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In Marina and the Diamonds’ song, “Primadonna”, it revolves around the idea of power and self importance. By definition, a primadonna is someone who thinks they are better than everyone else and that their view of their talents or importance is inflated. In the first line of the song, which is also the chorus, she states that she is a primadonna and acknowledges this by saying, “I know I’ve got a big ego/ I really don’t know why it’s such a big deal tho.” Marina has high self confidence and does not see a problem with her behavior, implying that others do see a problem. The idea of power comes in when she states, “[I] got you wrapped around my finger.” This illuminates that she can manipulate and control her lover whenever she wants, making her seem powerful. She later asks three questions, each asking if her lover would be willing to do something “for me [her]?” Marina never once asks about anyone else and only cares about how much she will be receiving, caring only for herself. She also asserts her dominance by asking “would you get down on your knees for me?/ Pop that pretty question right now, baby.” In this part of the song, Marina is asking her partner to get down on his “knees” instead of the traditional one knee, when asking for her hand in marriage. This suggests that her partner should be begging to have Marina which would increase her importance as well as her position in power. Marina does not ask her partner but instead, commands him to ask her to marry him. This relationship depicts that Marina is not looking for love, or rather, she doesn’t think of it as a top priority and is only in it to get what she wants, which is to be at the top. The listener can tell that Marina wants to be in a higher position when she says,“anything for the crown, crown crown,” meaning that she will do anything to get to where she wants. By being a primadonna (self importance), Marina is able to gain the power that she wants.
In the song “The show goes on” by lupe fiasco, it revolves around recognizing and inspiring those who are living in the urban communities around the US but mostly focuses on the children or basically the future generations. . The person speaking in this song is speaking in his point of view and it is obvious he was once living in less fortunate neighborhood. The order of the lyrics is key because he states in order what his perspective of it all should be. “one in the air for the people that ain’t here”, which refers to those who died trying to make a better life for themselves. This group of people must’ve done some drastic event to die so he categorizes them as the lowest of the best. Next he praises the father’s that are present in their children’s lives. A life of a child in the “ghetto”,as he refers to it, without a father figure is terrible in that they have no one to tell them that way of life on the street can only lead to negative affects. His cultural background is important because where Lupe grew up, many father figures were not there to guide their children. Then Lupe shows his appreciation to the actual children who are suffering, and tells them that anything is possible by recognizing them in this song, so he is saying look I was in your shoes and I got to a better place. So if I tried, and was successful, why can’t you try. “four for the kids who don’t wanna be their”. The kids who are trying to better their lives are higher on the scale then then those who don’t and therefore Those who try are recognized and those who don’t strive to better their lives are basically told to because they have a higher chance. Then he gives a ranking of zero to those who accept their lives and believe it can not be bettered along with those who try to convince another that this is the life we are born into and we can not change it. He finally sums up his ideas that those who give others hope are the highest rank because not only do you have the determination but you can change another person’s life. Those less fortunate children should have a positive mind set implemented in them from an early age to better the lives of not only current, but future generations.
In J-Cole’s song “Crooked Smile”; in the second verse he says “Cause what’s real is something that the eyes can’t see That’s the hands can’t touch, that them broads can’t be and that’s you”.These words send a clear message to women; telling them not to listen to the outside noise and expectations of them.“Cause what’s real is something that the eyes can’t see” These words talk about how women have trouble valuing themselves personally, and instead they are spending more time and effort on their physical appearance. It goes back to the famous saying of how a person’s appearance doesn’t matter, their personality does. In today’s society women spend time making sure they look beautiful on the outside because some think that how they appear on the outside is how others will perceive you as an individual, this idea that wearing long heels, fake nails, fake eyebrows and extensions make them better and more attractive than a woman without the,. In today’s society fake nails, fake eyebrows, hair extensions and other utensils are becoming more commonly used by women, but all the artificial additions can’t make you a “better person”. All it does is take away one’s uniqueness. The beauty of humans is that we are all different, for good and for worse, and the only thing makeup does is bury a woman’s true spirit. The phrase is saying that all women have perfect imperfections, but they have a hard time seeing this because they focus on the imperfections, but that doesn’t make them themselves, and in this quote “you”. The quote is telling them outsiders can’t take anything away from you, they can’t take one’s beauty, intelligence or personality because no matter how much they might try to declare you “sexy” or “stupid” or whatever they think the truth is nobody knows “you” except you. It is impossible to correctly assess a person without understanding the person.
