the roil, the choke
According to an interview with Brian Eno which I happened to hear on the radio last night, the lyrics for one of my all-time Eno favorites, namely "The roil, the choke" were structured according to a traditional bell-ringing patterns. The four syllables correspond to the four bell tones used in the pattern (correction - a fifth syllable appears in the final two lines).
He raised the stake
And broke the soil
And phrased the stroke
That takes the oil
And stoked, erased and foiled the lake
And smoked and boiled the grazing snake
The roil, the choke, the cakes of praise
The spoils that break now cloak the days
That wake the coil of blazing coke
The flaking glaze of Royalty broke
He raises, stakes, admires, stokes
The flowery blaze, the fiery pokes
A-B
C-D
A-C
B-D
C-A-D-B
C-D-A-B
D-C-B-A
D-B-C-A
B-D-A-C
B-A-D-C
A-B-F-C
F-A-F-C
He raised the stake
And broke the soil
And phrased the stroke
That takes the oil
And stoked, erased and foiled the lake
And smoked and boiled the grazing snake
The roil, the choke, the cakes of praise
The spoils that break now cloak the days
That wake the coil of blazing coke
The flaking glaze of Royalty broke
He raises, stakes, admires, stokes
The flowery blaze, the fiery pokes
A-B
C-D
A-C
B-D
C-A-D-B
C-D-A-B
D-C-B-A
D-B-C-A
B-D-A-C
B-A-D-C
A-B-F-C
F-A-F-C