There are many different genres that exist within writing, and each genre has a form, situation, and role. Lyrics are classified as a genre and can be broken into subgenres. The subgenre of lyrics to be addressed in this paper is the lyrics of childrens" songs. Lyrics of childrens" songs are definitely a type of genre, because they have a specific form, role, and situation.
An example of two of the four sections of lyrics of a childrens" song is presented below:.
Mary had a little lamb,.
It's fleece was white as snow;.
And everywhere that Mary went.
The lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day, .
Which was against the rule;.
It made the children laugh and play.
To see a lamb at school.
Childrens" songs are relatively short in length and the lyrics are broken into small sections, as shown above. The words are simple and often the sentences rhyme. If found in a book, childrens" lyrics are usually accompanied by lots of colorful pictures, and sometimes the words are emphasized in different ways to help the children understand what they mean. An example used is when using color words, the letters of the words are printed in the corresponding colors, or if using the word big, the font may be enlarged so that the children get a better understanding of the words.
There are many different situations in which lyrics to childrens" songs are used. They are used at recitals, they are recorded and played for children, they are incorporated into childrens" movies and television programs, and they are used to help children develop their reading skills. Lullabies (a type of childrens" lyrics) are sang by parents to help put their children to sleep, and teachers have children learn and sing childrens" songs at school to help them learn how to remember and also to keep them entertained.
It is obvious that society values childrens" lyrics by the large volume of books, tapes, CDs, childrens" sing-along-movies, etc.