The Poetry of Lyrics

The link between song lyrics and poetry has long been established. For as long as I can recall, I have been attracted to songs with strong lyric lines. I listen, I note, and I want to see more, so I go in search of the full lyric. Poetry and song lyrics easily intersect on occasions. Many poems have been transformed, re-imagined as songs. A song is essentially a poem with musical accompaniment.

On occasions, a single line from a song has been enough to inspire me to write a brand-new poem. These forms are like siblings. I love and appreciate the beauty of both. We do well to make it a habit to listen to words possessed with power and beauty. We learn to be more active in our listening, and this serves us well as writers.

While working on a lyric, writers make use of a number of poetic techniques, including rhyme, meter, repetition, alliteration, and assonance or consonance. These literary elements provide the lyric with musical qualities. The more unity the words possess, the easier it will flow and the more it will seem as if it could be set to music.

I have long been a fan of renowned Canadian singer, songwriter, troubadour and poet, Gordon Lightfoot. Here, below, is a fine example of his masterful lyrical talents. For me, it stands up as a poem in every sense. Gordon Lightfoot's musical catalogue is vast. I had so many from which to choose. In the end I selected, 'Christian Island.' because I have always found it, quite simply, a work of great beauty.

I have a long list of great lyricists-too many to list here, whom I admire. I'm sure you to have go-to songwriters whose lyrics cause you to stop and reflect on the beauty created between words and music...

Christian Island

I'm sailing down the summer wind
I've got whiskers on my chin
And I like the mood I'm in
As I while away the time of day
In the lee of Christian Island
Tall and strong, she dips and reels
I call her silver heels
And she tells me how she feels
She's a good old boat and, she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
But for one more day she would like to stay
In the lee of Christian Island
I'm sailing down the summer day
Where the fish and seagulls play
I put my troubles all away
And when the gale comes up I'll fill my cup
With the whiskey of the highlands
She's a good old ship and, she'll make the trip
From the lee of Christian Island
Tall and strong, she slips along
I sing for her a song
And she leans into the wind
She's a good old boat and, she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
When the summer ends, we will rest again
In the lee of Christian Island.

Gordon Lightfoot.

It is once again Poetry Friday! This week our host is Ruth Bowen Hersey who has written a Haibun Poem about an encounter with birds near her new home in Paraguay.

Poetry Inspired by Images and Objects

There are many ways pictures and photographs can be conscripted to support the writing of poetry. Allow me to share a few ideas with you: Old photographs are a great source of inspiration. Cynthia Rylant explored this idea with great success in her book 'Something Permanent' where she employed the Depression era photographs of Walker Evans to add a new voice to the starkness to the lives of people experienced under extreme circumstances. I have used this strategy to spark many individual poems. In ' I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon,' I used a photo I had taken in 2004 while living in New York to inspire a poem. The poem was based on a story related by a friend who grew up in New York. I regularly combined poetry and pictures in my writer's notebook, drawing on inspiration from the photograph and my personal memories. We can also utilize existing cartoons and illustrations to create ekphrastic poems. I frequently use the illustrations of Jim Pavlidis to co...

Opposite Poems

O pp o s ite P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,' Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. N...

Powerful Poetry, 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston

This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Janice Scully @ Salt City Verse where Janice shares some original words and offers us a taste of Thomas Carlyle to ponder. I encourage you to join a host of poets from all around the globe and visit Janice's page... Almost two years to the day, I wrote a post featuring the poem 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston. The poem was included in Brian's first book of poetry, 'You Took The Last Bus Home.' A very powerful Reverso poem and technically brilliant. A Reverso poem can be read from top to bottom or bottom to top. It will often express opposite opinions depending on which way you read it. Such poems really make us think. A Reverso poem is like a picture turned upside down, a frowning face upended to reveal a smiling one. The poem read in reverse, contradicts itself with an opposing message. In 'Refugee' Brian Bilston focuses on a societal issue that tends to polarize feelings and the opposing views are clearly in eviden...

Elisabeth19 March 2022 at 03:15
I've always loved lyrics with strong poetic qualities. Thanks for this sharing this Gorden Lightfoot lyric - I've always thought he was a master storyteller in song - a troubadour of the modern age.
Ruth19 March 2022 at 07:48
"I like the mood I'm in." That's a good place to be.
Mary Lee19 March 2022 at 23:11
That sounds like a little bit of heaven -- to linger in the lee of an island, take a moment of respite, but know you are strong enough to handle whatever comes your way when you sail again.
Linda B20 March 2022 at 03:26
"I put all my troubles away", a good thing to do out sailing, Alan. I saw Gordon Lightfoot many years ago in Kansas City, MO. My husband was a huge fan & managed a rock radio station so we saw many of those who became even greater. When I think of him, I remember "Early morning rain". Yes, songs are poems indeed. Thanks for a special post!
Patricia Franz20 March 2022 at 03:41
I am a Gordon Lightfoot fan -drawn by the stories woven into his songs. Isn't that the best of a written, a spoken, a sung poem? Thank you for lifting up this one!
Sally Murphy20 March 2022 at 17:55
Singing along, Alan. Thanks for your post.

Search This Blog