Born in the U.S.A.

During my junior year of high school, our AP English teacher had us read “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. One day in class he played us a clip of just the audio from “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen and had us describe our feelings. We spoke about feeling patriotic and proud because of the powerful music that was reminiscent of other patriotic songs. He very rudely awoke us from this discussion by reading the lyrics. Quickly, we began to describe how the lyrics, to us, did not match the music. Springsteen actually describes very negative aspects of a Vietnam veteran’s (fictitious or not, we do not know) life, before and after the war.

Springsteen creates an emotional appeal to the listener just from the music itself, which is very powerful. But this is juxtaposed against the lyrics which paint a very different picture. This juxtaposition allows the listener to garner different meanings of the chorus, “Born in the U.S.A.” I feel that Springsteen is trying to demonstrate the irony behind the hero’s welcome given to veterans of other wars, but the hatred given to Vietnam veterans. The lyrics and music together create an interesting dichotomy between patriotism and the actual realities faced by those who fight those battles.

The Dead Flag Blues

The car is on fire
and there's no driver at the wheel
and the sewers are all muddied
with a thousand lonely suicides
and a dark wind blows

The government is corrupt
and we're all on so many drugs
with the radio on and the curtains drawn

We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine
and the machine is bleeding to death

The sun has fallen down
and the billboards are all leering
and the flags are all dead
at the top of their poles

It went like this:
the buildings toppled in on themselves
mothers clutching babies
picked through the rubble
and pulled out their hair

The skyline was beautiful on fire
all twisted metal stretching upwards
everything washed in a thin orange haze

I said, "Kiss me, you're beautiful, these are truly the last days"
You grabbed my hand, and we fell into it
like a daydream
or a fever.

We woke up one morning
and fell a little further down
For sure it's the valley of death
I open up my wallet
and it's full of blood

The Dead Flag Blues by Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a brooding, ambient, orchestral jeremiad set in the near future, after some tremendous, unspecified cataclysm. The monologue can be divided into two sections: first, a portrait of a diseased society, slouching painfully toward oblivion; and then the inevitable destruction and quietus that follow.

Part 1 is a harsh indictment of modernity, set to a constant, mechanical droning that augments the mind-numbing, suffocating quality of the narrative; and though he begins with histrionic, value-laden language ("muddied with a thousand lonely suicides"), the narrative ends in a simple, terse report; clearly, the narrator has been changed by what he has experienced. In the security of a mellow, suburban milieu, it is easy to wax eloquent about social ills; but the narrator appears to mature through his experience, and finds little to critique in what he sees when the story concludes.

In part 2, his lyrics are laconic and dispassionate, conveying the dreamlike state of shock that follows disaster. The narrator simply states what he observes, seemingly unable to process the emotional ramifications. He pauses to notice the morbid beauty of a burning city, and makes subtle comment on his circumstances ("these are truly the last days" -- "for sure it's the valley of death"); but there is no mourning, or even fear suggested. This makes the listener a participant in the story, as one is forced to infer or imagine the details.

The monologue ends three minutes into the track, and the listener is left to ponder the cryptic, half-told story through thirteen minutes of ambient, dirge-like violin and guitar. Interestingly, the song concludes with two minutes of incongruously cheerful xylophone and violin. This may simply be sarcastic or absurdist, or it may be a sincere expression of optimism.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

The song I chose to analyze is entitled "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by the band Green Day. Right from the beginning of this song the mood of it is one that seems somber. The words also are ones that instantly strike at the pathos. At first when I heard this song I thought tht it was referring to Spetmeber 11th and the war. Many people at first connected it with this event, but the band member Billie Joe Armstrong then explained that it was actually a memorial to his father who died in September when he was little. After knowing this the lyrics of the song do connect with sucha tradgedy, yet just because the song is specifially about Armstrong's father it is evident the song has influence and different meaning to others too.
I think that the emotion of this song and the lyrics it contains about pain and things ending are very strong and can make the audience instantly get something personal out of the song. In this way pathos is being used to touch the audience, whatever their goodbyes and hard times in life have been. Also the use of logos is shown by the lyrics because of their straight forward evidence of an event. Even though the song wasn't written about the war, it does apply well to those who have lost and sacrificed because of it and such an event touches the emotions of the readers. I think that even logos is used because when the audience knows the personal background that a member of the band has with the song it makes it more real and wothwhile to the audience.

