Orange you gonna find a rhyme for that?
July 20, 2008 10:31 PM Subscribe
Help me find songs that use THE SAME WORD to make a "rhyme".
Songwriters do it from time to time... either they're just too lazy to find a rhyme, or the word they need to rhyme has no rhyme (see: orange) or they lost their rhyming dictionary and are too cheap to spring for a new one. Or, on the brighter side, maybe rhyming the word with itself just, well, worked, somehow. Or maybe it was the only way out, once the songwriter had painted himself into that corner. No matter the reason, I'm interested in this phenomenon, and I hope that if such an example of same-word rhyming in a song comes to mind, you'll kindly post it here. With links, if possible!
To all you folks who'll grace me with an answer,
I'd like to say here: "thank you", in advance
I'll say it once again, so you'll remember,
flapjax at midnite thanks you, in advance.
Songwriters do it from time to time... either they're just too lazy to find a rhyme, or the word they need to rhyme has no rhyme (see: orange) or they lost their rhyming dictionary and are too cheap to spring for a new one. Or, on the brighter side, maybe rhyming the word with itself just, well, worked, somehow. Or maybe it was the only way out, once the songwriter had painted himself into that corner. No matter the reason, I'm interested in this phenomenon, and I hope that if such an example of same-word rhyming in a song comes to mind, you'll kindly post it here. With links, if possible!
To all you folks who'll grace me with an answer,
I'd like to say here: "thank you", in advance
I'll say it once again, so you'll remember,
flapjax at midnite thanks you, in advance.
White Stripes, The Hardest Button to Button
"He started crying
It sounded like an earthquake
It didn't last long
Because I stopped it
I grabbed a rag doll
And stuck some little pins in it"
posted by Weebot at 10:41 PM on July 20, 2008
"He started crying
It sounded like an earthquake
It didn't last long
Because I stopped it
I grabbed a rag doll
And stuck some little pins in it"
posted by Weebot at 10:41 PM on July 20, 2008
50 Cent's "Heat" does this (and it is one of his better lyrics):
When they window roll down and that A.K. come out
You can squeeze ya lil' handgun until you run out
And you can run for your backup
But them machine gun shells gon' tear yo' back up
And if God's on yo' side, shit I'm alright wit that
'Cos we gon' reload them clips and come right back
posted by jozzas at 10:41 PM on July 20, 2008
When they window roll down and that A.K. come out
You can squeeze ya lil' handgun until you run out
And you can run for your backup
But them machine gun shells gon' tear yo' back up
And if God's on yo' side, shit I'm alright wit that
'Cos we gon' reload them clips and come right back
posted by jozzas at 10:41 PM on July 20, 2008
There's a Beastie Boys song where they "rhyme" commotion with commotion I believe. But I cannot remember exactly which one... at any rate, the Beasties do it at least once.
posted by GuyZero at 10:45 PM on July 20, 2008
posted by GuyZero at 10:45 PM on July 20, 2008
Best answer: Sorry, the word was "commercial":
Everybody's Rapping Like It's A Commercial
Actin' Like Life Is A Big Commercial
-- 'Pass The Mic', The Beastie Boys
Allegedly it was an error and the original rhyme would have been 'rehearsal' in the second line but for whatever reason, the song was recorded with the same word twice.
posted by GuyZero at 10:48 PM on July 20, 2008
Everybody's Rapping Like It's A Commercial
Actin' Like Life Is A Big Commercial
-- 'Pass The Mic', The Beastie Boys
Allegedly it was an error and the original rhyme would have been 'rehearsal' in the second line but for whatever reason, the song was recorded with the same word twice.
posted by GuyZero at 10:48 PM on July 20, 2008
Metallica - Through The Never
Come to be, how it begun
All alone in the family of the sun
Curiosity teasing everyone
On our home, third stone from the sun
I love that song, but I always feel a bit cheated when I hit that lyric. . .
posted by sherlockt at 10:49 PM on July 20, 2008
Come to be, how it begun
All alone in the family of the sun
Curiosity teasing everyone
On our home, third stone from the sun
I love that song, but I always feel a bit cheated when I hit that lyric. . .
posted by sherlockt at 10:49 PM on July 20, 2008
"Honey chile, but your kiss
Is sweeter than the cake
That grandma used to make
Oh them sweet little things about ya
Sure enough takes the cake"
- "Honey Chile," Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (which also includes the delightfully awkward): "You ain't nothin' but a playboy/ using me for a play toy/ you're ruinin' my pride and joy".
posted by SoftRain at 10:50 PM on July 20, 2008
Is sweeter than the cake
That grandma used to make
Oh them sweet little things about ya
Sure enough takes the cake"
- "Honey Chile," Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (which also includes the delightfully awkward): "You ain't nothin' but a playboy/ using me for a play toy/ you're ruinin' my pride and joy".
posted by SoftRain at 10:50 PM on July 20, 2008
In "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll", by Bob Dylan:
Hattie Carroll was a maid of the kitchen.
She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children
Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
And never sat once at the head of the table
And didn't even talk to the people at the table
Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level,
posted by bunglin jones at 10:52 PM on July 20, 2008 [1 favorite]
Hattie Carroll was a maid of the kitchen.
She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children
Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
And never sat once at the head of the table
And didn't even talk to the people at the table
Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level,
posted by bunglin jones at 10:52 PM on July 20, 2008 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Great! This is great!
GuyZero, I just marked yours as a "best answer" for 2 reasons. For one thing, the "commercial" rhyme was exactly what I was thinking of when I made this post: I always found that hilarious! Perfect for the Beastie's "dumb" facade/image. The 2nd reason was the backstory, which I'd never heard.
