Lyric Analysis and Discussion Session

Printed or displayed song lyrics

Phone or speaker for playing the song

Optional: highlighters or colored pens for marking literary devices

Choose a song with meaningful lyrics that are age-appropriate. Songs by artists like Dolly Parton, John Lennon ("Imagine"), Bill Withers, or Taylor Swift work well.

Listen to the song once while reading along with the printed or displayed lyrics.

Now read JUST the lyrics out loud, like a poem, without the music. They feel different this way — more like literature.

Discuss the basics: "What is this song about? What's the main message? Is it telling a story or expressing a feeling?"

Dig deeper into literary devices: find metaphors (comparing unlike things), repetition (which phrases repeat and why?), imagery (what mental pictures do the words create?).

Ask thoughtful questions: "Why did the songwriter choose THESE words? What would change if they said it differently?"

Listen to the song one final time. Notice how the melody and music enhance or change the meaning of the words.

Song lyrics ARE poetry set to music. Analyzing them builds the same close-reading skills that English class requires, but with much more engagement.

Use highlighters to color-code: one color for metaphors, another for repeated phrases, a third for imagery. Visual marking makes patterns obvious.

Great lyricists to study: Bob Dylan (complex storytelling), Joni Mitchell (vivid imagery), Kendrick Lamar (wordplay and social commentary), Lin-Manuel Miranda (rhyme schemes).

Compare the lyrics-as-poem reading to the full song. Ask: "Does the music add to the meaning? Does it change how you interpret the words?"

This is an activity your child may resist initially and then love. The "aha" moment when they decode a metaphor in their favorite song is deeply satisfying.