Monthly Archives: October 2011

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Song of the Day #1,202: ‘I’m On Fire’ – Bruce Springsteen

‘I’m On Fire,’ Bruce Springsteen’s classic, slow-burning track from the Born in the U.S.A. album, is a perfect example of effective metaphor in song. He’s not really on fire, you see!

Springsteen uses an even niftier metaphor late in the (way too short) song when he describes waking up with “a freight train running through the middle of [his] head.” Wonderful imagery. Between that and the 6-inch valley in the middle of his skull carved out with a dull knife, I’d venture to say this relationship could be harmful to his health.

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Song of the Day #1,201: ‘Papercut’ – Tift Merritt

Second in my series of songs featuring interesting metaphors is a track from Tift Merritt’s 2010 album See You On the Moon.

‘Papercut’ compares a former lover to one of those nasty little cuts that shouldn’t bother us as much as they do. It’s a fine metaphor for a break-up that continues to tear at us for no good reason.

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Song of the Day #1,200: ‘Slow Dancing in a Burning Room’ – John Mayer

My wife and I were listening to this song in the car the other day and I remarked that it was a lovely metaphor. Slow dancing in a burning room… what a neat way to describe a relationship that is clearly ending despite either party wanting to accept that fact.

We started kicking around other songs that use metaphor effectively, and I decided to dedicate this week to five of them. This is what happens when you’re married to an English teacher.

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Song of the Day #1,199: ‘So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright’ – Simon & Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel recorded together for just six years, releasing only five albums, but they made a major impact on popular music both through their sound and through the classic songs Paul Simon wrote for them to perform.

A couple of years after their (second) breakup, Paul Simon would start his solo career in earnest, but Garfunkel would remain a presence in his music in one way or another for more than a decade.

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Song of the Day #1,198: ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ – Simon & Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel’s fifth and final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, was released in 1970 and became the duo’s best-selling record as well as a Grammy Album of the Year winner. It was a massive critical and commercial success, topping the charts in 10 countries and selling more than 25 million copies worldwide.

And it was recorded and released as the lifelong friends saw their partnership collapse.

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