100 Poetic Songs Part II

The song that I think should be added to the list of 100 poetic songs:
Gravity ~ Sara Bareilles
This song is very poetic, scoring a 190 on the song rating sheet. While this number may not be as high as some others on the list, you have to take into account that the song actually has less lyrics to work with than those songs. But even though it has less lyrics, the song still manages to use a multitude of poetic devices such as imagery, paradox, hyperbole, symbolism, double entendre, alliteration, ambiguity, oxymoron, pun, and metaphor. It is also has a cohesive narrative, universal relevance, extended metaphor, sophisticated rhyme scheme, and a successful tone, and the vocals are emotionally evocative, showcasing an expansive range and being accompanied by virtuoso instrumentals. The song talks about the idea of not being able to get away from/get over something (I personally think it is getting over heartbreak; but the song is ambiguous because it is open to interpretation), using the metaphor/symbol of gravity to describe this feeling. The gravity is "keeping [her] down." This quote is also a double entendre because gravity literally keeps you down, but the "he" in this case is also keeping her down emotionally. This whole situation is accompanied by several paradoxes: "You hold me without touch/You keep me without chains". While these situations may seem illogical at first, this feeling of being kept by some unseen force actually happens a lot. That is the whole image that this song so adequately describes, by comparing it to gravity.
In addition to the poetic nature of the lyrics by themselves, this song is also very artistic in the way that the instrumentals, vocals, and structure of the music match up to the lyrics. The lyrics of the song describe a cycle: she starts off down ("Something always brings me back to you/It never takes too long"), throughout the middle of the song is building up strength to break free ("Set me free, leave me be/I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity" is the beginning of the chorus), by the bridge seems really angry and frustrated ("You're neither friend nor foe, though I/Can't seem to let you go/The one thing that I still know is that you're/Keeping me down"), before crashing back to where she began with the end: "Something always brings me back to you/It never takes too long." The music and the vocals match this cycle and build effect exactly. The song starts off soft, with just sparse piano chords, and builds up through the choruses and second verse. At the bridge, stacatto strings are added in giving the song a more agitated feel, it gets louder and the vocals get more urgent until all the music stops and all you hear is Sara' voice soaring on the word "down." Then the beginning repeats again; the chords and melody are almost exactly the same, indicating how the whole thing is a never-ending vicious cycle. For all these reasons, I think "Gravity" should definitely be on the list of the 100 poetic songs.
Lyrics

100 Poetic Songs

Hallelujah ~ Leonard Cohen
This song has been covered many times by many different artists, and with good reason, because it is a very good song. This song is extremely poetic, earning a grand total of 255 on the song rating sheet, and definitely deserves a spot on the list of the 100 most poetic songs. The song uses a multitude of poetic devices including imagery, allusions, characterization, ambiguity, irony, paradoxes, symbolism, allegory, and a motif of "Hallelujah." The song uses Bible stories as well as other religious allusions ("holy dove", "take the name in vain") to describe the painfulness of love. It uses irony because "Hallelujah" is usually used to express great joy; but in this case, "It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah." This song has universal relevance, because everyone has experienced that feeling where they are sad about something they should be happy about, and is very emotionally evocative. In addition, I always like when the tone of the lyrics match up with the mood of the music; but this song takes it one step further. The lyrics describing David's "secret chord:" "The fourth, the fifth/The minor fall, the major lift" are also describing the actual chord progression of that part of the song, which is something really artistic. Overall, this is definitely an extremely poetic song.
Lyrics

