Karaoke Korner

Writer�s block

Raising the bar on Natasha

You�re at your desk trying to write a story � and really want to � but nothing comes out. You can�t seem to put pen to paper because you�ve run out of ideas. This is known as writer�s block.

Ask any musician or author about writer�s block and most of them will tell you that it is as if a weight is paralysing them and keeping their writing from flowing and taking shape. In the song, Natasha is experiencing writer�s block. She is finding it difficult to come up with the right lyrics for a song, she�s �Trying to find the magic/ Trying to write a classic.� Not only is she struggling to come up with the perfect song, her record producer has added pressure by �raising the bar� on her. Raise the bar is an idiom meaning to raise the level or set a higher standard. Sadly Natasha doesn�t have the artistic freedom to do what she wants with her music and has to follow the demands of her record company. This week�s Karaoke Korner takes a look at the idiom raise the bar and also the word bar.

�These Words�

by Natasha Bedingfield

Threw some chords together
The combination D-E-F
Is who I am, is what I do
No one�s gonna let it down for you
Try to focus my attention
But I feel so A-D-D
I need some help, some inspiration
(But it�s not coming easily)
Whoa oh

Trying to find the magic
Trying to write a classic
Don�t you know, don�t you know, don�t you know?
Waste-bin full of paper
Clever rhymes, see you later

Chorus
These words are my own
From my heart flow
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
There�s no other way
To better say
I love you, I love you

Read some Byron, Shelly and Keats
Recited it over a hip-hop beat
I�m having trouble saying what I mean
With dead poets and drum machines
I know I had some studio time booked
But I couldn�t find a killer hook
Now you�ve gone and raised the bar right up
Nothing I write is ever good enough

(Chorus)

I�m getting off my stage
The curtains pull away
No hyperbole to hide behind
My naked soul exposes
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Whoa oh

Trying to find the magic
Trying to write a classic
Waste-bin full of paper
Clever rhymes, see you later

These words are my own
From my heart flow
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you
There�s no other way
To better say
I love you
I love you, is that okay?

About Natasha Bedingfield

Name: Natasha Bedingfield
Nationality: British
Style: Pop, rock
Label: BMG
Albums: Unwritten (2004)
In brief: Although she was born in New Zealand, Natasha Bedingfield grew up in Southeast London with her parents, brother Daniel and two other siblings. Natasha took to music at an early age, forming a small group with her sister Nikola. She studied art and psychology at university, but her yearning to make music resulted in her dropping out of school to concentrate on songwriting and doing studio work. Natasha wanted to produce her own material and not become another big record company creation. It was all worth it, because her latest song is rapidly climbing the charts.
Official website: www.natashabedingfield.com
If you like Natasha Bedingfield, check out: Nelly Furtado, Joss Stone, Michelle Branch

Discussion

Have you ever had the bar raised on you? Who raised it and how did you feel about it?

Exercises

The following sentences use the word bar in different contexts. Work with a friend and determine the correct definition of the following sentences. Match each of the sentences on the left with the correct definition of bar on the right.

Sentences

1. Billy and his friend went to the hotel bar to watch the football game.
2. John broke his arm after slipping on a bar of soap.
3. The murderer is safely behind bars.
4. All the windows in our house are fitted with iron bars.
5. A bar of milk chocolate a day is supposedly good for you.
6. The protesters were barred from entering the conference.

Definitions

a. A piece of something with straight sides.
b. Place where you can buy and drink alcoholic and other drinks.
c. To forbid or prevent somebody from doing something.
d. In prison.
e. A long straight piece of metal or wood, often used to stop somebody from getting through a space.

Vocabulary

sibling (n): a brother or sister
chord (n): two or more notes played together
inspiration (n): somebody or something that makes you want to be better, more successful, etc
rhyme (n): a word that has the same sound or ends with the same sound as another word
recite (v): to say aloud a list or series of things:
hyperbole (n): a way of speaking or writing that makes something sound better, more exciting, dangerous, etc. than it really is
struggle (v): try very hard to do something when it is difficult or when there are a lot of problems

Idiom

put pen to paper: to write or start to write something