The end of the quote “that them broads can’t be, and that’s you” compares the regular woman from the star/supermodel women famously seen everywhere. A lot of the famous female celebrities are looked upon as very attractive, which is one of the reasons they got to their respective points. These models/ celebrities are always in the spotlight, and are always being judged and criticized. These situations are the reason why you see them always wearing makeup and so forth, and consequently they become less the person they once were. The regular girl may not be a movie star/supermodel woman but her unique imperfections and qualities are something those “stars” can never have.
Eminem’s song “When I’m Gone” about the complex relationship between Eminem and his daughter, Hallie. In the first verse Eminem creates an example of the dialogue that goes on between him and Hallie. “Daddy look what I made”, Dad’s gotta go catch a plane(line 9) and “Daddy where’s Mommy? I can’t find Mommy where is she?”(line 10) both show Hallie’s distress for a single moment of attention from her father. However, Eminem is often busy travelling, as evidenced in line 9. Due to his enormous fame and popularity, Eminem often neglects Hallie. His responses to his daughter in lines 11 and 12, “I don’t know go play Hallie, baby, your Daddy’s busy(line11) and Daddy’s writing a song, this song ain’t gon’ write itself(line 12) both brush of Hallie and send her away as if she were a nuisance. Eminem put his music as his number one priority, ahead of his own daughter. What makes the relationship between them complex is that Eminem still loves Hallie. In the first line of the first verse, Eminem asks the listener a question “Have you ever loved someone so much, you’d give an arm for? The listener may not know why Eminem asks that, but as the song progresses, it becomes clear he is talking about his own daughter. The explanation that Eminem gives regarding the complexity of the whole situation comes in lines 6, “But what happens when karma turns around and bites you?”, and 7 “And everything you stand for turns on you to spite you? He stood for his daughter Hallie, who turned on him. She turned on him because he thought he was doing what was best, making himself money and fame. Only now does he realize that he was wrong and that he should have paid more attention to his daughter, Hallie.
In verse 3, Eminem imagines himself to be onstage. While singing, he looks down on the crowd and sees Hallie among them. He asks her how she got to Sweden, where they are located. She replies “I followed you Daddy, you told me that you weren’t leavin’. The next line in verse 3, line 9, “You lied to me Dad, and now you make Mommy sad”. This line shows further deterioration of their relationship, as Eminem lied to his daughter. Continuing on later in the verse, Hallie tells her father that he has made his choice, he has chosen the people, the fame over her.
Kanye West is a polarizing figure in American culture. He is often dismissed as egotistical, selfish, and as an “asshole.” Despite these characteristics, it is difficult to deny that West is a very powerful and influential man. West is a man who has earned his wealth and power primarily through his endeavors in the music industry. His success has also created many who oppose him. In his song “Power”, Mr. West provides insight into the source of his power and addresses his critics and “haters”.
How has he achieved this level of power that he claims to possess? His musical creativity. He is far from modest in regard to his abilities and potential, stating “I just needed time alone with my own thoughts/got treasures in my mind but couldn’t open up my own vault/my childlike creativity, purity and honesty/is honestly being crowded by these grown thoughts/Reality is catching up with me/taking my inner child I’m fighting for custody.” These treasures are the ideas that help him produce successful music and create his wealth. He also describes his creativity as “childlike”, a unique kind of creativity usually thought to be lost as one ages. This inner child is the source of his creativity, and therefore his success and power. Unlike others, he’s been able to hold onto this and it has helped him become successful. He’s wrestling to keep “reality” from taking this away from him. In this sense, West is a child himself, unable to come to grips with reality and its responsibilities. Amongst this braggadocio, a crack is seen in his armor: his responsibilities are weighing down on him and having a negative impact on his music career and mental health.
West is unfazed by critics and haters. He’s conscious of his position at the top, and knows how effective he is. “At the end of the day, god damn it I’m killing this shit/I know damn well ya’ll feeling this shit.” The use of the world “ya’ll” has a condescending tone, suggesting that he’s specifically addressing his critics. He’s so confident in his abilities that he’s essentially claiming that even who hate him can’t help but enjoy his music. He’s hated for his arrogance by critics, yet here he goes and addresses them in possibly the most arrogant manner possible. West doesn’t shy away from the consensus on his egotism, but instead embraces it. He’s cocky, and he has a right to be.
