Because of its confounding structures, English is one of the most difficult languages in which to rhyme, but that hasn't stopped English speakers from writing millions of incredible songs. However, these rhymes pop up in song lyrics so often that they just come across as incredibly lazy. Here are eight lyrical rhymes that need a rest.
1. Walk/Talk
Example: "Walk this way/Talk this way" (Aerosmith - "Walk This Way")
When a rhyme becomes the basis for an idiom, as in "talk the talk and walk the walk," that's an excellent indication that it took a songwriter pretty much no brainpower to use it in a song.
2. Crazy/Lazy
Example: "Everybody seems to think I'm lazy/I don't mind, I think they're crazy" (The Beatles - "I'm Only Sleeping")
Back when Best Coast first broke, everyone was talking about how awful the lyrics were, with the song "Crazy For You" being a frequent target of these criticisms. Just because "crazy" and "lazy" rhyme extraordinarily well doesn't mean that they actually work well together thematically.
3. Fire/Desire
Example: "It burned like fire/This burning desire" (U2 - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For")
The first person to ever rhyme these two words together must have been very proud of themselves, since the feeling of desire is very often comparable to fire, but once everyone else caught on, it was ruined and overplayed. Even one of my favorite songs of all time, Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire," fell into this trap.
4. Friend/End
Example: "Said I'll always be a friend/Took an oath, I'ma stick it out 'til the end" (Rihanna - "Umbrella")
Whenever someone writes a song using the word "friend," it's pretty much guaranteed that there will be at least one promise of staying 'til the end," or an expression of fear that the friendship will one day end. It's nothing short of a miracle that Biz Markie avoided the rhyme in "Just A Friend."
5. Sun/Fun
Example: "We had joy, we had fun/We had seasons in the sun" (Terry Jacks - "Seasons in the Sun")
If the weather's not terribly hot, then yes, spending time in the sun can indeed be a lot of fun, but that's not a very engaging sentiment to sing about.
6. Eyes/Lies
Example: "Every time you close your eyes/Lies, lies" (Arcade Fire - "Rebellion (Lies)"
This one's very tough to avoid, because "eyes" and "lies" are both wonderful lyrical devices, and they conceptually go together like peanut butter and jelly, but maybe it's time we figured out another way to express the pain of deception.
7. Girl/World
Example: "I could try to be big in the eyes of the world/What matters to me is what I could be to just one girl" (The Beach Boys - "That's Not Me")
Technically this one's a slant rhyme, which means it doesn't rhyme perfectly, but that doesn't stop songwriters from constantly promising girls that they'll travel the world, or that they're the most beautiful in the whole world.
8. Sad/Mad/Glad
Example: "Sometimes I feel so happy, sometimes I feel so sad/Sometimes I feel so happy, but mostly you just make me mad" (The Velvet Underground - "Pale Blue Eyes")
It's incredibly convenient that these three monosyllabic words all rhyme and represent different emotions, which is a huge sign that if they end up close together on your lyric sheet, you should probably go back and try just a little bit harder.
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