Jurnal Nakula: Pusat Ilmu Pendidikan, Bahasa dan Ilmu Sosial
Vol. 1 No. 5 September 2023
e-ISSN : 3024-9945, p-ISSN : 3025-4132, Hal 94-102
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61132/nakula.v1i5.186
Received Juli 30, 2023; Revised Agustus 30, 2023; Accepted September 26, 2023
* Dian Eklesia, dianeklesia2@gmail.com
Figurative Language Applied In “The Show” Album By Niall Horan
Dian Eklesia
Udayana University
Author correspondence: dianeklesia2@gmail.com
Abstract. Songs and language are inseparable companions in the world of music. Language is the framework on
which songs are constructed, allowing songwriters and performers to engage audiences intellectually and
emotionally by sharing their thoughts, feelings, and tales in songs. Figurative language and songs share a deep
and symbiotic relationship. In order to give their lyrics emotion, depth, and inventiveness, lyricists employ a
variety of figurative language techniques. This helps listeners engage with the music on a visceral and emotional
level. Figurative language is an effective tool for turning lyrics into an engaging and memorable storytelling
experience. The objective is to find out the figurative language applied in ‘The Show’ Album by Niall Horan. The
method used for this study is descriptive qualitative method and used Kennedy and Gioia (1995) figurative
languages as the theory. Various sources such as undergraduate thesis, articles, books, and internet sources are
used to provide further information. The findings of this article are seven songs on the album that contain
figurative language. The result is that four data in simile is found, one data in metaphor, five data in hyperbole,
four data in personification, three in metonymy, and one in synecdoche.
Keywords: Album, figurative language, language, Niall Horan, song.
Abstrak. Lagu dan bahasa merupakan sahabat yang tidak dapat dipisahkan dalam dunia musik. Bahasa adalah
kerangka di mana lagu dikonstruksi, memungkinkan penulis lagu dan pemain untuk melibatkan penonton secara
intelektual dan emosional dengan berbagi pemikiran, perasaan, dan cerita mereka dalam lagu. Bahasa kiasan dan
lagu memiliki hubungan yang mendalam dan simbiosis. Untuk memberikan emosi, kedalaman, dan daya cipta
pada liriknya, penulis lirik menggunakan berbagai teknik bahasa kiasan. Hal ini membantu pendengar terlibat
dengan musik pada tingkat yang mendalam dan emosional. Bahasa kiasan adalah alat yang efektif untuk
mengubah lirik menjadi pengalaman bercerita yang menarik dan berkesan. Tujuannya adalah untuk mengetahui
bahasa kiasan yang diterapkan dalam Album 'The Show' karya Niall Horan. Metode yang digunakan dalam
penelitian ini adalah metode deskriptif kualitatif dan menggunakan teori bahasa kiasan Kennedy dan Gioia (1995).
Berbagai sumber seperti skripsi, artikel, buku, dan sumber internet digunakan untuk memberikan informasi lebih
lanjut. Temuan artikel ini adalah tujuh lagu dalam album tersebut mengandung bahasa kiasan. Hasilnya ditemukan
empat data simile, satu data metafora, lima data hiperbola, empat data personifikasi, tiga data metonimi, dan satu
data sinekdoke.
Kata kunci: Album, bahasa kiasan, Bahasa, Niall Horan, lagu.
BACKGROUND
Language is a magnificent tool, able to construct vivid and imaginative pictures in the
minds of those who use it in addition to delivering facts and information. The artistic
vocabulary of words and expressions that goes beyond literal expression and imbues language
with depth, color, and emotion is known as figurative language. It is the means through which
authors, poets, presenters, and artists give life to their works, giving audiences a richer, more
complex understanding of language.
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Figurative language is a fascinating area where words acquire new meanings and
dimensions and go beyond their usual use to elicit sensory perceptions, feelings, and insights.
It includes a diverse range of literary techniques, each of which offers a special means of
examining and articulating the intricacies of the human experience. Figurative language opens
the door to creativity, allowing us to perceive the world through new perspectives and
communicate with greater impact through metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, and
more. Figurative language can be found in poetry, storytelling, or even song.
Music is something that can hardly be separated from human life at this time. Many
people listen to music for various reasons, depending on the type of music itself. According to
Albright (2009), music is the one universal language, a sort of Pentecostal tongue of fire, in
that it behaves as a language not learned systematically but understood intuitively by everyone.
