3 Simple Reasons Songwriters Use Rhyme

Rhyme is a fundamental practice of all songwriters. But why?

In this post, we will look at why songwriters use rhyme and the advantages it has in writing lyrics that have more impact.

We’ll also take a look at some of the drawbacks of not using rhyme in the right way.

When I first started songwriting I had no idea how powerful rhyming could actually be.

But over the years I learned that rhyme isn’t just something that happens in a song.

Rhyme in songwriting creates structure, emphasizes important words, connects ideas, and it frames lyrics. It guides the listener through the lyrics and helps to evoke emotions. End-line rhymes hold the listener’s attention and highlight important ideas. Rhyme helps make a connection with a listener.

Many beginner songwriters select a rhyme scheme at random.

There’s actually a lot to choosing the right rhyme scheme for a particular feeling and using rhyme in the wrong way can hurt a lyric more than it helps.

How to use rhyme schemes

Rhyme schemes are an essential tool for songwriters. 

By using a specific pattern of rhyming words, songwriters can create a more cohesive, memorable, and emotional song.

In this section, we’ll explore how to use rhyme schemes effectively in your songwriting,

including different types of rhyme schemes and how to choose the right one for your song.

We all know what rhymes are. Words that sound similar. 

They start off with a different sound at the beginning of the word and they end with the same sound at the end of the word.

For example, Cap and scrap.

These are known as perfect, true, full, or complete rhymes.

Where the starting consonants sound different and the stressed vowels and ending consonants sound the same.

Find out how rhyme types help create emotion in your lyrics.

The cool stuff happens when we place these words in a certain position in our lyrics.

For example…

When we put words at the end of our lyric lines, it’s known as end of line rhyme.

Ok, so there is no big revelation so far but let’s dig into why this matters and what it does for your song lyrics.

Rhyme Creates Lyrics that Stick

At its essence rhyme is the repetition of sound and the repetition of sound has an effect.

When words rhyme, it creates a sonic emphasis through the repeating vowel sounds.

For example…

“I found your old baseball cap

In a box in the attic labeled “scrap”.

Because of this sonic emphasis, rhymed words stick out.

They draw attention to themselves, they say “Hey, notice me”.

If our example didn’t rhyme, e.g.

“I found your old baseball cap

In a box in the attic labeled “junk”.

It, sonically, wouldn’t call attention to itself. (read both examples out loud and you’ll easily hear what I mean).

These “sonically emphasized” words can stick in the listener’s mind making them more memorable.

And this is a powerful tool for songwriters to convey the meaning of a lyric by putting words that are essential to the main ideas in those spots.

The words at the end of lines that rhyme get emphasized, especially the second word in a rhyming pair.

And because that draws attention to those words it can be used to convey the meaning of the lyric.

Skilled songwriters will take advantage of these end of line positions and put important and meaningful words in those spots.

These words should have the power to suggest a story.

For example, Homeward Bound by Paul Simon…

“I’m sittin’ in the railway station

Got a ticket to my destination

On a tour of one-night stands

My suitcase and guitar in hand

And every stop is neatly planned

For a poet and a one-man band“

Or evoke interesting imagery.

For example, Boat by Ed Sheeran…

“Came in for the embers

Stayed out for the breeze

I need to feel elements to remind me

There’s beauty when it’s bleak“

An experienced songwriter knows that rhyme attracts and holds the listener’s attention.

And this makes a lyric easier to follow and remember.

The Rhyme Secret for Crafting Cohesive Lyrics

Rhymes can let us know when we are at the end of a lyrical idea or show us that there is more to come.

This guides the listener through the lyrics by controlling the flow of ideas. 

It can close down an idea or leave it open.

For example…

“I found your old baseball cap

In a box in the attic labeled “scrap”.

The perfect rhyme at the end of the second line closes the idea. Again, all you have to do is read it out loud and you’ll hear the effect.

So, not only is it saying “Hey, notice me”, it’s also saying “You can go ahead and process that piece of information because it’s complete”.

Compared to the non-rhyming version that says “We’re not done yet, there’s more to come”.

“I found your old baseball cap

In a box in the attic labeled “junk”.

Rhyming words can be used to create a connection between different lines of a song.

This allows a songwriter to group ideas together and create a cohesive structure for the flow of information.

For example, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

“I’ve heard there was a secret chord

That David played, and it pleased the Lord

But you don’t really care for music, do ya?

