Mel Tormé's contrived rhyming

[Dorsetmike]

I've often had a chuckle at some of the "rhymes" in some of the velvet fog's songs, in Mountain Greenery for example he rhymes

Greenery with Scenery, not too bad, but then also with machinery, beanery (!) plus keener re -(ception) and cleaner re-(treat)

in another song we get

"fishing for salmon
losing at backgammon"

and later in the same song rhymes something (memory failure) with Schopenhauer

but the one that made me really wince was in a track on his album with Cleo Laine where he rhymes Dankworth with bank worth

[Chi_townPhilly]

Pretty cool topic.

It's important to remember, though, that these tunes are Tin Pan Alley "standards." The first example is a Rogers & Hart effort, the second (from a tune called "Isn't It a Pity") is from the no less famous George & Ira Gershwin.

The "art" of the contrived rhyme may have had its height in this era... but the practice obviously precedes it. Gilbert & Sullivan have a few examples of this- which is to be expected since typically, Sullivan penned the music first, and W.S.G. 'retro-fitted" lyrics around it. I guess the prototypical example is Penzance's 'Modern Major-General.' 4-line sample follows:

I quote in Elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus!
In conics I can plot peculiarities parabalous.
I can tell undoubted Rafaels from Gerald Dows and Zoffanies.
I know the croaking chorus from 'The Frogs' of Aristophanes!

Ultimately, though, I guess the practice works best in Musical Theatre. Sondheim, too, essayed it, and threw in some alliteration in "Can That Boy Foxtrot:"

A false alarm/A broken arm.
An imitation Hitler but with litt'ler charm!
(but boy, oh BOY can that boy [.- .- .- .-] foxtrot!)

The practice continues today.
Take this sample from The Fratellis' "Henrietta:"

Give us a kiss and maybe we can go out.
It's hard to miss you when you follow us about.
Buy us some shoes and maybe take us for cola.
We'll get you there in some Filthy Big Gon-DO-la!

[John Watt]

My favorite new rhyme is being in the media and makin' wikipedia.

Before that is was "never been busted for nothin' domestic".

I like autobiographical lyrics.

"The way you hold your fork, the way you sip your tea,
the way you changed my life, no no they can't take that away from me"