Songs: "The River"

"The River" by Garth Brooks
{similes and metaphors}

You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin' as it flows
And a dreamer's just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what's behind you
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores...
andI will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry

Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide...

yesI will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry

There's bound to be rough waters
And I know I'll take some falls
But with the good Lord as my captain
I can make it through them all...

yesI will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Yes, I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
'Til the river runs dry

Songs: "Used to Feel Lucky"

"Used to Feel Lucky" by Wallflowers
{example of assonance, simile, paradox, irony, and metaphor}

Now mine is a sunshine kind of a valentine
But sometimes I still dont feel even worth a dime
But it used to be different, before I'd been where I've been
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

Now you've got a heart
so you know how it feels
When you can't move at the top of a ferris wheel
But I used to keep trying, but it always felt like dying
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

So sad
Everything's gone bad
In the dreams I've had
They all laugh at what I have

Oh, no
Tell me that it ain't true
When I awake I'm still me
Man, I wish I could once be you

Now I used to feel lucky, till I spent some time with me
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

Now if losing is amusing, man get a load of me
You see me fallin' in love with a guillotine
But it used to be funny, to think you would think of me
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

Now I wish I could just take all my things and leave
But I've fallen down in the wheels of this machine
But it used to be somethin', to be nowhere with nothin'
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

So sad
Everything's gone bad
In the dreams I've had
They all laugh at what I have

Oh, no
Tell me that it ain't true
When I awake I'm still me
Man, I wish I could once be you

Now I used to feel lucky, till I spent some time with me
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

Now if losing is amusing, man get a load of me
You see me fallin' in love with a guillotine
But it used to be funny, to think you would think of me
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

Now I wish I could just take all my things and leave
But I've fallen down in the wheels of this machine
But it used to be somethin', to be nowhere with nothin'
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

So sad
Everything's goin' bad
In the dreams I've had
They all laugh at what I have

Oh, no
Tell me that it ain't true
When I wake I'm still me
Man, I wish I could once be you

Now I used to feel lucky, till I spent some time with me
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

So sad
Everything's goin' bad
In the dreams I've had
They all laugh at what I have

Oh, no
Tell me that it ain't true
When I wake I'm still me
Man, I wish I could once be you

Now I used to feel lucky, till I spent some time with me
Oooh ooh ooh oooh

Literary Devices in Songs, Continued

I'm glad we all have a better grasp on repetition (although most of us can't spell it ).

We also seem to get personification -- although we need to remember that a phrase only counts as personification if the action is a "human" action. To say "the sun melts" CANNOT be personification; although the sun cannot really melt, a human can't either. This could be symbolism or a metaphor, depending on how it is used.

Remember, a metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things, saying one is equal to the other (my love is a red, red rose). Similes, however, compare two unlike things using like or as. (my love is like a red, red rose OR my love is as red as a rose).

Irony comes in three packages: verbal, situational, and dramatic. Verbal irony is like sarcasm: saying something and meaning another. Situational irony involves the event itself; what happens is not what is expected to happen. Dramatic irony usually occurs in plays; the audience knows what's happening (or what already happened) but the characters do not.

Now that we've got those four literary devices mastered (or close to it), let's try to find the following ones in song lyrics. Feel free to use children's songs too! If you can't remember what some of these lit devices are, refer to your notes from last semester or visit the links provided on the original post below this one.

• alliteration (read "Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts" -- not for the weak stomachs)
• anthropomorphism (read "Gorilla You're a Desperado" Warren Zevon)
• foreshadowing (read "Frankie and Johnny" or see/listen to a variation by Johnny Cash)
• hyperbole
• imagery
• apostrophe
• onomatopoeia
• oxymoron
• paradox
• allusion (view a really cool flash video for "We Didn't Start the Fire" or read the lyrics)
• palindrome (see or read Weird Al Yankovic's song "Bob")
• anagram (read "Anagram" lyrics by Rush)
• assonance
• cacophony
• consonance
• internal rhyme
• inversion
• rhythm
• rhyme

Another great resource: http://www.thewallflowersweb.com/glossary.htm

http://www.northern.edu/wild/dany/mxthea05/Mt_Lyrics_s03.pdf

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=115