Superman (it's not easy)

This song is called Superman (It's Not Easy) by Five for Fighting. It talks about what it would be like to be superman. People only see a superhero but don't see the man beneath. As it says "even hero's has the right to bleed." The song appeals to your emotions by showing the side of hero you normally wont see. It makes you feel for the man who has to put on a strong face but feels just as weak as everyone else. He wants to be seen as "more then bird, more then a plane, more then some silly face beside a train".

The artist asks you why doesn't this man deserve the same right to weakness that you have. The song makes you question the stereotypes that you expect to see in a "superman". He uses both pathos and logos to try and get his point across that from superman's perspective "it's not easy to be me".

Just Another Day In Paradise

A song that I have always enjoyed is "Just Another Day In Paradise" by Phil Vassar. I like this song because of the way it gives hope with its optimism of "looking at the glass half full". In Vassar's lyrics he reaches out perfectly to those that are married as his audience, seeing how its about being a father of a family. But also for me as a child and up till now in my life, he has been able to reach me because his way of using things that happen to every family which I could relate to, while at the same time not sounding like he is over exaggerating his life... its real sounding. This song defiantly implements pathos, as you can feel the emotion of love and pure joy this man really has for his family, despite all the possible worries and concerns of supporting a family he remains optimistic and happy. He Illustrates this contrast in our minds by stating all the things that "go wrong" and yet to him, he finds beauty in it all simply because of his family.

I like how in the beginning of the song as he sings of the things that are going wrong, the music plays softer, almost giving a content and still peaceful feeling. Which almost might take you back at first because you listen thinking, "And your happy sounding why?" then as it comes to the chorus and he helps you understand that question you have as music crescendos's a little and you are able to feel more of the ethos in his lyrics. This song makes me smile.

Stand

The song I chose is Stand by Rascal Flatts. This song is about how we have trials, life is hard. But in the end we can and will make it, and each of these hardships make us who we are. The purpose of this song is to inspire people, to help people not give up but to keep going. They wrote this song for everyone, no one's life is perfect and so everyone can relate to it. They also appeal to Pathos. We all know what they are talking about because it is about our average life. Rascal Flatts also uses the word "you" throughout the whole thing. Its a song for and about us, its not about them but about "you." I like they way they use you because it makes me feel like it is closer to me and not so distant. By chosing that word it makes me think about the lyrics alot more and about how I need to keep going. That wouldn't have happened as much had they used "I" because then it would have been their story, their problem, not mine. They use a lot of similes which for me just has and makes more meaning to the song. For examle, they say "you feel like a candle in a hurricane." Instead of saying "life is rough," they use wording that makes the individual think more.
The song starts off pretty quite, when it is talking about how life is hard. But then it gets louder till the chorus making you feel like you will make it, its ok. Then the chorus goes back to the starting volume and again works up. Although its not like a complete contrast in the sound there is some. So there is meaning in that because its how you are feeling, down and quite then you get to the chorus when you feel good and like you can do it.

Diamond Dogs

“This ain’t Rock n’ Roll! This is genocide,” yells David Bowie in the beginning of his post-apocalyptic, glam-rock hit “Diamond Dogs.” This song marked the transition of a typical Bowie phase change, from glam-rock to punk, and features adequate voice distortion and some gritty guitar playing. The album was originally intended to be a Styx style, theatrical album, outlining moods portrayed in George Orwell’s "1984." However, the rights were denied, and after modification, the songs found them on the 1974 album, “Diamond Dogs.” The cover song is saturated with dystopian themes with Bowie’s first verse:

As they pulled you out of the oxygen tank
You asked for the latest party
With your silicone hump and your ten inch stump
Dressed like a priest you was
Tod brownings freak you was

