For A good example, for me, of lyrics and melody producing something more than the parts try Richard Thompsons, " a heart needs a home" I had never heard it sung and a friend sent me the lyrics, and I thought they were among the Bleakest set of words in a poem, full of despair and the futility of life, but when you hear them done as a song with the tune, they are softened and toned down amazingly.