TIPS ON HOW TO ANALYZE THE LYRICS OF SONGS

1)      Listen to the song for the first time with the lyrics in front of you

Try just to listen to the song and follow along with the lyrics. As the song progresses, think about what it means or try to put yourself in the artists place and imagine what they are thinking. Try to visualize the meaning of the song. You will get better and better at this with practice.

 2)      Make an initial response to the song

Write down a short paragraph as a response to the song. Try to comment on what is meant by the song in general and maybe include your emotional response to the song,  This should take a couple of minutes. Think about what you want to write before you write

 3)      Share your thoughts with someone else

Share your response with others. This could be done with a partner, small group or maybe even the whole class. Opinions and thoughts are not wrong and the goal of the discussion is to present different perspectives about the song. Questions can be asked for clarification or to make sense of the sense of the song.

 4)      Analyze the lyrics for specific points of interest or examples of the intended meaning of the song

Be careful not to over-analyze a section of the song. Do not spend too much time on a particular section of the song. At the same time, be sure not to ignore parts of the song. Repeating parts of the song to yourself can be very helpful and don’t be afraid to ask questions and search for answers to sections that you don’t understand or that you think may be important. You may be surprised at how much thought actually goes into writing the lyrics of a song and become more knowledgeable by the end of the study

 5)      Write a summary of the work

Write a summary of the song about its meaning, the ideas that were discussed, and your personal opinion. Take your time and think through what you intend to write. Your summary should include an introductory paragraph that states the song, the artist, and what is perceived to be the intended message of the song. Your body paragraphs should illustrate examples and points of interest in demonstrating the intended message. You may wish to include examples of poetic devices used in the lyrics. You should also include a paragraph to conclude your review summarizing your findings. This write-up should be no less that 150 words but may be considerably more depending on how detailed your analysis is.