"Secret Messages"

I listened to Secret Messages a couple days ago and noticed a small feature in the title track.  In the line "They're calling ev'rywhere" at ~1:54, the three syllables of "ev'rywhere" are all sung to different pitches (G A B), giving a sense of breadth.  When the line is repeated at ~3:42, there's also a glissando from the B down to a G.

In the two occurrences starting at ~2:43, though, the pitches are simply G A G.

"Twilight"

A number of years ago, I wrote about the lines "It's either real, or it's a dream / There's nothing that is in between" in "Twilight."  To some degree, the meaning of "there's nothing that is in between" is mirrored by the melody because it's entirely conjunct, with nothing else "in between" those pitches.

I listened to Time yester-day, and I realized that the same is also true of the rhythm here.  There are no rests in between the notes, and there's no break in between the two lines of the couplet.

"Wishing"

I listened to Discovery yester-day and noticed a small feature in "Wishing."  In the line "I wish that ev'rything was gold" in the chorus, the three syllables of "ev'rything" are all sung to different pitches (F# E C#), giving a sense of entirety.

"Standin' in the Rain"

In the line "People rushin' by" in the backing vocals of "Standin' in the Rain" (at ~2:45), "by" is sung with a melisma (spanning an octave:  A E A), giving a sense of movement.

"Across the Border"

I listened to Out of the Blue yester-day and noticed a small connection between the lyrics and chord progression in "Across the Border" that I think I'd been dimly aware of before.  Under the line "I gotta move down the line" in the first verse, the chord progression is A minor | G major | F major, so there's a musical representation of "mov[ing] down" (because the chords descend) and, in a way, even of "the line" (because it's a conjunct progression).

"Mama"

In the lines "Mama, it's so hard to carry on, / And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all" in the chorus of "Mama," both "on" and "all" are sung with a melisma (E C#) in all but the first instance.  This articulation gives a sense of continuation ("carry on") and entirety, respectively.

"In Old England Town"

I listened to ELO II a few days ago and noticed some small features.  A while ago, I discovered that the lyrics are printed in the gatefold of the CD sleeve in the box set I have.  Apparently, it's meant to be like the original vinyl record.  In any case, I can now be much more accurate in quoting the lyrics.  I found them difficult to understand just by listening to the songs.

In the line "Down, down, you can see them all" near the beginning of "In Old England Town," "all" is sung with a melisma (E D C), giving a sense of that entirety.

In the line "They're all marching round and round," the second "round" is sung with a melisma (G F), providing a sense of movement.

"Laredo Tornado"

A few years ago, I noted that in "Laredo Tornado," the arrangement becomes rather sparse for "What can you do / When your dream world is gone / And your friends and lovers, too?" and that this reflects that absence.  This morning, I was looking at the lyrics in the liner notes and had a related realization:  this is the only musically distinct section of the song*, so even structurally, there's a feeling of being alone.

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 *The choruses are the same; musically, the verses are only slightly different from each other; and even the prominent string parts in the coda have the same basis as the recurring guitar phrase.

"Big Wheels"

In an old note I found recently, I remarked that in the first "No, not at all" in the first verse of "Big Wheels," "all" is sung with a melisma (G F), musically giving a sense of degree.  When I went to verify this and find the specific pitches, I also noticed that in the preceding line, "There's no one knows which side the coin will fall," "fall" is sung with a descending melisma (Ab G F, I think), musically giving a sense of the word's meaning.

"Standin' in the Rain"

I found some old notes about songs on Out of the Blue that I'd forgotten to write about here.

In the line "I'm waitin' all alone" in "Standin' in the Rain, the phrase "all alone" alliterates, and since the two words start with the same sound, there's a sense of the singularity of being "alone."

"Eldorado"

In the recurring line "I will be free" in "Eldorado," "free" is sung with a melisma (E F), and since the word isn't limited to a single pitch, there's a sense of its meaning.

"Boy Blue"

I listened to Eldorado yester-day and noticed a couple small features.

Like "Do Ya," a section of "Boy Blue" exhibits anaphora:

I've seen bold knights, dropping down like flies.

I've seen kings, rolling in the mire.

I've seen God, point the finger of doom to our foes.

I have fought in the holiest wars.

I have smashed some of the holiest jaw.

I've been jailed, been impaled, and been dragged through the world.

The repeated "I've (seen)" indicates the amount and variety of the narrator's experience.