But really, all answers in a thread like this are "best", as long as they're accurate!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:03 PM on July 20, 2008
GuyZero, I just marked yours as a "best answer" for 2 reasons. For one thing, the "commercial" rhyme was exactly what I was thinking of when I made this post: I always found that hilarious! Perfect for the Beastie's "dumb" facade/image. The 2nd reason was the backstory, which I'd never heard.
But really, all answers in a thread like this are "best", as long as they're accurate!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:03 PM on July 20, 2008
This is actually called an "identity rhyme" or just an "identity". It came up in last year's limerick thread.
I found Morrissey's best same-word rhymes. I have tip-of-my-tongue memories of these somewhere in the oeuvres of Bob Dylan, Trent Reznor, and even a pretty famous Tin Pan Alley song, but I can't dredge any of them up at the moment.
posted by dhartung at 11:04 PM on July 20, 2008
I found Morrissey's best same-word rhymes. I have tip-of-my-tongue memories of these somewhere in the oeuvres of Bob Dylan, Trent Reznor, and even a pretty famous Tin Pan Alley song, but I can't dredge any of them up at the moment.
posted by dhartung at 11:04 PM on July 20, 2008
Kinda: Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night
Wouldn't you love to love her
Takes to the sky like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover
I always thought that was lazy songwriting there.
posted by Savannah at 11:10 PM on July 20, 2008
Wouldn't you love to love her
Takes to the sky like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover
I always thought that was lazy songwriting there.
posted by Savannah at 11:10 PM on July 20, 2008
Related: kind of a variant phenomenon, when the rhymed word is punning on the first one, so it's clever, not careless. This example came up on my shuffle just a minute ago, but I think this kind of thing is fairly common in hip hop:
I watch CBS
And I See B.S.
-"Sly Fox," Nas
posted by SoftRain at 11:15 PM on July 20, 2008
I watch CBS
And I See B.S.
-"Sly Fox," Nas
posted by SoftRain at 11:15 PM on July 20, 2008
I have it on good authority that Cam'ron is known for this. Unfortunately I don't know enough about his music to point you to the right songs, but this search suggests that his album Purple Haze features a lot of it.
posted by kidbritish at 11:16 PM on July 20, 2008
posted by kidbritish at 11:16 PM on July 20, 2008
Not really a song, but the sestina is a form of poetry that relies on re-using the same words to end lines.
Kipling: Sestina of the Tramp-Royal:
Speakin' in general, I 'ave tried 'em all,
The 'appy roads that take you o'er the world.
Speakin' in general, I 'ave found them good
For such as cannot use one bed too long,
But must get 'ence, the same as I 'ave done,
An' go observin' matters till they die.
What do it matter where or 'ow we die,
So long as we've our 'ealth to watch it all --
The different ways that different things are done,
An' men an' women lovin' in this world --
Takin' our chances as they come along,
An' when they ain't, pretendin' they are good?
In cash or credit -- no, it aren't no good;
You 'ave to 'ave the 'abit or you'd die,
Unless you lived your life but one day long,
Nor didn't prophesy nor fret at all,
But drew your tucker some'ow from the world,
An' never bothered what you might ha' done.
But, Gawd, what things are they I 'aven't done?
I've turned my 'and to most, an' turned it good,
In various situations round the world --
For 'im that doth not work must surely die;
But that's no reason man should labour all
'Is life on one same shift; life's none so long.
Therefore, from job to job I've moved along.
Pay couldn't 'old me when my time was done,
For something in my 'ead upset me all,
Till I 'ad dropped whatever 'twas for good,
An', out at sea, be'eld the dock-lights die,
An' met my mate -- the wind that tramps the world!
It's like a book, I think, this bloomin' world,
Which you can read and care for just so long,
But presently you feel that you will die
Unless you get the page you're readin' done,
An' turn another -- likely not so good;
But what you're after is to turn 'em all.
Gawd bless this world! Whatever she 'ath done --
Excep' when awful long -- I've found it good.
So write, before I die, "'E liked it all!"
posted by TheophileEscargot at 11:16 PM on July 20, 2008
Kipling: Sestina of the Tramp-Royal:
Speakin' in general, I 'ave tried 'em all,
The 'appy roads that take you o'er the world.
Speakin' in general, I 'ave found them good
For such as cannot use one bed too long,
But must get 'ence, the same as I 'ave done,
An' go observin' matters till they die.
What do it matter where or 'ow we die,
So long as we've our 'ealth to watch it all --
The different ways that different things are done,
An' men an' women lovin' in this world --
Takin' our chances as they come along,
An' when they ain't, pretendin' they are good?
In cash or credit -- no, it aren't no good;
You 'ave to 'ave the 'abit or you'd die,
Unless you lived your life but one day long,
Nor didn't prophesy nor fret at all,
But drew your tucker some'ow from the world,
An' never bothered what you might ha' done.
But, Gawd, what things are they I 'aven't done?
I've turned my 'and to most, an' turned it good,
In various situations round the world --
For 'im that doth not work must surely die;
But that's no reason man should labour all
'Is life on one same shift; life's none so long.
Therefore, from job to job I've moved along.
Pay couldn't 'old me when my time was done,
For something in my 'ead upset me all,
Till I 'ad dropped whatever 'twas for good,
An', out at sea, be'eld the dock-lights die,
An' met my mate -- the wind that tramps the world!
