SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF LEXICAL AND CONTEXTUAL MEANINGS IN ONE DIRECTION SONGS

Abstract

Song lyrics are a form of literary language in which words are frequently used beyond their dictionary definitions, so that listeners who rely on lexical meaning alone may misinterpret the message a song conveys. This study aims to identify and explain the lexical and contextual meanings of selected words in two songs by the English boy band One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful” and “One Thing”, both taken from the album Up All Night (2011), and to explain how the relationship between the two types of meaning constructs the romantic message of the lyrics. Employing a descriptive qualitative design, data in the form of words were collected through repeated close reading of the lyrics, purposive selection of semantically significant words, and systematic tabulation using a stanza-and-line coding convention (S for stanza, L for line). Lexical meanings were determined through standard English dictionaries and semantic references, while contextual meanings were interpreted from the surrounding lines, the narrative situation of the song and the thematic orientation of the album. The findings show that ten selected words display a consistent divergence between lexical and contextual meaning, and that this divergence operates through two principal mechanisms: semantic narrowing, in which a general dictionary sense is restricted to a specific participant or situation in the song, and metaphorical extension, in which a concrete physical sense is transferred to an emotional or relational domain. The findings further indicate that the two songs are thematically complementary, one addressing self-confidence and inner beauty and the other unreciprocated affection and emotional barriers. This study contributes to semantic research on popular song lyrics by demonstrating that contextual meaning cannot be derived from lexical meaning alone, and offers practical implications for vocabulary and literature instruction in EFL settings.