Lyric Writing Tools #3: Foreshadowing

It’s day 3 of our Week of Lyric Writing Tools. This time, we’re going to look at utilizing Foreshadowing in lyrics.  
 

Foreshadowing

No Capes! In the Incredibles, Syndrome’s fate is foreshadowed in the scene where Edna explains why she will not give Mr. Incredible a cape. 

Later in the movie, this. Kinda brutal for a kids movie. 

Foreshadowing gives that “aha” moment. It’s also a subtle way to make a future development make more sense. The cape being the undoing of Syndrome makes sense, because we already knew that capes had resulted in deaths and injuries to superheroes before him.

It can give that real “Clever Girl” moment (which was also foreshadowed). 

We can utilize this same tool in our songs. A great example of foreshadowing in a song is The Cat’s In The Cradle. 

Let’s take a look. 

My child arrived just the other day

He came to the world in the usual way

But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay

He learned to walk while I was away

And he was talking ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew

He’d say “I’m gonna be like you, Dad”

“You know I’m gonna be like you”

His son is born and eventually learns to talk and walk, all while the narrator (his dad) is away. But the son still idolizes his father, saying “I’m gonna be like you, Dad”

Then the chorus: 

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man in the moon

“When you coming home, Dad?” “I don’t know when”

But we’ll get together then

You know we’ll have a good time then

The second verse continues the story:

My son turned ten just the other day

He said, thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let’s play

Can you teach me to throw, I said, not today

I got a lot to do, he said, that’s okay

And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed

It said, I’m gonna be like him, yeah

You know I’m gonna be like him

The second chorus echoes the first, and then we move on in the third verse and chorus:

Well, he came from college just the other day

So much like a man I just had to say

Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?

He shook his head, and he said with a smile

What I’d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys

See you later, can I have them please?

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man in the moon

“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when”

But we’ll get together then, Dad

You know we’ll have a good time then

As you can see from the change in the chorus, the tide has now begun to change. It is now the son that isn’t making time for his father, promising to spend time with him some vague day in the future. Just the way his dad did. 

The song’s great tragedy finishes with the end of the song:

I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away

I called him up just the other day

I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind

He said, I’d love to, Dad, if I could find the time

You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu

But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad

It’s been sure nice talking to you

And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me

He’d grown up just like me

My boy was just like me

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man in the moon

“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when”

But we’ll get together then, Dad

We’re gonna have a good time then

In the end, we’re left with the tragedy of the father who never learned his lesson. At least not until it was too late. When he was finally ready to make time for his son, his son had learned to be like him and was now “too busy” himself. 

The foreshadowing is littered throughout the song. Right from the first verse, you can see where this is going, because the son says “I’m gonna be like you, dad, You know I’m gonna be like you”

He tells us right away how this story will end. Whether you catch it the first time or not, the end was right in front of you the whole time! It was obvious that this is where the song had to go from the beginning.

The tragedy stage has already been set. 

His son, to his dismay, has indeed become just like him. 

Foreshadowing can be as obvious or as subtle as you’d like, but it’s a great addition to any story.

It also gives you the ability to plant the seed of the song’s conclusion in the listener’s head along the way. They might not even notice it, but a good use of foreshadowing can have the listener spend the whole song in denial- hoping that it doesn’t end the way they expect (or hoping it does). 

This can help to add tension and intrigue, two things that make anything more compelling. 

The use of foreshadowing in The Cat’s In The Cradle has us filled with dread at the implied ending. It makes us want to shout at the writer “Spend time with your son while you can!”. We see the tragedy coming long before he does, and it adds tension to the experience of the song. 

It’s your turn! Try out some foreshadowing in your next song!