Picture and Lyrics Connections

The picture of NASAs aircraft orbiting Saturn:

Are we Human-The Killers
I did my best to noticewhen the call came down the lineup to the platform of surrender
I was brought but I was kindand sometimes I get nervous
when I see an open door
close your eyes, clear your heart
cut the cordare we human or are we dancer
my sign is vital, my hands are cold
and I’m on my knees looking for the answer
are we human or are we dancer
pay my respects to grace and virtue
send my condolences to good
give my regards to soul and romance
they always did the best they couldand so long to devotion, you taught me everything I knowwave good bye, wish me well
you gotta let me goare we human or are we dancer
my sign is vital, my hands are cold
and I’m on my knees looking for the answer
are we human or are we dancer
will your system be alright
when you dream of home tonight
there is no message were receiving
let me know is your heart still beating
are we human or are we dancermy sign is vital, my hands are cold
and I’m on my knees looking for the answer
you’ve gotta let me knoware we human or are we dancer
my sign is vital, my hands are cold
and I’m on my knees looking for the answer
are we humanor are we dancer
are we human or are we dancer
are we human or are we dancer

Analysis:
This song reminds me of the picture mainly for two different reasons. One being that the line that says, “Are we human…” reminds me of outer space. I say this because if we are not human what else would we be? Extraterrestrial? It also reminds me of there being another form of life in the universe. I am not sure why this line reminds me of that but I simply think it is just the word, “human”. Another example of why this song reminds me of that picture is because of the overall beat, mood and tone. When the music plays it has a very futuristic feeling, further reminding me of space exploration.

Bangkok protestor escaping gunfire:

Say-John Mayer
Take all of your wasted honor
Every little past frustration
Take all of your so-called problems,
Better put 'em in quotations
Say what you need to say [x8]

Walking like a one man army
Fighting with the shadows in your head
Living out the same old moment
Knowing you'd be better off instead,If you could only . . .
Say what you need to say [x8]

Have no fear for giving in
Have no fear for giving over
You'd better know that in the end
Its better to say too much
Then never say what you need to say again
Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open
Say what you need to say [x24]

Analysis:
This picture is full of meaning and I feel as if this song further backs up the meaning towards the picture. The Bangkok protestor in the picture is risking his life to stand up for what he believes in. The first repetitive line that reminds me of this picture is, “say what you need to say”. I believe this because that man was trying to say what he needed to but unfortunately no one wanted to hear it. Another line is, “walking like a one many army”, this clearly can represent the photo because it looks like that man is alone fighting his own battle. Finally the last stanza, “Even if your hands are shaking/ And your faith is broken/ Even as the eyes are closing/ Do it with a heart wide open”. This set of lines is just saying how if you’re scared or unsure you still need to do what you think is right and what needs to be done. And I am just making the observation that the man in the picture is probably scared and needs to know what he has done is right and a good improvement.

Bangkok soldiers against the anti-war protestors:

Where is the Love- Black Eyed Peas

What's wrong with the world, mama

People livin' like they ain't got no mamas

I think the whole world addicted to the drama

Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma

Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism

But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminateAnd to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin
'Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preachAnd would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send us some guidance from above'
Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the loveThe love, the love

It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send us some guidance from above'
Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the loveThe love, the love

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead in spreading love we spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under

Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found
People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send us some guidance from above'
Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)

Analysis:
The song that I chose sort of contradicts the picture; I say this because the picture looks like supporting war, violence or weapons. That’s why I chose a song against all that and what should be played to remind people. Also because this is an anti-war song and those soldiers were fighting against anti-war protestors. The title of the song and a repeat line, “where is the love”, is a clear statement that you could ask those soldiers. Basically the entire song is just providing supporting evidence on why the world is so violent and “drama” and “trauma” filled. These set of lines, “People killin', people dyin'/Children hurt and you hear them cryin'/Can you practice what you preach/And would you turn the other cheek just sort of supports the protesters; saying are you strong enough to stand against these men or will you crack to the pressure and fall to conformity.