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Hey There Delilah ~ Plain White T's
This song is poetic, but I don't think it is one of the 100 most poetic songs ever. It scores a 137 on the song rating sheet, which is pretty decent, but mostly it uses the same devices over and over again. These devices are alliteration (assonance and consonance), hyperbole, and imagery. It also uses a few allusions (New York City and Times Square), a simile ("Times Square can't shine as bright as you"), and a metaphor ("Listen to my voice, it's my disguise"). The song also gets points for cohesive narrative, epic/universal relevance, original point of view (epistolary), and is emotionally evocative. The instrumentals are also mastery. It loses a few points for cliche phrases such as "Times are getting hard," and "The world will never ever be the same." The song is very straightforward: its basically a love letter to a girl far away telling her how great she is and soon they can be together. It doesn't really have any ambiguous qualities that leave you wondering what meaning was the one that the writer originally intended. The song uses poetic devices, but I think it goes a little overboard on the hyperbole (I found 8), which I've noticed tend to go hand in hand with cliches. So yes, it's a nice, poetic song, but one of the 100 best? Not really.
Lyrics
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Across The Universe ~ The Beatles
I think that this song also warrants being on the list of 100 poetic songs. Scoring a 231 on the song rating sheet, this song racks up most of its points from imagery and personification/objectification, but it also uses alliteration, hyperbole ("Nothing's gonna change my world"), allusion ("Jai guru deva om"), ambiguity (it's open to interpretation), similes and metaphors, and symbolism. In addition, it has epic/universal relevance, a pervasive mood, a successful tone, is emotionally evocative, and has instrumental mastery. The chorus mostly repeats "Jai guru deva om" and "Nothing's gonna change my world," but the verses use loads of imagery and personification, along with similes and metaphors, to describe thoughts and emotions. The language in the verses is very figurative, and very poetic. A really good example of the beautiful, thought-provoking language used is in the second verse: "Images of broken light which/dance before me like a million suns." This uses imagery, personfication, alliteration, and a simile all rolled into two short little lines!
Lyrics

The Worst Song

Crank Dat (Soulja Boy) ~ Soulja Boy Tell 'Em

"Lyrics"

Crank Dat (Soulja Boy), by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, is one of the worst "songs" ever written. I'm not sure you can even call it a song, because it is just really bad both lyrically and musically. It received a score of negative 108 on the song rating sheet. The only good things this song has one instance of alliteration consonance ("super soak"), and a handful of allusions (Superman, Roosevelt, Robocop (I'm not actually sure what that is, though.)) However, since these allusions make absolutely no sense ("Then Superman dat oh"????) in the context of the song (if the song even has a context), they really aren't even poetic. The list of deficiencies is much longer. Practically every line is a grammar violation ("That" is spelled T-H-A-T!!! You make "hater" plural with an s, not a z! "Fo' sho'" are not real words! What on earth does "now watch me you" mean??), and the song is so repetitive. Also, there is absolutely no need to stick your "name" in your song every other line. There is incoherence everywhere as well because some of the lines make absolutely no sense, like "I got me some bathin' apes." What does that even mean??? Actually I don't what the whole song even means, though I'm assuming its something inappropriate. Either that, or it means absoultely nothing at all. In addition, it is basically a rap song, meaning that singing-wise, the vocals are really bad as well. Overall, the song just makes no sense and is incredibly irritating, and it really doesn't even have any good points to offset the bad.

Songs with Social Relevance

Unwritten ~ Natasha Bedingfield

This song is about going for your dreams and not letting other people dictate how to live your life. This is socially relevant because this is something everyone can relate to, and it is a positive message: be yourself. The song is really just about living and loving life, and doing so in your own way. This is shown in lyrics such as "Life your life with arms wide open" and "No one else can feel it for you/Only you can let it in." Sometimes in our society today, people are afraid to be their selves for whatever reason, and this is the perfect empowerment song to encourage all people to not be afraid to just be themselves.
The title of this song, "Unwritten," refers to the singer's "book" being "unwritten." Basically, she is saying that she still has life left to live, and she can write her book however she wants. She also tells the listeners that this is true for them as well: "Today is where your book begins." At the beginning, she also says, "I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined." This means taht she "marches to the beat of her own drum"; she is her own person and won't let other people write her life for her.

Lyrics

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Imagine ~ John Lennon

John Lennon may have written "Imagine" in 1971, while America was in the midst of the Vietnam War, but its message is still just as socially relevant today. "Imagine" is not a complex song to understand, it is simply telling listeners to just imagine what life would be like in a peaceful, non-troubled world. Lennon tells us to imagine what life would be like without warring countries, fighting religions, greedy people, hungry people, and everyone living as one. The main message of the song is especially shown in the lyrics at the end of each verse: "Imagine all the people" and then "Living for today" (1st verse), "Living life in peace" (2nd verse), and "Sharing all the world" (3rd verse).
In the chorus, Lennon adresses the fact that his vision of the ideal world may not come true right away ("You may say I'm a dreamer"), but he is holding out hope that it will happen someday ("I hope someday you'll join us"). Today, almost 40 years later, it still has not happened, but that is what makes the song still very relevant in our society today. In fact, America is again in another not-very-widely-supported war, just like Vietnam was. The song is just as relevant today as it was back when Lennon was alive and peforming this song.

