How to Write a Song Analysis

by SMF· Published January 8, 2023· Updated January 12, 2023

English class can be boring sometimes, even for those of us who actually enjoy reading and writing. But occasionally or at least ideally, we will be given assignments that are actually exciting and interesting to work on. One of those can be in the form of analyzing a song.

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One of the cool things about songs, as compared to other pieces of literature, is that first of all they tend to be relatively short. Secondly, there is usually a type of universal interest in song meanings (depending on the artist). And third, both classics and contemporary pieces can be enjoyable to research.

For instance, there’s a good possibility that with a song you’re already familiar with, even if it’s one of your favorites, there’s something about its history and composition that you will not be aware of until actually researching it. And yes, research is an important part of song analysis, which is something we will get to later.

Contemporary pieces may not be as historically-rich, but they can be more stimulating to work on since they tend to deal with trending topics, ideas and musicians. Moreover, if your teacher were to assign you a contemporary piece, chances are it’ll be via one of the more-profound artists out there. So in such cases, there can be a lot more to dissect than you initially take for granted. Or in any event, the writing should go smoother since you’re likely already dealing with a celebrity you’re already familiar with.

So with all of that said, here are some proven tips when it comes to successfully writing a song analysis for English class.

1. ADHERE TO THE PRESCRIBED GUIDELINES

You may have heard the old adage about the student who wrote the perfect paper but still received an F because he or she didn’t properly follow the teacher’s guidelines.

Musicians are amongst the freest artists out there, and when analyzing their works we may be compelled to emulate their carefree styles. But if you are in fact analyzing a song for a class project, then there will inevitably be certain rules to follow in the process. As a formal author, you should remain mindful of these throughout. Your failure to do so, may end up in your penning of a really-dope analysis but one that has to be rewritten or even rejected due to not following the necessary procedure.

2. CHOOSING THE RIGHT SONG

Perhaps your English teacher is liberal enough to allow you to choose the song of your choice to analyze. It would of course be tempting to work on one by your favorite musician, i.e. an artist you’re already familiar with and have a sound understanding of what their lyrics mean.

But doing so may not always be the best choice, especially if you have an affinity for musicians who tend to harp on trivial and/or redundant concepts or are under pressure to have the analysis comply to an intimidating word minimum.

In other words, even if you do decide to go with your favorite artist, try to choose one of their deeper, more-substantive tracks to work on. Or even better yet, you may opt to go with certain acts, such as U2 or Nas for instance, whose works are known to be more profound than that of their peers.

Another option is going with a really-popular historical musician whose song may not necessarily be profound per se but has an interesting history behind it.

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin”

One track that comes to mind in that regard is the likes of Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin“. On the surface it may not really sound like much is going on, but in reality or at least in theory its lyrics are based on serious familial beef the Jacksons were going through at the time. Moreover, since there’s so much historical information available about Michael himself, that type of info can also be used to flesh the analysis out.

That said, you wouldn’t necessarily want to choose a song that’s too complicated. For instance, you may have a hair-pulling experience attempting to make sense out of a Bob Dylan track, as classic as it may be. And if your teacher assigns you one of such songs by force, that’s something we will get to a bit later.

3. RESEARCH

One of the biggest mistakes a person can make when analyzing a song is failing to conduct adequate research. Even if the song is by an artist you know like the back of your hand, not taking the time to research it is a big mistake. Research! More Research! Research is one of the main keys.

In some instances, especially when dealing with tracks by less-popular artists or songs that are not considered classics or fan favorites, there may not be any pertinent information out there to be had to begin with. But in many cases, you’d be surprised what can be discovered or theorized about a song if you’re willing to do some digging.

4. HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ANALYTICAL SKILLS

In other instances, such as with the aforementioned Bob Dylan, you may find yourself in a situation where there isn’t any pertinent information – or sometimes even theories – to fall back on. There can be other analysts and scholars out there who have speculated on the meaning of the same song, though with none of those ideas having been verified by the artist or other authoritative sources. This may even happen with a track you’re already quite familiar with.

You go into the analysis thinking you already have the meaning figured out but come out surprised to discover that there’s nothing verifiable out there to back up your conclusions.

Under such circumstances, the analysis must be written nonetheless. This is what we may sometimes refer to as “going out on a limb”. In other words, your understanding of the song, lack of a verifiable meaning considered, may be a little far out and/or such that some people will not agree with your conclusion.

But then again, so it often is with the artists who write these songs. Therefore, so long as you can form a concise argument, you shouldn’t be afraid to put your own ideas, as unorthodox as it may be, out there, unless the artist or some other authoritative source has stated otherwise. That is to say that in the world of song analyses, the artist’s own explanation always trumps all other interpretations.

5. SEARCH OUT A NARRATIVE

Not all songs have a distinguishable storyline, but many do, especially when it comes to certain genres, such as country music. And sometimes, even confusing pieces can be made understandable if you are able to detect a narrative that permeates throughout the lyrics – even if not consistently so – and then focus on that particular aspect of the song.

6. CONTEXT

This goes back to actually researching the background of a track. Oftentimes, there will be a particular event, person, reality or what you that inspired the songwriter(s) to pen the piece. And if you are able to ascertain the context in which the song was written, that will undoubtedly grant you a better understanding of the lyrics’ meaning.

7. SONG STRUCTURE

Not all parts of a song are equal. Or rather, let’s say that different parts also serve their own respective purposes. Therefore, it is important to be able to differentiate between the likes of the following:

verses
choruses
bridges

For instance, the main point of a song is usually relayed through its chorus. And if, via the chorus, you are still unable to ascertain exactly what the track is about, it is in the bridge where you usually find the thesis sentiment reiterated in some way, shape or form.

