Replay Thursday: Useful Repetition

Repetition is one way to keep your audience interested in a song. Many songs rely on the repetition of, if not complete phrases, then fractions of the main hook during their transition from their chorus to their chorus. For instance, if your key chorus line is “and I have to shake my head” you might repeat the line “and I, and I, and I” during your verse. An example might look like:
 
Verse:
 
and when you decide
what secrets to hide
if you’re locked away
with nothing to say
then I, then I, then I  
 
Chorus:
 
Then I have to shake my head
at all the words that you said
after you pulled the curtain
across the sun that was rising
and I, and I, and I
can only shake my head

Not only is there repetition, but there is a slight variation on the key phrase “and I have to shake my head”—the words change from “have to” to “only” these subtle changes lend the lyric more movement and immediacy. It will stick in the mind of your listener as the “Shake My Head” song.
 
Write one song where you 1) repeat the same phrase at the end of your verse and 2) repeat that phrase during your chorus (at least twice). If you write a bridge, put it there, too.