Janice, Bud, Tom and floyd,

'Outstanding' is a word that I regularly type when I respond to one of your posts on the forum. It seems that no matter how much I use it, though, this word never gets tired in my mind. Time after time, the compositions, performances and productions that are left in the wake of each of your individual creativities are outstanding. And with "Pier Pressure", yet again you've all comfortably jumped that often admired bar of achievement that separates the 'cream of the crop' from the 'rest of world'. I sit here at my computer in Australia and marvel at the consistency of your work.

The lyrics and the lyric flow are fantastic! I don't know how these words grew but the finished product travels along like greased lightning and with highly focused attention to lyric detail. I loved the way that the pun 'pier/peer pressure' developed.

In these lyrics, what stood out most to me was the way with which the inner rhymes worked in conjunction with the end-of-line rhymes and accented that laid-back, rock-meets-swing lilt that's often found in Caribbean/Island styled music. That...

  • A A
    B
    C C
    B

...rhyme pattern found in the first four lines of each of the verses is the stuff of genius. This pattern also helps to drive the tongue-in-cheek humour that radiates from these words.

Something that I discovered a while back but have never tried is that if rhymes are plentiful and happen in quick succession, they can enhance any comedy that's present in the words. The master of this technique was Cole Porter. Have a look at and listen to his lyrics for "Your The Top" (Youtube link) and I think you'll see what I mean. While Porter also uses clever lists that anticlimax (i.e. Mickey Mouse, cellophane, etc.) to deliver laughs, rhyme-flow is the generator that paces and powers the lyric humour.

Originally Posted By: Cole Porter
(a lyric excerpt)

You're the top! You're the Colosseum,
You're the top! You're the Louvre Museum,
You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss,
You're a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare sonnet,
You're Mickey Mouse.

You're the Nile, You're the Tower of Pisa,
You're the smile on the Mona Lisa.
I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But baby, if I'm the bottom,
You're the top!

(Full lyrics found here)


As I see it... with "Pier Pressure", just like Cole Porter, Merritt/Adams/Jane have shown us all how it's done! Outstanding!

Last, and most important... Tom and floyd, I wish you both a sincere and enthusiastic...



...may you enjoy many, many more as you both march forth into the years to come! (Thanks for the 'march forth' pun, Tom, I'd never have stumbled onto it myself.)

Best wishes to everyone,
Noel

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2026