Let’s face it, most people have heard an Eminem song before. No matter how profane, obscene, explicit, and graphic you may think his lyrics are, he is undoubtedly one of the most reputed and respected rappers in hip-hop history. I decided to do my close reading on one of his hit songs “Without Me”, particularly on the first verse of the song. Eminem starts out by saying “I’ve created a monster, because nobody wants to see Marshall no more they want shady, I’m chopped liver”. What Eminem is saying is that the alter ego he created for himself “Slim Shady”, or just “Shady”, is a compelling character that everyone wants to hear and see. Nobody cares about Marshall Mathers, they want the drug-abusing, hate-spewing, controversy-causing menace that is Slim Shady. Moreover, Eminem feels as though his fans only value him as an entertainer, not as an actual person. This coincides with the title of the song, as well as its meaning as a whole. The title is “Without Me”, and to this I say, without who? The context of this song is that Eminem has been out of the rap scene for a few years since his last album, and the music industry/consumers feel something missing. This is explicitly stated in one of the next lines- “They try to shut me down on MTV but it feels so empty without me”. Does it feel empty because we miss Marshall Mathers, the individual who we are familiar with for artistic musical talent, or do we miss the dark, racist, sexist, misogynist that is Slim Shady? This interpretation lines up with the general meaning of the song, because Eminem is trying to convey the message that the hip-hop industry just feels different without his eccentric personality/antics, but society is no longer letting him be who he really is. Later on in the verse, Eminem states “So the FCC won’t let me be, or let me be me so let me see.” Aside from his intricate wordplay, these lyrics give meaning to the piece as a whole as well. The FCC is responsible for regulating communications, which includes radio. They constantly censor his lyrics, the lyrics that everyone has grown to love despite their grotesque meanings. In one case, they even had to remove a part of his song “We as Americans” because one lyric was considered to be a “threat” to the president. The FCC is not letting Eminem be his true self when he raps, and forces him to conform to certain standards of obscenity. Because of this, Eminem hadn’t been able to release songs for about 2 years, which is why Eminem starts this song with “Guess who’s back, guess who’s back, guess who’s back”. The question that remains is- who is back? The first two lines mentioned earlier imply that Eminem wants his fans to accept who he really is-Marshall Mathers, but the later lines in this verse seem like Eminem is saying that he wants to express the twisted character that is Slim Shady. This is quite contradictory and paradoxical, but a very interesting point of analysis.
“Without Me” by Eminem
Guess who’s back, back again
Shady’s back, tell a friend
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back?
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back?
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back?
Guess who’s back?
I’ve created a monster, ’cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more
They want Shady, I’m chopped liver
Well if you want Shady, then this is what I’ll give ya
A little bit of weed mixed with some hard liquor
Some vodka that will jump start my heart quicker
Then a shot when I get shocked at the hospital
By the doctor when I’m not cooperating
When I’m rocking the table while he’s operating “Hey”
You waited this long to stop debating
‘Cause I’m back, I’m on the rag and ovulating
I know you got a job Ms. Cheney
But your husband’s heart problem is complicated
So the F-C-C won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see
They tried to shut me down on M-T-V
But it feels so empty without me
In Eminem’s song, “Beautiful”, he really emphasizes on the idea that he has lived an extremely difficult life and that people, in order to know what someone is actually going through, should see things in other people’s perspectives before making judgments. He says “You’d have to walk a thousand miles in my shoes, just to see what it’s like to be me, I’ll be you, let’s trade shoes, just to see what it’d be like to, feel your pain, you feel mine, go inside each other’s minds, just to see what we find, look at shit through each other’s eyes”. He talks about how you would really need to experience everything he does, or anyone does, in order to properly understand what goes on in someone’s life. There are descriptions of his life and the struggles he faced all throughout the song to help listeners get a stronger grip on everything that he has faced. By adding lines such as, “I don’t know how or why or when I ended up in this position I’m in” and “I took my bruises, took my lumps, fell down and I got right back up”, Eminem continues to give a vivid description to help the listeners understand that although there was an abundance of negative and traumatic events such as near death experiences because of drugs in his life, he managed to overcome all the obstacles in his life and learn from the mistakes that he made. There is a central idea of regardless beauty in everyone. After expressing numerous examples of negative things in his life, he consistently says “But don’t let ‘em say you ain’t beautiful”. He conveys the suggestion that at the end of the day, regardless of what you have done or gone through, you will always be “beautiful” and that people are recommended to remain as their genuine self and not take the sayings of others to heart. Eminem follows a clear structural pattern in this song; there are life descriptions and depressing events followed by positivity. “And to the rest of the world, God gave you them shoes that fit you so put ‘em on and wear ’em, be yourself, man, be proud of who you are” This line was put at the end and it can be seen as a tie-together for the whole song. Eminem is a “born again” Christian so the involvement of God in his music portrays that everyone was put on the world for a reason as well as there is uniqueness within everyone.
