Lyrics

Lyrics

Lyrics are a really powerful part of a song, as they communicate the singer’s message.  The importance of the message depends on the evaluation of the listener, but lyrics contain other elements that we can study to learn more about the overall feel of a song.  These include topic, syllabic structure, and rhyme scheme.   Many artists change the way they use these elements in the chorus to create a simpler, catchier, easily remembered section. 

“Hello” by Adele is about an old lost love that can not be reclaimed.  The verses have a very repetitive and consistent syllabic structure, alternating between 6 or 7 syllables and 15 syllables per line.  This is sharply contrasted by the two line, 5 and 8 syllable pre-chorus.  The chorus is again very consistent, with two lines of 8 followed by two lines of 15 syllables.  This pattern repeats as the verse/chorus pattern continues. 

In summary:

Verse: 6 15 7 15, 6 15 7 15

Pre-chorus: 8 5

Chorus: 8 8 15 15

Adele uses rhyme in a similar way.  Both the verse and chorus have an AA BB CC… rhyme scheme.  For example, “outside/tried” and “heart/apart.”  She breaks this pattern in the pre-chorus, inserting two lines that do not rhyme.  “Us/miles” and “us/time” quite obviously break the surrounding couplets. 

Through her use of lyrical structure, Adele clearly delineates between the three sections of the song, providing a clear moment of contrast between the verse and chorus. 

Justin Timberlake's "Drink You Away" is also about lost love. His syllabic scheme is uneven when strictly evaluated but falls into a general pattern. Verses alternate two short lines of 4 to 7 syllables with one long line of 10-12. Some of these differences are made up by a melismatic setting, using one word for multiple pitches.

The rhyme scheme is similarly erratic..The lyrics usually do not rhyme, occasionally employ slant rhymes such as "proof/truth" and rarely rhyme in instances such as "brain/pain." His favorite rhyming technique is repeating the same word at the end if the phrase, as in "morning/morning" and "break/break." All in all, the lyric structure seems unintentional and sporadic. 

Meghan Trainor's "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" is about an impending lose of love. He's not gone yet, but he might be soon.  

Her syllabic structure is remarkably consistent. Every line has 5 to 7 syllables with the vast majority containing 6. This creates a very balanced and predictable effect.
This balances out the lack of rhyme scheme. Occasionally alternating lines have faint resemblance of vowel but it is not consistent enough to creating a rhyming effect.

“Sorry” by Justin Bieber is, shockingly, about lost love.  His syllabic structure is very balanced, with 15-16 syllables per line of verse and 9-10 syllables per line of chorus.  Each verse, however, differs in length.  The first has 8 lines while the second has only 4. 

While there appears to be an attempt at rhyme, most are slant rhymes or vague resemblances.  Examples include “down/now,” “sorry/body,” and “two/truth.”  Though normally I would not consider these rhymes, they occur too frequently to be mere coincidence.  These are structured haphazardly into an AAAB CCCD EEEFF etc. scheme.  The rhyme however, does not seem to be central enough to be the motivating factor behind lyric choice.      

“Stiches” by Shawn Mendes has a pretty balanced syllabic structure.  The verse follows a pretty similar 8, 10, 8, 11 scheme.  The first and third lines are varied in both verses, but the line of 8 remains constant.  In the chorus, a majority of the lines use 9 syllables.  The bridge, which is repeated three times, has 5 syllables with an occasional 8 syllable phrase in the second line. 

The rhyme scheme for this song is pretty simple.  It follows an AABBCC pattern throughout the entire song with only a few of the lines not ending with a rhyme.  “Kisses/stiches,” “before/sore,” “thread/head,” are just a few of the myriad of examples.  The only part that doesn’t follow this scheme is the pre-chorus.  The pre-chorus does its own thing by not rhyming at all.  The rhyme scheme seems to be very important to the function of this piece and its lyrics.  

~Ellyn and Sarra