Music is a language, whether in theory or in practice, the less tenable it appears. According to
Merriam-Webster (2023), music is the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession,
in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and
continuity. Meanwhile, song is a short musical composition of words and music and the act or
art of singing. The composition of the words in song contains many figurative languages which
improve the attractiveness of the meaning of the song.
According to Recording Academy, one of the biggest world’s leading society of music
professionals, the nomination based on the music genres consist of Pop, Dance/Electronic,
Rock, Alternative, R&B, Rap, Country, New Age, Jazz, Gospel/Contemporary Christian
Music, Latin, American Roots Music, Reggae, Global Music, etc. Pop genre is one of the most
popular genres.
There are many of famous pop music singers. Niall Horan is one of the most popular
Pop singers who started his career by auditioning for The X-Factor and joining one of the UK
boy bands in 2010, One Direction. According to Insider (2023) One Direction has been on
hiatus since 2015. The four remaining members released a final album and announced an
extended hiatus in August 2015. Since the announcement of the so-called hiatus, members have
gone on to pursue solo interests, and Niall Horan signed a recording deal as a solo artist with
Capitol records. Niall Horan is often included in the list of awards nominations in his musical
career in various categories, even as the winner. He has released three albums in his solo career
such as Flicker in 2017, Heartbreak Weather in 2020, and The Show in 2023.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE APPLIED IN “THE SHOW” ALBUM BY NIALL HORAN
96 JURNAL NAKULA - VOLUME 1, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER 2023
Album The Show was released through Capitol Records on 9 June 2023. According to
Evening Standard.co.uk (Roberts, 2023) the Official Charts Company said that The Show by
Niall Horan has gone to number one on the UK albums chart. Billboard (Brandle,
Billboard.com, 2023) also announced that The Show starts at No. 1 in Australia on the ARIA
Chart. Billboard (Brandle, Billboard.com, 2023) announced again that The Show debuts at No.
1 in UK. According to the nomination, this album is the considerable to be analysed.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Kennedy and Gioia (1995:678) stated that figures of speech are not devices to state what
is demonstrably untrue. In fact, they frequently express facts that more literal language is
unable to do so; they draw attention to these truths; and they give each figurative language
meaning added importance.
Every time a speaker or writer departs from the normal connotations of words for the
sake of originality or emphasis, one can say that a figure of speech has arisen. Types of
figurative language in this book consist of.
1. Metaphor
According to Kennedy and Gioia (1995:680) metaphor is a statement that one thing is
something else, which, in a literal sense, it is not. Metaphor is not plainly limited in the
number of resemblances it may indicate.
Example: Oh, my love is a red, red rose. (Kennedy and Gioia, 1995:681)
2. Simile
Simile is a contrast between two things, suggested by a connection, usually like, as,
than, or a verb such as resembles. A simile expresses a similarity. It refers to only one
characteristic that two things have in common.
Example: Oh, my love is like a red, red rose. (Kennedy and Gioia, 1995:681)
3. Personification
A figure of speech known as personification transforms an object, an animal, or an
abstract concept (truth, nature) into a human.
Example: The wind stood up and gave a shout. (Kennedy and Gioia, 1995:686)
4. Metonymy
Metonymy is the name of a thing is substituted for that of another closely associated
with it.
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Example: Between the cradle and the grave. (Kennedy and Gioia, 1995:688)
(We recognize that cradle and grave signify birth and death.)
5. Hyperbole
We speak, then, not literal truth but use a figure of speech called overstatement (or
hyperbole). It being fond of emphasis, often exaggerate for effect.
Example: Vaster than empires, and more slow. (Kennedy and Gioia, 1995:687)
6. Synecdoche
It occurs when a portion of anything is used to represent the entire thing, or vice versa.
Example: She lent a hand. (Kennedy and Gioia, 1995:688)
She lent a hand means that she lent her entire presence.
7. Paradox
It is made in a comment that at first glance seems to contradict itself but which, upon
closer examination, really makes some sense. However, some inconsistencies go well
beyond simple wordplay.
Example: lives in a larger world than the globe-trotter.(Kennedy and Gioia, 1995:688)
8. Apostrophe
Apostrophe is a method for dealing with unspoken-of or unobservable issues. Poetry
can be about an inanimate object, a departed or missing person, an abstract concept, or
a ghost. Apostrophes are frequently used by the poet to convey a lofty, solemn tone.