People through a process of trial and error in the dating process and when they find the right person, they perform the ultimate act of fate known as marriage. In the song “American Wedding”, by Frank Ocean the concept of marriage is challenged. The lyrics are written in a narrative way and as the song progresses, you find out why Frank Ocean thinks that marriage isn’t for him or anyone else. In the first verse it starts off where Frank is at his wedding and he is clearly in love. He talks about aspects of a wedding based off of the culture that surrounds him within the first verse. In society today, you see a lot of young couples splitting after marriage. This happens more often in the United States than other countries, and in the second part of the hook you start to see this culture brought into the song. Collectively the hook talks about one of the aspects of what happens after a marriage and a divorce. A couple becomes one under law and they share things. After a split, the property that they both owned gets split. This is seen all the time in social media when a rich famous person divorces and their wife/husband takes half of the wealth. After Frank talks about his view of an American wedding, he then talks about how that happened at such a young age. Love is a huge theme of this song and it is coupled with the concept of marriage. When you love someone you marry them, and that’s exactly what happened. There is also mention of when marriage doesn’t involve “true love” in the case of an arranged marriage, which he believes to be a failure as well. The further the song progresses, the more complex the concept of marriage becomes. Frank Ocean probably perceives love in the U.S. as temporary and since love is temporary marriage must be as well. The way he presents the content and themes of the song leads me to question the concept of marriage as well. What’ll happen to me when I think I’m ready to get married? Maybe people split up due to them being too young? Why should marriage be a thing at all? All of these unanswered questions are the product of the song, which connects the listener/reader to the conflicted writer because the writer is probably just as conflicted as the listener.
In Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” she depicts how she wants to be remembered by a lover who is leaving her. Each short line tells a new part of the story that is being told by this song. The words “you’ll see me in hindsight” in the first line of the eighth stanza set up a series of flashbacks and memories for what is to follow. The next line, “tangled up with you all night” signifies how she was able to cuddle and be safe with her lover. Quickly following, “burning it down” contradicts the previous two lines, burning something would nothing but ashes and no artifacts to remember. This line contradicts the rest of the song because throughout the whole piece the woman wants to be remembered by her lover yet, she is willing to burn everything down. “Someday when you leave me” “I bet these memories” “follow you around”, these three lines raises the question of “why is her lover leaving and not staying with her?” In this stanza, the woman is confident that her lover is going to miss and that the memories he created with her will follow him and never let him forget her.
In the ninth stanza of the song, the woman begins to plead to her lover for him to remember her. Hoping that he will remember all her best features and their best memories together. “Say you’ll remember me standing in a nice dress,” “staring at the sunset, babe”, the first two lines in this stanza, create a setting that allow the woman to feel classy and beautiful, how she hopes the man remembers her. The next line, “red lips and rosy cheeks” are another standard of beauty that would make the woman appear more attractive to the man, leaving him more apt to remember this memory. In the last two lines of this stanza, “say you’ll see me again” “even if it’s just pretend” signify the woman wanting to be told that he will meet with her again to make her feel better even of the man has no intentions of being with her or ever seeing her again. The word pretend brings the whole line to a level of fantasy and childlike nature since children believe in fantasy as a reality.
The very last line of the song, “even if it’s just in your wildest dreams” closes the woman’s fantasy because she knows that it may be a wild dream but she wants him to say that he will see her again.
