Lyrical Pet Peeve

Since when did the word "say" start rhyming with the word "me"?

I couldn't possibly start naming all the songs in which this relatively recent phenomenon--The Great Vowel Shift--occurs, as I would be here all night.

But just keep an ear out for it next time you're scanning the radio dial. The worst offenders will be your Eddie Vedder wannabes in the alternative rock genre.

Understand that I'm no stickler for poetry rules, necessarily. In fact, I don't even think all lyrics need to (or should) rhyme. Perfect rhyme schemes are extremely difficult to achieve, especially in a narrative or emotional piece.

I am, however, vehemently opposed to bending a word awkwardly just to make it fit.

The long "A" sound does not rhyme with the long "E" sound, no matter how much you try to turn the word "me" into the word "may."

And I'm spent.

Original MySpace post: 1/20/2006

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