ROG ROG ROG, COURTNEY COURTNEY COURTNEY,

This is awesome!

ROG, you've really shown us all how to use AAA form effectively. It's not a form I'm comfortable with but you've handled it like the pro you are!

Courtney, your singing is fantastic, professional. I really enjoy hearing your voice. It has such a listenable quality to it. And ROG, when I stopped and thought about how you played every one of those instruments I heard, I was left speechless. You have an incredible level of musical ability. I can only imagine what you'd do with BIAB and all the Realtracks!

Seriously: YOU'VE GOT TO GET HOLD OF BIAB/RB AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Ok, I couldn't pass up that 'rhyming scheme' challenge smile So I'm going to bore you with an analysis. And you're right, it did cause me some confusion (lol!) but I'll talk my way through that. Thank heavens for verse 3, that clarified everything!

Let me explain ...

Let's look at Verse 1. I've adjusted the lines to reflect how it's sung (very creatively by Courtney, I add).



Interestingly, when I first listened to the verse, the rhymes I heard were those in red. The couplet followed by a line that didn't rhyme with it and then a third line that had the same rhyme as the couplet was sweet ear candy!

Next, when I sat down, put on my thinking cap and thought about the rhyme scheme for this verse, other rhymes stood out. Because I didn't initially hear these, though, it made me wonder if maybe these other rhymes were functioning as non-rhyming phrases rather than rhyming lines (hence the 'x' for non-rhyming phrase). Phrases #7 and #10 had three possibilities: an 'a' rhyme or did they start a new 'b' rhyme scheme or were they functioning as non-rhyming 'x'?

Does 'hate' rhyme with 'late'? I didn't hear that as the song played so I'm going to ignore the possibility just to keep things a little simpler.

Also, I heard 'done' rhyme with 'alone'. Although it's only a consonance rhyme - the weakest of all - it definitely felt like a rhyme to me so I included it in the rhyme scheme.

What stood out most to me was that Verse 1 consisted of 11 phrases. Pat Pattison would give a huge round of applause for that. An odd number of phrases is great for enhancing the emotional ooommph of the lyrics. Also, your variation in the metric feet of the phrases is another great emotion-boosting technique.

So Verse 2. Aaaah, now things are starting to become a little clearer.



Finally, Verse 3. Thank goodness for the clarity that this verse brought to the table.



I can safely say that, based on a phrase-by-phrase analysis, your verses are a REALLY cool xxaaxaxbbxb rhyme scheme. To my ears, those other rhymes in verses 1 and 2 that caused some confusion are acting more as inner rhymes rather than the definite end-of-phrase rhyme.

I LOVE the asymmetry of this rhyme scheme. A couplet followed by a single rhyming line to give a 3-rhyme pattern. In addition, the verse essentially exists as a 6-phrase section followed by a 5-phrase section. The rhyming schemes are the same in each section but the second section begins with one less non-rhyming line. How clever is that!!!

When it comes to Pat Pattison's concept of "stable versus unstable", these lyrics showcase the principle impeccably. They are highly unstable and totally support the emotional turmoil the singer is feeling. Prosody rules!

It's a huge pat on the back from me.

All the best,
Noel

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Audiophile BIAB 2025