Saturday, July 7, 2018

Him & I & Rhyme

My previous post (link) was about G-Eazy and Halsey's song "Him & I" and whether or not the line "in the end, it's him and I" is grammatically correct.

The conclusion I came to was that, prescriptively, "him and I" with I in the object position is incorrect.  There's more to it than that, but you can read the other post for the full explanation.

Another reason, I believe, for the lyric being "him and I" instead of "him and me," is the rhyming capabilities and sound of II is comprised of the diphthong [ay], a sound that's heavily present throughout the song.

All of the lines in Halsey's choruses end with [aj], as well as most of the bridge and the first two parts of G-Eazy's verses.

Halsey's Chorus:

Cross my heart, hope to die [daj]
To my lover I'd never lie [laj]
He said, "Be true," I swear I'll try [
čraj]
In the end, it's him and I [aj]
He's out his head, I'm out my mind [majnd]
We got that love; the crazy kind [kajnd]
I am his, and he is mine [majn]
In the end, it's him and I [aj]

First Part of G-Eazy's First Verse:


My '65 speeding up the PCH, a hell of a ride [rajd]
They don't wanna see us make it, they just wanna divide [d
ɪvajd]
2017 Bonnie and Clyde [klajd]
Wouldn't see the point of living on if one of us died [dajd]


First Part of G-Eazy's Second Verse:

It's her and I mobbin' 'til the end of time [tajm]
Only one who gets me, I'm a crazy fuckin' Gemini [
ǰɛmɪnaj]
Remember this for when I die [daj]
Everybody dressed in all black, suits and a tie [taj]

My funeral will be lit if I [aj]
Ever go down or get caught, if they identify [ajd
ɛntɪfaj]
My bitch was the most solid, nothing to solidify [s
əlɪdɪfaj]
She would never cheat, you'd never see her with a different guy [gaj]
Ever tell you different, then it's a lie [laj]

Halsey's Bridge:


Cross my heart, hope to die [daj]
To you I've never lied [lajd]
For you I'd take a life [lajf]
It's him and I, and I swear [aj]

Cross my heart, hope to die [daj]
This is our ride or die [daj]
You can confide in me [k
ʌnfajd]
There is no hiding, I swear [hajdin]


As we can see, the [aj] sound is heard throughout the song.  It's not necessarily the last sound in the word (such as with die [daj]), but sometimes in the middle of the word (such as with mine [majn]).  Even in the bridge, when the last lines don't end in [aj], they're still found in the middle of the lines with I, confide, and hiding.

I believe this helps to create a universal sound throughout the song, and G-Eazy continuing the rhyme of the chorus in the first parts of his verses helps unite them and make the transition better because it still sounds like one cohesive unit.

Another aspect of [aj] is that it's an open, untensed vowel.  The song is very relaxed, and that's aided by [aj] being a relaxed vowel sound, something that wouldn't have been accomplished by the prescriptively correct "him and me."

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