Even fifty years on, Chuck Berry remains one of rock and roll's greatest lyricists. Some have called him an "eternal teenager," as he was able to capture the thoughts and attitudes of his core audience, even though most were white teenagers. He was also an attentive professional who understood the popular music market far better than did most record executives of the time. Berry recognized that young people, both black and white, had different experiences than their parents, and they spoke about them using a different language. As he put it, "All in all it was my intention to hold both the black and the white clientele by voicing the different kinds of songs in their customary tongues." For example, there are many popular songs about school; most are nostalgic evocations of youth framed around the schoolhouse. None address school from a young person's perspective. Berry's "School Days," on the other hand, talks about studying hard, mean teachers, finding a seat in the lunchroom, harassment from other students, and the glorious hour when one can finally "lay your burden down."
Berry's ability to think to the market was not his only contribution to rock and roll, however. He is also known as the "poet laureate of rock and roll," a nickname that acknowledges his skill as a songwriter. A good student in school, poetry was one of Berry's favorite subjects, and t is clear that he had read a great deal and absorbed a lot of information about poetic construction. His lyrics display great variety (more so than his music; he recycled several of his hits by fitting them with new lyrics), and his imaginative use of rhymes, alliteration, and meter give shape and momentum to his songs. Note the difference between the chorus and the verses in this song. Not only are the choruses six bars longer than the verses, but the rhythm of the lyrics is different: each line of the verses implies a shuffle feel, an impression created by using more syllables at the beginning of each line than at the end. Also, the rhyme scheme of the chorus is abbbbc. The word "music," and the end of the first line is never rhymed, nor is "dance with me" at the end of the last; all of the rhymes pile up in the middle. In the verse, however, the last word of every line rhymes.
One important characteristic of Berry's songwriting style is the means by which he succinctly captures the essence of situation. Many of his songs tell a story, but unlike most ballads, they do so in a compressed fashion. The words and images that are employed let us fill in details we are never given. For example, the last verse of "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" begins, "Two three count/with nobody on." Most American listeners can divine that we are not only talking about baseball, but a particular moment in a baseball game—the player's last chance for a hit that will win the game for his team. It takes more words to describe the situation than Berry uses to evoke it!
|
 |
|
|
Louis Jordan, Willie Dixon, Nat King Cole, Langston Hughes
Must Haves:
 "Roll Over Beethoven"
"No Particular Place to Go"
"Brown-Eyed Handsome Man"
"Memphis Tennessee"
"Nadine"
John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, Eric Burdon, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen
|
|
