With the rich repast of real time rappers, it is evident that rhyme remains popular. While there are doubtless alternative or indie artists who purposely pose as prosaic just to prove a point, that doesn’t mean the listener wouldn’t prefer a song that pleases them at some level.

If you want to achieve this by using alliteration or assonance, by artificially emphasising certain words or phrases, by mugging the crowd or scatting inbetween; there’s a number of ways of approaching the putting of words to song.

For this particular post, I shall concentrate on rhyme. There are a number of approaches you can take to rhyme. Either choosing the shop-worn because the words are easy to emote, and the audience laps it up, or having a perverse chuckle as Nick Cave does on Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus and seeing how bizarre a rhyming schema you can squeeze into the piece and still make it fit.

This would be a tiresome trick if not for the fact that this is the approach for this project. Cave wears styles like cloaks – whatever suits the song or, in this case, the album(s).
But even if Elvis Costello pulls out one too many groan-inducing puns on his lighter releases, we know there is more to the story, and so it is for playing with rhyme. Rhyme is a device that fits nicely beside the central theme, the double meaning, and the pleasing joining of images. It doesn’t have to dominate sense and it doesn’t have to draw attention to itself. Be like the beat and keep the piece moving.

It’s true that soporific ‘time/crime’ ‘love/above’ rhyming patterns do have the effect of the bopper tuning out the message, there is no reason to add to the stockpile of vapidity that already exists. The rhyme can be subdued without being stunted or stupid.

If you’re really writing a song you’ll notice that the rhymes roll out of their own accord. These will have richer resonance than you could have accomplished by trying to force a couplet into your concrete concept. This is the mystical quality of song crafting.

There is no need to address any metaphysical conjecture to make this claim. The process may be a firing of neurons brought on by presenting a novel display. That might actually be better. Then you know you can induce the state that produces results without having to make a votive offering. The wit is from within, the talent is taught. It all flows out so fast you don’t have time to think about it.

While this is a splendid way of working, it won’t be for everyone. Not every brain can make these kind of connections unconsciously and will be better off consulting some other lyricist for advice.