Upper School (US) English teachers are well-versed in Hurston, Homer, and Shakespeare. But can pop artists—the writers most celebrated by Gen Z—measure up to those literary greats? To find out, The Vanguard asked US English teachers Ms. Duddy, Ms. Ueda, and Dr. Scrivner to apply their analytical skills to works by SZA, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Miley Cyrus.
Kill Bill – SZA
Ms. Ueda: 3/10 This song is interesting because it tackles a literary trope about men controlling women. I teach a poem called “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, which is all about a man who has killed his wife and how men want to control women to the point where they would kill them to keep them under their control. This flips the narrative, where the woman is so controlling that she would kill the man. Does this make it better, like is it making some kind of feminist statement? I personally think no because the actions are still wrong, but it’s an interesting move. In terms of literary merit, it’s very bad. However, as a cultural object to analyze I think it’s interesting.
Ms. Duddy: 2/10 With repetition and its intentional irony, that “I’m so mature” idea feels quite obviously immature, as does the line “I still love him though, rather be in jail than alone.” My favorite line is “you was at the farmer’s market with your perfect peach” because it just brings up such a clear image of this cute couple at a farmers market, but she’s scorning her ex-lover and his new girlfriend because they’re good together. There are moments that lack logic. It’s about the idea of killing the ex and that’s it. There isn’t interesting language or imagery. Even if you ignore literature and character development, we don’t care about these people at all.
Dr. Scrivner: 2/10 This is a bad song. These lyrics feel like they could have been written by ChatGPT, with the exception of the line Ms. Duddy mentioned, which is a little clever. The rest of them contain little depth. Not even the repetition works, and pop music is built on repetition. The line “I’m still a fan even though I was salty” is just the absolute bare minimum expression.
The Lakes – Taylor Swift
Dr. Scrivner: 5/10 This is clearly better in terms of the quality of the writing than “Kill Bill” because there are lines that require some thought and the song doesn’t wear its meaning on its face. It’s not the deepest pool in the world, but it has some nice language. I hear some alliteration, assonance, and metaphors. It’s a little slow for me, but as pop songs go, it has a fair amount of literary merit. Sometimes less is more. This is a little bit of the converse of the SZA critique. This is overdone.
Ms. Ueda: 5/10 The language is more literary sounding. The line, “I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet/Cause I haven’t moved in years” is an interesting image. We don’t quite know what it means, and it leaves you wondering. That said, I don’t like the weird clash between this highfalutin literary-sounding language and the references to paparazzi or technology, like “with no one around to tweet it.” It doesn’t belong. I get that it’s supposed to be a clash between the literary and the modern, but it’s a failed attempt for me.
Ms. Ueda: 5/10 The language is more literary sounding. The line, “I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet/Cause I haven’t moved in years” is an interesting image. We don’t quite know what it means, and it leaves you wondering. That said, I don’t like the weird clash between this highfalutin literary-sounding language and the references to paparazzi or technology, like “with no one around to tweet it.” It doesn’t belong. I get that it’s supposed to be a clash between the literary and the modern, but it’s a failed attempt for me.
Drivers License – Olivia Rodrigo
Ms. Duddy: 1/10 It feels like a journal entry of an angsty teenage girl which is sort of the point. “Red lights, white cars, I’m so blue” are color motifs but have no meaning. This song feels very much like I’m embodying an emotion more than caring about the lyrics.
Ms. Ueda: —5/10 This one to me sounds like ChatGPT wrote it. It’s every stereotype possible about a teenage girl being angsty. The audience for this song is either high school or even middle school. This one is worse than “Kill Bill.”
Ms. Ueda: —5/10 This one to me sounds like ChatGPT wrote it. It’s every stereotype possible about a teenage girl being angsty. The audience for this song is either high school or even middle school. This one is worse than “Kill Bill.”
Ms. Ueda: —5/10 This one to me sounds like ChatGPT wrote it. It’s every stereotype possible about a teenage girl being angsty. The audience for this song is either high school or even middle school. This one is worse than “Kill Bill.”
Dr. Scrivner: Maybe it’s a sneaky “Pride and Prejudice” connection, but for some reason, I seriously doubt it; it’s poorly written throughout. There are so many great songs about cars and driving. This is not one of them.
Ms. Ueda: I like the use of “salty” and the slang words in “Kill Bill” more than “Driver’s License.”
Ms. Duddy: There’s more voice here than “Kill Bill,” but there’s less character.
Dr. Scrivner: I just feel like I’m trying to compare these two songs but they are like: Do you want a punch in the face or someone to kick you in the back?
Ms. Duddy: I’d rather be SZA than Olivia Rodrigo!
Flowers – Miley Cyrus
Ms. Ueda: 5/10 This song has a very consistent rhythm and meter to it which feels good. It has a lot of pleasant symmetry to it like, “We were good, we were gold / Built a home and watched it burn.” It’s still very simple language, like the Olivia Rodrigo, but it feels more structured. I liked the empowering message that you don’t have to be in a relationship to be happy. But some of the lines are really cheesy like, “I can take myself dancing/I can hold my own hand.” Those to me are cringe.
Ms. Duddy: 6/10 There was attention to the end rhyme, more than the other songs in which some of it felt forced. She gets in a rhythm of flowers with hours, sand with understand. There’s actually a deliberate meter and an internal rhyme. It is sort of clever: “paint my nails cherry red/match the roses that you left.” There’s that repeated short E sound that’s empowering. I like the vibe; it’s a nice middle ground between Taylor overdoing it and Olivia’s diary entry.
Dr. Scrivner: 3/10 I could find myself mindlessly bobbing my head to this at Trader Joe’s. I wouldn’t listen to this on my own time though.
What are your music tastes?
Dr. Scrivner: I listen to everything: a lot of classic rock, rap, and a fair bit of Americana. I don’t really like radio country. A couple of songs I would give a ten to are “Visions of Joanna” by Bob Dylan, “Juicy” by The Notorious B.I.G., and “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen. I would give “How’s it going to Be” by Third Eye Blind an eight for various reasons, most having to do with nostalgia.
Ms. Duddy: The stuff I would rate a 10 is mostly stuff that I listened to as a kid with my parents like Bob Marley, The Grateful Dead, and The Beatles, and I love Paul Simon and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Van Morrison.
Ms. Ueda: I usually like listening to indie or folk music, primarily.
As English teachers, do you ever find yourself overanalyzing song lyrics?
Dr. Scrivner: One million percent, yes. There is a line in “Visions of Joanna” where Bob Dylan says, “Jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule,” and I’ve spent way too much of my life trying to understand what he’s getting at. I absolutely overanalyze lyrics written by smart people.
Ms. Ueda: The concept of overanalyzing is not something I sign onto as an English teacher. One can’t overanalyze and even if you spend years thinking about a Bob Dylan lyric, I think that’s not time wasted. I think that’s time that you’re examining the piece of art, and that’s a good thing.
Ms. Duddy: I have moments when a lyric really stands out and looks good, but I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.