Lyrics

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Stupid Girls ~ Pink

Pink's "Stupid Girls" may not be about quite as weighty an issue as world peace, but it is still very relevant in today's society. "Stupid Girls" is about how sometimes girls feel as if they have to be stereotypical "girly-girls" who don't care about anything except looks, being skinny, and getting guys. The singer is afraid that there isn't going to be enough "outcasts and girls with ambition" left, and she is upset that there aren't enough girls left that aspire to be the next president, that care about the issues the world faces, that are actually smart.
Throughout the song, Pink keeps repeating that she doesn't want to be one of the "stupid girls," but she also says that maybe she should "flip her blond her back," etc., like they do, then "maybe that guy will call [her] back." Perhaps with this she is saying that other girls face this same decision, but unfortunately, some end up going the route of becoming one of the "stupid girls." This song is relevant because the fact is that there are girls like that out there (in particular some of the famous ones), and society does put pressures on girls to be thin, to be conventionally attractive, etc.

Lyrics

The World in 6 Songs

The six kinds of songs (from The World in Six Songs) are friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion, and love.

Friendship:
Lean on Me ~ Bill Withers

This song is about being a friend to someone. The singer is telling another person, who is sad and troubled, that they can "lean on" him for support. The singer will always be a true friend to the other person by being there when he/she needs it. He also says, that someday, the roles might be reversed, and he might need someone to lean on. He would have that in his friend.

Lyrics

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Joy:
Walkin' On Sunshine ~ Katrina and the Waves

This song is about the joy that love and life bring. The chorus frequently repeats, "I'm walking on sunshine...and don't it feel good!" "Walking on sunshine" is an metaphor (that also uses imagery) for being happy. Sunshine usually has a positive, happy connotation, and this song uses that to its fullest. In its essence, this song is really just about being happy.

Lyrics

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Comfort:
Let It Be ~ The Beatles

This song is about letting your hardships be in order to get through them. While the song is kind of sad, because it may remind you of troubles, it is also very comforting and uplifting because it inspires you to just "let it be." The singer of the song is comforted by "Mother Mary...speaking words of wisdom," and the listener is in turn comforted by the song.

Lyrics

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Knowledge:
How to Save A Life ~ The Fray

In this song, the singer is telling the listener "how to save a life." This is a knowledge song because it transmits this knowledge. While the song does not necessarily tell how to save a life in the literal sense, it does tell of a person who is trying to say how he tried to help his friend, but couldn't, and is now trying to describe that to the listener so that maybe they can use that knowledge in the future to save their friend's life.

Lyrics

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Religion:
Angel ~ Sarah Mclachlan

This song can be interpreted in different ways, such as about dying of a drug overdose, or maybe someone who was depressed and committed suicide, but one thing that it is definitely about is that person being "in the arms of an angel." This is where the religious or spiritual aspect comes in, because angels are very spiritual (in a positive way). This person may have had a lot of struggles, but now they are in heaven with the angels.

Lyrics

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Love:
I'm Yours ~ Jason Mraz

This song is simply about being in love. One of the lines says "look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love." I think this line sums up the song and love in general. Another line that I think serves this same purpose is "It's out God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved." It's really just about the beauty and joy of being in love.

Lyrics

Pun

Funhouse ~ P!nk

In this song P!nk uses a pun on the lyrics "This used to be a funhouse/But now its full of evil clowns." The word "funhouse" is a pun because it can be taken literally as a funhouse, like at a carnival, or as a "fun house," meaning things used to be good or fun, but now they aren't.

Lyrics

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Breakeven ~ The Script

In this song a pun is used in the line "When a heart breaks, no it don't break even." The word "breakeven" or "break even" is a pun because it can be interpreted as the heart is not breaking evenly, or that there is no "breakeven" point in the break-up.

