Internal rhyme in ‘The Boy with a Moon and Star on His Head’, Cat Stevens, 1972

Abstract

Abstract ‘The Boy with a Moon and Star on His Head’ was written and recorded by Cat Stevens in 1972. This paper briefly examines the song's subject matter, before analysing its musical structure and that of the words to the song. As well as the standard pattern of end rhyme, a pattern of internal rhyme is also analysed, using tools derived from literary analysis. The words to the song are transcribed by a method which mediates between transcription of the words that make it look like a poem and the words as they appear in sheet music. Finally, the song's pattern of internal rhyme is placed into a context that includes songs as well as poems, suggesting that the song is an exception that suggests a rule for words in the singer-song at the time of the song's appearance.

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