Hey guys! I’m going to be starting a series looking at different artists’ song lyrics and how they convey the meaning of the song and the work as a whole. We’ll be taking apart a few example lyrics from the artist, and analyzing what makes it so effective. Also, feel free to leave different songs by the same artist in the comments and we can spend some time taking apart those song lyrics as well! I’m also open to suggestions for who to do next, so feel free to leave that in the comments too!
Background For today, the artist is the British art-rock band Radiohead. But first, a bit of background:
Radiohead is a British five-piece rock band whose themes center mostly on alienation, depression, and social commentary. They rose to fame with their breakout debut single, “Creep,” which is still one of their most widely known songs today. Although they began as a grunge/alt-rock band, their experimentation with both electronic and organic elements, dissonance, and distortion has caused them to evolve into something unique, impossible to classify into one genre. After their astronomical success on their third album, “OK Computer,” they turned towards much more electronic sounds combined with elements of jazz on their next album, “Kid A.”
Radiohead’s style For most of their discography, Radiohead’s lyrics in their songs are extremely abstract. They sound very disjointed in many examples, and are hard to understand, much like their extremely textured and layered soundscape. However, there is often a common theme that unites the lyrics, conveying a coherent message. But how exactly do they accomplish this? Let’s look at some examples:
Example 1: Blow Out “Blow Out”is a song from their debut album, Pablo Honey. It conveys the message of fearing failure, unable to move on because doing so may mean facing failure. This “fear of failure” sentiment recurs throughout their discography, especially on their second album, “The Bends”. Here’s the lyrics to “Blow Out”:
In my mind
And nailed into my heels
All the time killin' what I feel
And everything I touch (all wrapped up in cotton wool)
(All wrapped up and sugar coated) turns into stone
And everything I touch (all wrapped up in cotton wool)
(All wrapped up and sugar coated) turns into stone
I am fused just in case I blow out
I am glued just because I crack out
Everything I touch turns to stone
Everything I touch
(All wrapped up in crinoline, all wrapped up in sugar-coated) turn to stone
Let’s go from the top.
“In my mind/And nailed into my heel”
Here we already see an allusion to Achilles, who was a fierce warrior with skin impenetrable everywhere except for his heel. Here the narrator’s weakness is constantly on their mind.
“All the time/Killing what I feel”
This weakness never gets off the narrator’s mind and is therefore “killing” them. We also get a nice ABCB rhyme scheme here.
“Everything I touch/Turns to stone”
This may be another allusion combining King Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold, but he lost his beloved daughter as a result of accidentally touching her, and Medusa, who turns everything she sees to stone. This is supported by “All wrapped up in cotton wool/All wrapped up and sugar coated,” which seems to symbolize a gift, or something good. However, what seemed like a gift actually was a curse, “turning everything to stone.”
“I am fused, just in case I blow out/I am glued, just in case I crack out”
These verses essentially refer to the same thing: The chance of failure (“blowing out” or “cracking out”) is preventing the narrator from taking risks, or achieving full potential (“fused”, “glued”). You also have rhymes being used here (“fused”, “glued”) with parallel wording schemes to reinforce their similarity in meaning.
So what’s the takeaway from this song? The lyrics don’t necessarily tell a story and not every line is rhyming, so what keeps it coherent and intact?
Well first, there’s a common theme in all the allusions used: Mythology. These are all characters from myths that met tragic ends due to their own folly. Having a common theme running through your song is very, very important, especially when the lyrics are abstract and don’t tell a story.
Second, parallel wording is used throughout the song. Most of the words are fairly short, so nothing disrupts the flow, and the parallel structures of coupling lines help keep them intact. Remember, not every line has to rhyme, so don’t go out of your way to.