Lyrics

Euphemism

Take A Bow ~ Rihanna
While some parts of this song are rather rude, there are some euphemisms in it as well. For instance, "take a bow" is a nicer way of saying something like "get lost" or just "leave." In addition "that was quite a show, very entertaining" is a more polite (albeit sarcastic) way of saying what could be said there.
Lyrics
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Love Drunk ~ Boys Like Girls
The main euphemism in this song is "I used to be love drunk/But now I'm hungover." This is a nicer way of saying, "I used to love you, but now I don't. Sorry." Or something like that. "I'll love you forever/Forever is over" is another way to say the same thing without sounding so blunt/rude.
Lyrics

Allusion, Ambiguity, & Allegory

Allusion:

Hallelujah ~ Jeff Buckley
(originally by Leonard Cohen)

Well, I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
You know, I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me, do you?
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there is a god above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

"Hallelujah" uses multiple Bible allusions throughout its lyrics. The first verse alludes to the story of King David, and the second to the story of David and Bathesba, then Sampson and Delilah. And of course, "hallelujah" is a very religious term alluded to a lot in this song, but with a different connotation than may be used in church.

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Ambiguity:

You Found Me ~ The Fray
I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where you been?", He said, "Ask anything"

Where were you, when everything was falling apart?
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait, where were you, where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me

But in the end everyone ends up alone
Losing her, the only one who's ever known
Who I am, who I'm not and who I want to be
No way to know how long she will be next to me

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait, where were you, where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me

The early morning, the city breaks
And I've been calling for years and years and years and years
And you never left me no messages, you never sent me no letters
You got some kind of nerve taking all I'm worth

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Where were you, where were you?

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait, where were you, where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me

Why'd you have to wait, to find me, to find me?

This song uses ambiguity because it is one of those songs that is open to interpretation. Some may find it to be about depression ("lost and insecure, you found me, you found me/Lying on the floor"). Some may find it to be a conversation with God. Or some could find it to be about heartbreak. Either (or any other) way the song was written as, the song is definitely ambiguous (in a good way) because it allows the listener to interprete and relate to the song on their own personal level.

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Allegory:

Viva La Vida ~ Coldplay
I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become

Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh, who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

This song is an allegory because, literally, it is telling the story of a fallen leader of the past (probably Napoleon) who has fallen from power and is dying. It is allegorical because it can actually be applied to any leader who once had a lot of power but has now fallen, even on a scale much smaller than literally "ruling the world" like Napoleon. It could even be applied to someone who has fallen in love.

Simile & Metaphor

Simile

The next two songs have similes in them: comparisons using the words "like" or "as."

Angel ~ Leona Lewis

This song uses a couple different similes, all to show how much the singer loves her man:

• The first is "We're like Romeo and Juliet." This is kind of straightforward, it is comparing her relationship to that of the famous literary characters Romeo and Juliet. (This is an allusion as well, but also kind of a cliche.)


• The next simile is "Like the tallest mountain or the widest sea/Nothing's big enough to hide us." This is comparing her love to mountains and seas, by way of how big it is. Mountains and seas are both pretty big, and she is using this to show just how much she loves this guy.


• The last simile in this song is "And I don't want to go to sleep, 'cause you were like a dream." This is comparing her love (again), this time to a dream. He is so perfect, and their relationship is so perfect, she feels like she is dreaming.

Lyrics

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Holiday ~ Allison Iraheta

There are two similes in this song. They come in the lines "Oh life has changed like a holiday/Feels so d*** good like Hollywood." They are both comparing life to something that is supposed to be great: a holiday, and Hollywood. The meaning of this is to show how great her life is now that she is done with this guy. She's going to "shove this life in [his] face." Life is great without him.

Lyrics

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Metaphor

The following two songs employ metaphors: comparisons not using "like" or "as."

