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