It's like a book, I think, this bloomin' world,
Which you can read and care for just so long,
But presently you feel that you will die
Unless you get the page you're readin' done,
An' turn another -- likely not so good;
But what you're after is to turn 'em all.
Gawd bless this world! Whatever she 'ath done --
Excep' when awful long -- I've found it good.
So write, before I die, "'E liked it all!"
posted by TheophileEscargot at 11:16 PM on July 20, 2008
My favorite example: in Deep Purple's "Highway Star" they rhyme everything with everything...four times.
...
Oooh it's a killing machine
It's got everything
Like a driving power, big fat tyres,
and everything
...
Oooh she's a killing machine
She's got everything
Like a moving mouth, body control,
and everything
...
Oooh I'm in heaven again
I've got everything
Like a moving ground, an open road,
and everything
...
Oooh it's a killing machine
It's got everything
Like a driving power, big fat tyres,
and everything
posted by The Tensor at 11:40 PM on July 20, 2008
...
Oooh it's a killing machine
It's got everything
Like a driving power, big fat tyres,
and everything
...
Oooh she's a killing machine
She's got everything
Like a moving mouth, body control,
and everything
...
Oooh I'm in heaven again
I've got everything
Like a moving ground, an open road,
and everything
...
Oooh it's a killing machine
It's got everything
Like a driving power, big fat tyres,
and everything
posted by The Tensor at 11:40 PM on July 20, 2008
Here we are now, going to the north side
I look at my friends as they start to ride
Ride at night, we ride all day
Looking out for a sunny day
—Moby, "South Side"
posted by wanderingmind at 11:42 PM on July 20, 2008
I look at my friends as they start to ride
Ride at night, we ride all day
Looking out for a sunny day
—Moby, "South Side"
posted by wanderingmind at 11:42 PM on July 20, 2008
Hi! My name is.. (what?)
My name is.. (who?)
My name is.. [scratches]
Slim Shady
Hi! My name is.. (huh?)
My name is.. (what?)
My name is.. [scratches]
Slim Shady
Eminem, "My Name Is"
posted by Mike1024 at 11:58 PM on July 20, 2008
My name is.. (who?)
My name is.. [scratches]
Slim Shady
Hi! My name is.. (huh?)
My name is.. (what?)
My name is.. [scratches]
Slim Shady
Eminem, "My Name Is"
posted by Mike1024 at 11:58 PM on July 20, 2008
I feel, like you don't want me around
I guess I'll pack all my things, I guess I'll see you around
"Always", by Saliva
posted by potch at 12:04 AM on July 21, 2008
I guess I'll pack all my things, I guess I'll see you around
"Always", by Saliva
posted by potch at 12:04 AM on July 21, 2008
Daniel Johhston - "Story of an Artist"
They sit in front of their TV
Saying, "Hey! This is fun!"
And they laugh at the artist
Saying, "He doesn't know how to have fun."
Extra charming for the messed-up meter. I watched M. Ward sing it at Pitchfork today and got all choked up.
posted by hydrophonic at 12:09 AM on July 21, 2008
They sit in front of their TV
Saying, "Hey! This is fun!"
And they laugh at the artist
Saying, "He doesn't know how to have fun."
Extra charming for the messed-up meter. I watched M. Ward sing it at Pitchfork today and got all choked up.
posted by hydrophonic at 12:09 AM on July 21, 2008
Avril Lavigne pissed me off mightily for this by rhyming "dead" with "dead" -
"Let's talk this over, it's not like we're dead
Was it something I did? Was it something I said?
Don't leave me hanging, in a city so dead..."
Seriously some of the laziest songwriting it's been my misfortune to hear...and, ironically enough, the song's called My Happy Ending. You know what endings aren't happy? The endings of your lyric lines! Because you can't find a third word that rhymes with dead!
posted by ilana at 12:16 AM on July 21, 2008
"Let's talk this over, it's not like we're dead
Was it something I did? Was it something I said?
Don't leave me hanging, in a city so dead..."
Seriously some of the laziest songwriting it's been my misfortune to hear...and, ironically enough, the song's called My Happy Ending. You know what endings aren't happy? The endings of your lyric lines! Because you can't find a third word that rhymes with dead!
posted by ilana at 12:16 AM on July 21, 2008
Response by poster: That's an interesting comment, SoftRain. Here's something similar that comes to mind, from Public Enemy's Chuck D:
You C.I.A
You see I ain't kidding!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:42 AM on July 21, 2008
You C.I.A
You see I ain't kidding!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:42 AM on July 21, 2008
I don't know if this fits your template, but the most mindboggling one I've heard is in "The End is the Beginning is the End" by the Smashing Pumpkins, now stuck in my head thanks to that blasted Watchmen trailer:
"and now I'm with you now"
Same-word rhyme in the same line. I guess this isn't entirely unexpected, considering the song also contains the tragically unfortunate phrase "the guns of love disastrous."
posted by chrominance at 1:15 AM on July 21, 2008
"and now I'm with you now"
Same-word rhyme in the same line. I guess this isn't entirely unexpected, considering the song also contains the tragically unfortunate phrase "the guns of love disastrous."
posted by chrominance at 1:15 AM on July 21, 2008
Phil Collins in Groovy Kind of Love:
When I'm feeling blue
All I have to do
Is take a look at you
Then I'm not so blue
In the song Beers, New Zealand band Deja Voodoo have this meta take on rhyming:
I like songs that always rhyme
That's why I made this one rhyme
posted by meech at 1:44 AM on July 21, 2008 [2 favorites]
When I'm feeling blue
All I have to do
Is take a look at you
Then I'm not so blue
In the song Beers, New Zealand band Deja Voodoo have this meta take on rhyming:
I like songs that always rhyme
That's why I made this one rhyme
posted by meech at 1:44 AM on July 21, 2008 [2 favorites]
Fortunately for Phil, he didn't write that song.
