Book of Rhymes #2 Do You Believe in Magic by The Lovin' Spoonful

Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart
How the music can free her, whenever it starts
And it's magic, if the music is groovy
It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie
I'll tell you about the magic, and it'll free your soul
But it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll...


The lyrics of this song suggest that music can free the souls of people who really listen to it. I love this song because although it has a cheerful back beat the lyrics speak out to every music lover all around the world. It is easy to relate to and must have been a party pleaser back in the day,


The A,A, B,B, C,C, D,D rhyme scheme is a common pattern that I tended to notice in many old school songs. If music were going mainstream back in the day it probably would've fit the same criteria. Its short and to the point. I love what the lyrics are suggesting though. Through listening to the above stanza I am visualizing a young girl in a dress jumping up and down to the beat of the music, completely free and liberated from every care in the world.


The flow of the song is very repetitive which is good for memory and impact however not original at all. The instruments used to play the back beats were and are extremely common in music and the lyrics fall slave to the beat, they do not over power. If you mute the music and allow just the lyrics the impact isn't nearly as great.

Imitation #1: Pablo Neruda, If you forget me

This poem, like all other Neruda poems is beautiful. Pablo Neruda captures such descriptions that truly allow a vivid painting to be pictured in the readers head. In this poem he is telling the woman he loves that as long as she loves him he will love her back however if:
 "you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land."

Neruda speaks to an audience with an imagination. He conveys a message that can be said simply in many different ways and uses many different devices. He uses much repetition to make sure the picture and the pain or the happiness is ingrained in the brain of the reader. How can you forget something when it is repeated over and over and it's beautiful at the same time. 

The poem almost places you directly in the scene. You begin to either reference past experiences you have had or imagine having lived through those experiences. It is great when a poet can capture not only visual effects of a situation but to have the reader emotionally imitate the feelings the poet felt when they wrote it is a concept that takes years for a poet to master, Neruda makes it look easy.

This poem is wonderful and lyrically genius. Enjoy =)