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mannequin analogy
Try to think of the song as a clothing stall mannequin. The clothes represent the words, while the model represents the tune supporting the words and displaying them to their best advantage. Songs can of course be given different arrangements, just as the mannequin can have limbs swapped around striking different poses to suit different types of apparel. But I hear you thinking. Isn’t there the danger of putting the wrong arm in the wrong socket? And what possible use can there be for a dummy with two left hands? At the piano Colin Sell.

mannequin analogy #2
This game is so simple on an explanation would be required for those with the most pitiful grasp of logic and reason. So teams, this is how it works. A song is very similar to the mannequin in the local menswear department store. The mannequin himself represents the tune while the clothes he is dressed in represent the lyrics. Some clothes, or lyrics, fit very well for example a crisp white dress shirt and elegant blazer, while others such as a pair of garish pink corduroys are an obvious mistake. Happily its not too often one comes across a dummy embarrassing himself with some shocking cords. At the piano Colin Sell.

market stall analogy
By far the most obvious analogy is to think of a song as being a market stall. The stall represents the tune carrying and displaying the goods, or words. When all the goods have been sold, or sung, they can be replaced with fresh goods, or words. But if you are going out to buy clothes from a market stall make sure you don’t get conned into buying imitation designer label stuff that is smuggled in from abroad where it is often made by child labour in sweat shops. Yes indeed, what kind of heartless fiend would exploit innocent members of the public by making money from an appalling racket? At the piano Colin Sell.

metaphor meandering
I can guess what you are thinking teams - what in the name of blue blazes can this be all about?

Well, I like to explain this round with the use of a metaphor. It doesn’t have to be a metaphor of course, it could be an allegory, or even some other sort emblematic imagery employed specifically to symbolise a deeper alternative meaning than that apparently conveyed.

And yes I know teams I am way ahead of you. You are quite right to think it shouldn’t be a paradigm because a lot of people mistake a paradigm for a paradox and we don’t want any unnecessary confusion creeping in - oh no. A paradox is an absurd contradiction or anomaly, such as the expression Colin Sell is your piano player.

microscope analogy
A song is rather like a microscope; the vertical tube represents the tune which carries the lenses, or words. These are assembled with precision to enable us to see the object, or hear the song. However, a song can be broken down into its component parts by separating the words from the tune just as a microscope can have its lenses prised from the tube with pliers. I know what you’re thinking teams - wouldn’t that be a case of wanton vandalism inflicted on a delicate instrument? At the piano is Colin Sell.

midsomer murders
It may help to look at a song as you might a classic episode of Midsomer Murders. The tune, or detective, is played by John Nettles. However the murder victims, or lyrics, are played by a different actor in every episode. In one episode it might be the wonderful Nigel Havers, in another perhaps the national treasure Joanna Lumley. Although on second thoughts who in their right mind would even contemplate murdering the old joanna? At the piano Colin Sell.

milk bottle analogy
If you think about it, a milk bottle is almost exactly like a song. It is wide at the base but tapers to small diameter opening at the top which is sealed with a foil cap to prevent spillage. But that is not what makes it like a song. No, because the bottle contains milk which is exactly like the words, the milk (or words) may be poured from the bottle (or song) and the bottle can be returned to the milkman to be refilled with different milk (or words) - just like singing one song to the tune of another. But, what about garden birds? Yes there is the danger that as your milk milk sits on the doorstep the foil cap might have holes pecked in it allowing the ingress of contaminant making the milk unpalatable. Sadly things are liable to go sour due to an unwelcome little tit. At the piano is Colin Sell.

money meandering
Pay attention teams I shall only explain this once. In fact you may care to take notes. By the way when I say notes I mean small aide-mémoires, not the series of graphic signs on a stave that represent a musical sound. Although now I come to think of it those kinds of notes do come into this, so in fact you may care to take notes about notes. That s musical notes of course, not bank notes. That is not to say you shouldn’t care about bank notes as well - don’t just go stuffing them in the mattress.

But I can see by the look on your faces teams you’re thinking even now should I opt for one of the new tele-banking accounts or stick with a traditional building society? And what about ISAs, TESSAs, PEPs, and unit-trust bonds? Well how the hell should I know, I’m not Vincent Duggleby. So just try and concentrate for once and sing one song to the tune of another.

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