NORE has an amazingy bad track featuring Akinyele and Heather Hunter entitled Big Dicks. Lyrics here and that is entirely NSFW.
posted by mkb at 4:32 AM on July 21, 2008
NORE has an amazingy bad track featuring Akinyele and Heather Hunter entitled Big Dicks. Lyrics here and that is entirely NSFW.
posted by mkb at 4:32 AM on July 21, 2008
James McMurtry - Choctaw Bingo
Strap them kids in and
Give em a lil bit of vodka
in a cherry Coke
were going to Oklahoma
to the family reunion
for the first time in years
it's up at Uncle Slaton's
'cause he's gettin' on in years
posted by pieoverdone at 5:07 AM on July 21, 2008
Strap them kids in and
Give em a lil bit of vodka
in a cherry Coke
were going to Oklahoma
to the family reunion
for the first time in years
it's up at Uncle Slaton's
'cause he's gettin' on in years
posted by pieoverdone at 5:07 AM on July 21, 2008
Even one of the greatest songs of all time is guilty of this:
Hey Jude
Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Although, the rhyming patterns there are strange, rhyming "heart" with "start." So you could argue that they weren't really trying to rhyme better with better.
posted by lunasol at 5:38 AM on July 21, 2008
Hey Jude
Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Although, the rhyming patterns there are strange, rhyming "heart" with "start." So you could argue that they weren't really trying to rhyme better with better.
posted by lunasol at 5:38 AM on July 21, 2008
I always think of this when I hear a song with the same word making up both parts of a rhyme:
You do what you gotta do. We got in my truck and smoked a joint as we drove across town to the cancer center. On the radio Fred Durst was shouting,posted by MarkAnd at 5:40 AM on July 21, 2008Now I know you be lovin' this shit right here!"Now that's some lyrical genius," I said, passing the joint to her. "Not many artists realize that words rhyme with themselves. Y'know? Any time you're stuck for a rhyme, you can just use the same word twice: it always works. Bon Jovi does that shit too."
L. I. M. P. Bizkit is right here!
"Bon Jovi played on behalf of Al Gore last night in Miami," she told me.
At that moment I hated Al Gore.
I know a room full of musical tunes.
Some rhyme, some ching, most of them are clockwork.
Let's go into the other room and make them work.
from Bike by Pink Floyd.
posted by misteraitch at 5:40 AM on July 21, 2008
Some rhyme, some ching, most of them are clockwork.
Let's go into the other room and make them work.
from Bike by Pink Floyd.
posted by misteraitch at 5:40 AM on July 21, 2008
Not quite, but close to your theme
Kids Song, Moxy Fruvous:
My name is Gabby and I just got here from Chile
I like Canada, except that it is chilly
I met premiere Bob Ray
And he ain't not Pinochet
My mother makes a spice bowl of chili--3 RHYMES! (spoken response: grrrr!)
posted by plinth at 5:53 AM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
Kids Song, Moxy Fruvous:
My name is Gabby and I just got here from Chile
I like Canada, except that it is chilly
I met premiere Bob Ray
And he ain't not Pinochet
My mother makes a spice bowl of chili--3 RHYMES! (spoken response: grrrr!)
posted by plinth at 5:53 AM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
They call me Mr. Knowitall
I am so eloquent.
Perfection is my middle name
And whatever rhymes with eloquent.
Primus - Mr. Know-it-all
posted by bondcliff at 6:19 AM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
I am so eloquent.
Perfection is my middle name
And whatever rhymes with eloquent.
Primus - Mr. Know-it-all
posted by bondcliff at 6:19 AM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There is a Mexican pop ballad from the 70s that famously does this. The anecdote behind it is that the lyrics were written by a famous poet (Renato Leduc) who had some sort of challenge with some friends, under which one would give a word to the others and they had to come up with a poem in less than a minute.
That day he lost because the word they gave him was Tiempo, "time" in Spanish, which has no word in Spanish that rhymes with it (in consonance).
He was so put off by the way they made him look like a fool (his words), that he wrote a poem where he rhymed Tiempo to Tiempo in every line:
Sabia virtud de conocer el tiempo;
a tiempo amar y desatarse a tiempo;
como dice el refrán: dar tiempo al tiempo...
que de amor y dolor alivia el tiempo.
Aquel amor a quien amé a destiempo
martirizóme tanto y tanto tiempo
que no sentí jamás correr el tiempo,
tan acremente como en ese tiempo.
Amar queriendo como en otro tiempo
-ignoraba yo aún que el tiempo es oro-
cuánto tiempo perdí -ay- cuánto tiempo.
Y hoy que de amores ya no tengo tiempo,
amor de aquellos tiempos, cómo añoro
la dicha inicua de perder el tiempo...
it was later made into a very cheesy song and it became quite famous.
posted by micayetoca at 6:42 AM on July 21, 2008
That day he lost because the word they gave him was Tiempo, "time" in Spanish, which has no word in Spanish that rhymes with it (in consonance).
He was so put off by the way they made him look like a fool (his words), that he wrote a poem where he rhymed Tiempo to Tiempo in every line:
Sabia virtud de conocer el tiempo;
a tiempo amar y desatarse a tiempo;
como dice el refrán: dar tiempo al tiempo...
que de amor y dolor alivia el tiempo.
