A refrain (from the Old French refraindre "to repeat," likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song. Old French was the Romance Dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the villanelle, the virelay, and the sestina. A villanelle is a poetic form which entered English-language poetry in the 1800s from the imitation of French models A virelai is a form of Medieval French verse used often in Poetry and Music. A sestina (also sextina, sestine, or sextain) is a highly structured Poem consisting of six six-line Stanzas followed by a Tercet Refrain is also a verb, meaning to hold back.
The use of refrains is particularly associated with popular music, especially rock and roll, where the verse-chorus-verse song structure typically places a refrain in almost every song. Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African Verse-chorus form is a Musical form common in Popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s The refrain or chorus often sharply contrasts the verse melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically, and assumes a higher level of dynamics and activity, often with added instrumentation. The structures or Musical forms of Songs in Popular music are typically sectional forms such as Strophic form. In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός - rhythmos, "any measured flow or movement symmetry" is the variation of the length and accentuation of In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously and chords actual or implied in Music. In Music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a Sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece either stylistic Chorus form, or strophic form, is a sectional and/or additive way of structuring a piece of music based on the repetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly. In Music, strophic form (or chorus form) is a sectional and/or Additive way of structuring a piece of Music based on the See also verse-chorus form. Verse-chorus form is a Musical form common in Popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s
In music, a refrain has two parts: the lyrics of the song, and the melody. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Lyrics (in singular form Lyric) are a set of words that accompany music either by speaking or singing In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or Sometimes refrains vary their words slightly when repeated; recognisability is given to the refrain by the fact that it is always sung to the same tune, and the rhymes, if present, are preserved despite the variations of the words. This article is about the poetic technique For the form of ice see Rime ice. Such a refrain is featured in "The Star-Spangled Banner," which contains a refrain which is introduced by a different phrase in each verse, but which always ends:
- O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave. " The Star-Spangled Banner " is the National anthem of the United States of America
A similar refrain is found in the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," which affirms in successive verses that "Our God," or "His Truth. "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American abolitionist song written by Julia Ward Howe in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly " is "marching on. "
Refrains usually, but do not always, come at the end of the verse. Some songs, especially ballads, incorporate refrains into each verse. A ballad is a Poem usually set to Music; thus it often is a story told in a Song. For example, one version of the traditional ballad The Cruel Sister includes a refrain mid-verse:
- There lived a lady by the North Sea shore,
- Lay the bent to the bonny broom
- Two daughters were the babes she bore. "The Twa Sisters" is a Murder ballad that recounts the tale of a girl drowned by her sister
- Fa la la la la la la la.
- As one grew bright as is the sun,
- Lay the bent to the bonny broom
- So coal black grew the other one.
- Fa la la la la la la la.
- . . .
(Note : the refrain of 'Lay the Bent to the Bonny Broom' is not traditionally associated with the ballad of The Cruel Sister (Child #10). This was the work of 'pop-folk' group Pentangle on their 1970 LP 'Cruel Sister' which has subsequently been picked up by many folk singers as being traditional. Both the melody and the refrain come from the ballad known as Riddles Wisely Expounded (Child #1). )
Here, the refrain is syntactically independent of the narrative poem in the song, and has no obvious relationship to its subject, and indeed little inherent meaning at all. In Linguistics, syntax (from Ancient Greek grc συν- syn-, "together" and grc τάξις táxis, "arrangement" is the Narrative poetry is Poetry that tells a story The poems may be short or long and the story it relates to may be simple or complex The device can also convey material which relates to the subject of the poem. Such a refrain is found in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Troy Town:
- Heavenborn Helen, Sparta's queen,
- O Troy Town!
- Had two breasts of heavenly sheen,
- The sun and moon of the heart's desire:
- All Love's lordship lay between,
- A sheen on the breasts I Love. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882 was an English poet Illustrator, painter and Translator.
- O Troy's down,
- Tall Troy's on fire!
- . . .
Phrases of apparent nonsense in refrains (Lay the bent to the bonny broom?), and solfege syllables such as fa la la, familiar from the Christmas carol Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly, have given rise to much speculation. Nonsense is a verbal communication or Written text which appears to be a Human language or other Symbolic system, but in fact does not carry any identifiable In Music, solfège ('soʊlfɛʒ also called solfeggio, sol-fa, or solfa) is a Pedagogical Solmization technique for the A syllable ( Greek:) is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds A Christmas carol (also called a Noël) is a carol ( Song or Hymn) whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, or the winter Some believe that the traditional refrain Hob a derry down O encountered in some English folksongs is in fact an ancient Celtic phrase meaning "dance around the oak tree. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. " These suggestions remain controversial.
In popular music
A pop chorus is not the same as a refrain. At least one well-known writer on pop-song-writing theory has stated this, for example, (Davis, 1990) says that a refrain musically and lyrically resolves a verse and therefore ends it, whereas a chorus begins a distinctively new music section of at least eight bars. A refrain is often a two line repeated lyrical statement commenting on the preceding verse, for example:
"Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down"
or
"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind".
or
"All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?"
This contrasts with the chorus of a typical modern pop song, which is very often more than just one repeated line, for example:
"Do you believe in life after love
I can feel something inside me say
I really don't think you're strong enough, no
Do you believe in life after love?
I can feel something inside me say
I really don't think you're strong enough, no".
It is true that many pop-songs do just consist of a repeated line, so the difference may seem negligible, for example:
"I should be so lucky,
Lucky, lucky, lucky,
I should be so lucky in love,
I should be so lucky,
Lucky, lucky, lucky,
I should be so lucky in love".
Some artists use repeating words or phrases to highlight certain ideas or messages. Jill Scott uses this technique in her song 'Golden':
Living my life like it's golden
Living my life like it's golden
Living my life like it's golden
Living my life like it's golden
Living my life like it's golden, golden
Living my life, Like it's golden, golden, golden, golden, golden, golden
However, there are also crucial differences in the structural purpose and use of the chorus as opposed to the refrain. Jill Scott (born April 4 1972) is an American soul and R&B Singer-songwriter, Poet, and actress Choruses such as those cited are musically and lyrically designed so that they can be repeated, for example, in a double-chorus, or at the end of the song, when they form the repeated outro, which very often continues into the fade-out of the recording. (Other structural elements, such as the breakdown, where the sung melodic line of the repeated chorus drops out may also be present here). The point of this is, again crucially, that the chorus contains the lyrical and melodic hook of the song (usually the song-title), which needs to be repeated as often as possible in order to be memorable to the listening audience. Refrains are not intended to be repeated in this way, (although they may contain a hook, but not necessarily the title, as in 'Eleanor Rigby'). " Eleanor Rigsby " is a song by The Beatles, originally released on the 1966 Album Revolver.
A chorus that arrives as a climax to a song is also very often approached by a bridge (which may be called a pre-chorus or climb). The bridge serves to build the song up into the chorus, often using techniques of harmony, melody, instrumentation and production. This does not happen with a refrain. Again, the point is that the chorus is the main part of the song, containing its central message, not simply an ending to, and a comment on the verse.
In summary, the refrain belongs to an earlier tradition of song-writing, e. g. the folk-song, sea-shanty or hymn. The pop-chorus, on the other hand, belongs to a more modern tradition aimed at providing a song-format which, through its ability to repeat a hook with great frequency within the standard three or four minutes of a pop-song, will be most successful on media through which songs are marketed to the consumer, e. g. pop-radio.
See also
External links and references
- Poems of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, inc. Troy Town
- Davis, Sheila; 1990, Omnibus Press
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