Example: O moon! (Kennedy and Gioia, 1995:687)
RESEARCH METHOD
According to Kothari (1990) the research method is all those methods/techniques that are
used for conduction of research, which means it refers to the behaviour and instruments used
in selecting and constructing research technique. There are four sections divide the research
method of this paper, those are data source, method and technique of collecting data, method
and technique of analysing data, method and technique of presenting analysis.
1. Data Source
The data source of this study used primary data because the data were taken
from Niall Horan’s Album called The Show. It is the third album by Irish singer-
songwriter Niall Horan that was released on 9 June 2023. The album is containing 10
tracks of the song. This album was taken as the data source of this research since this
is a new album this year that has reached No. 1 in several countries, including United
Kingdom and Australia.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE APPLIED IN “THE SHOW” ALBUM BY NIALL HORAN
98 JURNAL NAKULA - VOLUME 1, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER 2023
2. Method and technique of collecting data
The method of collecting data used in this study was documentation method.
Documentation method was used to collect the data from the Niall Horan’s third album.
Note taking technique was applied in order to mark down the relevant data for the study.
There are several steps used to collect the data. Firstly, the song was chosen by
open the Spotify apps and open The Show Album by Niall Horan, and download the
lyrics from the internet. Secondly, listen carefully the song that had been opened from
the album playlist while read the lyrics to find out the types of figurative language.
Thirdly, the song lyrics on the print out was marked and the figurative languages and
their meanings were noted down to make them easier to be analysed. The data were
analysed based on the theories adopted in this study.
3. Method and technique of analysing data
The data of the study were qualitatively analysed. All of the expressions focused
on types of figurative language contained in every song of The Show album by Niall
Horan were identified by using the theory from Kennedy and Gioia, which identified
and classified based on the types of figurative language, interpreted and discussed the
results of the data. Open the lyrics on the internet while listen to the music to avoid
misinterpreting meaning, as the data source of this study. Figurative language which
applied in songs of The Show album is classified in form of sentence, and the
explanation is attached.
4. Method and technique of presenting data
This study used an informal method for presenting the data. The data consisting of the
figurative language found in each title of the song in a table. After classified based on
the title, classified it based on the types of figurative language with the explanation.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The songs list in The Show Album were the object of this research. The song lyrics in
this album is analyzed. This album consists of ten songs as the playlist.
The researchers classified the figurative language of the songs in The Show Album by
Niall Horan into a table based on the songs. This step is created to simplify the readers to find
out and understand which song titles have figurative language in this study. The lists of the
songs are Heaven, If You Leave Me, Meltdown, Never Grow Up, The Show, You Could Start A
Cult, Save My Life, On A Night Like Tonight, Science, and Must Be Love.
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NO TITLE TYPES OF
FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
SONG LYRICS
1 Heaven Metonymy And you and me go up in
flames
Hyperbole
I could die in your kiss
Synecdoche Your touch is made of
something
2 Meltdown Metonymy When it all melts down, I’ll
be there
Hyperbole When you’re hitting a wall
and every star falls
3 If You Leave Me Metonymy These feelings, they would
just be so foreign
Hyperbole
Moonlight is on your face
4 The Show Simile Life is like a board game
some of the time
Personification But there’s a lot creepin’
through under the broken
skies
Personification Dancing with the stars, oh,
every night
Personification And gravity comes and
wraps her arms around you
again
Simile Life is like a dancefloor
some of the time
5
Never Grow Up
-
-
6 You Could Start A
Cult
Hyperbole Kingdoms fighting over
you
7
Save My Life
-
-
8 On A Night Like
Tonight
Metaphor Are we just two stars
passing by?
Simile Wanting your summer skin
pressed on mine, fallin’ like
rain, ripplin on by
Personification Supermoon, watch it dance
in your eyes
9
Science
-
-
10 Must Be Love Simile Until I feel as empty as this
bottle of wine
Hyperbole I got a first degree in being
my worst enemy, I got a
PhD in always running
away
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE APPLIED IN “THE SHOW” ALBUM BY NIALL HORAN
100 JURNAL NAKULA - VOLUME 1, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER 2023
From the data above, the results of the figurative language which has been found in Niall
Horan’s The Show Album are classified below.