Aquel amor a quien amé a destiempo
martirizóme tanto y tanto tiempo
que no sentí jamás correr el tiempo,
tan acremente como en ese tiempo.
Amar queriendo como en otro tiempo
-ignoraba yo aún que el tiempo es oro-
cuánto tiempo perdí -ay- cuánto tiempo.
Y hoy que de amores ya no tengo tiempo,
amor de aquellos tiempos, cómo añoro
la dicha inicua de perder el tiempo...
it was later made into a very cheesy song and it became quite famous.
posted by micayetoca at 6:42 AM on July 21, 2008
One of my favorites is the Lonely Island's "Ka-Blamo". Granted, they're a comedy group and they're trying to be funny, but it still fits your pattern
from the third verse, when they're describing terrible things that could happen to you:
When you're mining for coal and you forget what coal is
And you're sure to be fired because that's your job
When the mole's in your ass and you don't know where the mole is
You're screwed, man, there's a mole in your ass. JOB!
posted by ckolderup at 6:44 AM on July 21, 2008
from the third verse, when they're describing terrible things that could happen to you:
When you're mining for coal and you forget what coal is
And you're sure to be fired because that's your job
When the mole's in your ass and you don't know where the mole is
You're screwed, man, there's a mole in your ass. JOB!
posted by ckolderup at 6:44 AM on July 21, 2008
Last week I was first subjected to Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" on the radio, and this absolutely made me cringe:
Well we were tryin' different things
And we were smokin' funny things
Makin' love out by the lake to our favorite song
Who can't come up with a rhyme for "things"?!? Seriously.
posted by vytae at 6:53 AM on July 21, 2008
Well we were tryin' different things
And we were smokin' funny things
Makin' love out by the lake to our favorite song
Who can't come up with a rhyme for "things"?!? Seriously.
posted by vytae at 6:53 AM on July 21, 2008
In heaven there is no beer
That's why we drink it here
And when we're gone from here
All our friends will be drinking all the beer
In Heaven there is no Beer - Clean living
It's kind of an identity rhyme palindrome.
posted by owtytrof at 7:06 AM on July 21, 2008
That's why we drink it here
And when we're gone from here
All our friends will be drinking all the beer
In Heaven there is no Beer - Clean living
It's kind of an identity rhyme palindrome.
posted by owtytrof at 7:06 AM on July 21, 2008
I always thought this was the most dismal ending to an otherwise catchy hit song:
Sheryl Crow
"Soak Up the Sun"
I'm gonna soak up the sun
Got my 45 on
So I can rock on
Doh!
posted by pipco at 7:36 AM on July 21, 2008
Sheryl Crow
"Soak Up the Sun"
I'm gonna soak up the sun
Got my 45 on
So I can rock on
Doh!
posted by pipco at 7:36 AM on July 21, 2008
From this online prosody guide, I found that the term for it is an "identity rhyme"
Identity rhyme is simply the phonetic identity of two words. They can have the same spelling as well, but it is not required: for example, 'bat' as an animal and 'bat' as a club is an acceptable couple, as is 'all' and 'awl' or 'talk' and 'torque' and so forth; in poetry this sort of rhyme is often obtained by combination of two words, as in 'thinking' and 'th'inking', and Petrarca fairly often irks his readers with the 'l'aura' (th'air) 'Laura' (his mistress) match.
This device is often called 'rime riche' by Anglo-Saxon prosodists which, though, make quite a mess of its definition.
Of course, identity rhyme can be the most banal of devices, when the words concluding the two rhyming lines have the same sound, spelling and meaning; otherwise, it is an extremely refined, rare and difficult technique. Couples of words with the exact same sound but different meanings are called 'ambiguous rhymes'.
As identity rhyme conveys an idea of stillness bordering on obsession, its main use is in sextains, and examples of it are to be sought there; occasionally, though, examples of it are found in simple couplets: in Racine's 'Phèdre', Aricia, in love with Hyppolitus, who is in turn coveted by his own stepmother, blurts out:
Tu vois depuis quel temps il évite nos pas,
Et cherche tous les lieux où nous ne sommes pas.
(vv. 621-622)
Likewise the chorus in Eliot's 'Murder in the Cathedral' often refers to the immobility of destiny by this couplet:
That the wheel may turn and still
be forever still
Entire poems written in identity rhymes exist in archaic Italian poetry; the most notorious (and perhaps most successful) example is Guittone d'Arezzo's 'Tuttor, s'eo veglio o dormo', an amazing work composed of 36 ambiguous couplets, which are far more diffcult to contrive in Italian than they are in French or English. The poem starts:
Tuttor, s'eo veglio o dormo, [I sleep]
di lei pensar non campo, [I live]
ch' Amor en cor m'atacca. [attacks]
E tal voler ho d'òr mo, [gold, now]
com' di sappar in campo [field]
o di creder a tacca. [with a tag]
E bon sapemi, como [how]
eo n'acquistasse Como; [Como, a city]
ma' che diritto n'ò, [I have]
perch'eo non dico no [no]
di lei servir mai dì, [any day]
dica chi vol: 'Maidì!' [so help me god!]
(the square brackets contain the translation of the rhyming endings).
