Last night, the internet went crazy trying to work out the best song that has brackets in its title. Weird? Yes. Interesting? Also, yes.
I pondered for quite a few munites why a song would even bother having brackets in its title, but after seeing all the responses, I think I get it. After doing some thorough research, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are five reasons that songs have brackets in their titles. Allow me to explain.
While we’re on the topic of nostalgic music, make sure you check out our chat with Murray, the O.G. Red Wiggle, on this episode of It’s Been A Big Day For…
The Necessary Elaboration
First things first, brackets in song titles often offer an explanation that’s not always there in short title. For example, let’s take Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In The World)”. The extended song title provides the essential scope for the environment that this “Only Girl” is in. Is she the only girl in your local Woolies? No, she’s the only girl in the world.
The Paradox
Sometimes brackets are a powerful second-half to a song title because it undoes what was initially said in the first half. Take the song, “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”, you think he would do anything for love, but boy would you be wrong. What won’t he do? You’ll have to listen to find out. Genius.
The One That’s There Because The Actual Title Doesn’t Appear In The Song
Musicians get pretty creative when they name their songs, to the point where some song titles aren’t even in the song lyrics. So, for those who fall in that category, it’s possible to chuck a few words from the chorus into some brackets and call it a day, like Radiohead!
The Cheeky Extension
Sometimes a title doesn’t sum up the feelings of the song enough that you need to throw in some brackets to hammer in the point. Take “Leave (Get Out)” by JoJo. Did the “Get Out” add anything we didn’t already know from “Leave”? No. Was it effective? You betcha.
The SEO Title
Who knew that artists have been striving for SEO since before the internet even began. The brackets that I’m referring to in this one, give shout outs to the catchiest part of the song, presumably because they think people would be Googling the lyrics that they remember to work out what track they just heard on the radio.
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