Analysis of R.I.P. Rock-and-Roll (1949-1985)



How come rock-and-roll had to die?
When it seemed to be going strong?
From the 1950s or thereabouts
Through to eighty-five, we were rocking on.

Then the age of post-rock came along
Rap, hip-hop, and techno-crap,
Plus the Kylies and the Britneys
All that lightweight pop pap.

Down on Bourbon Street
They used to rock all night and day,
But by the mid nineteen--eighties
The age of rock had passed away.

Elvis was the king
They called him King of Rock-and-Roll,
Elvis was the king
Of rocking, rhythm, and soul.

But long before Elvis Presley
There was ol' Stick McGhee,
In 1949 he started rock and roll with
"Drinking Wine Spoo Dee Oo Dee".

Stick McGhee and his Buddies were
Rock and roll's very first,
But every decade after the 1950s
Rock and roll got steadily worse.

In 1959 we used to think
That rock and roll was here to stay,
But by the 1980s it was dying
And by eighty-five it passed away.

With Elvis, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee
We thought rock and roll could never die,
The Beatles kept it strong in the 1960s
But finally split up in late 1969.

In the 1970s disco music
Made rock and roll start to die,
Rap, hip-hop, and techno-crap
All different post-rock music styles.

Rock and roll Rest In Peace
Born of Stick McGhee in 1949,
But within thirty-six short years
Rock and roll had truly died.

THE END
© Copyright 2021 Philip Roberts
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia


Scheme abcx bDcd xexe FgFg hhxh xxix xefe haix xaDx xxxx xxx
Poetic Form
Metre 11101111 11111101 101101 1110110101 101111101 1110101 101001 111111 11101 11111101 11011110 01111101 10101 11111101 10101 1101001 11011010 111101 01101011 1011111 10101100 101101 1100011001 10111001 01111 11011111 11011110 011011101 1101100101 111011101 010111001 11001101 0011010 1101111 1110101 110011101 101101 111010 10110111 1011101 01 101010 100100010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,337
Words 249
Sentences 13
Stanzas 11
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3
Lines Amount 43
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 98
Words per stanza (avg) 23

About this poem

About the birth and death of rock-and-roll music.

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Written on February 08, 2009

Submitted by PHIL_ROBERTS on July 18, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:15 min read
17

Phil Roberts

I turn 65 on the 31st of January 2022. I love cats, rock music, and horror fiction and poetry more…

All Phil Roberts poems | Phil Roberts Books

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