I don’t have the heart – fuck it, I don’t have the head
Every time that we’re apart, someone’s sleepin’ in my bed
I wanna be alone, I wanna be alone
This fame and fortune shit shows me things I wasn’t knownin’
You’re my biggest fan, I promise to be there
I wanna be that guy, but I don’t think I can
I’m losin’ everything, I wanna let it go
I wanna take it right and slow because
These girls have all the best of me
“These girls” by Childish Gambino narrates a story of the singer’s trouble in his relationship. From this short excerpt of the song, it is clear to see that the singer is in some sort of distress or self conflict. In the first line “I don’t have the heart – fuck it, I don’t have the head” it shows that the singer is doubting himself and finding reasons to give up. His use of “fuck it” stresses that he is exhausted and losing confidence in himself. He doubts whether he has the mentality to carry on, or the heart to endure the stress for the sake of the relationship. The next line shows his paranoia or suspicion that his girlfriend is cheating on him every time that he is away. These negative feelings of suspicion and jealousy lead him to feel the need for isolation, suggesting that it would be easier to be alone rather than together. His new found fame shows him a different side of life that takes him away from his partner and he finds himself surrounded with many other women. Since he is not used to the company or experience, he needs some time to be alone from everyone else. In the line “You’re my biggest fan, I promise to be there” the singer is able to recognize that his girlfriend still loves him and has always supported him and he wants to make an effort to be a good boyfriend but feels he is unable. “I’m losin’ everything, I wanna let it go” shows that the stress from trying to manage both his relationship and career is pushing him to have notions of giving up. Everything that he has now is falling apart so he wants to take things slow and not too serious. The final line signifies that he is stressing over the relationship he wants to keep with his girlfriend, but at the same time he is meeting many more girls which are constantly on his mind. Overall the song hints at breaking up for he is unable to manage both his relationship and career. If he were to invest more time and energy into his relationship, he would not be able to progress further in his career. He fears that the relationship will make his career fall apart, so he would rather break up than lose everything he had worked for.
Will “tomorrow be better”? Yes, it will definitely be getting better. Every new day is a new beginning for us. “May your tears flea with yesterday blow away with the wind”, we take for granted what everyday lives we experience, no matter good or bad, get over it. Remember, our life consists of happiness and sorrow, this song is there to help us overcome any sorrow we may deal with or experiencing. “Yesterday” is already passed by, all we got to do is get ready for “when i wake up in the morning, there is a brand new day”. This means yesterday’s sorrow will not be there forever, we could turn our next day into full of happiness, it all depends on ourselves, it is a choice. We will have a fresh start if “we decide the future”, we, are the most important piece for this song, without us “come out of the corner and pray that tomorrow be better” no one would ever notice we, ourselves could devote our power to believe and pray with everybody else doing the same thing with us, is the ultimate source of power that are strong enough to break any obstacles coming together. This piece give listener a motive or could make them believe they actually could do something, no matter big or small. So why not, “i KNOW YOU’LL DO”, constitute a connection to listener themselves independently questioning in their own mind: our thinking and action could be a contribution, right? “No doubt to join” is just a phrase that eliminate any negative thoughts one had. One could have been thinking we, together as we’re a family, united as a whole are able to clear all darkness before us and reach the rainbows. This song is designed to be a way to consider the better tomorrow ahead of us by ourselves.
Irony of approximation is the setup of the lines that are used throughout the song “Treacherous” by Taylor Swift. The contradiction its self describes the relationship built up through the eyes of the narrator. The relationship is strong, dangerous and full of desire. The narrator can only go as far as being so close to the person she’s referring to but once a certain line crosses, danger will presume right there and then.
“Put your lips close to mine As long as they don’t touch.” Lips are as close but don’t touch. The reason for just proximity and not direct feel of the lips touching brings upon a fear of doing what is wanted. The want of kissing but the fear of it being a wrong choice. It’s telling a child not to eat the candy sitting on the table so they just admire it. Knowing that contact of their lips will cause chaos so at best the solution is to stay as closest as possible.
Being eye-to-eye or closest as possible with another should help see the facial features clearly but this is not the case, “Out of focus eye to eye.” Being so close but not being able to focus. The focus of the eye is unclear as well as her thoughts of what she will do either go for the danger or not. Misunderstanding or contemplation is portrayed between the pair of eyes through the unfocused view. They are close but eyes can’t be read. There’s an overload of tension and focus since the yes are so close and causing the eyes to not focus because there’s plenty of focus in the first place.
