The simile is one of the unique ways to compare various things or ideas in an imaginative way with the help of the words “as” or “like”. Similes are usually used with a wide range of adjectives or descriptive words. Writers and poets use this technique to insert a variety of themes in their work. The simile clarifies the idea that the writer wants to deliver while giving a poetic touch to language. A simile shouldn’t be over-clinched and is a great device that amplifies phrases and sentences with genuine comparison. Similes are a source of fun and encouragement for kids. Let’s read a few examples.
Examples of similes for kids from songs
Example #1
A whole new World from Aladdin
A whole new world (Don’t you dare close your eyes)
A hundred thousand things to see (Hold your breath, it gets better)
I’m like a shooting star, I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where I used to be (A whole new world)…With new horizons to pursue
Aladdin and Jasmine sing this song in the movie Aladdin, ‘I’m like a shooting star’ is a simile where Jasmine compares herself with a shooting star that falls freely toward the earth.
Example #2
Cruella De Ville from101 Dalmatians
The curl of her lips
The ice in her stare
All innocent children
Had better beware
She’s like a spider waiting
For the kill
Look out for Cruella De Vil
Here Cruella’s character is a famous symbol of evil and greed. And the simile is used to compare her and the spider, who waits in its web to hunt its prey.
Example #3
Let it go from Frozen
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I’m the queenThe wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in, heaven knows I’ve tried
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
This movie revolves around sibling conflict and later resolution at the end. The howling wind is compared to the storm. Elsa has developed the courage to be free and let the world know her personality.
Example #4
Title song from Beauty and the Beast
Certain as the sun
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beastTale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast
In this example, the assurance is compared to the sun, which doesn’t change, and the song is compared to an ancient rhyme to liken the same with love and timeless lyrics.
Example #5
Happy by Pharrell Williams
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
This song compares a child’s loneliness to a room without a roof, and happiness is compared to the truth, which also implies the energy and liberty that brings people happiness.
Example #6
Believer from Imagine Dragons
I was choking in the crowd
Living my brain up in the cloud
Falling like ashes to the ground
Hoping my feelings, they would drown
But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing
Inhibited, limited
Till it broke up and it rained down
It rained down, like…
Pain
In the above lyrics ‘falling like ashes to the ground” is the simile that is used to compare the struggle against thoughts. Also, the feelings are compared to ashes that can evaporate from his life.
Example #7
Airplanes by Hayley Williams
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shootin’ stars
I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shootin’ stars
I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now
The chorus of this song compares airplanes to shooting stars so that people can make a wish on them. This simile of shooting stars for airplanes also alludes to the singer’s childhood.
Example #8
Fireworks By Katy Perry
Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper-thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?
Do you ever feel already buried deep?
The simile in these lyrics is used to compare sad or abandoned people to a plastic bag that is discarded after use, which also means worthless.
Example #9
She Acts Like Summer and Walks Like Rain By Charlie Colin and others
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there’s a time to change, hey, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
In this example, the singer compares the woman with seasons to symbolize changes in a person, which also implies growth and acceptance.
Example #10
A hard day’s night by Beatles
It’s been a hard day’s night, and I been working like a dog
It’s been a hard day’s night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I’ll find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
Here the singer is comparing his work life with a dog. Hence, the simile ‘working like a dog’ means tiresome activities of life.
Example #11
I see the light from Rapunzel
And at last I see the light
And it’s like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it’s like the sky is new
This song from the Disney film Rapunzel compares confusion or doubt with fog, as the lyrics ‘the fog has lifted’ implies that Rapunzel compares her life with fog as she views the lights for the first time.
Example #12
You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly! from Peter Pan
Say, that’s it! You think of a wonderful thought!
Any happy little thought? Uhhuh
Like toys at Christmas? Sleight bells? Snow?
Yep! Watch me nowhere I go!
It’s easier than pie!
Here the lyrics compare the joy of flying and Peter’s thoughts to Christmas toys which are also symbol of happiness and how children feel on that special day.
Example #13
Steady as the beating drum from Pocahontas
Steady as the beating drum
Singing to the cedar flute
Seasons go and Seasons come
Bring the corn and bear the fruit
In this example, the beating drum is compared to the steadiness and cycle of seasonal changes due to the repetition of the beats.
Example #14
I will make a man out of you By Mulan
With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
Time is racing toward us
’til the Huns arrive.
Heed my every order
And you might survive.
This example uses the phrase ‘dark side of the moon’ as a simile to compare Mulan’s mysterious appearance when she is pretending to be a male as well as the attitude needed for battle.
Example #15
When you wish upon a Star By Pinocchio
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true
In these lines, fate is compared to a bolt of blue lightning which means that fate is unpredictable.
Example #16
You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas
You’re as cuddly as a cactus
You’re as charming as an eel
Mr. Grinch, you’re a bad banana
Mr. Grinch, with the greasy black peel
The mean nature of the Grinch compared to the cactus, eel, and rotten banana who stole Christmas because he never had a family.
Example #17
Everything at One by Lenka
As sly as a fox, as strong as an ox
As fast as a hare, as brave as a bear
As free as a bird, as neat as a word
As quiet as a mouse, as big as a house …As warm as the sun, as silly as fun
As cool as a tree, as scary as the sea
As hot as fire, cold as ice
Sweet as sugar and everything niceAs old as time, as straight as a line
As royal as a queen, as buzzed as a bee
As stealth as a tiger, smooth as a glider
Pure as a melody, pure as I wanna be
The song is rich with similes in every line. Each simile takes a nature that is specific to the animal and compares it to the speaker, who possesses all the qualities in the list—for example, the bravery of the bear, the sweetness of sugar, etc.
Example #18
Listen with your heart from Pocahontas
Listen with your heart
You will understand
Let it break upon you
Like a wave upon the sand
In this example, the heart is personified, and feelings or waves are compared to the wave. The line ‘like a wave upon the sand’ also implies that emotions can be felt better with heart.
Example #19
As the Deer Song from The Maranatha!
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee
In this example, the deer’s thirst for water is compared to the longing for the presence of God.
Example #20
It is well with my Soul from Horatio G Spafford
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul
It is well (it is well) with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul
In this song, the singer compares peace with a river and sadness with a stormy sea as he sings to express his faith and strength in both situations.
