Similes in Songs
In my last blog, we looked at metaphors within songs. In this one, we’ll look at similes. As a reminder, the difference between a metaphor and a simile is that a metaphor says, “I am” this particular thing. A simile says, “I’m like” this particular thing. Similes also use the word “As”.
“I’m Like a Bird” by Nelly Furtado.
Lyrically: This song talks about a lover who’s super supportive of the narrator, but the narrator insists that all they do is fly away. In other words, they run from the good. No matter how hard the narrator tries, she can’t outrun her fate. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. While writing for this blog, I also thought of “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. However, I wanted a metaphor in the title, not the lyrics, so I chose the Nelly Furtado song. Still, that speaks to the power of this simile.
Melodically: This song is in the key of B flat major. The key allows for the verses to be sung in a rusty growl, reminiscent of Brittney Spears’ voice in “...Baby One More Time” (and those vocals were patterned after those in Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love”). The addition of an E minor in the verses adds a darker tone. Then the pre-chorus goes to C and D major, brightening up to talk about the potential lover, ending in a positive-sounding chorus, consisting of G maj, D maj, A min, and C maj. Again, the addition of the minor chord in the chorus adds that darker tone for the line, “I don’t know where my soul is”. The same contrast is used in “I Started a joke” by the Bee Gees, though the chorus to that song is almost exclusively minor chords, while the verses alternate between majors and minors, to emphasize the contrast of happy and sad.
Structurally: This song follows a verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus pattern. Because the chorus is so booming and positive, it goes straight from the bridge to the chorus, without cutting any instruments to build back up the intensity. This does wonders for the listener, and fits well with the wandering, gliding spirit of a bird that Nelly is singing about.
All songs discussed related to “I’m Like a Bird” are embedded below. I do not own the rights to these songs.
“Hungry Like the Wolf” by Duran Duran
Lyrically: Some songs we’ve looked at have a metaphor for a hook, but also use similes throughout the lyrics. Some have a simile for the hook and use metaphors throughout. This song dives into the simile of being like a wolf and sticks with it throughout the whole song. The only time it strays from the simile is when it sets the scene, such as the opening line, “Dark in the city, night is a wire.” The chorus gives us lines, such as “I’m in the hunt, I’m after you”. Maroon 5 takes a similar approach on their 2014 hit, “Animals”
“Baby, I’m prayin’ on you tonight,
Hunt you down, eat you alive”,
Many blues songs use this simile too.
Melodically: This song contains a driving guitar part, backed with a keyboard, which gave the song its distinct 80s New Wave sound. Unlike the 80s, the drums are not heavily affected (as heard in a song like “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, linked below), though there are some synth toms mixed in as well. It is written in the key of E major mixolydian, with a chord progression of E maj, Esus4 (the riff), E maj, and ending on D maj, in the verse, and C maj, D maj, F maj, G maj (changing to the key of C), in the chorus. Going down to the flat 7 (as is done in the mixolydian scale) allows for more melodic tension within the song.
Structurally: This song follows a simple verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, bridge, chorus format. It should be noted that the bridge just repeats the phrase “Hungry like the wolf” twice. Interestingly, the aforementioned “Animals” uses the hook as a bridge as well, but that song adds a pre-chorus to its structure. You can listen to both songs down below.
3. “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan
Lyrically: Dylan is notorious for changing up his lyrics when he plays live, viewing his songs as living pieces of art. However, when I was down in Tulsa visiting the Bob Dylan Center, the exhibit about this song said that this is the one song he views as complete. It’s a fascinating stream-of-consciousness song that discusses someone who’s down on their luck, but kind of deserves it. Some reports say the original draft (which started off as a poem) was 10 pages long, while others claim it was up to 20. Until he got the “How does it feel?” line in there, he didn’t view it as a song, but that’s what the last line of the pre-choruses rhyme with throughout the whole song:
“About having to be scrounging for your next meal”,
“And say ‘do you want to make a deal?’”,
“After he took from you everything he could steal,” and
“You’re invisible now, you have no secrets to conceal.”
It also contains some of my favorite visuals, such as “(Riding) on a chrome horse with your diplomat, who carried on his shoulder a siamese cat”, and “Napoleon in Rags”. It should be noted that this is another simile song, where the writer doesn’t lean in the whole time. Everything he talks about, with the main character being a forced vagabond, due to her life choices, leads up to her being “like a rolling stone,” but there’s no reference to the cliche of a rolling stone gathering no moss. It’s just implied with everything else he says.
Melodically: This song is written in the key of C major, and is defined by its organ part, played by Al Kooper. Al was not originally supposed to play in the session, but admired what Bob did, so he snuck in and started playing organ. Trying to keep up, the organ can be heard coming in a half step behind. When Bob stopped the first take, Al was nervous. Bob told the organ player to do it again, and that’s how the distinct part came to be. In the years to come, Al Kooper would serve as a de facto band director for Dylan, teaching the parts Bob wanted on the track to the studio musicians he would hire.
Structurally: I chatted about this briefly when I talked about the structure of “Tangled Up in Blue” in my first blog. “Like a Rolling Stone” is about 30 seconds longer than “Tangled”, but it contains one key element that the latter does not: a chorus. You have stream-of-consciousness verses and then a very simple chorus:
How does it feel to be on your own?
Like a complete unknown.
With no direction home.
Like a rolling stone.
No bridge necessary, but some sort of grand conclusion to your ramblings in the verses was necessary, and that’s what shows up in the chorus.
4. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel
Lyrically: This song is all about being there for somebody when times get rough. Like many of the other simile songs we’ve looked at, this one focuses mostly on the trouble that the other person is going through, with minimal focus on the solution for those troubles, apart from the singer being a bridge over troubled water. However, in the last verse, there are some references to sailing on, which is certainly a water metaphor.
Melodically: This song is written in E Flat Major, which helps strike its prevalent gospel tone. Musically, it contains piano, bass, drums, vibraphone, and strings, giving it the orchestral feel. It’s a very somber tone, but a very positive one, with hope for the future, as long as the person in question uses the narrator as a bridge over troubled water.
Structurally: This song follows a simple verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse chorus format. Ironically, this means that “Bridge Over Troubled Water” didn’t need a bridge. Much like the last song we looked at, “Like a Rolling Stone”, the verses contain examples of what they’re talking about in the chorus, and are detailed enough so there’s no need to take the song to a different place with a bridge.
