{"id":2385,"date":"2023-02-03T00:26:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T00:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2023\/02\/03\/literary-techniques-music-lyrics-metaphor-narrative-writing\/"},"modified":"2024-10-21T16:21:33","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T16:21:33","slug":"literary-techniques-music-lyrics-metaphor-narrative-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2023\/02\/03\/literary-techniques-music-lyrics-metaphor-narrative-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"A veteran newsman teaches writing through music"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
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The students file in and suddenly some remember the day\u2019s assignment: Bring in a favorite song lyric, something with magic in the way words work together.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Out come the phones and they search, trying to remember that song that took them by surprise the other night, the one that really spoke to them.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I start the class, news writing for new and traditional media, by putting Pete Seeger<\/a> up on the screens scattered around my University of North Dakota classroom.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Old Devil Time, I\u2019m gonna fight you now<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Old Devil Time, you tried to bring me down<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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When I\u2019m feelin\u2019 low, my lovers gather round<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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To help me rise and fight you one more time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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The students clearly have no idea who this old man is, or was. It\u2019s possible \u2014 even likely \u2014 that they\u2019ve heard some of his iconic and oft-covered anthems, like \u201cWe Shall Overcome\u201d and \u201cTurn, Turn, Turn!\u201d But the origins of that music is as remote to them as Seeger\u2019s history of social activism, which led to an indictment for Contempt of Congress<\/a> in 1961 when he refused to answer questions about his political affiliations. A lengthy prison sentence was dropped on a technicality and Seeger went on to a long career of writing and singing progressive folks songs.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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He wrote \u201cOld Devil Time\u201d<\/a> in 1971. The gobots must have been listening in on class, because the day after Facebook dished up a memory on my news feed of Seeger singing \u201cForever Young\u201d<\/a> with a chorus of children at a concert for Amnesty International. He died soon after at age 94.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Old devil fear, you with your icy hands<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Old devil fear, you tried to freeze me out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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But when I\u2019m afraid, my lovers gather \u2018round<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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To help me rise and fight you one more time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Writing that transcends time and platform<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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For several years now, I\u2019ve devoted time in this class at the University of North Dakota to this exploration of song lyrics, plus favorite lines of poetry and faith verses \u2014 anything that might help the students see the potential in metaphor, personification, the use of telling detail or other literary touches that could add a little punch or sparkle to their writing.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Related Posts<\/h2>\n\n
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The story in the music<\/a><\/p>\n

Stories from old photos, obituaries and memory<\/a><\/p>\n

A new writing voice found in the wilderness<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\t\n<\/div> \n

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I admit to them at the outset that my music playlist bears no resemblance to theirs. If they\u2019re unaware of Gershwin and Porter, indifferent to James Taylor and Judy Collins, I doubt I could identify a single artist in the current Top 10.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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This semester\u2019s group responded especially well to the exercise. They kept me busy for a night looking up artists and songs I\u2019d never heard of before.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Abigail offered a line from \u201cCould Have Been Me\u201d by the Struts<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Don\u2019t want to live as an untold story.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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She explained: \u201cI believe this lyric means two different things for different ages. For the old, not wanting people to forget them and fear that their life wasn\u2019t a story worth telling. For the young, not wanting to live like a story that isn\u2019t worth telling, to live a forgettable life. It resonates with me, because I myself fear not living a life worth telling, or living a life that is forgettable by those I will come to care for or care for already.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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From Caroline came a few lines from \u201cHappiness is a Butterfly,\u201d by Lana Del Rey<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Happiness is a butterfly<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Try to catch it like every night<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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It escapes from my hands into moonlight.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Malachi gave me a Drake rap titled \u201cLast name ever, First name Greatest.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Like a sprained ankle, boy, I ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 to play with.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I\u2019m not big on rap music or a lot of the music my students brought in. But I would not say it\u2019s bad. Fifty years ago, my history graduate school advisor, preparing to teach a course on the 1960s, asked me to provide him with some of my music from that time. I gave him Dylan and some others. A few days later, he gave it all back. \u201cChuck,\u201d he said, \u201cthis is crap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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He was a great teacher, but not too tolerant when it came to pop culture that had passed him by.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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The meaning in the message<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Alivia, another of my students, suggested I listen to \u201cBurn Burn Burn\u201d by Zach Bryan<\/a> and \u201cStacks\u201d by Bon Iver<\/a>, which includes the line,<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Everything that happens is from now on<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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And this:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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The fountain in the front yard is rusted out<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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All my love was down<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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In a frozen ground<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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What does the lyric mean to her? The song \u201cis about living in the present and taking things as they come,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is important to me as I am a deep over thinker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I\u2019m thinking that\u2019s a problem for me, too.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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This example of detail and perspective is from \u201cThings That Matter\u201d by Jameson Rodgers<\/a>, recited by student Grace:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Things I wanted that I don\u2019t have<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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I\u2019ve learned to let \u2018em all go <\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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\u2018Cause of things that mean the most<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Is waking up with the woman I love<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Talking to the man above <\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Sipping coffee from my favorite cup <\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Slowing down in the country <\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Going hunting with my old man<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Hugging mama while I still can.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Gabrielle offered this image from \u201cWho Am I?\u201d by Bazzi<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I\u2019m so tired of feelin\u2019 paper-thin<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Like I could tear at anytime<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Trapped inside of the brain I\u2019m in<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Please get me out of my mind.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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From Max, a few lines from Zach Bryan\u2019s \u201cBirmingham\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I\u2019ve been working here like a slavin\u2019 mule,<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Sucking the Earth of dry crude<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Looking for a way out of it all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Angela quoted Noah Kahan, who in his \u201cEverywhere, Everything<\/a>,\u201d may have borrowed a line from Ben Franklin:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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I wanna love you \u2018til we\u2019re food for the worms to eat<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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\u2018til our fingers decompose<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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keep my hand in yours.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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And Maria, bless her, cited lines from the Beatles\u2019 \u201cEleanor Rigby\u201d \u2013 but from a striking (and new to me) Grammy-nominated arrangement by Cody Fry<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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In the church where a wedding has been<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Lives in a dream<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Waits at the window, wearing the face<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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That she keeps in a jar by the door<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Who is it for?<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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All the lonely people<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Where do they all come from?<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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All the lonely people<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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Where do they all belong?<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Where, indeed? The lines haunted me back when it was first released in 1966, and even more now today.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Universal stories<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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But let\u2019s end the lesson where it began, with Pete:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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No storm, no fire can ever beat us down<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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No wind that blows but carries us further on<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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And you who fear, O lovers gather round<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

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And we will rise and sing it one more time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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* * *<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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Chuck Haga<\/strong><\/em> was a reporter at the Grand Forks Herald and Minneapolis Star Tribune. He now teaches part-time at the University of North Dakota and writes a column for the Herald.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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