I already mentioned “clap” in a previous example. The sound “clap” is referring to the sound of striking our palms together. “ Click, click, boom I’m coming down on the stereo“ (Click Click – Saliva) “ TiK ToK, on the clock But the party don’t stop no” (Tik Tok – Kesha) “It’s too late it’s too soon or is it tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, boom“ (Tick Tick Boom – The Hives) In other songs, they use “click” which also refers to the clicking of a clock. Using those two onomatopoeic words together is a reference to a time bomb, which can be metaphoric, referring to an important event that will happen soon. In the song “Tick Tick Boom” by The Hives, they even use the word “boom”, which we have already talked about previously. In these cases, they always refer to time. Using the words “tick”, “tock”, or something similar, usually refers to the sound of a clock. “ I got the eye of the tiger A fighter Dancing through the fire ‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar Louder, louder than a lion ‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar“ (Roar – Katy Perry) In the case of Katy Perry’s song, the lyrics explain how she changed to be stronger than before. “Roar” is somewhat different because it refers to the sound of a predator like a lion and it can refer to how a person changed. Just think about how ridiculous it would sound to use “moo”, “cuckoo”, or “baa” in a song. Using animal sounds in song lyrics is probably not a good idea unless you write children’s songs. “ Boom clap, the sound of my heart The beat goes on and on and on and on and Boom clap, you make me feel good Come on to me, come on to me now” (Boom Clap – Charli XCX) While these sounds don’t resemble the sound of a heartbeat, the meaning of this may be that she is in love, which sometimes can feel unreal, so it feels like her heart beats like a musical drumbeat. However, in the lyrics, she says “Boom clap, the sound of my heart”. In this instance, the words “boom” and “clap” sound like an imitation of a drumbeat. In the song “Boom Clap”, the songwriter used even two onomatopoeic words, not just one. “ Boom, boom, boom, gotta get that Boom, boom, boom, gotta get that” (Boom Boom Pow – The Black Eyed Peas) In the song “Boom Boom Pow” by The Black Eyed Peas, they simply refer to the sound of their beat. This can imitate the sound of an explosion, but it can also refer to the sound of a bass drum. “So put your best face on, everybody Pretend you know this song, everybody Come hang Let’s go out with a bang ( bang! bang! bang!)” (Bang! – AJR)Īnother frequently used onomatopoeic word is “boom”. In this song, he tells the story of transferring from childhood to being an adult, which sometimes hit us so fast. On the other hand, there’s no sexual reference in the song “Bang!” by AJR. “ Bang bang into the room (I know ya want it) Bang bang all over you (I’ll let ya have it)” (Bang Bang – Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj) This word is supposed to imitate the sound of someone banging with their fists on something, but it’s also a subtle way of explaining doing sex, like in the case of “Bang Bang” by Jessie J. One of the most used onomatopoeic words in lyrics is “bang”.
So let’s take a look at some examples of how songwriters use onomatopoeia in their song lyrics. And secondly, most of the time, they use these words in the chorus and the title of the song.
This is not surprising, since we are talking about music. First of all, most of the time, they use words that imitate percussive sounds. If we look at song lyrics to understand how they use these words, we can notice a few things. These sounds can be noises or animal sounds too. Onomatopoeia is when we use words that imitate the sound that the word itself describes. So let’s take a look at when and how we can use this technique in lyric writing, and how successful songwriters used it in their songs. This is not a topic that many people are aware of, so I wanted to write an article about it in the blog. One of the tools in the lyric writing toolbox is onomatopoeia. We can use metaphors, personification, rhymes, alliteration. They are commonplace in all types of debates and discussions - in politics, advertising, media, and our everyday conversations - whether they are used intentionally or committed unknowingly due to a lack of argumentation skills.There are many tools a songwriter can use to write lyrics for a song. Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning that weaken an argument, or tricks of thought used as a debate tactic in order to persuade people. “Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.” - Leonard Nimoy
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