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Patrick Ijieh

Mallory Henderson

ENC 1102

12 September 2021

The Structure of Song Lyrics

Genre Overview

The genre of lyrics is a vast subject that can have multiple textbooks written about it, and

it would still not be fully covered. Before starting the deep dive into the genre of lyrics, however,

the definition of the word genre must be discussed.

A genre in writing is the category that a piece of writing belongs to. If a writing situation

happens often, then a type of writing is created to respond this situation (Wardle and Downs, 34).

Genres are the result of common writing situations that people have tried to create the best

response to. The discourse community is the group of people that often uses the genre (Wardle

and Downs, 505). The members of the discourse community communicate with each other to

modify and adjust the genre so that they can better accomplish their goal (Wardle and Downs,

505). For example, people who use and write speeches, such as public figures and influences, are

part of a larger discourse community. They all collectively work together to better the genre of

speeches.

Song lyrics are used by most, if not, all, of the musical discourse community, which

includes song composers, music critics, and the people who listen to the music as entertainment.

The overwhelming majority of songs are created with lyrics. Song lyrics help to convey emotion

and add more to the song that they are sung over. Lyrics can also be used to convey a story in the

song as well. Usually, these lyrics are separated into lines called stanzas or verses, and these
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stanzas are grouped together into different sections. These stanzas are usually as long as the

measure of the musical piece that it accompanies, as they need to be in harmony with the notes

that play in the song. Lots of songs have a chorus, which contains a short number of stanzas, as it

is meant to be repeated throughout the song more than once.

Research Objective

My research into song lyrics seeks to find the different ways lyrics are “delivered”, or

said, and to see if there is a way to have a general set of categories for how these lyrics are

delivered over an R&B artists’ song. There is not as much research in this subject as I think there

should be, and more research in this subject would lead to an easier way of discussing song lyrics

in general. Having a general standard or categories for song lyrics makes it easier to discuss the

differences in lyrics in different musical genres, and even the differences of song structures

between two different songs in the same album or discography.

The questions I will be delving into are: “What are the different types of R&B song lyrics

as it pertains to structure?”, and “What does the structure of the lyrics of an R&B song

accomplish for the overall song?” I wanted to research these questions, as I was interested in

how the songs that I listen to, particularly songs made by Frank Ocean, have different ways in

which they have their rhymes structured. I wanted to see if there is a general standard for these

different types of structures, and if these standard structures have a significant effect on the song

as a whole, versus if a different structure were used in its place. I also am personally very

interested in the music of Frank Ocean, as he is one of my favorite artists, and I really enjoy his

music.

Methods
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To conduct my research, I will be using textual analysis as my method. I chose to read

the lyrics of six different Frank Ocean songs, as to figure out if there is a specific delivery

method to his lyrics. I plan to listen to the following Frank Ocean songs: “Nights”, “Self

Control”, “Pink + White”, “Pyramids”, “Lost”, and “Thinkin Bout You”. For all of the songs, I

will be using Apple Music, Spotify, and Genius to obtain the audio tracks and the lyrics. I will be

using Spotify and Apple Music for the audio tracks, as they are the audio tracks that the artist

usually gives to all streaming platforms. Listening to the different songs on two different

streaming platforms makes sure that there is no change in the delivery of the song. I chose these

two sources, as they both have moderators that make sure that the song that is listened to is the

version of the song that the artist intended to be released to streaming platforms. I will be using

Apple Music and Genius for the lyrics, as they both allow you to read the lyrics in print. Genius

also separates the stanzas of lyrics into the different choruses and verses, and titles them as such.

This allows me to study the structure of the song, and how each lyric is delivered in the song. For

a similar reason as to why I am using Spotify and Apple Music to listen to the tracks, I am using

Apple Music and Genius to read the lyrics, as they have teams of writers that check each song

and make sure that the lyrics and credits are accurate to what is heard in the songs. They then

verify the page of lyrics and make it so that you cannot change the page of lyrics and credits

unless you are a trusted account.

Timeline

My plan is to, for the first week (week 5), listening to only R&B songs and focusing on

reading articles that have studied the structures of those songs. I will only read trusted scholarly

articles, and not blogs that were made by an anonymous user. Then, over the next three weeks, I

will listen to the six Frank Ocean songs and study the lyrical structure of each song, to see if the
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verses follow a certain structure that I can come up with. I will listen to “Nights” and “Self

Control” the sixth week, “Pink + White” and “Pyramids” the seventh week, and “Lost” and

“Thinkin Bout You” the eighth week. I will try and draw inspiration from the research that I read

about a little bit, but ultimately, I will come up with my own structures or styles that specifically

fit Frank Oceans lyric style. If I end up needing more time to study the songs, I will use up a

little bit of the end of the second week to start listening to the songs that I need to listen to. The

last week will be spent trying to compare the structures of the different songs and seeing if they

share a handful of general patterns. This will be when I am compiling all of the primary evidence

that I gathered, and when I will use specific lyrics in them to show or demonstrate a specific

structure.
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Works Cited

Wardle, Elizabeth and Douglas Downs. Writing About Writing. (4th Edition). Yuzu. Macmillan

Higher Education, 2019.

“Frank Ocean – Lost.” Genius, 17 Dec. 2012, genius.com/Frank-ocean-lost-lyrics. Accessed 12

Sept. 2021.

“Frank Ocean – Nights.” Genius, 20 Aug. 2016, genius.com/Frank-ocean-nights-lyrics. Accessed

12 Sept. 2021.

“Frank Ocean – Pyramids.” Genius, 7, Jun. 2012, genius.com/Frank-ocean-pyramids-lyrics.

Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.

“Frank Ocean – Self Control.” Genius, 20 Aug. 2016, genius.com/Frank-ocean-self-control-

lyrics. Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.

“Frank Ocean – Thinkin Bout You.” 17 Apr. 2012, Genius, genius.com/Frank-ocean-thinkin-

bout-you-lyrics. Accessed 12 Sept. 2021.

“Pink + White.” Genius, 20 Aug. 2016, genius.com/Frank-ocean-pink-white-lyrics. Accessed 12

Sept. 2021.