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of Cathy Earnshaw from Emily Bronte's 1848 novel. In 'The Intruder' Peter Gabriel impersonated a psychotic, and
'The Boxer' features a down-and-out character.
Second Person
This is where the lyric speaks of "you". To disguise the personal nature of a lyric, sing it in the second person. This
can make it seem as though you are talking about someone else, when in fact it might be yourself. This is used in
'You Should Hear How She Talks About You' and 'Tell Her About It'.
Third Person
To grasp how significant point of view is, think of some famous songs and imagine them sung from a different one.
'My Way' sung from the third person would be absurd – it wouldn't be anywhere near as dramatic. Imagine the
climax as Sinatra sings "And he did it... his way!" The audience would wonder why the singer is so worked up
over someone else's trials and tribulations.
But the third person can offer an excellent way to distance yourself from material that may be too personal, or to tell
a story from more than one person's perspective. Many of The Beatles' mop-top period hits were in the first person,
but with 'She Loves You' they tried something different. The lyric tells how the speaker tries to reconcile the two
lovers who have quarrelled. The song not only celebrates the reunion of the lovers but, implicitly, the generosity of
the person who did the patching-up.
Combined Points of View
Consider the lyric of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity'. Passages of first-person reflection by Major Tom in space are
combined with the voice of a technician at Mission Control doing the countdown and last checks, and another earth-
bound voice telling the astronaut of his new-found celebrity. Compare it with 'Rocket Man'.
Duets
Differing points of view can be made explicit with the duet, where two voices are heard. 'Don't Go Breaking My
Heart' and 'Don't Give Up' are variants on the love duet, with the female voice reassuring the male. In most pop love
duets, the two voices are in blissful agreement, as in 'It Takes Two', 'Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing' and 'You're
All I Need To Get By'. Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting came on like three romantic musketeers with 'All For
Love'. 'Fairytale Of New York' is a song where the two singers insult each other.
Narrative
A song can be cast as a story, whether true or invented. The folk ballad is a good historical precedent. Stories can be
told from a variety of perspectives. 'Leader Of The Pack' and 'Tell Laura I Love Her' were early 1960s teen hits that
played on a morbid fascination with death in an automobile accident. 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' is about the
relationship between a schoolteacher and a student; 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' tells of violence in a
subway; 'She's Leaving Home' relates the story of a daughter breaking away from her parents with commentary from
both sides. 'In The Ghetto' is a marvellous compressed narrative of a young man who grows up in poverty, takes to
crime and gets shot by the police. 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight' is a revealing narrative about a relationship that
engenders suicidal feelings. 'Chestnut Mare' is a story of