Am I Right

Uriel   Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:16 am GMT
All right, after having read the board that you got your example from, Jim, I would have to say that:

A) some of the posters were definitely on crack-- pretty sure "far" and "car" rhyme for most people, whether they speak a rhotic or non-rhotic dialect, because I would think most people would apply the SAME pronunciation rule to both words, no matter what their particular preference is.

B) it doesn't really matter if the lyrics rhyme in YOUR particular dialect; it only matters if they rhyme for the SINGER. How many of these people bitching about lyrics actually LISTENED to the song as sung, rather than just reading the lyrics on the page?

C) sure, sometimes songwriters have to stretch to make things rhyme AND say what they want to say. Occasionally they don't quite succeed. So? Is it THAT important?

D) okay: "do" and "you". These rhyme perfectly for me. Are there any dialects where they don't? Honest question!

E) "Amarillo" and "pillow": I can see the objection here -- the anglicized version of "Amarillo" (Am-er-rill-o) certainly does rhyme with pillow, but the proper Spanish pronunciation (Ah-mah-REE-yo) doesn't. However, I would suspect that the singer was using the former, especially since they were referring to the city in Texas and not to the color yellow....
Uriel   Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:37 am GMT
Sorry, forgot these:

F) "weather" and "together". WTF???? Those rhyme for me; not sure what dialect wouldn't have them rhyme.

G) "seen" and "been". Okay. We ALL know that some people rhyme these and some people don't. I'd be one of the people who don't. I would have to admit that when I know damn well the singer doesn't rhyme this pair naturally, it sounds stupid when they try. HOWEVER, this doesn't apply to singers for whom "seen" and "been" DO naturally rhyme. In other words, if I hear an American singer trying to say "beeeen", I'll roll my eyes, but in, say, a British singer, I would accept it as a valid rhyme.
Uriel   Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:45 am GMT
And how would you pronounce "in the 00's"?

Okay, I promise to stop now! (three in a row -- jeez!)