No Parade ~ Jordin Sparks

There is one example of a metaphor in this song that is very poetic: "Before I knew it we were dust." This metaphor directly compares a couple that is broken up to dust. This one line actually kind of captures the essence of the entire song, which is about a break-up that went quietly, without flashing lights or a parade (figuratively speaking). The couple's relationship is compared to dust - it just kind of disintegrated. There was no huge explosion or fight, they just kind of grew apart. It snuck up on them, they weren't expecting it, but it happened. And before they knew it, they were dust. Just. . .gone.

Lyrics

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Barriers ~ David Archuleta
This song uses an extended metaphor that compares conflicts in a relationship to different kinds of barriers, such as mountains and walls. They come between the two people and make their relationship difficult such as mountains and walls can make traveling to the other side difficult. Over the course of the song, the singer describes how they are building these barriers, then trying to get through them, but not succeeding, and eventually giving up because there are just "too many barriers."
Excerpts:

• "I keep hitting this wall/It's never gonna fall/And we're still broken/This mountain we've been trying to climb/It's never ending"
• "All we're doing is building walls/And now there's too many barriers"
• The bridge: "Just too many barriers/That we keep running into/Been trying, but we just can't break through/I know I'm gonna keep wishing I was with you/But we just gotta stop"

Lyrics

Irony

Please Don't Leave Me ~ P!nk
This song uses situational irony because the narrator starts off by saying how she hates this guy: "I don't know if I can yell any louder/How many times have I kicked you out of here?/Or said something insulting?" So the expected result is that this is going to be a break-up song, because that is what the lyrics imply. Contrary to the expected result, the chorus goes on to say "please don't leave me," because she loves him and cannot live without him. Because this is not expected, this song is situationally ironic.
Lyrics

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Smile ~ Lily Allen
This song has situational irony because the singer starts singing about her cheating boyfriend and how she was devastated at first ("I just sat by myself all day"). But then the tables are turned: he wants her back and she just smiles at his pain ("When I see you cry/It makes me smile"). This is kind of an unexpected twist. Another way that this song is ironic is that the lyrics are kind of depressing/disturbing: they're about cheating and laughing at people's tears, etc. But the music is all upbeat and happy-sounding, so there is a definite contrast there.
Lyrics

Paradox

Gravity ~ Sara Bareilles
The main essence of this song is that the singer wants to get away from a man -maybe she is in a bad relationship, or maybe (and this is my personal interpretation) the relationship is over and she needs to move on- but in any case, she can't because she keeps "falling into his gravity." Paradox comes into play in the lines "you hold me without touch/you keep me without chains." Both of these contradict themselves: how can you hold something without touching it? How can you keep something from leaving without some sort of chain? (It doesn't have to physically be a chain.) Yet somehow they both still make sense. Another paradox comes in the next line, "I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your rain." Rain is water, and you need water to drown. How can you not feel the rain if you are drowning in it? Another paradox comes in in the second verse, specifically in the phrase "fragile strength." "Fragile strength" is an oxymoron because being fragile and being strong are opposites. Yet somehow, in the context of this song, this line as well makes sense. This song if you just listen to it, makes perfect sense, but when you really look at the lyrics, becomes extremely confusing due to all the paradoxes. That's not a bad thing, though, actually I think that that is the exact essence of the relationship Sara is trying to convey with this beautiful song.

Lyrics

Personification

Bleeding Love ~ Leona Lewis

The main example of personification in this song is "bleeding love." Humans bleed, but love doesn't, so love is being personified here.

Lyrics

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Listen To Your Heart ~ D.H.T.
(Originally by Roxette)

This song has two main examples of personification:

• The first is "listen to your heart." While it is possible to listen to your heart beating, your heart cannot tell you what to do, as this song is saying. People can tell you what to do, so this is personifying your heart.
• The second is "And there are voices that want to be heard." Wanting something is a human characteristic, and voices are not humans.

Lyrics

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Stop and Stare ~ One Republic

This song also uses personification in two places:

• "This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us." This is personification because a town cannot get sick of something; that is an emotion, and towns do not have emotions.
• "And every glance is killing me." Glances cannot literally kill people, so they are being personified here.

Lyrics

Point of View

Fairytale ~ Sara Bareilles
This song uses both 3rd person omniscient and 1st person narrative points of view. Because it uses both of these, that also makes it a multiple person narrative.

