Music and Lyrics

Why is music so accessible, while classic poetry is considered high-brow, boring, off-putting? There is little structural difference between poetry and song lyrics. Many songwriters steal shamelessly from classic poetry and literature. Mumford and Sons does this all the time: their songs reference Shakespeare, Plato, and John Steinbeck. This handy Wikipedia list shows that we could have had a theme song for just about everything we read in this class: Lord of the Flies, The Stranger, Frankenstein, and Brave New World all have their musical tributes.

Song lyrics use the same literary techniques as poetry. Rhythm and rhyme are obvious, but songwriters also use the literary devices and imagery. Here's where you get to roll your eyes at my dated examples:

Alliteration: "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." - Joni Mitchell, "Big Yellow Taxi"
Allusion: "As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death . . ." - Coolio, "Gangsta's Paradise"
Metaphor and Allusion: "I am a rock, I am an island." -  Simon and Garfunkel, "I Am a Rock"
Personification: "London calling to the faraway towns" - The Clash, "London Calling"
Onomatopoeia: "Boom Boom Pow"- Black Eyed Peas
Simile: "You're as cold as ice, you're willing to sacrifice our love" - Foreigner, "Cold As Ice"

What literary influences do you see in your favorite songs, either in terms of influence (borrowing from literature) or technique? Why is music so much more popular than poetry? Can you help me update my examples of literary devices in popular music?

Answer any or all of these questions, or post a favorite song and analyze it as we would a poem: rhythm, rhyme, literary devices, theme, meaning, emotion, etc.

Finally, here is Emma Thompson's reading of the lines from Much Ado About Nothing that partially inspired the Mumford and Sons song above. If you haven't seen Kenneth Branagh's film version of this play, I highly recommend it: it's visually gorgeous, packed with both excellent and popular actors (Keanu Reeves!?), and utterly joyful.