A trailblazing exploration of the poetic power of popular songs, from Tin Pan Alley to the Beatles to Beyoncé and beyond. Encompassing a century of recorded music, this pathbreaking book reveals the poetic artistry of popular songs. Pop songs are music first. They also comprise the most widely disseminated poetic expression of our time. Adam Bradley traces the song lyric across musical genres from early twentieth-century Delta blues to mid-century rock 'n’ roll to today’s hits. George and Ira Gershwin’s “Fascinating Rhythm.” The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” These songs are united in their exacting attention to the craft of language and sound. Bradley shows that pop music is a poetry that must be heard more than read, uncovering the rhythms, rhymes, and metaphors expressed in the singing voice. At once a work of musical interpretation, cultural analysis, literary criticism, and personal storytelling, this book illustrates how words and music come together to produce compelling poetry, often where we least expect it.

Drawing on years of experience as a successful songwriter and an inspirational teacher, Schock covers every aspect involved in making your talents shine. From finding the time to write, to sources of inspiration and how to evaluate criticism, she knows the joys and frustrations of becoming remarkable.

An introduction to poetry geared toward the study of song "Fusing an approach that engages both lyrics and musical content of English-language songs in a wide swath of genres, Lines and Lyrics gives readers the tools and concepts to help them better interpret songs, in an accessible and enjoyable format."--Victoria Malawey, author of A Blaze of Light In Every Word: Analyzing the Popular Singing Voice "I can think of no other book that juxtaposes art song and pop song so effectively, in a way that doesn't privilege one over the other. This is a real achievement, and a must-have for anyone who loves words and songs."--Stephen Rodgers, University of Oregon Bruce Springsteen, Benjamin Britten, Kendrick Lamar, Sylvia Plath, Outkast, and Anne Sexton collide in this inventive study of poetry and song. Drawing on literary poetry, rock, rap, musical theater, and art songs from the Elizabethan period to the present, Matt BaileyShea reveals how every issue in poetry has an important corresponding status in song, but one that is always transformed. Beginning with a discussion of essential features such as diction, meter, and rhyme, the book progresses into the realms of lineation, syntax, form, and address, and culminates in an analysis of two complete songs. Throughout, BaileyShea places classical composers and poets in conversations with contemporary songwriters and musicians (T. S. Eliot and Johnny Cash, Aaron Copland and Pink Floyd) so that readers can make close connections across time, genres, and fields, but also recognize inherent differences. To aid the reader, the author has created a Spotify playlist of all the music discussed in this book and provides time cues throughout, enabling readers to listen to the music as they read.

Often cited as one of the finest contemporary lyricists, singer, songwriter and poet John K. Samson captures the essential images of contemporary life. Whether on the streets of his beloved and bewildering hometown of Winnipeg, an outpost in Antarctica, or a room in an Edward Hopper painting, he finds whimsy and elegance in the everyday, beauty and sorrow in the overlooked. This collection gathers together Samson's writing, starting with his band The Weakerthans' 1997 debut album Fallow, through Left and Leaving, Reconstruction Site, and the award-winning Reunion Tour. It also features lyrics from Samson's newly released solo album, Provincial, and selected poems.

Poets, teachers, and musicologists fusing studies of form, scansion, and musical creation to redefine the place of the American bard

In the generation of singer-songwriters who came to fame in the '60s, none has created a more evocative, bittersweet, literate, and reflective body of work than Joni Mitchell. Today's music owes much to her innovation and inspiration.After displaying a haunting and sophisticated quality in such early albums as Joni Mitchell (1968) and Ladies of the Canyon (1970), Mitchell reached her poetic apotheosis in the surreal and mythical Hejira (1976) and Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977). In more recent works like Night Ride Home (1991) and Turbulent Indigo (1994) her poetic vision continued to sharpen and grow more penetrating.Joni Mitchell: The Complete Poems and Lyrics -- including lyrics from Joni's newest album, Taming the Tiger, newly added to this paperback edition -- gives us the first opportunity to reconsider Mitchell's written work in the broad sweep of its power, honesty, and reflective beauty.

Everything I've ever doneEverything I ever doEvery place I've ever beenEverywhere I'm going toOver a career that spans four decades and thirteen studio albums with Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant has consistently proved himself to be one of the most elegant and stylish of contemporary lyricists. Arranged alphabetically, One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem presents an overview of Neil Tennant's considerable achievement as a chronicler of modern life: the romance, the break-ups, the aspirations, the changing attitudes, the history, the politics, the pain. The landscape of Tennant's lyrics is recognisably British in character - restrained and preoccupied with the mundane, occasionally satirical, yet also yearning for escape and theatrical release. Often surprisingly revealing, this volume is contextualised by a personal commentary on each lyric and a fascinating introduction by the author which gives an insight into the process and genesis of writing. Flamboyant, understated, celebratory and elegiac, Neil Tennant's lyrics are a document of our times.