• 3rd person omniscient is used in the verses, where the narrator is describing different fairytale characters' (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rapunzel) "untold stories," that is, the stories that don't end happily ever after. This is 3rd person because it is not "I" or "you" it is other people. More specifically, it is 3rd person omniscient because the narrator knows everything: such things like Cinderella having "a crush on the guy at the liquor store" and Sleeping Beauty being in a "foul mood."


• During the chorus, bridge, and end, the narrator puts herself into the song, so the lyrics are now in 1st person point of view. The narrator uses "I" to describe her own thoughts, such as "I don't care for your fairytales."
  

Lyrics

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Russian Roulette ~ Rihanna

• This song is written in 1st person narrative point of view. The song uses "I" (such as "I'm terrified but I'm not leaving"), and the narrator is talking about herself.
• This song also uses stream of consciousness point of view. The narrator is playing Russian roulette, which means she could die as soon as she pulls the trigger. The lyrics to the song are the thoughts running through her mind in what could be the last few seconds of her life. This fits my theme because I believe the game of Russian roulette to be an extended metaphor for a relationship - it could be bad, or it could be good, but you won't know unless you just jump into it.

Lyrics

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Never Say Never ~ The Fray

This song is also partly in 1st person narrative , but it is also in 2nd person narrative. It does use "I" and "we," but the 2nd person comes in when the narrator is talking to someone else, such as in "You can never say never," "Don't let me go," and "Picture you're the queen of everything."

Lyrics

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Don't Stop Believing ~ Journey
This song is written in 3rd person subjective point of view. It is in 3rd person because the main characters are "he"s and "she"s and "they"s, such as the "small town girl" and the "city boy." It is subjective because the narrator knows somewhat what the characters' feelings are, such as that they are "living just to find emotion."

Lyrics

Hyperbole

The following song shows a good example of hyperbole:

A Thousand Miles ~ Vanessa Carlton
While this song does not have a lot of examples of hyperbole, the main idea of the song is one. Throughout the song, Vanessa repeats that she would "walk a thousand miles." This is an exaggeration, because it is not possible to walk a thousand miles, especially in one night ("tonight"). Another hyperbole that is used "fall into the sky." It is also not possible to fall into the sky.

Lyrics

Alliteration

The following 3 songs all fit into my genre of pop music and my theme of the good and/or bad parts of love/relationships. All 3 of these songs use alliteration.

Key:
Consonance/Assonance

*** Repeat examples are only highlighted the first time they appear.***

D is For Dangerous ~ Allison Iraheta

A is for all I want
B is for badly
C is for can't you stay long
'Cuz I want you so madly
E is for no escape
'Cuz I don't wanna leave you
F is for fallin' too
Fast with no parachute, oh

And who's gonna save me now
Oh

You're taking me under
Stolen my thunder
And I think I'm all out of fight
I want you to win
All that I ever was
Is burning in this lust
Your love is a weapon
And it's turning me to dust
D is for dangerous
D is for dangerous

G for get outta here
It's really too much
H is for how do I leave
When I'm addicted, to your love
I is for insane
It smells like danger
J is for jump off the ship
Or the storm will take you

And who's gonna save me now
Oh

You're taking me under
Stolen my thunder
And I think I'm all out of fight
I want you to win
All that I ever was
Is burning in this lust
Your love is a weapon
And it's turning me to dust
D is for dangerous
D is for dangerous
D is for dangerous
D is for dangerous

K is for killing me
L is for I can't leave
Oh, 'cuz I'll never make it
If I'm not living on the edge
As for the rest
Let's just forget
'Cuz I'll never want out of this

You're taking me under
Stolen my thunder
And I think I'm all out of fight
I want you to win
All that I ever was
Is burning in this lust
Your love is a weapon
And it's turning me to dust
D is for dangerous
D is for dangerous
D is for dangerous
D is for dangerous

Iraheta, Allison. "D is For Dangerous." Just Like You. CD. Jive Records. 2009. http://www.elyrics.net/read/a/allison-iraheta-lyrics/d-is-for-dangerous-lyrics.html. Web. 10 February 2010.

