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Poetry in Music [[image:elvis-presley.jpg width="239" height="288" align="left"]]
When most people think about poetry the first thing they usually think is "great another boring story that rhymes, “but in reality poetry is much more than that. You may not realize it, but poetry is present  in every song ever written, whether the writer notices they added it  or not. According to Jake Berry, a poet and singer/songwriter, "A possible reason as to why poetry is no longer popular is that song has replaced its function; this has been especially the case since the mid-1960s."

Poetry in R&B
R&B, which stands for rhythm and blues, was introduced in the 1950's. R&B was mostly influenced by jazz and blues music R&B started out as a heavy, insistent beat, which ended up becoming really popular. Later R&B turned into what we know as rock and roll music today. Big Mama Thornton's song "Hound Dog" shows poetic devices that are present in R&B music. You ain't nothing but a hound dog - A Been snoopin' round my door - B  You ain't nothing but a hound dog - A  Been snoopin' round my door - B  You can wag your tail - C  But I ain't gonna feed you no more - B

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_nNNIYTy9g

This song shows the rhyme scheme of ABABCB. The first four line show the very common rhyme scheme of ABAB. This song also uses the poetic device of repetition. Lines 1 and three are exactly the same and the same with lines 2 and 4. This emphasizes the importance of those 4 lines to the meaning of the song.

Poetry in Early Rock N' Roll
Alan Freed, a Cleveland disc jockey, first used rock and roll in 1951. It originated from rhythm and blues, which is characterized by the use of electric guitars, a strong rhythm with an accent on the offbeat, and youth-oriented lyrics. Rhythm and blues then turned into early rock and roll, which is characterized by electronically amplified instrumentation, a heavily accented beat, and relatively simple phrase structure. Elvis Presley's song "Hound Dog", which he redid from Big Mama Thornton's R&B song "Hound  Dog" is a perfect example of electronically amplified instrumentation, a heavy accented beat, and relatively simple phrase structure. It also has a strong rhythm, which is one of the characteristics of the blues.

You ain't nothing but a hound dog - A Crying all the time - B  You ain't nothing but a hound dog - A  Crying all the time - B  Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit - C  And you ain't no friend of mine - B

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJsQSb9RFo0

This rhyme scheme of Elvis Presley's song "Hound Dog" shows the simplicity of it's phrase structure by having the first four lines be the common rhyme scheme ABAB. After the first four lines it goes to BC, which is also still very simple. His song also shows a lot of repetition which is another poetic device used in music.

Same Form, Different Format
As seen above Elvis Presley and Big Mama Thornton did the same songs, but they did it using two different music types giving it a different feel. The songs had different lyrics, but they still used repetition the same and the rhyme scheme was also the same. Elvis made the song seem more upbeat and hyperactive whereas Big Mama Thornton’s version was heavier, like R&B music was back then.