Repetitive songs contain a large proportion of repeated words or phrases. Simple repetitive songs are common in many cultures as widely spread as the Caribbean,[1] Southern India[2] and Finland.[3] The best-known examples are probably children's songs. Other repetitive songs are found, for instance, in African-American culture from the days of slavery.[4]
Self referential songs quote their own lyrics; one example is "The Song That Never Ends". Cumulative songs build from one verse to another, like bricks on a pile, as in "Old McDonald Had a Farm". 'Counting songs' may count up or down, as with "99 Bottles of Beer".
Another type of song describes a circular phenomenon (see Recursion). In "There's a Hole in My Bucket", the singer-narrator attempts to fix a leaky bucket, only to find out that ultimately one needs to have a functional bucket in order to effect the repair. In "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", flowers were offered to soldiers, who fell in a war, new flowers grew on their graves, those flowers were given to soldiers and so on.
In children's songs, repetition serves various educational purposes: repetition aids memory,[5] can aid in learning punctuation and reading skills,[6] and is very valuable in learning (foreign) languages.[7]
Repetitive songs are also found in traditional work songs. Examples abound in African-American culture,[8] in political groups,[9] and among traveler, marchers, and walkers.[10] see Slave Songs of the United States.
repetitive songs.