Example 2: Morning Bell “Morning Bell” was a song both on Radiohead’s fourth album, “Kid A,” and fifth album “Amnesiac.” These two versions, however, sound very very different, even though the lyrics are the same. The lyrics are most often interpreted as portraying a divorce, and how disorienting it often is. Interestingly, many of these lines were twisted from old nursery rhymes, perhaps conveying the “disoriented child” feel. Here are the lyrics:
Morning bell
Morning bell
Light another candle
Release me
Release me
You can keep the furniture
A bump on the head
I'm howling down the chimney
Release me
Release me
Please
Release me
Release me
Where'd you park the car?
Where'd you park the car?
Clothes are on the lawn with the furniture
Now I might as well
I might as well
Sleepy jack the fire drill
Run around, around, around, around, around, and round
Around
Cut the kids in half
Cut the kids in half
Cut the kids in half
We can tell there’s a lot of repetition in this song. Repetition is a great tool because depending on how and where repetition is used, it can reinforce a point, cast doubt on a point, or evoke other emotions. Here, the repetition with the short, disjunct phrases creates a very pleading tone, as if children are trying to hang onto a parent from leaving.
“Morning bell/Morning bell/Light another candle/Release me/Release me”
A morning bell is a wake-up call, a drastic change, a break perhaps from the pleasant dream (or nightmare) you were in. Similarly, that’s what a divorce may be: a wake-up call from your “dream” relationship, or an escape from your “nightmare”. This idea is reinforced by “Light another candle”. Candles here may refer to a romantic relationship, as candles are often symbolic for romantic interests. Lighting another one means, again, starting anew. “Release me, release me” completes the full cycle of this.
“You can keep the furniture/A bump on the head/I’m howling down the chimney/Release me/Release me/ Please”
“You can keep the furniture” is a definite sign that this song may be about divorce, as couples split the possessions in divorce. “A bump on the head/I’m howling down the chimney” is probably a reference to getting kicked out of the house, or perhaps domestic violence. With how abstract these lyrics are, there may be countless interpretations, but that’s the beauty of it. “Release me” again is a plea for closure, and becomes more desperate throughout the song.
“Where’d you park the car?/Where’d you park the car?/Clothes are on the lawn with the furniture”
This is more splitting possessions imagery.
“Sleepy jack the fire drill/Run around...”
Sleepy jack is an idiom for someone who is exhausted, tired, etc. (twisted from a nursery rhyme) This divorce is perhaps a fire drill, causing the narrator, exhausted from the relationship, to hurriedly run around packing everything up.
“Cut the kids in half”
Perhaps the most violent line, but not to be taken literally. This is an allusion to King Solomon’s story, in which two women fought over a child, both claiming it was theirs, and Solomon as a result, orders to cut the child in half. Divorce is a similar portrayal, where the parents fight for custody, to which the narrator simply responds, “cut the kids in half”.
So what’s the takeaway from this song?
First, the lyrics must support the mood of the song. If this were a soft, happy ballad, these lyrics would be horrible. But because it is a song filled with dissonance, vocal breaks between layers upon layers of instrumental texture, it works as well as it does. The lyrics are disorienting, disjunct, and confusing, just like the subject matter of the song. Does the song necessarily make a direct statement about what issue is being dealt with? No. However, through inference we can get a feeling of what the song conveys about divorce.
Second, a note on phonetics. Notice all the sharp consonant sounds in this song. “Cut the kids in half” jumps out not only because it is violent imagery, but also because “C” and “K” sounds are very sharp and noticeable. Words and phrases are also very short, leaving very powerful images behind. Short words or phrases can often have more impact than long ones. You don’t have to finish the sentence all the time. Offensive words stand out so much because of their hard consonant sounds and their monosyllabic nature. Consider reading your lines out loud when you write a song.
Well this turned out to be quite a long read. If you’ve made it this far, congrats, and I hope this helped! Feel free to leave any questions, more Radiohead examples down below to analyze, or leave suggestions for which artist’s lyrics to look at next!
Submitted October 21, 2019 at 08:23AM by Phaelynx https://ift.tt/2VXFu5I
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