A: Nothing. There is not a word in the English language that rhymes with orange, so don’t burn your brain trying to find it.

We learned long ago not to end a line with “love.” It leaves you only four options: above or dove, both mind-numbingly overworked in Christian music; glove (quite a stretch, although Hammerstein made it work in “People Will Say We’re in Love”); or shove, which doesn’t bear thinking about.

Try not to make your rhymes so trite that the listener can guess the rhyming word before he hears it. This is called “telegraphing rhymes”: moon/June; saved my soul/made me whole; set me free/victoree.

Why Rhyme?

Rhyming is fun, frustrating, and a lot of work, but it’s something we must learn to do well to be good lyric writers. Rhyme makes a song pleasant to the ear and easy to learn and remember; it’s especially effective for congregational songs.

It’s the norm in songwriting, but there are exceptions. If you’re using something already familiar to the listener, such as the Psalms, it’s not an absolute must.

Whether or not you use rhyme, your lyrics must be lyrical; they need to have a cadence and a flow—they need to move—they need to sing.

Here are some examples of rhyming patterns from three of our choruses:

No rhyme:
Holy, holy; Holy holy
Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
And we lift our hearts before You
As a token of our love
Holy, holy; Holy, holy.

Lines l&3; 2&4:
Freely, freely you have received
Freely, freely give
Go in My name, and because you believe
Others will know that I live

Lines 2&4:
We are heirs of the Father
We are joint heirs with the Son
We are children of the Kingdom
We are family, we are one

You may try all sorts of variations—rhyming every line, rhyming lines 1 & 2 and lines 3 & 4. You might have three lines that rhyme and a fourth that doesn’t.

However you set it up, try to put your stronger line last in any couplet, because your last line is the punch line and it needs to be the most memorable.

True or False?

True rhymes are sounds that rhyme exactly: “man” and “can;” “praise” and “ways;” “clean” and “seen;” “finger” and “linger,” for example.

Near rhymes don’t rhyme exactly: “man” and “lamb;” “praise” and “face;” “clean” and “seem;” “Lord” and “word;” “finger” and “stinger.” These latter, especially when separated by a couple of lines, are close enough for the ear to accept as rhyme and are used by many pop and contemporary songwriters, and even our old hymns are full of them. Near rhymes are actually more prevalent today than true rhymes. Why? (More about this in a later post.)

But here we find a difference of opinion. Some pop writers prefer near rhymes because they think true rhymes are too “pat” and make a lyric “singsongy.” (And near rhyme is certainly less limiting to the writer.)

But some great lyricists refuse to use near rhymes at all except as a last resort. Sammy Cahn, recipient of 30 Academy Award nominations and winner of numerous Oscars for his lyrics, said he “agonized over the thought of using an impure rhyme.”

In fact, he said he often spent more time in “neatening up” one troublesome rhyme than in his whole first draft of a song, using near rhyme only after exhaustive work proved there was no other way around it without weakening his lyric.

The high standard he set for himself may explain why he won so many awards.

You’ve Got Options

Not all rhyme happens in the last syllable or two, or even in the last word of the lines. Some poetry teachers use the definitions:

Single rhyme: dog/log
Double rhyme: haunt me/taunt me
Triple rhyme: collecting things/suspecting things

Whatever meter you use, rhyme the important words. Rhyme gives emphasis, and you don’t want to waste it on trivial words. Make it count.

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See also Rhymes and Chimes, Parts 1 and 2 February 5 and 12, 2013

Written by : Jimmy & Carol Owens

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