The Minnow and the Trout

I found A Fine Frenzy's "The Minnow and the Trout" to be a good song for analysis. It relies heavily upon imagery and pathos to get its central meaning across, namely that people should all embrace each other despite of their differences. In fact, the song goes as far as to question whether there really exist any potent differences in the first place. The sweet diction and dreamy tone set the mood of the piece, giving a hint of the possible harmony the the singer is referring to.

A Fine Frenzy utilises a juxtaposition of objects that are seemingly at odds with one another, such as "trout" and "minnow", "elephant" and "rats", and the like. One group will speak to the other, pleading for assistance and tolerance, impressing the listener with the idea of cooperation in the face of differences. The idea is strengthened with the knowledge that the seemingly "stronger" party is also capable of initiating the bond, eliminating the assumption that such friendships are only a manner of the "weaker" party to gain an advantage; an eagle, a predatory bird, tells a dove "I'll fallen from my nest so high above/ Help me fly/ I am too afraid to try". A minnow beseeches a trout after it was "lost, and found/ Myself swimming in your mouth", evoking the listener's sympathy and raising the question of whether there is no way for the two to work together to achieve some sort of compromise. These small allegories thus are largely successful in presenting the overall theme of the song: unity, and overcoming differences.

The most potent use of pathos, however, lies in the chorus. The phrase "Please, I know that we're different/ [But] we were one cell in the sea in the beginning" appeals strongly to one's need for togetherness; humans are innately social creatures, and A Fine Frenzy works to speak directly to this primal need. The imagery that is utilised, namely that all things in the world come from the same basis and origin, is a powerful one in this sense. The call in "The Minnow and the Trout" is for people to start focusing on similarities instead of differences, and to remember that "...what we're made of was all the same once/[and that] we're not that different after all".