Can song lyrics be poetry? Like many questions regarding whether "literature" is "Literature," the answer varies. From my perspective, we can discuss the literary merits of a song's lyrics in the same way we can discuss the literary merits of a poem: does it use literary devices in an insightful, creative, thought-provoking manner? Or does it fall into the trap of cliche and generalization (and thus be something other than Literature)?
For this blog post, find a song's lyrics that you feel can be accurately described as poetry, and provide a brief justification of your choice.
For example, David Berman's "The Wild Kindness" is poetry. It is packed with symbolism and metaphor (much of it ambiguous). I especially like the metaphor of the title: kindness is not an act but a living creature (and a wild one, at that). This theme continues with the image of the "evergreen altar," which equates nature with the sacred.
The Wild Kindness
I wrote a letter to a wildflower
on a classic nitrogen afternoon.
Some power that hardly looked like power
said I'm perfect in an empty room.
Four dogs in the distance
each stands for a kindness.
Bluebirds lodged in an evergreen altar
I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence
and spurn the sin of giving in.
Oil paintings of x-rated picnics.
Behind the walls of medication I'm free.
Every leaf in a compact mirror
hits a target that we can't see.
Grass grows in the icebox.
The year ends in the next room
It is autumn and my camouflage is dying
instead of time there will be lateness
and let forever be delayed.
I dyed my hair in a motel void
met the coroner at Dreamgate Frontier
He took may hand and said I'll help you boy
if you really want to disappear
Four dogs in the distance
each stands for a silence.
Bluebirds lodged in an evergreen altar
I'm gonna shine out in the wild kindness
and hold the world to its word.
