ABACABA with Drake

Can you spot the ABACABA pattern in Drake's chorus?

'Cause I got a really big team
And they need some really big rings
They need some really nice things
Better be comin' with no strings
Better be comin' with no strings
We need some really nice things
We need some really big rings
I got a really big team

Drake, in his song Rings

The answer

Like I've mentioned in my previous blog post, chiastic structures are all around us. Here's the breakdown:

(A)  - 'Cause I got a really big team          
  (B)  - And they need some really big rings     
    (C)  - They need some really nice things       
      (D)  - Better be comin' with no strings        
      (D') - Better be comin' with no strings        
    (C') - We need some really nice things         
  (B') - We need some really big rings           
(A') - I got a really big team                 

What makes this even more interesting is that the chiastic structure is sometimes called the ring structure, which makes the structure a play on the song title Rings.

Coincidence? Not sure, but it's hard not to think of some of these rappers as lyrical geniuses. Well done, Drake 👏!

You can listen to the whole song here.