In discussing the definition of poetry Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy, the three editors of the Norton Anthology of Poetry, begin by acknowledging that “poetry began as song and continues as song; it is usually best appreciated when spoken or sung…”[1] Taking this classification into consideration, it must follow that the lyrics to contemporary songs must qualify as poetry, and as such, deserve placement into an anthology of poetry. If this is true, why are there no such selections in the Norton? The lyrics to the Spanish song Jueves by the music group La Oreja de Van Gogh perfectly fits the preliminary description of poetry, and goes even further. In addition to its musicality, the lyrics exemplify various other poetic rhetoric devices, which enhance the meaning and quality of the piece.
Musicality in poetry and song isn’t simply conveyed by background and external rhythms and melody, offered by instrumental and vocal accompaniment. Onomatopoeia, assonance, and rhyme are all part of what makes a poem sing. Jueves features a perfect example of onomatopoeia: the word tartamudeando. The translation of this Spanish word is “stuttering,” and the sound of the word, which includes assonance, recreates the act of stammering. In the chorus, there is a repetition of an “s” sound which mimics “respiro” or “I breath.” Each line is filled with assonance, or the repetition of vowel sounds within words. Whereas alliteration might aid in creating a steady rhythm, assonance helps in creating an ephemeral and airy quality in the poem. Using the first line of the song as an example, the repetition of the Spanish “a” generates the flowing nature and tone of the piece: Si fuera más guapa y un poco más lista. Though there is no set rhyme scheme or formula within this poem, many lines tend to rhyme with preceding ones. Several of the rhyming examples follow the assonance model mentioned above, and use the Spanish “a” to create the rhymes and half-rhymes: lista/revista, imaginas/bonita/cristal, suspiras/vista. Other vowel rhymes are also present, specifically the Spanish “o”: yo/silencio, labios/tartamudeando, diciendo/menos/directo.
Through the stresses placed on the words by the Spanish language, further emphasized by the poetic devices mentioned in the previous paragraph, Jueves follows a strict meter that enhances its musicality. The lyrics follow amphibrach tetrameter and dimeter. Each verse contains four lines, the first three in tetrameter, and the last in dimeter. The only exception to the rule is the last verse in which each line is tetrameter, the purpose of which will be mentioned later. Amphibrach is when a stressed syllable is surrounded by two unstressed syllables.[2] Taking the first line as an example, the scansion is as follows:
It is important to note that in spoken Spanish, various vowel sounds mesh together into one, a form of elision. In the above example, “y” and “un” would be pronounced as one syllable. The following is an example of one of the amphibrach dimeter lines:
This strict adherence to a meter puts this song in the ranks of the great poems in the Norton Anthology and others.
In addition to musicality, poetry features various other qualities that separate it from everyday speech: tropes and schemes. One of the tropes that elevates Jueves beyond being an ordinary song is the simile “Y así pasan los días… Como las golondrinas del poema de Bécquer.” In translation, these two lines compare the passage of days to the passage of swallows in Bécquer’s poems. Not only is this line a perfect example of simile, but it is also filled with imagery and allusion, specifically to the Spanish poet’s The Black Swallows Will Return and various other poems in which this graceful bird is featured. Acknowledgment of the poetry’s past, specifically that of Spanish poetry, brings Jueves into this historical narrative and trend.
The trope of personification is also used to create vivid imagery within the piece, and is specifically utilized to bring to life parts of the body. Despiertan mis labios signifies the awakening of the speaker’s lips as she begins to pronounce the name of the man she loves, while el último soplo de mi corazón speaks to the last breath of the speaker’s heart as she hears her significant other say, “I love you.”
La Oreja de Van Gogh also uses the scheme of anaphora to emphasize and highlight meaning. In the first verse, the repetition of “si fuera” or “if I were” stresses the insecurity of the speaker: if only I were more beautiful, if only I were more intelligent, if only I were special, if only I were from the pages of a magazine! The verb tense utilized in this repetition is the subjunctive, one that is used when expressing things that are not a certainty. The ambiguity imbued by this verb tense underscores the speaker’s belief that she isn’t any of the things she listed – beautiful, intelligent, and so on.
Perhaps the most important characteristic of poetry is its storytelling. “After all, [poetry] encourages us to embrace… the unexpected, the never-thought-of (and also… the universal, the shared…).”[3] It is this specific feature in Jueves that makes it perfect for a poetry anthology. Upon first reading, the lyrics seem to be speaking about the universal feeling of love, insecurity, and anticipation. The words tell a story of a girl who sees a boy she thinks is handsome, the time it takes for the girl to inch closer to him, and finally, their ultimate meeting. There are certain phrases within the lyrics that hint to this amorous interpretation of the text. With the phrase “piensas una chica más tonta/y me quiero morir [you think I’m a stupid girl, and I want to die],” the reader can understand the speaker’s embarrassment that comes along with being in love with someone new. When the two finally meet and talk on “un día especial este once de marzo [a special day, March 11],” it is obvious to the reader that this moment is extremely significant to the girl. Lastly, the personified line of “el último soplo de mi corazón” can be read as the released tension as the couple kisses and professes their love for one another. All of these lines elicit a universal feeling, one that is felt by most everyone when they first fall in love. So, in the words of the editors of the Norton Anthology, Jueves “encourages us to embrace… the universal.”
Along with the universal message sung through the lyrics of this piece, there is an “unexpected” reading of the words, one that is only possible with the addition of outside information. March 11, on the Spanish calendar, is a somber day in history. In 2004, a terrorist attack was conducted against civilian commuters in Madrid. More than 190 people were killed that morning. With this extra information, the song and lyrics take a much more serious tone. The location of the action, a train, is no longer unimportant. The setting locates the characters’ positions on this fateful day. The lyrics describing how the girl wishes that she would die because of her feeling of embarrassment, now take a more important role as a foreshadowing tool. The beautiful last line is no longer read as a release of nervous and sexual tension, but can almost be read literally – that is, if hearts did breathe. The speaker in the song is no longer living after this attack, and this was indeed the last breath of her heart. It is also here, as mentioned above, where La Oreja de Van Gogh changes up the meter. If the structure continued, this last line would have been amphibrach dimeter, but instead, it remained in tetrameter. By changing this structure, the lyricist catches the reader and listener off guard. It is obvious that something has changed and something is different than before. This change alerts the reader and listener to the meaning of the line: the sudden and unexpected end of life.
The popular Spanish song Jueves by the music group La Oreja de Van Gogh encompasses every element of poetry mentioned as important by the editors of the Norton Anthology. In story and message, it is both universal as well as unexpected. In structure, it exhibits musicality through rhythm and rhyme. The words create strong, vivid imagery, and are impeccably placed to convey the song’s double meaning. Structure, musicality, and word choice symbiotically work together to enhance and deliver an important and meaningful story.
[1] “Preface to the Shorter Fifth Edition.” In The Norton Anthology of Poetry, edited by Margaret W. Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy, Xli. Shorter 5th ed. New York: Norton, 2005.
[2] Merriam-Webster Online, s.v. “Amphibrach,” accessed October 12, 2014.
[3] Norton Anthology