Once again the narrator approaches the reader with an opposition. This time it’s “Forever going with the flow but you’re friction.” The narrator is trying to live life but the person being talked about, most likely a lover, is stopping her. Friction is the problematic stop this lover is putting upon the narrator. The narrator has no ability to get out of the situation and is bound to focus on her lover.
After those lines are said there comes the line to sum it all up, “And I’ll do anything you say if you say it with your hands and I’d be smart to walk away but you’re quicksand.”
Saying something without actual words is the power of body language. Body language is used to identify many meanings but one is desire. No words need to be said it can all be actions. The narrator knows it’s a poor choice to follow along with her desires. The temptation generated between these two is getting in the way of the narrator’s everyday life to an extent that its quicksand.
Nina Simone’s is well known for incorporating civil rights protests in her lyrics. Her songs are a huge reflection on her life. In “Feeling Good” she expresses a confident and sassy tone. The song itself is very bluesy, but powerful. She starts off by giving examples of confident, powerful things like a “bird flying high” and the “sun in the sky.” By saying “you know how I feel” after each example she’s reinforcing her positive feelings by comparing it to something so majestic like the sun. She reminds us repeatedly of her confidence by comparing it to many natural phenomenons like the blossoming tree or the running river.
In the chorus Simones sings, “it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, for me.” Dawn is the beginning of a new day; with a new day comes a “new life” or a new start of a day. She forgets the past even yesterday because a new day brings new adventures and more confidence. The last verse, “And this old world is a new world ,And a bold world ,For me, For me, Stars when you shine, You know how I feel ,Scent of the pine, You know how I feel, Oh freedom is mine, And I know how I feel, It’s a new dawn, It’s a new day, It’s a new life”, sums up the whole song. She’s implying to live life by reinforcing the idea that everyday is a new day with new adventures. Forget the old world she says its behind you and become daring. Once you become daring your life is a happier and you’re free. The world becomes new. She shouts for freedom in the verse “oh freedom is mine” and her freedom relates to all the things in nature she described, just as the bird and the river are free she knows how it feels to be free as well.
Simones ends the song with the central idea that it’s “a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, for me” and she’s ” feeling good.” Of course life is very hard and it has it’s ups and downs, but everyday she forgets the past and starts everyday as if it’s a new one because it is a new one. With a new day she is given the opportunity to start over or keep going. She goes through the day confident and daring and at the end of it she feels good.
Drake’s hotline bling really represents a very important relationship in his life, although it did dot work out for them it still did leave a lasting impression on him. This really shows how he himself has grown and has moved on the bigger and greater things but many people from his past have still not. Drake is showing how he has matured from being materialistic to a person that found the more enjoyable things in life and what truly makes you happy. The girls that he knew were good and kind people but they have changed to party animals. They have matured in an immature way. Its can show how people are easily changed and influenced by other people. He even mentions that she has changed friends showing that you have personally changed, your friends are the ones that you spend a lot of time with and usually have the greatest influence on you. They were in a very close relationship and even after they still talked to each other. She still relied on him and needed him to support her. He was caught up in a situation that was hurting himself tiring to help another person. When she was hurting he would always answer her calls trying to be there for her. After a long break of not seeing each other there is a hatred between each other. There are unresolved issues that were left to simmer and to grow into a huge grudge. He knows that if she calls him that he will be put in a lot of pain and suffering. He doesn’t want to hurt him self but h really wants to help people out. Although they don’t have a big problem there is a pain that neither know how it has started. They bumped into each other where nether one of them had expected the other person to be because of their past and how they were. She said something’s that she may of regretted but she fell true to her words and what she had said about it. Passport is a metaphor for men and he is trying to convey that she is running around trying to fill an empty pain that she has but they don’t fill them it just causes it to be repressed further. She is changing as a person. She is behaving in ways that isn’t her true identity. He is conveying that people change for better or worse.
