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: "Sound of Silence"

"Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel
{apostrophe, paradox, rhyming, simile, personification, irony}

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.

Fools said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whisperd in the sounds of silence.

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

Songs: "Frankie and Johnny"

"Frankie and Johnny" a traditional American popular song
{an example of foreshadowing, repetition, simile, and onomatopoeia}

Frankie and Johnny were lovers
Oh lordy, how they could love
Swore to be true to each other
Just as true as the stars above
He was her man, but he done her wrong {repetition}

Well, Frankie went down to the corner
To get a bucket of beer
She said to the fat bartender
"Has my lovin' Johnny been here?
He was my man, I think he's doing me wrong"

"Well, I don't want to cause you no trouble
And I don't want to tell you no lies
But I seen your man about an hour ago
With that high-browed Nellie Bly
He was your man, I think he's doing you wrong"

She took a cab at the corner
And said "Driver step on this can
For you're looking at a desperate gal
Been two-timed by her man
He was my man, but he done me wrong"

Then Frankie went home in a hurry
She didn't go there for fun
Frankie went home to get a-hold
Of Johnny's shooting gun
He was her man, but he done her wrong

Frankie peeked over the transom
And there to her surprise
She saw her lovin-man Johnny
With that high-browed Nellie Bly
He was her man, and he was doing her wrong

Then Frankie pulled back her kimono
And she pulled out a small .44
And root-e-toot-toot three times she shot
Right through that hardwood door
He was her man, but he done her wrong

"Well roll me over on my left side
Roll me over so slow,
Roll me over on my left hand side, Frankie,
Them bullets hurt me so,
I was your man, but I done you wrong"

Now, bring round your ruber-tired buggy
And bring round your rubber-tired hack
I'm taking my man to the graveyard
I ain't gonna bring him back
He was my man, but he done me wrong

Well this story has no moral
And this story has got no end
Well the story just goes to show you women
That there ain't no good in men
He was her man, but he done her wrong

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