A.

INTRODUCTION
Can you sing an English song? Is it difficult for you or not?  Singing an English song can help us to learn
English. It is a fun way.

Do you have a favorite singer? Who is he/he? Why do you like him/her? Do you like his/her songs, too? One
of the best tools to learn foreign language is using songs. The real songs can be very efective to help us
understand English.

There are some reasons why many people use songs to learn English. First, song are authentic materials. If we
want to learn English, we should listen to English songs. Second, English songs also contain culture and
history.

The reason is that song contain repetitions and repetitions enhance learning. The next reason is it’s a good way
to learn voccabulary and pronunciation. An last, English songs are fun and they can easily energize the
listeners.

B. SONGS
Song have been an amusing companion for human beings for as long as or even longer than we can speak.
Songs are highly expressive. Some convey love and emotions ; some tell a memorable and moving story; some
embody one’s dreams and ideals; and some reminisce about the golden past. Songs are abundant in themes and
expressions which will echo in the learner’s heart.

1 .  SOSIAL FUNCTION OF SONGS

The social function of song are:

a. To entertain the listeners.

b. To teach moral value through the lyrics of the songs.
c. To provide a way of managing the realitionship between our public and private emotional life.
d. To express personal feeling and cultural values.
e. To give someone to not only shares their emotions with others, but also to have an emotional
connection that just can’t be experienced in any other way.
2.  GENERAL STRUCTURE OF SONGS
The general structure of a song consists of verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus. It is better for us to learn more
about the complete structure of songs.

a. Intro
The introduction establishes melodic, harmonic, and/or rhythmic related to the main body of song.

b. Verse
It is the section of the song structure that tells the story. This is the exposition, describing the scene or the
person, or an emotion. There are usually two or three verses in a row that have the same musical structure, the
same rhyme and poetic meter, but different words. The second verse builds on the picture painted in the first
verse, etc.
c. Chorus of Refrain
A chorus is the most repeated section, so it’s the easiest remembered. A chorus is the summary of the song’s
story. All the verses have been leading up to the chorus, and is usually the part of the song people sing along
with. A chorus can come at the beginning of the song structure; it can also start in the middle, or come at the
end. In fact, some songs don’t have choruses at all. Some people are usually confused to differentiate between
choruses and refrain. A refrain is any line that repeats in the song lyric, while a chorus is any group of lines
that repeat.

d. Break
A break is actually a brief “rest” or “pause” for the core melody within a song used to add further dimension
and excitement. It may include a quick instrumental solo or drum interlude or it may be a brief moment of
silence, or acombination of each of these elements.

e. Bridge
This is the part of the song that shifts. It can suddenly change tempo, or volume, or instrumentation. The bridge
is the section that gives the audience time to reflect on the story, or gives them the “climax” or conclusion of
the story through verses and chorus. Bridges can be used to give the singer a break.

f. Outro or Coda
This is the end of the road for the song. It can repeat the intro, chorus or a refrain as an outro, or a bridge with
an instrumental solo.

Below Are Some Forms of Song’s Structure

Intro-verse-verse-chorus-break-verse-verse-break-bridge-break-out

Verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus.

IDENTIFYING SOCIAL FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURE OF

ENGLISH SONG
Earth Song
Michael Jackson
Verse 1
What about sunrise
What about rain
What about all the things that you said
We were to gain
What about killing fields
Is there a time
What about all the things
That you said were yours and mine

Chorus
Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we’ve shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth, these weeping shores
Aah, ooh

Verse 2
What have we done to the world
Look what we’ve done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son
What about flowering fields
Is there a time
What about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine

Chorus
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying earth, these weeping shores
Aah, ooh
Aah, ooh

Verse 3
I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don’t know where we are
Although I know we’ve drifted far
Aah, ooh
Aah, ooh
Aah, ooh
Aah, ooh

Bridge
Hey, what about yesterday
(What about us)
What about the seas
(What about us)
The heavens are falling down
(What about us)
I can’t even breathe
(What about us)
What about apathy
(What about us)
Drowning in the seas
(What about us)
What about the promised land
Preachin’ what I believe
(What about us)
What about the holy land
(What about it)
What about the greed
(What about us)
Where did we go wrong
Someone tell me why
(What about us)
What about baby boy
(What about him)
 What about the days
(What about us)
What about all their joy
Do we give a damn
Aah, ooh
Aah, ooh

C. LANGUAGE FEATURES OF SONGS

Song lyrics can appeal to emotions, and they should also appeal to the ear. It can be assumed that different
genres of songs will exhibit different styles of lyrics. The verse of songs contains the details of the song: the
story, the events, images, and emotions that the writer wishes to express. Song are not always composed of
simple sentence structure or grammar. Lyrics are characterized by the use of rhythms, conversational speech,
and poetic expressions. The following are the leanguage features of songs.

