Song Cycle in Ben Folds Five

In response to what modern day albums or CDs could be considered as song cycle, Ben Folds Five is identified to be containing certain set of songs that express unified musical ideas. The album belongs to a rock/pop genre and is made of three artists including Ben Folds, Robert Sledge, and Darren Jesse. Consequently, the unifying idea that is characteristic of the majority of the songs is love, life experiences, and emotional feelings. For purposes of elaborations the highlighted common themes, this paper discusses the first four songs that constitute the album.

“Narcolepsy” is the first song of the album. Through analyzing the lyrics, it is inferred that the song is informative emotional distancing particular among the male psyche in regards to handling intimacy issues. For instance, men usually have to go to sleep when their thoughts are preoccupied with emotional concerns as well as depression.

The second song is ”Don’t change your plans.” In this song, the artists express personal feelings of Reinhold who had thought to quit his then relationship to pursue his intended purpose in life. As such, he desired to be in world and live a life that is free of love bounds.

”Mess” and ”Magic” are the third and fourth tracks respectively in the album. The two are expressive of humans occasionally having to deal with so much baggage and pressure that expressing self becomes a challenge. For instance, in the song Mess, lines 1 and 2 of the first verse say, ”There was a time when I thought nothing to explain” and ”Oh! This mess I have made.” In Magic, the song is more of expressing the death of someone who might have been a close acquaintance to the writer.