---
title: 'Alter Lyrical Meaning by Changing Perspectives'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=zyZzOks_43w'
video_id: 'zyZzOks_43w'
date: 2026-07-31
duration_sec: 87
---

# Alter Lyrical Meaning by Changing Perspectives

> Source: [Alter Lyrical Meaning by Changing Perspectives](https://youtube.com/watch?v=zyZzOks_43w)

## Summary

The video explains how changing point of view in songwriting can alter lyrical meaning, using Tom Waits' 'What's He Building In There?' as a key example. It breaks down how an 'I' narrator who talks about an unseen 'he' creates a gossipy, engaging tone that pulls listeners into the song.

### Key Points

- **Perspective vs. 'You'** [00:01] — The video starts by discussing how songwriters often write from their own perspective to a specific 'you', then proposes exploring other points of view where the speaker and audience are clearly defined.
- **Tom Waits Song Introduction** [00:17] — Introduces 'What's He Building In There?' by Tom Waits, quoting lines about a mysterious neighbor with magazine subscriptions and reclusive behavior.
- **Pronoun Analysis** [00:31] — The narrator uses 'I' and refers to 'he/him', establishing both a character on stage (the narrator) and another person being discussed. The narrator is not talking to that person directly.
- **Listener Engagement** [01:04] — The narrator speaks about the third person to the listeners, creating a gossipy tone. This is effective because the person being discussed has no idea he's being talked about, making the listener feel included.

### Conclusion

Changing from a direct 'you' perspective to a third-person narrative can create dramatic irony and intimacy. The Tom Waits example shows how talking about someone to the audience, rather than to them directly, can make a song more engaging.

## Transcript

songwriter to be talking from their perspective but not to a specific you. Let's build on that to explore some other points of view that still have a very clear sense of who is speaking and to whom they are speaking. A song that
kind of point of view is the song what's he building in there by Tom Weights. What's he building in there? What the hell is he building in there? He has subscriptions to those magazines. He never waves when he goes by. He's hiding
something from the rest of us. He's all to himself. I think I know why. From a point of view perspective, we have the presence of an I pronoun. So, we know that the songwriter narrator is a character on the stage of this song.
But we also have he and him. We also have this other person on stage, and he's not talking to that other person. This is the really interesting part this other person. He's talking about this other person. He's really talking
to us, the listeners. When he says, "What's he building in there?" He's saying it out loud. He could be saying it to himself, but it feels like he's including us in the conversation in a gossipy kind of tone that makes this
structure so effective because the person we're talking about or the person Tom Weights is talking about has no idea he's being talked about.