It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing hallelujah”

This is a six-line verse section with the rhyme scheme AABCCB.

The first group of 3 lines is made up of a rhyming pair and an extra non-rhymed line.

The first two lines close down (“Hey, go ahead and process), and the 3rd line jumps in and says “But also…”

Because that 3rd line is the odd one out, it ends up being the most noticed.

Then we get the next section with a rhyming pair and an extra line. Only this time that 3rd line rhymes with the previous section’s 3rd line.

The rhyme of “do ya” in line 3 and “hallelujah” in line 6 connects the whole section together.

This reflects what the lyrics are saying because all of the lines belong to the same idea.

 “Now, I’ve heard there was a secret chord

That David played, and it pleased the Lord

But you don’t really care for music, do ya?” 

It stops at this line (but doesn’t resolve), then it goes on to expand on that same idea – that secret chord.

 “It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing hallelujah” 

It feels resolved when you get to “hallelujah” because of the rhyme with “do ya.”

It connects the two 3 line sections to each other.

We can see this with other songs…

Happier than ever Billie Eilish

“When I’m away from you, I’m happier than ever

Wish I could explain it better

I wish it wasn’t true

Give me a day or two to think of something clever

To write myself a letter

To tell me what to do“

The second 3 lines are continuing the same idea as the first three lines.

The rhyme at the end of line 3 with the end of line 6 connects the two sections and guides are ears to the idea’s resolution.

Using Rhyme to Segment Ideas & Song Sections

let’s say the third and sixth lines don’t rhyme.

Instead, we have an AAABBB rhyme scheme, where the first 3 lines rhyme with each other and the second 3 lines rhyme with each other.

It creates a different effect because of the rhyme scheme.

For example “A-Team” by Ed Sheeran…

“White lips, pale face

Breathin’ in the snowflakes

Burnt lungs, sour taste”.

“Light’s gone, days end

Struggling to pay rent

Long nights, strange men.”

Now the rhyme has created two different sections. The rhyme scheme has disconnected the sections.

Sure the ideas are related, but they are not part of a single thought.

This reflects the idea behind the lyric.

Not only do the first 3 lines focus on the character but the second 3 lines focus on their situation.

But this person’s life is disconnected and the segmentation of the sections reflects that.

When we hear lines 1 and 2 rhyming there is an expectation set up.

So when we hear line 3, with the same rhyme,  there is a strong (unconscious) expectation for a 4th line.

Our brains much prefer things to be even and complete.

But the rhyme stops at line 3, it stops the thought and leaves it unresolved.

and then moves on to a different thought in the next 3 lines.

The Importance of Rhyme Placement in Songwriting.

The placement of rhymes affects the flow and cohesion of the lyrics.

Depending on where the rhyming words appear in the song, they can create a sense of completeness or fragmentation.

This helps to create a sense of structure in the song.

It creates continuity in the song and helps to keep the listener engaged.

Since the human brain is a pattern-recognizing machine, when it hears patterns of linked sounds, we feel like we have a sense of direction.

We have a path by which we can easily follow the flow of ideas in a song lyric.

Different rhymes for different times.

As we’ve seen in the last section, words that rhyme stick out and let us know the important ideas.

The placement of the rhymes, or rhyme scheme lets us know when the ideas start and stop.

It controls the flow of information and helps us recognize which ideas belong together.

If we apply that to a song overall, rhyme can let us know where we are in the song.

When a section begins and when it ends and what section we are in.

Songwriters want to surprise and delight an audience, but they don’t want to confuse them.

So this is one of the tools songwriters have to give each section its own identity.

How Songwriters Create Emotion with Rhyme

In just about every song you’ll hear each section, be it a verse or chorus, etc.., talks about one thing.

For example, in this verse of Flowers by Miley Cyrus, the first verse talks about her past relationship.

“We were good, we were gold

Kinda dream that can’t be sold

We were right ’til we weren’t

Built a home and watched it burn”.

She is not talking about her past relationship and say, her favorite sweater…

“We were good, we were gold

Kinda dream that can’t be sold

I had this sweater too

Colors of green and red and blue”.

That would be confusing. We’d be left thinking “Ok, the sweater is important, I guess”.

Even though a songwriter will talk about one thing in a given section of a song, they might have a couple of points they want to get across.

