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Metaphors in songs provide deeper meaning and understanding, making personal experiences more universal. They can be obvious or profound, and can also be used in song titles to capture attention. Examples include Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind” and Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” which are both extended metaphors.
The function of metaphor in songs is very similar to its function within poetry and other written works: to relate two different things to each other to provide a deeper meaning or understanding of each. This can be done in a fairly obvious way, which often creates a superficial metaphor, or it can be more profound and use an extended metaphor. Musicians can also use metaphors in a song title to make the title stand out more and capture the audience’s attention faster. Many songwriters and lyricists use metaphor in songs to make personal experiences more universal and connect more strongly with a listener.
A metaphor is created to establish a connection between two things to reinforce a concept or idea. The song Dust in the Wind by Kansas, for example, uses the metaphor that “All we are is dust in the wind” to compare humanity to the dust particles blowing around. This serves to reinforce the ephemeral nature of humanity, creating a sense of formlessness in the listener’s mind. Such a metaphor in songs can also reinforce other ideas, such as associating people with dust as a way to evoke the phrase “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” in a listener’s mind, which is often uttered at a funeral.
The metaphor in songs can also be used to create a stronger title. In the example above, the title itself which contains half of the metaphor found in the song starts introducing the comparison to the listener before he or she even hears it. The image of dust blowing in the wind is immediately evocative and puts the listener in the right frame of mind to appreciate the lyrical content of the piece. This use of metaphor in songs also makes the song title more memorable to a listener, allowing them to find it later and hear it again.
Some songs are, themselves, conceptually extended metaphors, with other metaphors and devices running through them. Pink Floyd’s song Shine On You Crazy Diamond is a reference to former Pink Floyd singer Syd Barrett and his struggles with mental health. This sense of madness, and the persistence of human nature despite such hardships, is evoked by the metaphor within the song’s title. The entire song reinforces this, with other devices, including the simile “Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky,” which further develops the themes of losing a friend to mental illness.
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