Melody/Lyric delay

[Enola_Straight]

Sometimes a singer will deliberately sing the lyrics out of step with the melody…example by Janis Ian:

Does this musical concept have a name?

[Terminus_Est]

Syncopation

In music, syncopation involves a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected which make part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is a general term for “a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm”: a “placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn’t normally occur.”[1] The correlation of at least two sets of time intervals.[2] Also known as an “Uneven movement from bar to bar”.

[DavidwithanR]

Back-phrasing? Where they actually sing the song out of time, truly “wrong” on purpose and not at all how it was written?

Syncopation (where the song is originally written with intentionally off-beat notes) is different.

ETA: The OP example has both, but I bet you meant the back-phrasing.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

Aye, back-phrasing.

[pulykamell]

Ah, interesting! Somehow, I never learned that term. Good one to know. I just called it pushing and pulling the beat/note values, or playing against the beat.

[Johanna]

Rubato.

[DavidwithanR]

@pulykamell

Ah, interesting! Somehow, I never learned that term. Good one to know. I just called it pushing and pulling the beat/note values, or playing against the beat.

@Johanna

Rubato.

… which are both essentially the same answer…

I think back-phrasing is a special case within the more general category of rubato/pushing & pulling the beat. Back-phrasing is a term I’ve only heard when referring to singing, and only in jazz, pop, and Broadway styles. I interpret the word as specifically about the way the singer is treating the lyrics, while rubato seems to me more about the melody. Maybe I’m missing something.

Anyway, musical flexibility is a great thing, so … Domo arigato, Mister Rubato.