In Sideline Story, by J. Cole he conveys a feeling of not being able to get anywhere despites all of the effort he puts in to his career. “I put my heart and soul in this game, I’m feelin’ drained Unappreciated, unalleviated”, in the first line of his song he mentions how he gives all he got to his music but in the end he doesn’t get the recognition he wants and in the end he feels disappointed. “Throw flames, Liu Kang, the coach ain’t help out, so I call my own shots”, J. cole was signed by Jay-Z and despite the perks of being signed by him he feels that nothing came out of it. In a sense, he feels as if he‘s even more on his own since no one seems to help him. He decides that he should make it out on his own. From my previous knowledge of his career most of his songs get leak early and is why he feels drained. “I say a prayer, hope my girl ain’t leavin’”, he mentions how he made so much sacrifices for his career by moving out his hometown down south by moving out to the West Coast and such sacrifices is his girlfriend. With all of his focus in his music he hopes that he doesn’t lose her. “As you fall through the club, Bad bitches down to do all the above” after saying how he hopes he doesn’t lose his relationship he also hopes he doesn’t fall in the trap of temptation as rappers are notoriously known for partying and going to strip clubs. “Money comes fast so bein’ hungry don’t last, Till you look in the mirror and you saw who you was”, he also hope he doesn’t lose his sight of career by being also tempted with money and also hopes that he can maintain his true face for his fans. “The time is now, it couldn’t be more herer” he feels that despite all of the negativity he faced in the past he hopes that with the new album coming out its changes him for the long run. But a main idea that I noticed from reading the first verse is that he hopes he doesn’t change and look forward to the future as he would before he got signed under the record label.
John Legend writes a lot of his songs about women particularly his wife. In John Legend’s All of Me, the structure upon initial glimpse seemed like two parts. Then when I did look up the lyrics again, the website had the song divided into two separate verses. It begins with “What would I do without your smart mouth, drawing me in and you kicking me out” makes the listener wonder why he is writing a song about this particular woman and why she does what she does. Currently she is portrayed as an enigma, we (the listeners) do not understand why she has his trapped in this whirlpool where John Legend cannot escape. The following two lines are “I’m on your magical mystery ride and I’m so dizzy, don’t know what hit me, but I’ll be all right” in a way completes an idea that Legend was attempting to display. He is currently trapped inside the cage she built for him. It goes on to “my head’s under water but I’m breathing fine” in this metaphorical cage, she has his underwater, gasping for air but he is still capable of surviving under these circumstances.
The chorus comes in with “’cause all of me, loves all of you, loves your curves and all your edges.” Her curves and edges refers to imperfection one has. But can be seen in a literal sense, society’s view of women’s beauty is slender and very petite. But Legend is not like the rest of society and loves her for her less slender and petite body. The chorus continues with “give your all to me, I’ll give my all to you”, continues the idea of accepting her for who she is, even if she is not society’s ideal woman. “You’re my end and my beginning, even when I lose I’m winning”, completes the idea of accepting her flaws.
“Cards on the table, we’re both showing hearts, risking it all, though it’s hard”. Putting your cards on a table is a metaphor for giving yourself to someone without having certainties of its outcome. Legend is willing to put his heart (his cards) on the table without any real thought for himself, just pure raw emotion for her. Both of them showing hearts is an easier interpretation as they’re both in love with each other. Risking it all is another poker/card metaphor because the game often involves an all or nothing, losing and risking it all or gaining the ultimate prize which is love in this case.
He accepts her for who she is. He is willing to put it on all the line just for her. The song is just a way for Legend to express his love for his wife.
To many rock’n roll fans, the Doors are widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rock bands in American history. My personal favorite song of this genius group would most probably be “Break on through.” This song from what I and other people interpret is about drug abuse. LSD, to be specific. I’ve never personally tried or even seen this drug so I would not be able to agree or disagree with what the songs describes. During the 1960’s these types of drugs were prevalent amongst the musician/music scene. The leader of the band says “you know the day destroys the night, night divides the day,” Jim Morrison is referring to the ying-yang concept. For everything in this world, there must be something to oppose it. “Tried to run, tried to hide,” maybe explains that people do whatever is in their power to escape their depression or suffering. Morrison, himself used drugs to reach a higher consciousness which he describes as “the other side.”
At the time Jim Morrison, was incredibly fascinated by Aldous Huxley’s perception and experience with hallucinogenic drugs. Which could be the inspiration behind this song. Morrison continues to reiterate the words “break on through to the other side,” as motivation for people to see or reach the other side via hallucinogens. His then says “we chased our pleasures here, dug up treasures there,” this means that he has been searching for joy or happiness in his life, however was never able to find it. His failure for this other earthly phenomenon is evident when he mentions “the time we cried.”
