Can You Hear The Music?

Say — have you ever stumbled upon musical lyrics, like, under a bridge, on a daily commute?

You might suppose that this is an odd thing to ask someone. Even so, finding all sorts of graffiti under bridges is not exactly difficult, and some of this graffiti — if you stop and really look — clearly took some time and patience. So much so, perhaps, that I've seen photographers stop in their tracks and take photos just to document it.

But what about just plain musical lyrics? A single line, somewhere?

Perhaps you heard a particular song on the radio so that you memorized the lyrics. Certain verses might even stand out in your mind — you might be thinking of one right now as you're reading this! Or maybe, even, if we're stretching it, one could note a contextual similarity with lyrics from two songs (or more) by different artists. Maybe it's not enough to flag or make any real noise over, but it might explain where a particular artist has drawn some of their inspiration from — so good on you for that!

Was it a coincidence by the artist who wrote the lyrics, after the fact? Or maybe it's just nuanced enough that not even ChatGPT catches the similarity between the songs; yet, if you try the algorithm again and make note of a precise aspect of the lyrics, you might get an altered response!

Given the roughly two hundred million songs ever recorded,* it’s quite often that meaningful pairings between songs can emerge. It might be a completely natural occurrence, as mentioned... or maybe not. Maybe it was subtle and intentional. Even so, this is a territory where one should be careful when making assumptions. For I would have to side with Sancho from Don Quixote, when he said:

“You put that idea right out of your head,” Sancho retorted, “and take my advice, which is never to fight play-actors, they’re a protected species. I’ve known of actors arrested for a couple of murders and let off without even paying costs. They’re a cheerful crowd and they amuse people, you see, so everybody looks after them, even more so if they belong to one of the official companies — from the way most dress and behave anyone would think they were all princes.” **

->Let's explore a couple of songs to use as an example. I have yet to incorporate ChatGPT into my work (as I have noted in the past), but I found this generated response just too elegant to pass over, and so I included it here, below:

🎭 Metaphor Comparison Chart: Def Leppard vs. Taylor Swift

1. Performer Archetypes

Def Leppard, 1981 VS. Taylor Swift, 2020

Fool – a role that performs for others, often not taken seriously. Mirrorball performer – someone dazzling but fragile, performing emotionally. Both reflect being on display and performing for approval.

Juggler – someone constantly keeping things in the air, performing under pressure. Trapeze imagery – balancing, risking a fall, performing high above others. Both represent high-pressure emotional balancing acts.

2. Spectacle & Being Watched

Def Leppard/Taylor Swift

The “fool” and “juggler” imply a captive audience and someone being observed or judged. Mirrorball reflects everyone around it; the performer is literally under a spotlight. Both songs deal with the anxiety of being watched and judged by others.

3. Identity as a Performance

Def Leppard/Taylor Swift

Performer roles are assigned or forced — the narrator calls someone the fool/juggler to show conflict and power dynamics. The mirrorball persona is adopted to keep others happy — a voluntary but exhausting performance. Both explore how identity becomes a role, not the true self.

4. Emotional Subtext of Circus Imagery

Def Leppard/Taylor Swift

Darker tone: the performer is trapped, controlled, or manipulated.

Softer tone: the performer is vulnerable, trying to stay admired. Performance as emotional strain.

🎪 5. Why the Circus-Adjacent Metaphors Feel Similar

Even though the songs sound nothing alike, both tap into the classic symbolic meaning of circus or stage-performers:

* Fool → performs for laughter, often misunderstood


* Juggler → tries to maintain control under stress


* Trapeze artist → high stakes, risk, pressure, grace


* Mirrorball performer → fragile, reflective, dazzling, watched by all


These archetypes share anxiety, identity fragments, and vulnerability under an audience.

So your intuition was right:

⭐ Both songs use performer imagery — including circus-like roles — to explore emotional pressure and identity.

->Now, this is a single example, where I am simply comparing two songs from different artists with similar themes in the Western World. However, what about all the songs out there in the cosmos that exist beyond the obvious English-speaking divide?

Things should get interesting (for those readers who are not multi-lingual) via the perspective of an alien (who expands one's language prowess to encompass two or more languages), where the number of contextual similarities, or even styles of rhythm, melody, harmony, form, tempo, etc, between songs, likewise, soars into the superclusters.

So, here's another example, but this time it's from two cultures. I'm choosing between these two artists: Doda: Melodia Ta, from Poland, and Lady Gaga: Bad Romance, from the USA. I've asked ChatGPT to compare the choruses. Here's the result of this enquiry:

Here’s a chorus-focused comparison of “Bad Romance” (Lady Gaga) and “Melodia Ta” (Doda), keeping it musical and specific (without quoting long copyrighted lyrics).

1. Rhythm & structure

Both choruses are built on:

Short, repeated phrases

A four-on-the-floor dance beat

Clear call-and-response energy (lead vocal feels like it’s “pushing” against the beat)

This makes both choruses feel chant-like, almost percussive rather than lyrical.

2. Melody shape

In Bad Romance, the chorus melody moves in tight steps (small intervals), circling around a few notes instead of making big melodic jumps.

In Melodia Ta, the chorus does the same thing—hovering around a narrow pitch range with slight rises and falls.

This narrow melodic range is a big reason they sound similar at first listen.

3. Repetition as the hook

Neither chorus relies on complex melody. Instead, the hook comes from:

Repetition of a central phrase

Rhythmic insistence rather than vocal ornamentation

The brain latches onto the rhythm and repetition more than the tune itself.

4. Minor-key tension

Both choruses sit in a minor key, which creates:

A tense, dramatic mood

A contrast between dark emotion and danceable energy

This combination is common in club pop but is especially strong in both songs’ choruses.

5. Vocal attitude

Gaga’s chorus delivery is sharp and commanding, almost confrontational.

Doda’s chorus delivery is assertive and direct, with similar emotional intensity.

In both cases, the vocals are front-and-center, not blended softly into the music.

6. Production choices

The choruses share:

Punchy synth stabs

A strong, consistent bass line

Minimal harmonic changes (the harmony stays simple so the rhythm dominates)

This creates a “looped” feel that reinforces similarity.

Why they feel alike (but aren’t identical)

The choruses feel similar because they use the same pop formulas at once:

Minor key

Repetitive rhythmic hook

Narrow melodic range

Bold vocal delivery

But the exact notes, lyrics, and phrasing differ, which keeps them legally and musically distinct.

If you want, I can also:

Map the chorus melodies in simple note patterns

Explain how much similarity is considered “too much” in music

Compare the pre-chorus → chorus transition in both songs

-> Now, I'm quite sure someone with musical experience might be able to point out even better comparisons. However, the point I was trying to make in sharing this is simply to show the reader that the wider your linguistic reach, the greater the number of possible similarities between songs that you can draw upon for comparison. The more languages you know, the more contextual similarities. The more conceptual depth. Here's an extra bit of perspective generated from ChatGPT:

🤯 Perspective

If you listened to 1 new song every minute, nonstop:

150 million songs ≈ 285 years

And that’s without repeats 😄

*A ChatGPT-generated estimate.

**Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. Don Quixote. Translated by John Rutherford, Penguin Classics, 2000.