In the Miley Cyrus song, we can see she is talking about one thing but she is making two points about it…

Point 1…

“We were good, we were gold

Kinda dream that can’t be sold. 

It stops here because the rhyme closes the thought.

Then we move onto another, but related, though which is point 2.

Point 2…

We were right ’til we weren’t

Built a home and watched it burn”. 

This also stops because the rhyme closes the thought.

It might not seem like it rhymes but “weren’t” and “burn” are what is known as a consonance rhyme.

This is where the vowel sounds don’t match but the ending consonance sounds the same.

It is a weaker type of rhyme than the full rhyme of “gold” and “sold”, and therefore doesn’t have the same feeling of resolution.

That weaker rhyme match also reflects what the lyrics are saying.

You can read about rhyme types here and how they create emotion

Now compare that to the verse of Bruises by Lewis Capaldi…

“I’ve been holding on to hope

That you’ll come back when you can find some peace

‘Cause every word that I’ve heard spoken

Since you left feels like an hollow street”.

Rhyme can tell us when to stop (closed) and when there’s more to come (open).

Unlike the Miley Cyrus example, the rhyme told our ears to stop at the end of line two,

It gave our ears the signal that the thought was finished by rhyming line one with line two.

Here we are told to keep listening at the end of line two. It signals that there is more to come.

“I’ve been holding on to hope

That you’ll come back when you can find some peace”

There’s no rhyme to close things down so we follow the lyric until it tells us the thought is complete.

Rhyme is a songwriters Tool for Creating Emotional Impact

When we hear the word “street” in line four we know we are done. ( It says, “Go ahead and process what you’ve just heard).

An expectation has been set up by the ABA rhyme scheme so far.

We wait for the expected “B” rhyme and perceive the content between to be related.

This is the way we process information. 

You have to read to the end of this sentence before you can process its content as one piece of information.

If words don’t rhyme, it can feel like something is missing.

We can’t process it yet because there’s more to come and it moves us forward.

When they do rhyme, it can feel like things have come to a satisfying resolution. 

This helps to create a sense of movement in the lyric.

We love resolution and patterns.

When we expect something to happen, such as a rhyme, we will wait for it.

If it happens, we are satisfied.

But, if it doesn’t happen, we feel the tension of our expectations being subverted.

In the Lewis Capaldi lyric, the rhyme scheme is ABAB.

“Hope” rhymes with “spoken”,

(this is what is known as an additive rhyme where there is an extra consonant sound added at the end of the word)

And “peace” rhymes with “street”.

When we hear these similar sounds (rhymes), in a given pattern, it creates an expectation.

Because we unconsciously compare what we have heard to what we are hearing and this creates the expectation of what we will hear.

And if we hear ABA, then we are going to expect to hear that followed by another B.

That expectation is another way of saying tension. The pattern creates tension that we want to be released.

Watch what happens if we don’t release that tension…

“I’ve been holding on to hope

That you’ll come back when you can find some peace

‘Cause every word that I’ve heard spoken

Since you left feels like an hollow wind”

So now our ears are kept waiting and the tension grows as we feel we have been cheated out of a resolution.

What if we delay that resolution?

I’ve been holding on to hope

That you’ll come back when you can find some peace

‘Cause every word that I’ve heard spoken

Since you left feels like an hollow wind

Of all that could have been

If you were still here with me

So now we are kept guessing.

We hear “wind” when we expected to hear something that rhymes with “peace”.

Then we hear “been” which is a loose rhyme with “wind”. 

Ahhh! That’s not a satisfactory resolution!

And what happened to the “ee” rhyme you promised?

Then we get it with the “me” in the last line and the crazy roller coaster ride is over.

The point is that delayed resolution causes tension because it keeps us guessing.

Since the lyrics talk about “holding on to hope” and “waiting” for their lover to come back, this delayed resolution through rhyme works to enhance that feeling.

It’s important to understand that rhyme is not just about matching sounds.

Conclusion

Rhyme is also about creating patterns. Patterns that give the listener certain cues that let them follow the song’s lyrics.

Rhyme patterns create expectations in the listener’s mind.

By setting up a pattern of rhymes and then either fulfilling or subverting that pattern, a songwriter can create different emotional effects in the listener.

The most important aspect of using rhyme is to use it in service of the song and the meaning of the lyrics.

Don’t force a rhyme or use them because you think you should.

Instead, use rhyme to enhance the emotional impact of your lyrics and melody.

F.A.Q.