Authenticity & The AuteurĪuteur theory is often applied to filmmakers, but is equally applicable to musicians. Rather than naming the song – in an effort to censor it. However, many, including the BBC, reported it as number 2 with a couple of publications just listing the chart position as a blank space. The chart reporting for May 1977 suggests that the real chart position for ‘God Save the Queen’ may well have been number 1. With edgier content filtered away from major exposure. Two of the top 5 selling singles of the 70s were ‘You’re The One That I Want’ and ‘Summer Nights’ from the movie Grease. Which resulted in an underrepresentation of real youth culture. In addition, the major broadcasters held something of a monopoly in terms of cultural stewardship. The widening economic disparity between the working, upper classes and labour disputes brewed across a number of industries. It did this by declaring that the British monarchy had ‘no future’ at a time when royal popularity was quite high in many respects, but, against a stark backdrop of high unemployment. However, in 1977, the song (strategically released to coincide with the Queen’s silver jubilee) sparked huge controversy. Today, the Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save the Queen’ doesn’t feel particularly outrageous. When was the song written? Where was it written? What is the social, political, and economic context? Next, you need to think about the context. You and me, babe, how about it?”” How To Analyse Song Lyrics – Context He says something like, “You and me, babe, how about it? Laying everybody low with a love song that he madeįinds a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade “And a lovestruck Romeo, he sang the streets of serenade It does this with the ‘voice’ of the lyrics which is almost a Shakespearean chorus: This is a narrative theme, that interestingly combines an old love story with a modern-day idiom.

Is it auto-biographical? 1 st or 3 rd person? Is it a narrative or a statement? What themes are used?Ĭonsider a song like ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Dire Straits.

How To Analyse Song Lyrics – Voice & Perspectiveįirst, you need to think about who is singing the song. In this article we will convey how to analyse song lyrics in a meaningful and constructive way, that will ultimately inform your own songwriting. Whole books on how to analyse song lyrics have been written, but here, we will summarise the main things to think about when examining lyrical content. Song lyric analysis is something of a dark art in itself.

However, the musicality of a song is only part of the picture, and song lyrics are often the real soul of a track. As musicians, we all recognize musical anchor points – tempo, harmony, melody, instrumentation, etc. Knowing how to analyze song lyrics is complex.

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