29. Breathe (2 a.m.) - (Anna Nalick)

"Life's like an hourglass / glued to the table."

Fun fact: Anna Nalick, like, totally has a thing for similes.

(Similes -- for a quick refresher -- are comparisons using the words "like" or "as." To dust off an old joke -- one might even say they're "like" metaphors.)


See what he did there?

Similes (and metaphors) are a pretty handy tool* for songwriting, too. Since words are at a premium in your average pop ballad, you've really got to put some extra effort in so as to make sure that every last syllable on the page is actually being used to paint the kind of picture** you want your audience to receive. This is where stuff like similes (and metaphors, allusions, etc.) are worth their weight in gold*** -- because they allow an artist to use an existing image (or two, or ten) in order to pack an otherwise tiny track with some really big, broad imagery to get the listener's wheels a-spinnin'.****

(Meta-joke/ frame of reference: check out all of the handy examples of figurative language we used in the last paragraph alone!)

* Handy tool = likens an abstract technique to a physical instrument
** Paint the kind of picture = recalls an artist crafting a visual image
*** Worth their weight in gold = monetary image to suggest richness, value
**** Wheels a-spinnin' = implies momentum, forward-moving thought

As you can see, figurative language is a great way to draw on existing conventions, connotations, and imagery in order to get a really big message across in what might otherwise appear to be a relatively small window of opportunity. Heck, you might even call metaphors "bouillon cubes of brilliance."


Just add water poetry and let the truth soup flow!

Thanks to a steady diet of figurative language, one sees quickly why Anna Nalick's chart-topping "Breathe (2 a.m.)" is absolutely brimming with truth bouillons. Nalick tackles some pretty heavy life issues (unplanned pregnancy, abortion, alcoholism -- you name it). But thanks to the ever-present similes and metaphors? Our balladeer never actually has to come right out and address any one of these particularly loaded issues by name.

Instead, she employs some slick figurative language to draw on existing imagery and offer up repeated images of doubt, confusion, and an almost soul-crushing determinism. And in the end? Her song is all the more thought-provoking accordingly.

Here's a quick recap of the figurative language we encounter:

"And you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable."

"There's a light at the end of this tunnel..."

"I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd."

"These words are my diary screaming out loud."

(and my personal favorite)

"Life's like an hourglass glued to the table."

Ahh, so THAT's why Dorothy didn't just flip that sucker upside down when time started to run out.

(... the more you know... )

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