Anyway, that's what I dug up; hope this helps. (Every example of lyrics that I could think of, when I googled it, I found that I had misremembered the words. This has led to many happy discoveries in life. Thanks, faulty memory!)
posted by not_on_display at 7:54 AM on July 21, 2008
Identity rhyme is simply the phonetic identity of two words. They can have the same spelling as well, but it is not required: for example, 'bat' as an animal and 'bat' as a club is an acceptable couple, as is 'all' and 'awl' or 'talk' and 'torque' and so forth; in poetry this sort of rhyme is often obtained by combination of two words, as in 'thinking' and 'th'inking', and Petrarca fairly often irks his readers with the 'l'aura' (th'air) 'Laura' (his mistress) match.
This device is often called 'rime riche' by Anglo-Saxon prosodists which, though, make quite a mess of its definition.
Of course, identity rhyme can be the most banal of devices, when the words concluding the two rhyming lines have the same sound, spelling and meaning; otherwise, it is an extremely refined, rare and difficult technique. Couples of words with the exact same sound but different meanings are called 'ambiguous rhymes'.
As identity rhyme conveys an idea of stillness bordering on obsession, its main use is in sextains, and examples of it are to be sought there; occasionally, though, examples of it are found in simple couplets: in Racine's 'Phèdre', Aricia, in love with Hyppolitus, who is in turn coveted by his own stepmother, blurts out:
Tu vois depuis quel temps il évite nos pas,
Et cherche tous les lieux où nous ne sommes pas.
(vv. 621-622)
Likewise the chorus in Eliot's 'Murder in the Cathedral' often refers to the immobility of destiny by this couplet:
That the wheel may turn and still
be forever still
Entire poems written in identity rhymes exist in archaic Italian poetry; the most notorious (and perhaps most successful) example is Guittone d'Arezzo's 'Tuttor, s'eo veglio o dormo', an amazing work composed of 36 ambiguous couplets, which are far more diffcult to contrive in Italian than they are in French or English. The poem starts:
Tuttor, s'eo veglio o dormo, [I sleep]
di lei pensar non campo, [I live]
ch' Amor en cor m'atacca. [attacks]
E tal voler ho d'òr mo, [gold, now]
com' di sappar in campo [field]
o di creder a tacca. [with a tag]
E bon sapemi, como [how]
eo n'acquistasse Como; [Como, a city]
ma' che diritto n'ò, [I have]
perch'eo non dico no [no]
di lei servir mai dì, [any day]
dica chi vol: 'Maidì!' [so help me god!]
(the square brackets contain the translation of the rhyming endings).
Anyway, that's what I dug up; hope this helps. (Every example of lyrics that I could think of, when I googled it, I found that I had misremembered the words. This has led to many happy discoveries in life. Thanks, faulty memory!)
posted by not_on_display at 7:54 AM on July 21, 2008
'Two Nations' by The Streets:
...but we love Biggy, Johnny Cash and Stevie Wonder
It's no biggy we got no cash and its no wonder...
posted by o0dano0o at 7:59 AM on July 21, 2008
...but we love Biggy, Johnny Cash and Stevie Wonder
It's no biggy we got no cash and its no wonder...
posted by o0dano0o at 7:59 AM on July 21, 2008
I automatically thought of that Eminem song, "The Way I Am," which used to anger me greatly when it was on the radio.
Chorus:
And I am, whatever you say I am
If I wasn't, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news everyday I am
Radio won't even play my jam
Cause I am, whatever you say I am
If I wasn't, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news everyday I am
I don't know it's just the way I am
It just seems so ridiculous because SO MANY words rhyme with "am."
posted by rebel_rebel at 8:29 AM on July 21, 2008
Chorus:
And I am, whatever you say I am
If I wasn't, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news everyday I am
Radio won't even play my jam
Cause I am, whatever you say I am
If I wasn't, then why would I say I am?
In the paper, the news everyday I am
I don't know it's just the way I am
It just seems so ridiculous because SO MANY words rhyme with "am."
posted by rebel_rebel at 8:29 AM on July 21, 2008
In Living Color's spoof of "Ice Ice Baby":
(What's your name?)
Robert van Winkle.
(Why'd you change it?)
Nothin' rhymes with Winkle.
posted by bjrubble at 9:26 AM on July 21, 2008
(What's your name?)
Robert van Winkle.
(Why'd you change it?)
Nothin' rhymes with Winkle.
posted by bjrubble at 9:26 AM on July 21, 2008
I've always thought that Wiley was the king of this. Whole songs just rhyme the same word with itself.
Check out, for example, some lyrics from "Pies."
posted by atomly at 9:43 AM on July 21, 2008
Check out, for example, some lyrics from "Pies."
posted by atomly at 9:43 AM on July 21, 2008
Howdy - how about this, from Products by Sway:
From the big big big big smoke to the big big big big apple,
Whether you drink drink drink drink coke or sip sip sip sip Snapple,
From capital to capital - I'm trying to get that capital,
Until my name’s up in bright lights and capitals...
He's rhymed "capital" with itself but used 3 different meanings! *gunfingers* Brrraaaap!!!!
posted by laumry at 9:43 AM on July 21, 2008
From the big big big big smoke to the big big big big apple,
Whether you drink drink drink drink coke or sip sip sip sip Snapple,
From capital to capital - I'm trying to get that capital,
Until my name’s up in bright lights and capitals...
