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Why do things happen in the order they do? Who can say? YOU can. Or, at least, you will be able to once you’ve completed this class!

  • MUSIC FOCUS: PVRIS, Sincere Engineer.
  • ACTIVITY FOCUS: Analyse the structure of two brilliant songs.

Question 3 on AQA’s Language Paper 1 can be tough. But if we can think about how our favourite songs are structured, we’ll gain some valuable insight into exactly what that question is encouraging us to do!

ACTIVITY 1

Read the lyrics to Sincere Engineer’s ‘Trust Me’ and PVRIS’ ‘My House’. Answer the questions preceding each set of lyrics.

The phrases in bold (e.g. ‘At the start of…’) are sentence starters you might find useful to learn – you’ll be able to use them when asked to write about structure in your exams).

Here’s some of the vocabulary that might help you to discuss structure:

  • time markers
  • chronological
  • non-chronological
  • flashforward
  • flashback
  • hinting at something that happens later
  • focus on
  • zoom in
  • zoom out
  • viewpoint
  • perspective
  • hiding information
  • dialogue
  • inner thoughts
  • development
  • repetition
  • tension
  • juxtaposition
  • climax
  • cliffhanger
  • shift
  • foreshadowing
  • cyclical structure
  • sentence length
  • paragraph length
  • punctuation

Sincere Engineer, ‘Trust Me’

  1. At the start of ‘Trust Me’ (lyrics in orange below), Sincere Engineer songwriter, Deanna Belos, introduces herself to us: “face down in the street.” What is she encouraging us to understand about her life?
  2. Also at the start, Belos adds that it’s the second time this week this has happened. What effect does this have on our opinion of her?
  3. As the song progresses, she says: “I need, I need, I need, I need help.” Why does the repetition of this “need” make more sense given how the song started? Why might the reader have felt less sympathetic to this “need” if the song had started with this line?
  4. Now we hear that she yells again and again. Why is she yelling? Does her repeated yelling make more sense given what we’ve already been told?
  5. As the song progresses, she says: “I wanna go outside, I wanna ride my bike.” Going outside and bike-riding are often perceived as fun, frivolous activities. Why does this focus on the outside and bike-riding feel more significant than that for Belos? Make sure you link your answer to what Belos has told us in earlier parts of the song.
  6. Towards the end, we find out that: “There’s nothing I could say / That’ll make you wanna stay.” Why is this information important to us? What are we learning? Does it make us feel more or less optimistic regarding Belos’ position? Do you think she’s been deliberately hiding information? If so, why?

‘Trust Me’

This is my grand introduction
I’m lyin’ face down in the street
For the second time this week
All of my plans failed
All the things I promised you I’ll never get around to

I need, I need, I need, I need help
And I yell, I yell, I yell “How do I stop this?”
‘Cause I keep, I keep, I keep doing this to myself
And it’s coming down, it’s coming down like a faucet

And I wanna go outside
I wanna ride my bike
But I feel dead on the inside
I put too much trust in future me
She can’t be trusted, please trust me
Everything she says is such a lie

I need, I need, I need, I need help
And I yell, I yell, I yell “How do I stop this?”
‘Cause I keep, I keep, I keep doing this to myself
And it’s coming down, it’s coming down like a faucet

And it’s running through the street
It’s coming after me
And I might just give in
There’s nothing I could say
That’ll make you wanna stay
And the thought of it is sinking in
And the thought of it is sinking in
And the thought of it is sinking in

I need, I need, I need, I need help
And I yell, I yell, I yell “How do I stop this?”
‘Cause I keep, I keep, I keep doing this to myself
And it’s coming down, it’s coming down like a faucet

PVRIS, ‘My House’

  1. At the start of the song, ‘My House’ (lyrics below in green), PVRIS songwriter, Lyndsey Gunnulfsen, focuses on a poltergeist that’s been haunting her house What kind of mood what does she create? How does she want her reader/s/listeners to feel?
  2. In the first 14 lines, Gunnulfsen keeps her focus on what?
  3. As the song progresses, she repeats: “It’s my house” and “it’s time to get out.” What does the repetition show about how Gunnulfsen is feeling? How do these feelings make more sense given what we’ve read in the opening 1`4 lines?
  4. When Gunnulfsen repeats: “It’s my house” and “it’s time to get out”, what words would you describe her character? How have the opening 14 lines helped you to come up with your answer?
  5. As the song continues, Gunnulfsen says: “You’re at my bedroom door / Heard your footsteps on the floor.” Why do these lines feel more significant given the earlier repetition of, “It’s my house” and “it’s time to get out”? What do we understand about this unwanted visitor that we couldn’t if we hadn’t already read the opening sections? What juxtaposition might you comment on at this moment?
  6. Towards the end, the singer again repeats that: “It’s my house” and “it’s time to get out.” What does this repetition suggest about her character? How is your answer informed by everything that’s come earlier in the song?
  7. Given that it seems to be repeating the content of the second stanza, the fourth stanza suggests some kind of cyclical structure. What might this kind of cyclical cycle be indicative of?

‘My House’

I feel you in these walls
You’re a cold air creeping in
Chill me to my bones and skin
I heard you down the hall
But it’s vacant when I’m looking in
Who let you in?
You walk around like you own the place
But you never say anything
I caught you walking straight through my walls
Guess it was all my fault
I think I let you in

Never thought that I would feel like this
Such a mess when I’m in your presence
I’ve had enough, I think you’ve been making me sick
Gotta get you out of my system
It’s my house
And I think it’s time to get out
It’s my soul
It isn’t yours anymore
It’s my house
And I think it’s time to get out
Yeah, I think it’s time to get out

You’re at my bedroom door
Heard your footsteps on the floor
Closer than ever before
And now you’re in my room
You’re a cold air creeping through
Under sheets avoiding you
You walk around I can hear you pace
Circling my bed frame
Now we’re face to face
Head on my pillowcase
But darling, you can’t stay

Never thought that I would feel like this
Such a mess when I’m in your presence
I’ve had enough, I think you’ve been making me sick
Gotta get you out of my system
It’s my house
And I think it’s time to get out
It’s my soul
It isn’t yours anymore
It’s my house
And I think it’s time to get out
Yeah, I think it’s time to get out

Please do send your own answers in. We want to publish the most exciting writing and/or offer advice.

Main photo by Rachel Prew.

Listen to some more of PVRIS’ music and continue to develop your understanding of structure.