The Point of Point of View, Part III: Second-Person Narrative

Okay, we’ve been both outside and inside the world of the song in the last two issues, now let’s take a step outside the world of the song, and then turn around and press our nose up against the bubble. That’s 2^nd Person Narrative; outside the world of the song, yet retaining a sense of intimacy.

In 2^nd Person Narrative, there are NO 1^st Person pronouns, no singular I, me, my, mine, no plural we, us, our, ours, unless used inside a quote.The narrator is outside the world of the song. 

Look at this wonderful lyric from John Mayer:

“Never On The Day You Leave”

No it’s never on the day you leave

That you wonder what you still believe in

And you can’t remember why you said goodbye

You’ll hear an old familiar sound 

And hope it’s her when you turn around

But never, never on the day you leave

Love grows in the time it’s been

Since you last heard her sing

She’ll cut her hair and move somewhere

She don’t owe you anything

No it’s never on the day you leave

You can tell how it’s gonna be

To watch a girl become a ghost before your eyes

You wish you’d given her one more kiss

To put away for a night like this

But never, never on the day you leave

Love grows in the time it’s been

Since you last held her hand

She’ll fight for you like hell

Then force herself to like some other man

No it’s never on the day you leave

That you remember Christmas Eve

And all the things you miss about her crazy family

You’ll know how lonely it is to see 

A little drug store Christmas tree

But never, never on the day you leave

No never, never on the day you leave

So maybe it’d be better off to write her

And leave a little note right there beside her

That says “Maybe we’re not perfect

But I’ll be damned if I ever leave

Damned if I ever leave

Damned if I ever leave”

Though the narrator stands outside the song’s world, it still feels pretty intimate, doesn’t it? The narrator seems to be talking to you, but it’s from the narrator’s perch on the other side of the bubble. Still, we feel like at any moment the narrator could step into the world and say I. This sense of intimacy comes from the use of the pronoun you, which we’re used to hearing in the more intimate setting of I, you. But because there will be no I in the song, the narrator will remain just out of view.  

This narrator knows the future:

You’ll hear an old familiar sound 

And hope it’s her when you turn around

But never, never on the day you leave

You’ll know how lonely it is to see 

A little drug store Christmas tree

But never, never on the day you leave

And knows the minds of all the characters:

She’ll cut her hair and move somewhere

She don’t owe you anything

2^nd Person Narrative is as interesting and versatile as our use of the 2^nd Person pronoun in English: 

“Come on, Chester, you need to get a job.”

“Put down your pencils, class. Your time is up.”

“All you need is love.” (All one needs is love.)

It can even be used speaking to oneself:

Look at your body now, 

There’s nothing much to save 

And a bitter voice in the mirror says, 

‘Hey, Prince, you need a shave.’ (L. Cohen, “Dressed Rehearsal Rag”)

It’s easy to see Never On The Day You Leave as the singer/narrator, on Christmas Eve, talking to himself, ruing his decision to leave her. Herealizes his lack of foresight, but realizes that he couldn’t have known it in advance:

You’ll know how lonely it is to see 

A little drug store Christmas tree

But never, never on the day you leave

It’s also possible to see the narrator viewing some specific individual about to say goodbye and speaking, in the voice of a guardian angel, warning about the consequences of his/her actions.

With all these facets of you, we can keep turning the prism to see different lights, different angles. No wonder it feels so intimate!

There are great grammatical advantages in 2^nd Person Narrative too. First, since the grammatical subject of all commands is you, commands are in play:

Picture yourself in a boat on a river

With tangerine trees and marmalade skies…

(Lucy in the sky with diamonds)

Commands really increase a sense of intimacy. We, the audience, feel some intimacy with a narrator using you, since it feels like an I must be present. We also feel some intimacy with you, since it could be us. That’s why, on the spectrum of intimacy (above), 2^nd Person Narrative is so close to Direct Address.

When you write in 2^nd Person Narrative, take advantage of these opportunities:

1. Narrator and audience stand just outside the world of the song 
2. Narrator possesses a universal view, so,
3. Narrator always tell the truth
4. Narrator speaks to the you in the world of the song
5. Narrator knows the past, present and future
6. Narrator knows the minds and hearts of every character
7. Audience has limited intimacy with narrator
8. Audience has limited intimacy with you, none with othercharacters
9. Narrator has an overview of time
10. 10.The singer’s characteristics are usually irrelevant

In the next issue, we’ll take a look at Direct Address. Stay tuned.