1. Lyrics are written in first, second, or third person given on the specific perspective you choose. Often
time point of views change in lyrics, but only when needed.
2. They use rhyming words. Usually songs use a familiar catchy tune and rhyme. A rhyme is a linguistic
style, based on consonance or similiar sound of two or more syllables or whole words at the end of one
line; rhymes are most commonly used in poetry and songs.
3. They use alliteration. It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same  first
conconant sound, occur close together in a series, for example: A big bully beats a baby boy.
4. Some songs use poetic devices, such as figure of speech and imagery. While songs can paint a vivid
picture since they are longer mediums, imagery can be found in just a single sentences as well. Imagery
is vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses (sight, hearing, touch,semll, and
taste) for example : Her blue eyes were as bright as the sun, blue as the sky, but soft as silk. A figure of
speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning something different than its literal meaning.
5. Some songs use amusing word play and slang language. A word play is the manipulation of language
(in particular, the sounds, and meanings of words) with the intent to amuse; verbal wit. Salng is kind of
language consisting of very informal words and phrases. Slang is more common in speech than in
writing, for example: gonna, wanna, ain’t, etc.
 Song is a composition of tone or voice in sequence, combination and temporal relation to
produce a musical composition that has unity and continuity. 

 Jadi, Lagu adalah gubahan seni nada atau suara dalam suatu urutan, kombinasi,
dan hubungan temporal (biasanya diiringi dengan alat musik) untuk menghasilkan gubahan
musik yang mengandung kesatuan dan kesinambungan.

   Songs are used to express feelings and ideas in an entertaining world. Songs can be
used to deliver social criticism. The moral values are hidden in the lyrics.

 Lagu merupakan salah satu cara untuk mengekspresikan emosi dan perasaan
dengan cara yang menyenangkan. Lagu juga dapat menjadi media untuk menyampaikan
kritikan tentang situasi yang ada di masyarakat. Moral value atau amanat biasanya tersirat
dalam lirik yang dibuat penulis lagu.

Ciri kebahasaan

   Song atau lagu juga punya ciri kebahasaan, lho! Nah, berikut ciri kebahasaan dari song.

 Imagery. Imagery describes about feelings and emotions. Sebuah lagu biasanya
berusaha menggambarkan perasaan yang dirasakan si penulis.
 Rhythm. Ritme disini digunakan untuk menciptakan mood. Misalnya, apabila kita
sedang bersedih dan mendengarkan lagu dengan ritme slow, maka kita akan terbawa
suasana dengan lagu tersebut. So, rhythm creates mood!
 Figures of speech
~ Metaphor, comparing two things that are not alike to suggest that they actually have
something in common. Sekilas memang kedua hal yang dibandingkan tidak berkaitan,
tetapi sebenarnya ada kesamaan antara dua hal tersebut.e.g. “Time is a thief” or “Her haisr
was silk”
~ Simile, compares two things using “like” or “as’’. Suatu hal digambarkan dengan hal yang
mirip dengan menggunakan kata ‘like’ atau ‘as’ e.g. “My love is like a red rose”.
~ Hyperbole, a dramatic language. Big exaggeration, usually with humor. Suatu hal
digambarkan secara berlebihan, terkadang menggelitik karena terlalu berlebihan.
e.g. “That math homework took me 8 million years to finish”.
~ Personification, an object appear like a person. Objek (bukan manusia) memiliki
kemampuan seperti manusia. e.g. “The wind whisper” or “The snowflakes danced in the
wind”.
          ~ Allititration, the repetation of the same beginning sound in a series of words.
Perulangan bunyi suara yang terdapat di awal setiap kata. e.g. “Peter Parker pick a pack of
pants punctually”

Struktur
 Intro, yaitu bagian awal lagu, biasanya belum terdengar suara penyanyi (hanya
instrumennya saja)
 Verse, atau bait adalah bagian pengantar ke chorus.
 Refrain, peralihan dari verse ke chorus
 Chorus, bagian inti, biasanya yang paling mudah diingat.
 Bridge, penghubung chorus ke chorus selanjutnya ataupun ke coda.
 Coda, penutup lagu.
   Struktur tersebut tidak bersifat kaku, jadi tidak semua lagu memiliki struktur yang tersusun
seperti itu. Tapi setiap lagu secara umum pasti memiliki verse, chorus, dan bridge.