Next verse again by Morrison; “I found an island in your arms, country in your heart, arms that chain, eyes that lie.” There’s a massive contrast between the first two lines and the latter. He describes sensitivity, comfort, warmth and love while he mentions deception, trickery and fallacies. Morrison describes the ephemeral comfort drugs provide as well the addiction and the catastrophic effects drugs entail.
you left me paralyzed, no cure, no rehab for me
funny that you got the nerve to keep asking me
how i’ve been
you’re the victor in this pageantry
but the only trophy you deserve, catastrophe
i’d rather we be dead to each other
no eulogies said for each other
no “rest in peace”s
the memories got my chest in pieces
In Tablo’s “Eyes,Nose,Lips”, it is clear from the lyrics that he is singing about a breakup in a relationship. He uses lyrics carefully to illustrate this. The first line shows that he feels stuck after the breakup and nothing can bring him back to who he was before the girl left him. The girl has the “nerve” to ask him how he was after the breakup because she was the one who “paralyzed him.” There is a play on words in the part afterwards dealing with the victor with the words trophy and catastrophe(catasTrophy); she is the winner because she has broken him but the only “trophy” she deserves is catastrophe. The rest of that verse converses about the complexity of dealing with his emotions now. It’s easier to just ignore each other and pretend the other doesn’t exist instead of acknowledging each other and the problems in their relationship. In later verses, he continues to use this style of using more complex lyrics to illustrate his pain. “Forget the promenade. Let’s juggernaut down memory lane. Leave no thought to the slaughterhouse. I’m takin my pain. It’s time to sever my brain from my heart and soul. My knees are burnin’ hot but god is cold.” To juggernaut down memory lane is to tear all the intimate and once precious memories he shared with his ex from his mind because they are tormenting him now. To get over the relationship, he can ease his pain by separating his memories (brain) and his emotions (heart and soul). There is imagery as Tablo describes knees that are hot from being scrapped on the ground from praying but god is cold and does not respond. “So take it slow and let time heal everything. They say that time flies but you keep breakin’ its wings.” Time can heal most wounds so it might work for him too. The second line contains great wordplay as Tablo connects time with the image of a flying bird; time can’t fly by and help you forget your pain if you keep revisiting and thinking about old memories.
In John Legend and Common’s Song Glory, one key line in the first verse reads “Justice for all ain’t specific enough”. This versatile line addresses the current events, as well as historical events and texts. With all the prevalent injustices within America that minorities face, this line directly responded to the last line in the American Pledge of Allegiance: “In liberty, in Justice for all”. Based on the many forms of injustices, some listeners of the song Glory and the American Pledge of Allegiance argue the last lines from the American Pledge of Allegiance states a juxtaposition: “in liberty, [injustice] for all”. Furthermore, liberty and injustice contrast from each other because true liberty prohibits all injustice and true injustice prevents liberty entirely. The “ain’t specific enough” portion of the verse highlights the loop holes, or gray areas, with the “all” that receives justice. The word “all” vaguely encompasses people. And based on the police brutalities, minority populations in jail, racial injustices in the work environments, and underrepresentation of minorities in academia, including minority student body percentages in college, the “all” fails to include minorities. On a broader spectrum, this song, mainly this line, condenses the exact words said on August 28, 1963 by a man who marched to Washington D.C., stood on the Lincoln memorial and lived as the named Martin Luther King Jr. In his speech, the words, “seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came… to end … But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” simplifies and yields to incorporate gender and racial minorities by translating to the Glory lines “justice for all ain’t specific enough” because the emancipation proclamation, a well detailed document, could not extinguish injustice, not to mention the well edited and living Constitution. In fact, the word justice occurs only once in in the Pledge of Allegiance, and that’s arguable since the Pledge of Allegiance can read injustice instead of in justice. Alright that’s not as unique at all since the Pledge of Allegiance only has 31 words. On the other text, as for Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, there’s no excuse for only using the word justice once. The line “Justice for all ain’t specific enough” nails the importance of deconstructing complex texts that uses the word justice, especially texts that are suppose to uphold sovereignty.