Taylor Swift~ Best Day

I'm five years old and it's getting cold

I've got my big coat on

I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you

I run and run

Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides

Look now the sky is gold

I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

I don't know why all the trees change in the fall

I know you're not scared of anything at all

Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away

But I know I had the best day with you today

I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends could be so mean

I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys

And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away

And we talk and window shop till I forgot all their namesI don't know who

I'm gonna talk to now at school

But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you

Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay

But I know I had the best day with you today

I have an excellent father

His strength is making me stronger

God smiles on my little brother

Inside and out he's better than I am

I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run

And I had the best days with you

There is a video I found from back when I was three

You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me

It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs

Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

Now I know why all the trees change in the fall

I know you were on my side even when I was wrong

And I love you for giving me your eyes

Staying back and watching me shine and I didn't know if you knew

So I'm taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today

"Don't Take the Girl" by Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw born Samuel Timothy McGraw on May 1, 1967 in the small country town of Dehli, Louisiana. But in his life his accomplishments were certainly not small like his town. McGraw played a lot of competitive sports when he was in school and he was ecstatic when he got news of getting a full scholarship to college. But little did he know that was not the biggest accomplishment he would be making. In 1989 when McGraw’s musical hero died, Keith Whitely, he dropped out of community college and headed for Nashville to prove his talent to everyone. He signed his first record deal with Curb Records in 1990. He has released around ten albums including, Live Like Your Were Dying, Southern Voice, Everywhere and Let it Go. He has won over fifty awards for his heart warming narrative songs. McGraw has worked amazingly talented other artists like Faith Hill. In this song “Don’t Take the Girl”, McGraw uses several literary devices to help transfer the meaning behind the whole story. This song is an impeccable example of a true country narrative. McGraw accomplishes telling this motivating, heart warming and tragic story by using imagery in almost every stanza to paint the perfect picture of two people in love and alliteration to capture the listener’s ear into further listening.
In the song “Don’t Take the Girl”, McGraw uses imagery perfectly to allow the listener to paint the mental image each step through the song. Three lines into the song McGraw says, “A little girl came through the front gate holdin’ a fishing pole/ His dad looked down and smiled, said we can’t leave her behind”. This line right off the bat assists the listener in picturing the setting of the story. Further within the song McGraw states, ‘He held her tight and kissed her lips/ In front of the picture show/ Stranger came and pulled a gun/ Grabbed her by the arm said "If you do what I tell you to, there won't be any harm" ‘. The imagery that he uses portrays a perfect picture of what if occurring to them at that point in time. When he says, “Grabbed her by the arm,” this almost allows the listener to feel the fear that the girl must feel. One of his final uses of imagery shows the listener how much the man actually loves this girl and doesn’t want her to die. McGraw says, “Cause his momma's fading fast and Johnny hit his knees and there he prayed”. The quote allows the audience to feel the emotion and picture the scenery of his love being expressed to her while she is not doing well. McGraw’s use of captivating imagery makes his songs above all others because you can feel and picture the same emotions and sights that the characters feel.
McGraw uses alliterations in the song “Don’t Take the Girl” multiple times to capture the audience’s attention and to keep them wanting more. Right within the couple first lines McGraw names off a few of his friends with tongue twisting titles that capture the listener’s attention, ‘ "Take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo” ‘. The rhyming and alliteration is a fun way to switch things up and allow the listener to keep interested in what they are listening to. Now in the chorus McGraw repetitively says, “Same old boy/ Same sweet girl”. Like the first set of alliterations this one is to with hold the audience’s attention as well, and because this alliteration is in the chorus it repeats making the song captivating. McGraw does not use that much alliteration as most artist do but when and where he does is what matters; for the little that he uses he still captures the audience’s attention.

McGraw’s country talent speaks through every song he writes, and the literary devices he uses just makes his songs ten times stronger. His use of alliterations and imagery makes his impression so much more powerful. “Don’t Take the Girl” is just one of the many pieces of art Tim McGraw has created; and just one of the many heart warming, compelling narratives he has created as well.

Popular Music

The top 100 songs on the Billboard Top 100 tells a lot about of society today. Four out of the ten have sexual references within those songs. This shows many things, one being that people in this society arn't afraid to boast or discuss sex. Back in the fifties this would never been okayed or allowed. So this shows the change in soceity and what people are interested in now. Also four out of ten are some sort of love song and since the teenage world mostly controls the top 100 this shows what people are interested in hearing, what they can relate to or something that they find interesting. The popular genere at this point in time would have to be pop because six out of the ten songs had the genre of pop. This shows that soceity likes to listen to upbeat music that could probably put them in a better mood.