He's rhymed "capital" with itself but used 3 different meanings! *gunfingers* Brrraaaap!!!!
posted by laumry at 9:43 AM on July 21, 2008
Do It by the Beastie Boys does this repeatedly:
"Step Inside The Mother Fucker And I Get My Flow On
Amalgamating Styles So I've Got Something To Grow On
Season's Change When It Comes Their Time
Falls Brings The Winter And On Back To Springtime"
"Well, My Mother Was Born Out In Coney Island
Raised On The L.E.S. Manhatten Island"
posted by roofus at 9:51 AM on July 21, 2008
"Step Inside The Mother Fucker And I Get My Flow On
Amalgamating Styles So I've Got Something To Grow On
Season's Change When It Comes Their Time
Falls Brings The Winter And On Back To Springtime"
"Well, My Mother Was Born Out In Coney Island
Raised On The L.E.S. Manhatten Island"
posted by roofus at 9:51 AM on July 21, 2008
Rock and Roll, by the Velvet Underground:
Jenny said when she was just five years old
There was nothin' happenin' at all
Every time she puts on a radio
There was nothin' goin' down at all,
Not at all
Then one fine mornin' she puts on a New York station
You know, she don't believe what she heard at all
She started shakin' to that fine fine music
You know her life was saved by rock 'n' roll
Despite all the amputations you know you could just go out
And dance to the rock 'n' roll station
The technique contrasts nicely with the unusual rhyme of "amputations" and "station" at the end of the verse.
posted by A Long and Troublesome Lameness at 10:33 AM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
Jenny said when she was just five years old
There was nothin' happenin' at all
Every time she puts on a radio
There was nothin' goin' down at all,
Not at all
Then one fine mornin' she puts on a New York station
You know, she don't believe what she heard at all
She started shakin' to that fine fine music
You know her life was saved by rock 'n' roll
Despite all the amputations you know you could just go out
And dance to the rock 'n' roll station
The technique contrasts nicely with the unusual rhyme of "amputations" and "station" at the end of the verse.
posted by A Long and Troublesome Lameness at 10:33 AM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
Another hiphop example: Rick Ross, "Hustlin'"
I'm into distribution, I'm like Atlantic/
I've got them motherfuckers flying cross the Atlantic
Of course, you can make a case that since Atlantic is being used in a different sense between the first and second use, that it doesn't count, but even in the song it sounds pretty lame.
posted by Oobidaius at 11:08 AM on July 21, 2008
I'm into distribution, I'm like Atlantic/
I've got them motherfuckers flying cross the Atlantic
Of course, you can make a case that since Atlantic is being used in a different sense between the first and second use, that it doesn't count, but even in the song it sounds pretty lame.
posted by Oobidaius at 11:08 AM on July 21, 2008
FWIW, "orange" does have a rhyme.
And, no, not for less than $25 paypal. Or an equally good trivium.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:23 AM on July 21, 2008
And, no, not for less than $25 paypal. Or an equally good trivium.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:23 AM on July 21, 2008
Wish I could be more exact, but the Black Eyed Peas did this during some terrible performance at the Grammy's (or some major awards show). They rhymed indicted with indicted. As in "Michael Jackson got indicted, but [so-and-so] did not get indicted."
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 12:04 PM on July 21, 2008
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 12:04 PM on July 21, 2008
My usual vote for worst lyrics of all time, by Steve Miller (punctuation mine):
Abra, abracadabra
I'm gonna reach out and grab ya
Abra, abracadabra
...abracadabra?
posted by dfan at 1:56 PM on July 21, 2008
Abra, abracadabra
I'm gonna reach out and grab ya
Abra, abracadabra
...abracadabra?
posted by dfan at 1:56 PM on July 21, 2008
Artist: Cannibal Ox. Album: The Cold Vein. Song: Raspberry Fields.
Vast Aire rhymes the same word, and then points it out. FYI, the production on this album was by El-P, who was the subject of a recent FPP.
Relevant passage:
...The sample's the flesh and the beat's the skeleton.
You got beef but there's worms in your wellington.
I'll put a hole in your skull and extract the skeleton.
Oh my god....he said a word twice...
Vast Aire, I'm twice as nice...
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2008
Vast Aire rhymes the same word, and then points it out. FYI, the production on this album was by El-P, who was the subject of a recent FPP.
Relevant passage:
...The sample's the flesh and the beat's the skeleton.
You got beef but there's worms in your wellington.
I'll put a hole in your skull and extract the skeleton.
Oh my god....he said a word twice...
Vast Aire, I'm twice as nice...
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2008
"Sensitive To Bees" from Homestar Runner does this and makes fun of it simultaneously. Strongbad is commenting on Marzipan's song throughout.
M: Have you ever walked outside
M: And noticed that they're really cute?
M: They like to fly around and eat your fruit.
S: Oh, fruit and cute, good rhyme!
M: But it's okay because they're cute.
S: Oh, cute and cute, that's even more advanced!
M: Yeah, it's okay because they're cute.
S: Cute, cute and cute. You're the poet laureate!
posted by papayaninja at 2:23 PM on July 21, 2008
M: Have you ever walked outside
M: And noticed that they're really cute?
M: They like to fly around and eat your fruit.
S: Oh, fruit and cute, good rhyme!
M: But it's okay because they're cute.
S: Oh, cute and cute, that's even more advanced!
M: Yeah, it's okay because they're cute.
S: Cute, cute and cute. You're the poet laureate!
posted by papayaninja at 2:23 PM on July 21, 2008
A Canadian band called TAS 1000 rhymed "um" with "um" using two different samples from an answering machine message. Thus:
UMMMMM
ummmmm
UMMMMM
ummmmm
-TAS 1000
posted by Beardman at 2:40 PM on July 21, 2008
UMMMMM
ummmmm
UMMMMM
ummmmm
-TAS 1000
posted by Beardman at 2:40 PM on July 21, 2008
Therapy?, song "Screamager" -
Screw that
Forget about that
I don't want to think about anything like that
The Doors:
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:30 PM on July 21, 2008
Screw that
Forget about that
I don't want to think about anything like that
The Doors:
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:30 PM on July 21, 2008
Just for the record, Tom Lehrer did find a rhyme for orange:
Eating an orangeposted by tepidmonkey at 5:06 PM on July 21, 2008 [2 favorites]
While making love
Provides for bizarre enj-
oyment thereof
"door hinge" is also a reasonable rhyme for orange. Especially if you drop the "h".