1. Simile
a. “Life is like a board game some of the time.” [The Show]
This lyric was identified as simile because there was comparison by using the
word ‘like’ in the sentence. By this simile, life is compared to a board game some
of the time.
b. “Life is like a dancefloor some of the time.” [The Show]
This lyric was identified as simile because there was comparison by using the
word ‘like’ in the sentence. By this simile, life is compared to a dancefloor some of
the time.
c. “Wanting your summer skin pressed on mine, fallin’ like rain, ripplin on by.” [On
A Night Like Tonight]
This lyric was identified as simile because there was comparison by using the
word ‘like’ in the sentence. By this simile, summer skin is compared to a rain that
falling and rippling on by.
d. “Until I feel as empty as this bottle of wine.” [Must Be Love]
This lyric was identified as simile because there was comparison by using the
word ‘as’ in the sentence. By this simile, the feeling of the writer is compared to
bottle of wine.
2. Metaphor
a. “Are we just two stars passing by?” [On A Night Like Tonight]
This lyric was identified as metaphor because ‘we’ in the sentence is compared
to two stars which passing by. Two stars means two people, which means the writer
and his partner. The writer asks if they will continue to be together or just
temporarily.
3. Hyperbole
a. “I could die in your kiss.” [Heaven]
This lyric was identified as hyperbole because the meaning of the lyric is that
because of someone’s kiss so the writer could die because of the happiness and
pleasure.
b. “When you’re hitting a wall and every star falls” [Meltdown]
The lyric was identified as hyperbole because the meaning of the lyric is the anger
of someone can make something even worse.
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c. “Moonlight is on your face” [If You Leave Me]
The lyric was identified as hyperbole because the meaning of the lyric is that
someone’s face is very bright like a moonlight.
d. “Kingdoms fighting over you” [You Could Start A Cult]
The lyric was identified as hyperbole because the meaning of the lyric is that
everyone trying to get her, even the kingdom or the best person.
e. “I got a first degree in being my worst enemy, I got a PhD in always running away”
[Must Be Love]
This lyric was identified as hyperbole because the meaning of the lyric is that he is
the winner of doing something bad behavior and used the phrase ‘first degree’ and
‘PhD’.
4. Personification
a. “But there’s a lot creepin’ through under the broken skies” [The Show]
The lyric was identified as personification because skies are transformed into
human character that can be broken.
b. “Dancing with the stars, oh, every night” [The Show]
The lyric was identified as personification because stars are transformed into human
character that can dancing.
c. “And gravity comes and wraps her arms around you again” [The Show]
The lyric was identified as personification because gravity is transformed into
human character that can comes and wraps someone.
d. “Supermoon, watch it dance in your eyes” [On A Night Like Tonight]
The lyric was identified as personification because supermoon is transformed into
human that can dance in someone’s eyes.
5. Metonymy
a. “And you and me go up in flames” [Heaven]
The lyric was identified as metonymy because flames in this context closely
associated with the end.
b. “When it all melts down, I’ll be there” [Meltdown]
The lyric was identified as metonymy because meltdown in this song closely
associated with anger and frustration.
c. “These feelings, they would just be so foreign” [If You Leave Me]
The lyric was identified as metonymy because foreign in this song closely
associated with no longer familiar.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE APPLIED IN “THE SHOW” ALBUM BY NIALL HORAN
102 JURNAL NAKULA - VOLUME 1, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER 2023
6. Synecdoche
a. “Your touch is made of something” [Heaven]
The lyric was identified as synecdoche because touch in this song means the entire
presence of someone.
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that there are seven songs on the album that
contain figurative language. The seven songs are Heaven, Meltdown, If You Leave Me, The
Show, You Could Start A Cult, On A Night Like Tonight, and Must Be Love. The result is that
four data in simile is found, one data in metaphor, five data in hyperbole, four data in
personification, three in metonymy, and one in synecdoche.
REFERENCES
Albright, D. (2009). Music Speaks: On the Language of Opera, Dance, and Song. New York:
University of Rochester Press.
Brandle, L. (2023). Billboard.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023, from
https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/niall-horan-the-show-no-1-australia-
1235356330/
Brandle, L. (2023). Billboard.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023, from
https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/niall-horan-the-show-no-1-uk-
1235356343/
Dambrosio, C., & DiFiore, P. (2023). Insider Inc. Retrieved 07 10, 2023, from
https://www.insider.com/everything-one-direction-has-said-about-each-other-since-
breakup-2019-5
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New Age International Publisher.
Roberts, H. (2023). Evening Standard.co.uk. Retrieved July 10, 2023, from
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