If you’re tasked with analyzing songs regularly, i.e. if the entire class is based on such assignments, then as time progresses you should be able to distinguish the different parts yourself (if you don’t know how to already). If not, then it is a good idea to resort to websites such as Genius which usually name the different segments.

8. MAKE SENSE OF POETIC DEVICES

Musicians of all genres (though some more than others) rely quite heavily on metaphors, allegories, abstractions, symbolisms – so on and so forth. Most of the songs out there revolve around topics, such as being in love, which musicians/poets had already worn out even before most of us were born.

So the challenge of today’s artists isn’t necessarily to say anything new as it is to relay the same old ideas in refreshing ways.

That would be the logical reason why they rely so heavily on poetic lingo as opposed to just stating their sentiments forthrightly. And sometimes, making sense out of these metaphors can be the most-challenging aspect of song analysis, though one that has to be taken seriously rather than ignored or neglected.

8. ONLY FOCUS ON THE INSTRUMENTAL IF NECESSARY

When it comes to ascertaining a song’s actual meaning, of course the lyrics tend to be exponentially more important than the instrumental. In fact these days, artists are increasingly using this strategy in which for instance they’d drop melancholic wording against an upbeat music.

So perhaps if you have a minimum-word requirement which hasn’t been met after analyzing the lyrics, you may decide to harp on the instrumentals also. Or in some (rare) cases, it may actually be that the music noticeably contributes to the overall meaning, thus necessitating granting the instrumental its appropriate attention.

It is also imperative, at the very least, to make note of the track’s producer. Yes, the instrumental is important to the sound and overall success of the song. But analysts should not make the mistake of thinking that it is on par with the lyrics in terms of understanding what’s being put forth.

CONCLUSION

Analyzing songs can be one of the more exciting activities you engage in as an English student or perhaps as a writer in general. Music is an art we all have an affinity for, and popular musicians rank amongst the best-known celebrities in the world. So this is a topic that everyone tends to be interested in.

But on the flipside of that equation is the acknowledgement that with universal interest in music comes respective individuals with their own understandings and takes of different artists and songs.

In fact these days, even the musicians themselves aren’t safe from incessant critiques. So analyzing tracks, as cool as it may be, requires serious research and hard thinking nonetheless.

Songs may be such that we usually listen to them for entertainment or to take a load off. But making sense of them and presenting our conclusions in an analysis that will be subject to criticism (and grading) can be a weighty scholarly endeavor.

Example of a Song Analysis: “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica

It has been put forth that “Nothing Else Matters” was originally penned with the addressee being a girlfriend of James Hetfield. But James himself has described it as being “about missing friends at home, being out [on tour] for such a long time”.

With that in mind, the lyrics of this piece are quite tender, to the point where he further went on to explain that he never meant for them to be made public. But the rest of Metallica was feeling the tune and urged him to record and drop Nothing Else Matters, which proved to be sound advice, considering that this is arguably the biggest hit single in their catalog.

But the easiest way to understand what’s being put forth is to presume that the addressee is a romantic interest. So maybe when Hetfield was missing his people back home, at the top of the list was someone whom he had that type of relationship with.

Verse 1

So the first verse, to some degree, sounds as if he’s missing someone in general, as if their relationship can be one of a number of different types. But the vocalist closes out the passage by saying “forever trusting who we are”, which isn’t necessarily the kind of statement one would make to their mother for instance. But still, it’s like what he’s generally speaking to is their association being such that it cannot be destroyed by distance.

Verse 2

The second verse maybe can be taken the same way, as in having a general applicability. The vocalist comes off as someone who, up until now, was never able to fully express how he feels about the addressee. And again, making a statement like “[I] never opened myself this way” may not be the type you’d make towards a parent for instance. But that would depend on what type of relationship you had with them beforehand.

Verse 3

In the third verse, James speaks to how edifying his association with the addressee is. In this particular instance, he doesn’t allude to the two of them being separated or anything like that. And again, there isn’t anything like overt-romantic lingo utilized. But with Hetfield dropping lines like “trust I seek, and I find in you”, and “every day for us something new”, it would be hard to imagine that he’s like singing to his bestie.

Chorus

And with all of that said, it’s really the refrain and chorus which drive home the postulation that this piece may be romantic in nature. In terms of his relationship with the addressee, the vocalist puts forth that “nothing else matters” and goes on to further expound that he “never cared for what they say” or “games they play”. And those are definitely the types of assertions that we most commonly come across in love songs.

In Conclusion

To note, Lars Ulrich is also credited as a writer of this track. So it may very well be that in its original incarnation, “Nothing Else Matters” did speak more to the idea of missing loved ones in general. But a common phenomenon we come across in the music industry is a piece being universal upon conception, but by the time the final product comes out, it does so more as a love song. And that may well be what transpired here, because half of the lyrics read as if the addressee could fall into one of a number of relationship categories and is someone whom the vocalist is missing due to their absence. Indeed, Hetfield was surprised to discover that some people have even this as a bereavement song, with both the mourners and the deceased being males.

Part of aforenoted Hetfield’s astonishment was due to the fact that he even understands that this song is usually interpreted as being about the singer ‘missing his chick’. And as for the actual thesis being relayed, it’s as if the relationship between the vocalist and addressee is a persecuted one, with the former resolving to stay committed regardless (and with no allusions to their being distance between them). That is the type of storyline you will more commonly come across in a romance-based piece.

Top Songs with Deep Meanings

Below is a handful of songs with very deep meanings. These tracks also happen to be members of the list of the most-analyzed songs in history.

It is important to state that there are literally thousands of more songs equally as deep or even deeper than the ones mentioned above. The list is therefore not exhaustive.