Please could you help with song choices for an English assessment

[JMSA]

‘Morning all
My teen has an English assignment and I’d love to hear your song choices (the assignment is for English but with a music theme!). I thought about The Drugs Don’t Work by the Verve, but I’m not sure. Ideally it would be quite a ‘meaty’ song so that we can really analyse the lyrics!
Thanks very much

Some Eminem songs have fantastic rhymes and half rhymes to analyse. Travis is another with surrealistic lyrics. Effective use of metaphor

Robin Hood by Ocean Colour Scene
Geraldine by Glasvagas

Eleanor Rigby The Beatles (loneliness)
Cuddly Toy The Monkees (Song that's the epitome of misogyny IMHO, but probably not enough content)

Red Dirt Girl by Emmylou Harris. Heartbreaking song about never being truly able to escape your lot in life. Lyrics are beautiful with lots of language devices, kills me every time I listen to it

People like us - Kelly Clarkson
Numb - Linkin Park

I love Wear sunscreen but might be a bit broad ... similar one is Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip Thou shalt always kill or Get Better(Any Scroobius Pip is worth looking at)

The first one that came to mind from the brief was Streets of London (Ralph McTell) which is hideously uncool and teeny but to me fits the brief.

Thinking a bit different rather than everyday music. There's a couple of songs from teen musicals that I think teens can relate to but the songs are quite "meaty" if you look into them. You can find performances online.

You will be found from Dear Evan Hansen. I think that has a good message for teens as it's based on teen mental health/ suicide.

I Say No from Heathers - again based on teens, saying no to a controlling partner.

Hi, I read the drugs don’t work is about chemotherapy. The mother of the writer was having chemo and he felt it was making her more ill.

I Am A Rock - Simon and Garfunkel
On The Turning Away - Pink Floyd
The Theatre - Pet Shop Boys

Fitter Better by Radiohead
A Team by Sheeran
Take me to Church by Hozier

Tom Waite , Martha . Such a poignant song. Fantastic lyrics .

Nothing every happens, Del Amitri
Fast car, Tracey Chapman

YABU though for trying to do a teens assignment for them. They won't learn anything from this.

Lots of good suggestions here but I think your first suggestion of The Drugs Don’t Work is good because there is more than one interpretation of the lyrics about very different life lessons.

Tiny victories Christina Perri - its about overcoming mental illness
What I've done - Linkin Park great lyrics and the music video shows a lot of still very current issues, pollution, eating disorders, military proliferation, famine.
The Cranberries Zombie
Lullaby Nickelback
Green Day Borvard of broken dreams
28 by Ruth B and Dean Lewis
Before you go Lewis Capaldi
Cinderella Snapped - Jax
Lose you to love me Selena Gomez

‘Sorry, love Daddy’ - Brian McFadden

• its a letter to his daughters about having to move away from home when his marriage split up, and how much he loves them. Beautiful lyrics.

The chorus

”Daddy he's got to go away
Cause there's just no other way
To live this through
Some day you learn to understand
This wasn't what I planned
For me and you
Sorry. Love, Daddy.”

Running up that Hill Kate Bush: Love and conflict

I never knew that.

Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots. It's about the singers battles with his mental health. 'BlurryFace' in the song is the name he gave to the personification of his self doubts and self hatreds.

Are there any songs about getting your parents to do your homework for you?

Hotel California - Eagles

Where is the love - black eyed peas

When you love someone by James TW

I used to set this assignment when I was a secondary English teacher. It helps the students learn how to analyse the texts for their poetry paper. Just my two penneth but I would think twice about suggesting songs for your child. It would be so much more beneficial to them to do it themselves as selecting the song is part of the assignment. If they bring something that doesn’t fit the bill, it shows their current level of understanding and their teacher can talk to them about poetic devices that can be used to communicate etc.

I came here to suggest The Divine Comedy but I am paused as they’re my favourite band!! I worked a lot of song quotes into my GCSE creative writing exam 🤣

Sunrise is beautiful about the troubles or maybe Certainty of Chance or Charge that last one’s a bit obscure though!!

TLC - waterfalls or unpretty

Tupac - changes

Black eyed peas - where is the love

Michael Jackson - earth song

NARS- I know I can be what I wanna be

Christina Aguilera etc- shout louder