The mood of the song is certainly achieved with other lyrics like, “Hunt you to the ground they will, mannequins with kill appeal,” and “Come out of the garden, baby, You’ll catch your death in the fog.” What is Bowie's intended reaction? The song certainly coincides with the political fervor of the day as hippies, yippies and other rebel rousers as they began to pour out of the pool of discontent. However, Bowie’s disturbing apocalyptic imagery in Diamond Dogs isn’t painted as negative, but takes a more positive approach like Bowie’s sister song on the same album “Rebel, Rebel:” A tribute to a hot tramp who’s mother can’t tell if she/he’s a boy or a girl. Instead there is an embracement of the oddity, the nasty and a sleazy attitude that says, “Abandon the creeping meatball. This world sucks: let’s have fun." Most likely the song was just a product of nonsense breaded in an acid trip, but who said rhetoric had to be intentional?

Dreaming With a Broken Heart

Lately one song has been stuck in my head and it's John Mayer's, Dreaming With a Broken Heart. Not only cause it's an amazing song, but also because I recently got out of a relationship where I ended it with a guy who liked me more than I liked him. He's fine now, but his friends let it slip that he hadn't slept well or at all, for about four nights. So I think of him when I hear this song. The imagery created by Mayer's lyrics portrays vivid pictures in my mind of a guy upset about his love leaving. He is crushed and it just repeats in his head that she's gone, gone gone. And then once you finally fall asleep, you wake up and everything is still the same as when you went to sleep. But you need to realize that it's time to give up, even if it's the right thing to do, it is still the hardest part. John Mayer sings this song with emotion and lyrics that create emotions in the audience and cause you to feel some of the sorrow this dreamer is feeling.

The Climb.. don't judge me.

One of my favorite songs is "The Climb," by Miley Cyrus. Not only does it have a great message, but I wanted to analyze it because it is about a topic that many of us can relate to.

Writtin in first person, this song implements logos, ethos, and pathos simply through its topic. The song is about life: its ups and downs, its trials and consequences, and its rewards and finishing goals. It talks about experiences that are detailed enough for everyone to understand, and general enough for everyone to relate to. I a specifically potent rhetorical technique used in this song is its emotional appeal. With perserverance a main subject implied in the words it talks about faith, an uphill battle, chances, and struggles. All of these are not necessarily meant to be percieved literally, rather, they concern emotions.

At the end of the song the music becomes more climatic as it crescendos. Another important thing it does is shifts narrative points of view and directs the lyrics straight at the listener. Drawing its audience into the music, the lyrics read "It's all about the climb, keep the faith, keep your faith."



P.S. Yes, I love this song. Don't judge me for being a Miley Cyrus fan... haha :)

Memory

I chose Memory from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. I really enjoy musicals and this song holds a lot of meaning. The meaning is far beyond what the words tell you. You can hear the sadness in her tone as she sings. She tugs at your heart strings. She mostly uses Pathos and Ethos. You can tell she knows exactly what she is taking about. She has been there. She still is. She is descriptive in a way only those who truly know can be.

The music is also very descriptive. It starts in low soft tones, as if barely breaching the subject. It waits for you to come aboard and it gently adds more instruments in as you are pulled farther into it. It builds then drifts backs, then in the last stanza it builds and you can feel the ferocity with which she feels. You are completely swept up in the emotion she is feeling, and you can't help feeling that way either.

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".

August Moon

Sara Bareilles' song "August Moon" is one of my favorite songs, not because of its musical simplicity but because of the lyrical simplicity that causes me to think. Her lyrics, not just in this song, tend to evoke a lot of emotion: they express perfectly how betrayal feels, how being something you're not feels, how some experiences feel magical, and how some relationships are painful while others only bring happiness. All these things she does with her simple and profound lyrics.