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Lucky ~ Jason Mraz feat. Colbie Caillat

Do you hear me,
I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky oh my, baby I'm trying
Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Oooohhhhoohhhhohhooohhooohhooohoooh

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music, feel the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
Though the breezes through the trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

Ooohh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooooh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

Mraz, Jason. "Lucky (feat. Colbie Caillat)." We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. CD. Atlantic. 2008. http://www.lyricsty.com/lyrics/j/jason_mraz/lucky.html. Web. 10 February 2010.

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Alright With Me ~ Kris Allen

I'm a little pawn still in your game
And you ignore my advances
I turn my head and I look away
But I can't control my eyes are on you

Oh, you're on the run and I'm chasing you
Feels like war with all your glances
I'm just a boy without a clue
And I can't control following you

But it's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me

I know you better than you know
You can fight but it's not over
I say to stop but you start to go
I guess that means it's L-O-V-E

I say to look but you turn away
I say we put our best foot forward
Will you believe, come next to me
Oh, why can't you see, I'm begging you, please

But it's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me

(Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah)

And I'm knocking on your door
Baby baby, please now
Falling on your floor
Baby baby, please
I keep knocking on your door
Baby, baby, please now
Falling on your floor
Baby baby, please

But it's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me
It's alright, alright with me

Allen, Kris. "Alright With Me." Kris Allen. CD. Jive Records. 2009. http://www.lyricstime.com/kris-allen-alright-with-me-lyrics.html. Web. 10 February 2010.

Imagery

Glitter in the Air ~ Pink
"Glitter in the Air," by Pink, is a song that uses a lot of imagery. The song is about being in love. It does not seem to be a sad song with just the lyrics, but with the music and everything, it is a bit melancholy. To me, it seems to indicate that that "perfect" love cannot last forever. I also think it is about that moment in life when you are about to go forward, and not sure if you should--and in this song, this seems moment seems to be love. Anyway, the song uses a lot of imagery. Even the title, "glitter in the air" is imagery because it immediately makes you think of glitter in the air, as does the line "Have you ever thrown a fistful of glitter in the air?" Another part of the song that uses imagery is the bridge: "There you are, sitting in the garden/Clutching my coffee/Calling me sugar." You can both see the man sitting in the garden with the coffee and hear him calling her "sugar." The second verse, about waiting for the phone to ring, also is very easy to picture in your mind. The chorus (if you can call it that, since the lyrics change) also uses a lot of imagery with phrases such as "the tip of the iceburg" and "the hourglass on the table." These phrases, and the images they cause to appear in your mind, add to the whole effect of being on the edge of something that could change your life, such as diving into a relationship with someone.
Lyrics

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Between the Lines ~ Sara Bareilles
"Between the Lines," by Sara Bareilles, does not use quite as much visual imagery, but it does still use a lot of imagery. I think the song is about being in a really complicated relationship with someone - you love them, but it's complicated: you're "between the lines." "Between the lines" is imagery in itself, because even though it is a common expression, it makes you think of 2 lines (or maybe 2 lines of text, like in "reading between the lines"), which you are between. I also think "eyes wide shut unopened" is great imagery, albeit confusing. It's sort of a paradox; I'm not sure if it is possible to have eyes that are both wide and shut at the same time, but you can still imagine it, and it is a good description. This song also uses imagery of what you can hear, such as in the 2nd stanza when it talks about how the name sounded familiar and she "could've sworn [she'd] heard him say it ten thousand times." This description you can hear in your head, even though you don't know the actual name. There is more audio imagery in the bridge when she says, "I'll talk until the conversation doesn't stay on/Wait for me, I'm almost ready/When he meant let go." You can hear all of this conversation-type thing in your head. The imagery in "Between the Lines" may not jump out really quickly, but it is definitely there!

Lyrics

Theme & Genre

I think for my genre I am going to do pop music. My theme is going to be love, though I will probably concentrate more on the harder parts of love than the easier ones. I chose pop music as a genre, because I listen to it a lot and I like (most of) it. I chose love as my theme because it is very prevalent in pop music and can show many different sides. I do not really have a specific song that inspired this choice, but some of my favorite songs do fall into the pop category, which I find to be a pretty broad category.

*Edit: I think maybe a better way to describe my theme would be relationships.