![An Analysis of the Lyrical Quality of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend”
[Excluding the magnificent chorus]
A - in which Biz rhymes concert with “short miniskirt” and works his way around talking about a girl “from the US nation.” Auspicious beginnings.
B - “tried to pretend” / “only have a friend” - the pinnacle of the lyrics. Works perfectly, and the slight stumble sets up the crux of the rest of the song. Comparable to that scene in Flaubert’s “A Simple Heart” in which the rhythm of the original French slows and imitates a heart beat at the climactic moment of Felicite’s death.
C - “I have friends, and that’s a fact / like Agnes, Agatha, Germaine, and Jacq.” In my tutoring days, I would circle this and write next to it “RELEVANCE?”
D - Thoroughly middling. Minimal slant rhyme but furthers the plot, especially as Biz begins to grow suspicious.
E - “I went to her dorm. / This guy made me fill out a visitor’s form.”
F - “I arrived in front of her dormitory / Yo, could you tell me where is door three.” This line was the inspiration for this entire post. I fucking hate this line. What dorm has a room #3? Who gets lost when there are so few fucking doors that you need guidance to the third room? This is the lyric equivalent of a flashlight going dead in a horror movie. Cheap anxiety.
G - “So please listen to the message that I say / Don’t ever talk to a girl who says she just has a friend.” - This actually goes in with my Grand Theory of “Just A Friend” which says that Biz Markie’s effort in writing lyrics parallels the faith and excitement he has over this duplicitous ladyfriend, so by the end of the song he’s given up entirely
Let me remind you all this is all for a song in which Biz named the lead love interest “Blah blah,” that he only rhymes once (with “very big bra”*).
*rating of 5 - moderately legit. it’s charming!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lskq2pEyw21qzhycvo1_500.jpg)
An Analysis of the Lyrical Quality of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend”
[Excluding the magnificent chorus]
A - in which Biz rhymes concert with “short miniskirt” and works his way around talking about a girl “from the US nation.” Auspicious beginnings.
B - “tried to pretend” / “only have a friend” - the pinnacle of the lyrics. Works perfectly, and the slight stumble sets up the crux of the rest of the song. Comparable to that scene in Flaubert’s “A Simple Heart” in which the rhythm of the original French slows and imitates a heart beat at the climactic moment of Felicite’s death.
C - “I have friends, and that’s a fact / like Agnes, Agatha, Germaine, and Jacq.” In my tutoring days, I would circle this and write next to it “RELEVANCE?”
D - Thoroughly middling. Minimal slant rhyme but furthers the plot, especially as Biz begins to grow suspicious.
E - “I went to her dorm. / This guy made me fill out a visitor’s form.”
F - “I arrived in front of her dormitory / Yo, could you tell me where is door three.” This line was the inspiration for this entire post. I fucking hate this line. What dorm has a room #3? Who gets lost when there are so few fucking doors that you need guidance to the third room? This is the lyric equivalent of a flashlight going dead in a horror movie. Cheap anxiety.
G - “So please listen to the message that I say / Don’t ever talk to a girl who says she just has a friend.” - This actually goes in with my Grand Theory of “Just A Friend” which says that Biz Markie’s effort in writing lyrics parallels the faith and excitement he has over this duplicitous ladyfriend, so by the end of the song he’s given up entirely
Let me remind you all this is all for a song in which Biz named the lead love interest “Blah blah,” that he only rhymes once (with “very big bra”*).
*rating of 5 - moderately legit. it’s charming!
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