This song in particular is very pathetic. The lyrics are so clear about how she felt when she walked into a room to see someone she thought she loved with another girl. The emotion evoked by her lyrics is purely heart wrenching and causes me to reflect on similar situations I have had. I think that is what is so beautiful about her "writing", her ability to explain how she is feeling/how she felt through music and lyrics while also allowing her listeners to be able to relate/reflect on similar life experiences.

The Call

A song that I hold dear to myself is “The Call” by Regina Spektor. It about how the world you live in, the place that you once found comfort in, is changing all around you and how there is something that is pulling you away and out of the comforts of that world into somewhere different and frightening; a war. It represents the moments in our lives where we are called to leave the safety of our “homes” and go off to the “war” because we have to, not necessarily because we want to. But the song is naturally sad, but it leaves a hope that everything is going to be alright even though in the moment it is not.

This song is one that every person can relate to because there has been a time in everyone’s life where they had to leave something they love behind as they move forward with their lives. And Regina knows exactly how to hit everyone in her audience and apply pathos. The words that she uses are general and vague enough that they apply to everyone but yet the way that the words are portrayed give a sense that she is “speaking” exactly what you need to hear to soothe the pain. She acknowledges that there is pain a great loss and pain in the moments when “the call” carries you away off to “war,” but she also shows to the audience that the pain will pass and that even though you may be leaving a lot behind it does not mean that you can’t carry the memories with you. Regina knows the pain that the audience is experiencing, and does not deny the audience from the need to mourn out the pain. She allows for mourning, but then she knows how to comfort and to soothe the intensity of the pain.

Regina is able to apply pathos in a deep and inviting manner. She is able to reach deep with the person, and pull out emotions and pains that people may never knew existed otherwise. She pulls out all the pain of leaving and the pain of a changing life. But then she ribbons all the pain with a deep hope, a shaft to hold onto while you are being attacked by the storms of life. She reassures her audience that that there is “no need to say goodbye” because “you’ll come back/when its over.” You will survive the war.

The whole of the song is an extended metaphor. There is a call and there is a war. The call is your life continuing on its natural route. You cannot stop time and from your life continuing ever onward. The call the pull you feel when it is time to open the next door of your life and you must inevitably open that door, leaving behind a lot of people that you love. The war is the life that is ahead of you. Life is hard but you can get through it and survive and eventually return to those that you left behind.

Haven't Met You Yet

“Haven’t Met You Yet” is a song by Michael Bublѐ. The song is about a man who has never had a good relationship. He decides his past relationships haven’t worked because he just hasn’t met the right girl yet. Michael keeps on hoping that when the time is right she is just going to come into his life. He spends the song hopefully looking forward to the future and talking about what a great relationship they will have…if only he could meet her.

Michael Bublѐ uses ethos to establish his position of authority. Because Michael has been unsuccessful in matters of the heart multiple times, he has come to the conclusion that he just hasn’t met the right girl yet. Those who are listening to the song accept Michael’s authority because he’s been in love before and if it hasn’t worked out for him yet, he must know why.

The songwriter appeals to our emotions by talking about his past relationships. Michael claims, “I’ve broken my heart so many times, I’ve stopped keeping track.” Most of us have been in a few unsuccessful relationships, but he can’t even remember how many failed relationships he’s been in. From that opening line you would expect the rest of the song to be sad, but the rest of the song is surprisingly hopeful. He continues to say how patient he is going to be until she comes along, and how wonderful their lives will be together. His optimism influences others trying to recover from bad relationships because he is certain that “someday I know it’ll all work out.” Michael’s atypical approach to relationships gives all of us hope that if you haven’t had a good relationship yet, you just haven’t met the right person.

Michael uses logos to convince the listener that even if they’ve had numerous bad relationships in the past, someday they’ll meet the right person. After the failure of his past relationships, he has thought about the reason why none of them have worked. His logical conclusion is that he just hasn’t met her yet. Even though there could be many reasons why he hasn’t had a good relationship, he comes to the comforting solution that he just hasn’t met her, shifting the blame from himself to someone else. Even though it isn’t the best logical reasoning, he still convinces the audience to be hopeful that the right one will come along someday.