How Song Lyrics Can Teach Us Standard Written English
by Michelle Hutchinson
Photo source: http://commons.wikimedia.org
While driving in my car yesterday, “Joy to the World,” by Three Dog Night, started playing on the radio. That song from my childhood brings back lots of memories, but hearing it again also made me realize that Hoyt Axton, the lyricist, knew his Standard Written English…or at least the correct use of the subjunctive mood.
Remember the line that goes, If I were the king of the world? That’s where Axton used the subjunctive mood. He didn’t write, If I was the king of the world; he correctly used were not was.
In your writing, use the subjunctive mood (past-tense verb) for conditions of uncertainty or improbability.
Example: If he were one inch shorter, he would be perfectly round.
You could probably find a lot of American song lyrics that fail to use the subjunctive mood correctly, but I can think of two more that get it right.
From the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack, we have:
If I were a rich man,
Yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum.
All day long I’d biddy biddy bum
If I were a wealthy man
Image and photo from commons.wikimedia.org
From Johnny Cash, we have:
If I were a carpenter
And you were a lady,
Would you marry me anyway?
Would you have my baby?
So the next time you’re going back over a rough draft of your work, ask yourself if you’re using the subjunctive mood in a particular sentence. If you are, just remember the words of Jeremiah, Tevye, and Johnny Cash, and make sure you change the verb to past tense.
One more thing; read that previous sentence again. Notice how it started with If but it didn’t take the subjunctive mood (a past-tense verb). That’s because that sentence did not express uncertainty; it expressed fact. A sentence starting with if does not automatically take the subjunctive mood.
If you liked this post, please click on “Leave a comment” below.
If you liked this post, you might also like Can Our Schools Really Teach Kids How to Write? and What Kroger Can Teach the California Strawberry Commission about Writing.
If you have a question about writing, resumes, or Standard Written English, contact us. I’ll respond to you personally, and you may even see your question show up in a blog post. Don’t worry; I won’t use your name unless you give me permission to do so. Just remember that if you have a question, lots of other people probably have the same one, so you’ll be doing them a favor by asking.
Leave a comment.