tricks blow the music apart?
And the music critics in their powdered wigs said
‘It's clever, but is it art?'
It's clever, but is it art?
Is it effortless trash, or honest endeavour?
Is it one off the wrist, or one from the heart?
These are serious, pertinent questions
But you just know some fool's gonna start with
‘It's clever, but is it art?'
My studio computer was built in Korea
The OS comes from the USA
While my software is splendidly German
In a ‘Vorsprung durch Technic' kind of way
And whether we can bring the whole world together
Or we finally manage to crack it apart
In a thousand years, they'll define us
By the fragments of what we call art
The clever stuff that we call art
Credits
Judge Smith

Judge Smith

About “But Is It Art?” by Judge Smith

Read the complete lyrics to "But Is It Art?" by Judge Smith from the album "The Full English". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Rock.

"But Is It Art?" is performed by Judge Smith. from the album "The Full English" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "But Is It Art?", explore more songs by Judge Smith using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

View all songs and biography for Judge Smith · Trending lyrics · Billboard Hot 100

Frequently asked questions

"But Is It Art?" is credited to Judge Smith. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"But Is It Art?" appears on "The Full English".

Visit the Judge Smith artist page at /artist/judge-smith for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.