Online Ryming Dictionary

Worst lyrical rhymes in popular music

Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a prompt to compare notes on your interface with pop culture, to reveal your embarrassing tastes and experiences, and to ponder how our diverse lives all led us to convene here together. Got a question you’d like us and the readers to answer? E-mail us at avcqa@theonion.com .

Here’s a prompt from Philadelphia editor Emily Guendelsberger: 

I was sitting around with some buddies and the topic of “worst rhymes in music history” came up. The obvious ones that came to my mind were “Ride the snake to the lake” from The Doors’ “The End,” and “Generals gather in their masses / just like witches at black masses” from Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” What are some particularly bad lyrical rhymes that have stuck with you over the years?

Tasha Robinson  Whenever this topic comes up, the first thing that always leaps to mind is Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” a song I enjoy for the harmonies and the tension between tenderness and growling force, as though James Hetfield is working really, really hard to woo a skittish girl he really likes, rather than just screaming in her face “GET YOUR ASS IN MY BED ALREADY!” But the bubble bursts every time I actually listen to the clunky, clunky lyrics, which read like junior-high poetry, from rhyming “way” with “way” to the convoluted, forced syntax that gets “say” and “new” at the end of lines: “Never opened myself this way / Life is ours, we live it our way / All these words I don’t just say / and nothing else matters. / Trust I seek and I find in you / Every day for us something new / Open mind for a different view / and nothing else matters.” UGH. Rock music generally isn’t about complex wordery and philosophical profundity, but this one particularly grates.

Claire Zulkey One of my favorite Beatles solo songs is Ringo Starr’s “It Don’t Come Easy,” probably because it was allegedly written by George Harrison. I love the backup singers and the saxophone, and I can generally get behind the song’s message. (It was my theme song when I was filling out college applications.) However, one verse has such lazy, lame rhymes that it makes me almost embarrassed to like it: “Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues / And you know it don’t come easy / You don’t have to shout or leap about / You can even play them easy.” First, George/Ringo rhymed “easy” with itself, but that line “You don’t have to shout or leap about” is what kills me. I think it’s the mental image of a person “leaping about” that ruins the verse for me. If I think about it, I understand the intention of the lyric, but those childlike rhymes just make it sound like the song was written in about two minutes on the toilet, and it’s what keeps me from considering it a great song, as opposed to pretty good.

How To Use a Rhyming Dictionary – online rhyming dictionaries ...

Poets and songwriters usually use a rhyming dictionary to create their literary pieces. It is a very useful tool in helping you find rhyming words to end lines in your phrases or paragraphs. The rhyming dictionary provides many words for use with different sorts of rhyming patterns, all you need to do is look.

If you have a rhyming dictionary or are planning to use one but are not sure how, follow these steps:

Study how your rhyming dictionary is categorized . Depending on the rhyming dictionary that you are using, it may be categorized in different ways. Usually, these dictionaries are divided into five categories – the vowel sounds A, E, I, O, U and then subcategorized into long and short sounds. Then there are some, which categorize the words according to its first letter or its spelling. Study how your rhyming dictionary is categorized so that you know how you are going to look for the rhyming words that you wish to use. Learn the symbols for the sounds of the words . A rhyming dictionary, like any ordinary dictionary, will use symbols for long or short sounds in letters. This can get tricky if you do not know what to look for. Make sure that you know how to read the symbols so that you can find the right rhyming words that you will need. Use a printed out rhyming dictionary . You can choose to use a rhyming dictionary that is printed out, or one that is online or that comes with software. To use a printed out rhyming dictionary, you will need to first find out how it is categorized. These dictionaries usually come with instructions. Go through it so that you will know how to look for words easier. Normally, you will have to look up the rhyming words through its last syllable. When you go through the words, make a list of the ones that you think is usable. You will come across a lot of rhyming words, so do not just go with the first one that you see. Analyze and study them. Use an online or software based rhyming dictionary . There are a lot of online rhyming dictionaries available to use for free. You can try searching online for these or go to wikirhymer.com or rhymer.com . You can also download rhyming dictionary software from websites such as writeexpress.com or buy one from a computer shop. To use the computer based rhyming dictionary, all you need to do is type in the word that you are looking for a rhyme with.

Essential songwriter's rhyming dictionary, the most practical and easy-to-use reference now available

Provides over 36,000 words and rhymes, and includes a glossary of rhyme schemes and tips for writing lyrics.

Hip-hop rhyming dictionary, for rappers, DJs and MCs

The book includes helpful writing tips to inspire creative lyrics as well as a brief history of rap and the artists who sent hip-hop to the top of the charts.

Merriam-Webster's rhyming dictionary

An easy-to-use, alphabetical guide for creating rhymes.

Random House Webster's Rhyming Dictionary

Provides more than sixty thousand rhyming words in a dictionary enhanced by comprehensive cross-references, a glossary of poetic terms, and contemporary proper ...

Hal Leonard Pocket Rhyming Dictionary

Encompassing standard vocabulary, proper nouns, popular expressions and much more, this is by far the most contemporary rhyming dictionary on the market.