A Closer Look at Song Lyrics

Poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them. Dennis Gabor
1. Look over the lyrics to the song that you brought in. What do you like about this song?
Why? (circle at least 2)

Word choice
Rhythm/beat
Artists tone his/her
intention for listeners
Metaphors/similes in song
Repetition in song

Mood -- Feelings the song

brings up for you
Instruments
Meaning of the song in your
life
Rhymes in song

Finish this sentence. I like this song because (be sure to include choices from above)
______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
2. Go through the lyrics again and highlight any words that stick out to you as powerful.
After highlighting the words that stick out to you, answer this question.
I think the artist uses the words ________________ and _________________ (pick 2) because
he/she wants the listeners to ________________________________________.
3. Go through the lyrics one more time and annotate (code the text) for what comes to
your mind when you read the lyrics. Answer this question.
When I listen to the song _____________________ it makes me think of/feel________
_______________________________________________________________________.
4. Considering the authors words (tone), and the how you feel in reaction to the song
(mood), what overall message do you think the artist intended with this song?
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.

Hold up, wait a minute

_______________________________________________________________________
4. Now, imagine that you are in a best song competition and it is down to the final
round between you and another student. Give a reason, using evidence and your
thinking above to explain why your song is better than the other students choice. You
must use at least 3 sentences to prove your point.
The song _____________________ by ______________________ is the best because
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

A Closer Look at Song Lyrics

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.

Now You Get to Try!

Guess what I bet you never thought youd have a teacher tell you its okay to bring in
lyrics to one of your favorite songs, huh? So why did we do this? Because song lyrics ARE
poetry!
Last step. Lets take it one step farther though
1. Make sure your name is somewhere on the top of your poem!
2. Take a look at the song before you. What literary elements can you find in this
piece? (Name and identify at least 4 in your song)

Repetiton
Simile
Metaphor
Alliteration
Allusion
Imagery
Rhyme
Onomatopoeia

3. When you find four examples, please highlight and label them on the side of the
poem (do this in pencil or pen, NOT in highlighter!)

A Closer Look at Song Lyrics

Name: _______________

Period: ___________

After taking a closer look at song lyrics

How did your perspective on your favorite song change after taking a closer look at it?
What literary devices did you notice in your song that you didnt notice before?
At first I thought I liked my song because ______________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
but then, after taking a closer look at the lyrics, I realized _________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.