But nothing rhymes with Saskatchewan.
posted by GuyZero at 5:25 PM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
But nothing rhymes with Saskatchewan.
posted by GuyZero at 5:25 PM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite]
Do homonyms count?
Barenaked Ladies' "One Week":
Hot like wasabe when I bust rhymes,
Big like LeAnn Rimes
posted by shannonm at 3:08 PM on July 22, 2008
Barenaked Ladies' "One Week":
Hot like wasabe when I bust rhymes,
Big like LeAnn Rimes
posted by shannonm at 3:08 PM on July 22, 2008
Tori Amos, Silent All These Years
So you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts
Whats so amazing about really deep thoughts
Not just one word.
posted by Four Flavors at 3:28 PM on July 22, 2008
So you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts
Whats so amazing about really deep thoughts
Not just one word.
posted by Four Flavors at 3:28 PM on July 22, 2008
There's also Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play":
There is no other day
Lets try it another way
Youll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See emily play
posted by micayetoca at 2:39 AM on July 23, 2008
There is no other day
Lets try it another way
Youll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See emily play
posted by micayetoca at 2:39 AM on July 23, 2008
Husker Du's Celebrated Summer:
I guess I'd better think up a way to spend my time
Just when I'm ready to sit inside, it's summer time
Should I go swimming or get a friend to hang around
It's back to summer, back to basics, hang around
posted by AJaffe at 8:15 AM on July 23, 2008
I guess I'd better think up a way to spend my time
Just when I'm ready to sit inside, it's summer time
Should I go swimming or get a friend to hang around
It's back to summer, back to basics, hang around
posted by AJaffe at 8:15 AM on July 23, 2008
I just heard another! ODB's verse in that Pras/Mya 'Ghetto Superstar' song from Bulworth.
I find myself wandering the streets/
Tryin' to find what's really goin' on in the streets
As I think about it, it seems like ODB has a lot of these. One more, an immortal couplet from 'Got Your Money':
I don't have no trouble with you fuckin' me/
But I have a little problem with you not fuckin' me.
posted by box at 6:45 PM on July 23, 2008
I find myself wandering the streets/
Tryin' to find what's really goin' on in the streets
As I think about it, it seems like ODB has a lot of these. One more, an immortal couplet from 'Got Your Money':
I don't have no trouble with you fuckin' me/
But I have a little problem with you not fuckin' me.
posted by box at 6:45 PM on July 23, 2008
Hazel Sister, "It's Hard to Say":
It's hard to say what it is,
I see in you.
Wonder if i'll always be with you.
Words can't say it,
I can't do,
Enough to prove,
It's all for you.
posted by billtron at 9:29 AM on July 24, 2008
It's hard to say what it is,
I see in you.
Wonder if i'll always be with you.
Words can't say it,
I can't do,
Enough to prove,
It's all for you.
posted by billtron at 9:29 AM on July 24, 2008
They Might Be Giants has a kids song called "The Alphabet Lost and Found" that makes heavy use of rhyming words with the last half of the same word.
There was an apple that lost his 'a'
There was a zebra that lost his 'z'
There was a chauffeur that left his 'auffeur' on the dashboard
Of the car that lost its 'ar'
Well, the car had lost its 'ar' in a pothole
On a street that lost its 'eet'
When the garbage collector with a missing 'ector' swept it up
With a broom that lost its 'oom'
My sister thinks it's lazy, I thought it was creative. Either way, it's a really catchy song.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 6:58 AM on July 27, 2008
There was an apple that lost his 'a'
There was a zebra that lost his 'z'
There was a chauffeur that left his 'auffeur' on the dashboard
Of the car that lost its 'ar'
Well, the car had lost its 'ar' in a pothole
On a street that lost its 'eet'
When the garbage collector with a missing 'ector' swept it up
With a broom that lost its 'oom'
My sister thinks it's lazy, I thought it was creative. Either way, it's a really catchy song.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 6:58 AM on July 27, 2008
camper van beethoven:
take the skinheads bowling
take them bowling
posted by snofoam at 9:07 PM on July 27, 2008
take the skinheads bowling
take them bowling
posted by snofoam at 9:07 PM on July 27, 2008
DJ Format featuring Abdominal & D-Sisive (previously here and here). The track is called '3 Feet Deep'. The video is definitely worth a watch. Apologies for my late entry to the show.
The offending line:
And I could win a mic fight
By using the same line twice,
Ripping me is like a mic fight
posted by disorder at 2:54 AM on August 2, 2008
The offending line:
And I could win a mic fight
By using the same line twice,
Ripping me is like a mic fight
posted by disorder at 2:54 AM on August 2, 2008
Response by poster: Mona Lisa:
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile,
Is it only cause you're lonely
They have blamed you?
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:10 PM on August 20, 2008
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile,
Is it only cause you're lonely
They have blamed you?
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:10 PM on August 20, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
even when she was giving head"
-Lou reed, "take a walk on the wild side"
"generals gathered in their masses/
just like witches at black masses"
-Black sabbath, "War Pigs"
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:38 PM on July 20, 2008