"Just a Dream" by Carrie Underwood

Carrie Marie Underwood was a small town girl born and raised in Checotah, Oklahoma. She spent twenty-one years of her life in Checotah before moving on to make it big, when she got her audition with American Idol in 2004. Little to her knowledge she made it through all of the seventeen sounds and came out with the win; and became 2004’s American Idol. Underwood is now one of the most admirable singer-songwriters in America for her moving and inspirational country music. She was raised as a respectable Christian which was later shown in some of her first songs like, “Jesus, Take the Wheel”, which won over three awards. Underwood released three remarkable albums including Some Hearts, Carnival Ride and Play On. She has won an outstanding sixty-one awards for all of her musical creations. Underwood is known for her encouraging and uplifting narrative country songs. A perfect example of one of her narrative work is in the song, “Just a Dream”. In this song, Underwood succeeds in creating a modern and tragic narrative through the use of comparisons, alliterations and her picture-perfect imagery.

In Underwood’s musical masterpiece “Just a Dream”, she uses comparisons like similes and metaphors to assist the listener to capture the feelings of the widowed army wife. In the chorus she repeats the metaphor, “This is just a dream”, comparing to her experience at her husband’s funeral to a dream because it is so unbelievable. This comparison make you feel the astonishment that this woman must feel of losing the man she loves. Another line that supports the character’s unimaginable experience is, “It’s like I’m looking from a distance/ Standing in the background”. This simile shows how it feels as if this is not even happening to her and how impossible it feels to her. Finally one of her last comparisons is the simile that explains all the pain that she feels in her heart, “And it felt like a bullet in her heart”. Underwood’s final comparison really touches the listener’s heart and makes you feel the pain that the army wife feels. Her talent of conveying feelings within her songs is what makes them so moving.

“Just a Dream” uses alliteration to capture the listener’s attention and lock them into the powerful feeling of the song. In the first verse Underwood places the alliteration, “Sixpence in a shoe, something borrowed, something blue”. This line obtains the listener’s hear and allows her voice to flow into the narrative. In the third verse Underwood expresses the character’s feeling when she hears the congregation sing, “all stood up and sang the saddest song/ that she ever heard”. This alliteration apprehends perfectly what the character is feeling and relegates it to the listener. Underwood’s last use of alliteration also finally catches the ear’s attention for the closing of the song, “oh, now I’ll never know”. Her outstanding use of alliteration is what captures the fan’s attention and to have the beg to listen to more.

Underwood’s phenomenal use of picture-perfect imagery is what tops off the whole experience of listening to her music. In her this song “Just a Dream”, she uses imagery all throughout the song to paint an elaborate picture on what occurred within the song. In the first verse she sets off with the picture of what the character looks like by telling us she is, “All dressed in white”. Underwood further explains the wife’s actions by telling us, “ She put her veil down/trying to hide the tears”. This imagery allows us to picture a women dressed in white tragically heart-broken. Then later in the song she permits us to see how lost the woman feels because all she has left is her husband’s army flag, “Then they handed her a folded up flag”. This line shows us a picture of the widow’s lost hope. Underwood then allows us to picture and hear the occurrences in that day by saying, “And then the guns rang one last shot”. This line outstandingly endorses the listeners to hear that final, ringing shot before her husband is laid to rest. Underwood’s use of imagery exceeds the overall picture in our heads of what occurred within the lyrics.

In “Just a Dream” Underwood’s use of comparisons and imagery paints a perfect picture of the events in the song. But, then her amazing use of alliteration captures the listener’s attention and pulls us in for more. “Just a Dream” allowed Underwood to claim her place in the music industry with her outstanding narrative lyrics and moving words. In this song, Underwood succeeds in creating a modern and tragic narrative through the use of comparisons, alliterations and her picture-perfect imagery.

Declaration March 2, 2010

I chose this theme-genre because country music is my favorite type of music and I did my project and i enjoyed the cohesive narrative themed songs so i created "Storytelling in Country". I know a lot of songs in country music so i would be able to discover songs quicker that i think might tell a story. Storytelling is not too broad but it also is not too specific so finding certain songs would be fairly easy. I originally wanted to do love and heartbreak in country but i though that narrative songs would be more unique. This is how I came to my decision of doing storytelling within country.