Song Lyrics as Poetry: Teaching Music Alongside Literature
This paper argues that song lyrics deserve a place in literary education alongside traditional poetry. Through a close reading of Cornelius Eady's poem "The Supremes" and Taylor Swift's song "Mean," the paper demonstrates that lyricists employ the same literary devices as poets — including metaphor, simile, imagery, and layered meaning — to address complex themes such as bullying. The analysis traces historical connections between music and literature, examines how both works approach bullying from contrasting perspectives, and concludes that lyrics should be taught as poetry, with the same critical eye applied to distinguishing profound work from more superficial expression.
- Introduction: The Poetry–Lyrics Debate: Historical context and thesis on lyrics as poetry
- Literary Devices in Cornelius Eady's 'The Supremes': Metaphor and layered meaning in Eady's poem
- Taylor Swift's 'Mean' as Literary Text: Simile, imagery, and violence in Swift's lyrics
- Comparing Perspectives on Bullying: Shared literary economy in both works
- The Continuum from Poetry to Song: Rap and spoken word bridge poetry and song
- Should Lyrics Be Taught as Poetry?: Qualified case for lyrics in literary education
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its argument in direct textual evidence, quoting both works with specific line numbers to support each analytical claim rather than relying on generalizations.
- It uses a productive parallel structure: analyzing each work's treatment of a shared theme (bullying) before drawing comparative conclusions, which keeps the argument focused and easy to follow.
- The paper moves skillfully from close reading to a broader pedagogical claim, showing how the literary analysis supports the real-world recommendation to include lyrics in literature curricula.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper exemplifies comparative literary analysis: placing two texts in dialogue with each other to reveal shared techniques and contrasting perspectives. By selecting works from different genres that address the same theme, the writer can highlight what is universal about literary craft — the use of metaphor, layered meaning, and imagery — while also noting how medium and perspective shape expression differently.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with historical and cultural context before introducing the two primary texts. It then moves through close readings of each work in turn, identifying specific literary devices. A comparative section synthesizes these findings, followed by a broader reflection on the poetry-to-song continuum (including rap and spoken word). The essay closes with a qualified pedagogical recommendation — lyrics should be taught as poetry, but with critical discrimination about quality.
Introduction: The Poetry–Lyrics Debate
One of the more interesting discussions in modern literature is whether song lyrics should be considered poetry. Historically, there was not necessarily a distinction between songs and literature, as bards used music to help convey literary ideas — whether in the form of songs, spoken verse, or even stories set to music. However, modern society has differentiated song lyrics from poetry, and has done so in a manner that can be dismissive of the meaning embedded in lyrics. Song lyrics are often regarded as merely a part of popular culture, while poetry is treated as a distinct art form.
The reality, however, is that song lyrics can engage in the same in-depth level of storytelling and address the same issues as poetry. Cornelius Eady's poem "The Supremes" discusses bullying in schools from the perspective of the bullies themselves. Taylor Swift's "Mean" — arguably the most widely known song about bullying — approaches the same topic from the perspective of the victim. When the two works are examined together, it becomes clear that both employ literary devices to convey their messages.
Literary Devices in Cornelius Eady's 'The Supremes'
Eady begins his poem with a metaphor: "We were born to be gray" (1). This figurative image signals to the audience from the outset that the narrator does not consider himself exceptional. He views himself — and his group — as gray, a word that can suggest both dreariness and ordinariness. The full significance of this choice becomes clearer as the poem develops, but the audience is immediately warned that the narrator does not see his circle as remarkable, a notable contrast to the poem's title.
Eady structures two stanzas around a repeated introduction, each describing a different aspect of bullying. In the first, he writes: "A long scream. We did what we could, / And all we could do was / Turn on each other. How the fat kids suffered! / Not even being jolly could save them" (5–8). The long scream appears to represent the internal suffering of the bullies themselves — people who, struggling to find their place in the world, redirect their anguish outward onto victims. The scream thus becomes a metaphor for the inner turmoil that precedes and motivates the act of bullying.
The same introductory phrase recurs in a different context: "A long scream. We snapped butts in the showers" (18). While the physical act described may not have literally produced a scream, using the same opening to frame what the bullies do to their victims underscores how bullying transfers the bully's unhappiness onto others. The phrase carries layered meanings: it suggests that aggressing against others does not relieve the bully's suffering. Rather, Eady seems to reinforce the idea that every act of bullying deepens the narrator's sense of being locked into a life and a pattern he did not choose. Over time, the narrator simply accepts that he was born into that life — and with each act of aggression, moves further from self-determination. These are meanings that are never stated overtly in the poem.
Taylor Swift's 'Mean' as Literary Text
On its surface, Taylor Swift's song may appear more straightforward than Eady's poem. Nevertheless, Swift employs many of the same literary techniques. Where Eady relies on metaphor, Swift uses simile and vivid imagery. The opening lines of "Mean" read: "You, with your words like knives / And swords and weapons that you use against me" (1–2). With this image, Swift directly challenges the idea that language is harmless. She reinforces the point with the line "You have knocked me off my feet again" (3), suggesting that the bully's words have struck her with enough force to cause her to stumble — at least figuratively.
Whether the physical stumbling is purely figurative, however, remains a question each listener must answer for themselves. Bullying frequently combines verbal with physical violence, and Swift's use of physically violent imagery can be read on multiple levels. On one reading, the violence is metaphorical, illustrating the serious emotional impact of cruel words. On another, it gestures toward the way verbal aggression often precedes physical harm. A third interpretation suggests that the narrator may not be addressing a schoolyard bully at all, but an abusive partner — a context in which verbal degradation commonly precedes physical violence.
Swift also characterizes the bully as mediocre, though she does so with more specificity than Eady's single word "gray" (Eady, 1). She paints a detailed portrait of the bully's future: "And I can see you years from now in a bar / Talking over a football game / With that same big loud opinion / But nobody's listening / Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things / Drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing" (Swift, 32–37). In just a few lines, Swift renders an image of a person who has passed his prime and become entirely irrelevant — a vivid illustration achieved through specific, concrete detail rather than abstraction.
Works Cited
Eady, Cornelius. "The Supremes." Name of Textbook. Ed. Editor's Name(s). City of Publication: Publisher, Year. 361–362. Print.
Swift, Taylor. "Mean." Speak Now. Big Machine, 2010. CD.
Appendix A: Lyrics to "Mean" by Taylor Swift
You, with your words like knives
And swords and weapons that you use against me
You have knocked me off my feet again
Got me feeling like I'm nothing
You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard
Calling me out when I'm wounded
You picking on the weaker man
You can take me down with just one single blow
But you don't know, what you don't know
Someday, I'll be living in a big ol' city
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Why you gotta be so mean?
You, with your switching sides
And your wildfire lies and your humiliation
You have pointed out my flaws again
As if I don't already see them
I walk with my head down
Trying to block you out 'cause I'll never impress you
I just wanna feel okay again
I bet you got pushed around
Somebody made you cold
But the cycle ends right now
'Cause you can't lead me down that road
And you don't know, what you don't know
Someday, I'll be living in a big ol' city
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Why you gotta be so mean?
And I can see you years from now in a bar
Talking over a football game
With that same big loud opinion
But nobody's listening
Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things
Drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing
But all you are is mean
All you are is mean
And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life
And mean, and mean, and mean, and mean
But someday, I'll be living in a big ol' city
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Why you gotta be so?
Someday, I'll be living in a big ol' city (Why you gotta be so?…)
And all you're ever gonna be is mean (Why you gotta be so?…)
Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me (Why you gotta be so?…)
And all you're ever gonna be is mean
Why you gotta be so mean?
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