这本开创性的书籍涵盖了一个世纪的唱片音乐，揭示了流行歌曲的艺术性。流行歌曲首先是音乐。它们还构成了我们这个时代传播最广泛的诗意表达方式。亚当•布拉德利（Adam Bradley）描述了所有音乐类型的歌词，从20世纪初期的“三角洲布鲁斯音乐”到本世纪中叶的摇滚音乐，一直到今天的流行歌曲。乔治和艾拉•格什温的《迷人的节奏》。滚石乐队的《（我无法接受拒绝）满足》。蕾哈娜（Rihanna）的《钻石》。这些歌曲对语言和声音的技巧有着高度的关注。布拉德利表示，流行音乐是一首诗，必须多听而不是读，揭示了歌声中表达的节奏，韵律和隐喻。本书是一部关于音乐诠释，文化分析，文学批评和个人叙事的作品，阐述了文字和音乐如何共同产生引人入胜的诗歌，而这往往是我们最意想不到的。

From Tin Pan Alley to the Beatles to Beyoncé, "Mr. Bradley skillfully breaks down a century of standards and pop songs into their elements to reveal the interaction of craft and art in composition and performance.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Encompassing a century of recorded music, this pathbreaking book reveals the poetic artistry of popular songs. Pop songs are music first. They also comprise the most widely disseminated poetic expression of our time. Adam Bradley traces the song lyric across musical genres from early twentieth-century Delta blues to mid-century rock 'n’ roll to today’s hits. George and Ira Gershwin’s “Fascinating Rhythm.” The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” These songs are united in their exacting attention to the craft of language and sound. Bradley shows that pop music is a poetry that must be heard more than read, uncovering the rhythms, rhymes, and metaphors expressed in the singing voice. At once a work of musical interpretation, cultural analysis, literary criticism, and personal storytelling, this book illustrates how words and music come together to produce compelling poetry, often where we least expect it.