Home › Glossary › Letter R

refrain song

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A lyrical form defined by the repetition of a chorus or burden line

Detailed Definition
A refrain song is a lyrical composition built around a recurring line or stanza that returns at fixed intervals, often serving as a chorus in musical settings; in poetry, it creates structural cohesion and emotional emphasis, anchoring thematic concerns through predictable yet evolving repetition.
Example
Example in poetry:
A song whose verses are separated by a consistent, repeated line or set of lines (the refrain), typical of folk music and popular verse; A lyric that tells a simple story with a catchy, repetitive chorus; A narrative poem where the main emotional or thematic statement is contained in the regularly appearing refrain; A poem that mimics the structure of a hymn or anthem
Additional Notes
A general term for any song or poem where a line or stanza is regularly repeated, linking the different sections and providing a core emotional or thematic focus; includes ballads and many lyrics.
Also Known As
Chorus song recurring song refrain melody Burden song
Skip to main content