# I bet the French don't sing about gloves and doves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2023, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946 "2023-08-02T06:05:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/1 "2023-08-02T06:05:49Z")
You know that if a line in an English song ends in “[dove](https://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?typeofrhyme=exa&loc=thesql&Word=dove)” or “[glove](https://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?typeofrhyme=exa&loc=thesql&Word=glove)” or “[above](https://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?typeofrhyme=exa&loc=thesql&Word=above),” there’s about to be a line ending in “love.” It’s a mildly annoying bit of lazy writing that shows up in way too many songs, due to a quirk in our language. (sidenote: those links are pretty fun, compilations of hundreds of poem and song snippets with those rhymes). Since French is different–“colombe” and “gant” and “au-dessus de” don’t rhyme with “amour”–I’m guessing a lot fewer lyrics contain these words, much less end in them. Same thing for other languages: I’m guessing there aren’t many Mandarin songs that reference handwear or German songs referencing pigeons. The more interesting question is: what are the lazy rhymes in other languages? Does “clamor” show up in a lot of Spanish songs? Does “triebe” show up in a lot of German songs? Or is this lazy rhyme thing a peculiarly English phenomenon? I hope not, because if it does, that’ll cut like a knife. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/2 "2023-08-02T06:32:20Z")
[Classic French song “La Colombe”, “The dove”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPHyEl32XSQ) There seem to be quite a few French songs about “les gants”, but you’re right that because they’re not part of a crucial rhyme pair it’s more common to write a love song without them. I have heard it said that rhymes based on final “é” (the vowel sound sort of like the one in English “day”) are considered “low-effort” and uninteresting in French poetry, because there are just so many dang words that end with that sound. AFAICT the French and Germans both have to be a bit careful about overreliance on rhyming words for “you” and “me” in love lyrics. I.e., “toi” and “moi” in French or “dich” and “mich” in German, along with related forms like “tien(ne)/mien(ne)” or “dir/mir”; those seem to be considered potentially boring and predictable. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/3 "2023-08-02T10:22:19Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Does “triebe” show up in a lot of German songs? The rhyme pair Triebe-Liebe actually turns up often, but the real classic is Herz-Schmerz (heart-pain). Heinz Rudolf Kunze plays on it in his biggest hit “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” in the chorus. _Dein ist mein ganzes Herz_ _Du bist mein Reim auf Schmerz_ My heart is all yours You are my rhyme on pain (of course the wordplay doesn’t work in English) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/elNdlfZCMeE/maxresdefault.jpg "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elNdlfZCMeE) ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/4 "2023-08-02T18:56:31Z")
In French, _amour_ - _toujours_ is the archetype of the lazy rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/5 "2023-08-02T18:57:34Z")
Thanks, y’all–this is the sort of completely insignificant language stuff that fills me with delight. If anyone knows examples from other languages, I’d love to hear them. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/6 "2023-08-02T18:59:16Z")
I’m talkin’ English here but the use of the word “brain” in songs always seems lazy to me. No idea why. I just feel like people talking about their brains (and the rain, or their pain, or the strain, or being insane) is way more prevalent in songs than real life. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/7 "2023-08-02T23:27:29Z")
What about the ever-popular lips/hips/fingertips? ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/8 "2023-08-03T01:47:25Z")
Shakespeare remarks on the phenomenon in _Much Ado About Nothing_: _‭‭Marry, I cannot show it in rhyme; I have tried. I can find out no rhyme to “lady” but “baby,” an innocent rhyme; for “scorn,” “horn,” a hard rhyme; for “school,” “fool,” a babbling rhyme: very ominous endings. No, I was not born under a rhyming planet, nor I cannot woo in festival terms._ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/9 "2023-08-03T05:41:29Z")
I love wordplay in other languages, even if I can barely “get” it. In English, I hate that the only rhyme for “school” is “golden rule” ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/10 "2023-08-03T06:06:53Z")
Well, Joni Mitchell used “jewels / schoo-els” in ‘For Free’. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/11 "2023-08-03T07:21:21Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > In English, I hate that the only rhyme for “school” is “golden rule” ? “Cool” seems to be [often paired with “school”.](https://genius.com/Bb-king-joe-cool-lyrics) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/12 "2023-08-03T08:36:49Z")
> [@its\_the\_daddy](#): > > Well, Joni Mitchell used “jewels / schoo-els” in ‘For Free’. “The French are glad to die for love They delight in fighting duels But I prefer a man who lives And gives expensive jewels” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BNBcPlqCZ-s/maxresdefault.jpg "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNBcPlqCZ-s) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/13 "2023-08-03T09:33:32Z")
Or phone/home/alone (even though that’s not even a full rhyme) ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/14 "2023-08-03T11:12:13Z")
Can we extend this thread to forced rhymes in foreign languages ? With Jane Birkin’s passing a couple weeks ago, I was reminded of how Serge Gainsbourg, who wrote many songs for her, could never resist a pseudo-clever rhyme, where the meaning of the the lyrics is totally dependent on the sounds. Case in point : [Quoi - Jane Birkin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Stev1PpWI) It starts so well, with an arresting and heartbreaking first verse. Then the awfully banal and forced one that follows ruins it completely. More infuratingly, the rest of the song is really good, the best of post-70s Birkin. _Quoi, d’notre amour feu n’resterait que **des cendres?** Moi, j’aimerais qu´la terre s’arrête pour **descendre.** _ (What, of our dead love only ashes would remain ? I’d like the Earth to stop, so that I could get off). I hate it, hate it, hate it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/15 "2023-08-03T12:52:21Z")
You’re forgetting “love” and “of.” ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/16 "2023-08-03T13:55:25Z")
The word in English whose upcoming rhyme is most predictable is not _glove_ but rather _Nantucket_. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/17 "2023-08-03T13:56:39Z")
_I’d argue there’s two, but, ah…_ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/18 "2023-08-03T23:31:45Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > In English, I hate that the only rhyme for “school” is “golden rule” I learned to play pool in school. That was cool. At least I didn’t drool like a fool. I’d have felt like a tool. There is no Dana…only Zul. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/19 "2023-08-04T01:49:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I learned to play pool in school. That was cool. At least I didn’t drool like a fool. I’d have felt like a tool. Let me clarify. It’s isn’t the only _actual_ rhyme, just the only one everyone seems to use. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946/20 "2023-08-04T02:16:06Z")
One that never fails to grind my gears: “myself”/“somebody else.” Lyricists, take note: they **don’t rhyme**! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bet-the-french-dont-sing-about-gloves-and-doves/987946.md?page=2)