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Understanding Rock
Example 5.13. (continued)
which is amplified by a repeated syncopation on a repeated pitch) recreates through assonant onomatopoeia the aural image of the "blat" of the raindrops that cause the bleeding, a metaphor that strengthens the directness of the singer's reference in the ensuing verse to the splashing of tears.36 The colors orange and blue, each borrowed from a different verse, are united through dissolution in the interposed B section by a wetting that weds the rain of the first verse to the tears of the last. The image of the bleeding rug is one that is universally comprehensible, even though it may represent to the listener a bit of a riddle at first. The fact that this puzzle is emotionally evocative yet not mawkish would be significant to the composer; Simon once told an interviewer that the quality he most admired in John Lennon's