Between the Lines The Lyrics and the Music in Popular Literature

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What could be a more perfect pair than music and literature? Both of them are major art forms, and both have remained in the consciousness of people because of its general appeal and function. Music and literature often share the same elements, characteristics, and techniques. For instance, several elements and techniques used in poetry can be found in song lyrics.

The shared characteristics often become the reason why many find poetry and songs (and, consequently, song lyrics) interchangeable. But beyond these elements, music is often connected to literature because it can be found as integral parts of narratives and expositions in literature.

There are times when songs and their lyrics become part of the narrative of a book. This pertains to actual songs and actual lyrics, not made-up songs or lyrics created for the sake of the narrative. Songs and lyrics inspire authors, or so they say, hence the integration of music in a story. It is sometimes used as a framing device, a means to move the story forward.

Authors who do this are self-proclaimed music lovers—they incorporate the songs and the lyrics they love into the story they are weaving. This strategy, if you can call it that, can often be found in Young Adult literature (or books intentionally written for people ages 13 to 18, although their market often reaches far beyond this age bracket).

Popular novels that incorporate music and lyrics into the story include David Levithan and Rachel Cohn’s Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Naomi and Ely’s No-Kiss List. Both novels are classified as Young Adult literature, although their appeal is universal.

In fact, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist has been adapted into a movie in 2008, while the film version of Naomi and Ely’s No-Kiss List is planned to be released in 2009. In Naomi and Ely’s, one of the narrators gave one of the titular characters a “mixtape” (or, a music CD that contains various songs the character picked himself).

In one of the characters, this narrator enumerated the songs included in the CD, quoted some of the lyrics of the songs included in the song. These songs and their corresponding lyrics fall into the greater scheme of the narrative. For instance, the character cited The Ramones “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” song, with lyrics that are quite self-explanatory: “Hey, little girl

I wanna be your boyfriend / Sweet little girl / I wanna be your boyfriend / Do you love me babe? / What do you say? / Do you love me babe? / What can I say? / Because I wanna be your boyfriend.” Nothing can be more obvious than that, but its usage makes the narrative deeper, since it does note state the fact directly.

Others are less direct. For instance, Haruki Murakami, a popular Japanese author, often alludes to songs and lyrics in his stories. While they do not have any significant in the story at first glance, anyone who would bother to look them up—music and lyrics in tow—would realize how everything fits into the narrative. An example of this can be found in his short story, “Family Affairs.”

These are merely examples on how songs, music, and lyrics can be used in literature, a glaring proof that the appeal of music is universal.

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