Songs without words

[Tom Zurinskas]

I think of a "song" as being sung.  The word "tune" works for me as the melody part of music without vocals (or even with).  As in "Name That Tune".
  I like blip.fm for free music.

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+
see truespel.com phonetic spelling




> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Herb Stahlke
> Subject: Re: Songs without words
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I've heard a Beethoven symphony and a chorus from the Mass in B minor
> referred to as songs. I suppose if you don't use "song" to mean
> "musical composition," you tend to use the name of the form. So
> Pachelbel's Canon in D would be a canon.
>
> Herb
>
> On Sat, Apr 24, 2010 at 5:07 AM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: Benjamin Barrett
>> Subject: Songs without words
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> For "song," the AHD4 has "a brief composition written or adapted for singing."
>>
>> I personally use the word "song" to mean a musical composition without words, such as Pachelbel's Canon in D even though I have a sense that songs should have sung lyrics.
>>
>> The AHD4 meaning therefore seems prescriptive in a way that does not reflect common usage.
>>
>> Although someone subjective, my Mac dictionary does well at walking this thin line with an additional definition: a musical composition suggestive of a song.
>>
>> FWIW
>> Benjamin Barrett
>> Seattle, WA
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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