Music Review: Debbie Gibson "No More Rhyme"

No More Rhyme
Album: Electric Youth
Year: 1989

Debbie Gibson is worried she may be involved in a passionless relationship in the composed ballad “No More Rhyme.”

A solemn guitar opens the single, setting a concerned tone. In the first verse, she tells her boyfriend something is bothering her. She likes him, but she has doubts. She can talk to him about everything. He’s her best friend. Something isn’t right and she keeps waiting for him to say it’s just her imagination. She gets along with his friends and they all hang out. However, when he drops her home, she realizes she has nothing in common with them, except her boyfriend. Once she’s by herself, she thinks of how she had to hide certain aspects of herself in order to be accepted by them. She tells herself things will get better, but it’s each date makes it harder to believe in it anymore.

“When the fear sets in/Where the fire burns/Where I find a place/Where there's nowhere to turn/When the evening sings/An eerie song/Longing for the day/You say I'm wrong/You can find your place/But never fit in/And only when you've left/Do you know where you've been/I can see the light/But only when it's gone/You can go on waiting/But only for so long.”

In the chorus, she says they are compatible. She thinks she might be creating a problem where there shouldn’t be any. It has been a smooth couple years with him. However, she’s afraid the worse it yet to come and she hasn’t seen the real him. She’s attracted to him but feels they are out of sync.

“I know we are right/It's not always clear/Because I've never felt the fear/Can it stay so good/Forever in time?/I've always felt the rhythm/What happens when/There's no more rhyme.”

In the second verse, she says they can’t admit their indifference. They’ve been together since they were allowed to date. They never fought nor have dealt with any real issues yet. She prays they are not leading themselves on and staying together for the wrong reasons.

“Can we face ourselves/Like we face each other?/We've never felt anything/
On our own/I can't wait much longer/To feel any danger/I hope we're not living for/A lifetime alone.”

The chorus is sung again.

In the bridge, she knows they will have a conflict over a major issue. It’s just a matter of time. However, she won’t stop loving him. Their relationship began without any drama. Their friends thought they belonged together and each of their parents approved of it. She wants the honeymoon feeling to stay a little while longer. It’s the first serious love for both and neither have never been crushed by a significant other before. They’ve been spoiled by their strong friendship and illusions of forever.

“Hard to go on/It's like waiting for/The other shoe to drop/I'll never stop/Believing in you/It's just we never had to struggle/It all came too easy/I hope we felt what we felt from the start/We've never suffered a broken heart/We've been so blinded by all the best/We never put our love to the test.”

A bewildered saxophone solo follows.

At the end, she thinks they will fail as a couple.

“I always felt the rhythm/What happens when/There’s no more rhyme.”

Things have been a bit too perfect between her and her boyfriend. She’s beginning to think they are more like roommates than lovers. Conflict and tension doesn’t exist. It raises a red flag for her. It’s been at least two years and they have never had a fight. It’s abnormal and she knows it.


The apprehensive arrangement is matter-of-fact and overdramatic. While it’s a geninune issue, the saxophone bursts with its sensational sobs.

Gibson’s businesslike vocals are direct and questioning. After holding her feelings inside for so long, she can’t be quiet anymore.

An underlying fear about a lack of conflict is a complex issue to get across within four minutes and twenty-six minutes. Gibson tries but the internalized “No More Rhyme” is like wandering into a private conversation and only hearing the bullet points.

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