Need help figuring out measures of song?

Question

For my audition, I have to divide a song into 16 measures and sing it. Can someone help me what would be 16 measures of this sample from the song?

But, Let a woman in your life and your serenity is through,

she'll redecorate your home, from the cellar to the dome,

and then go on to the enthralling fun of overhauling you...

Let a woman in your life, and you're up against a wall,

make a plan and you will find,

that she has something else in mind,

and so rather than do either you do something else

that neither likes at all You want to talk of Keats and Milton,

she only wants to talk of love,

You go to see a play or ballet, and spend it searching

for her glove, Let a woman in your life

and you invite eternal strife,

Let them buy their wedding bands for those anxious little hands...

I'd be equally as willing for a dentist to be drilling

than to ever let a woman in my life,

Thank you!!

Answer 1

It's tough to figure that out based on lyrics.  Since I don't know the song I would only be guessing.  It depends on the meter of the song and the note values.  Try to figure out how many beats there are in a measure based on listening to the downbeat of count one in the measure.  Once you figure that out, count your measures.  The most common meter is 4 beats in a measure.

Answer 2

Best I can come up with for you is to explain that you have fifteen lines so you should divide them up and let each be a measure.  I come up with a slow 4/4 rhythm and it works quite well leaving one empty measure which you could use for an intro in the beginning or a fade out in the end.  Watch:

But let a......woman in your.......life and your..........serenity is through,

She'll re.......decorate your.......home, from cel.......lar to the dome,

and so on down the line.  You must do the rest.  I hope you have the idea.  After each gap is the down beat and at the beginning of the line.

The song has good rhythm cadence to it so the task should not be too hard for you.