Word Choices - AP English Literature - Blog

Who Does Kurtz Belong To?

During some of the most profound pages (69-75) of the story, Marlow wonders, "what he (Kurtz) belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their own." And even though Marlow says it is dangerous to think about whom Kurtz answers to, maybe we should take that risk. In gaining his immense power, Kurtz must have done at least a few horrible things; and to keep this power, he most likely committed even more atrocities. The ivory white of his skull seems impure, like a deceitful grin. Kurtz's power restrains him. It gives him liberty due to wealth but he is held back. His god-like powers anchor him down in the wild.

Conrad seems to comment on power throughout both "Heart of Darkness" and "The Secret Sharer" with Kurtz as well as Marlow and the captain. Conrad's short stories share insight on the acquisition of power and its effects on different types of people. I still do not have a well-developed idea on this topic, however I am confident that it is a pillar on which these stories were constructed around. I am interested to hear others' opinions on this topic. What determines the effects of power in different characters?

I thought I could share the link for the music I listened to while writing this. He was an inspiration for Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Frank Zappa. Johnny "Guitar" Watson 

 

Music Poetry Mix

I'm still altering the order of the songs, but here is the mix of all the music poetry selections from both of my College English classes.  You'll need Spotify (and it has a free version) to play the mix.

Still Not Sure What Poetry Is

Well, I do know the technical definition of poetry. I understand that poetry uses language to convey ideas and experiences. That bit makes sense. I think, though, that the definition should be extended a bit, because plenty of things that don't involve language at all seem pretty poetic to me.

Last week's music-poetry assignment was interesting because it examined lyrics through a poetic lense- however, it examined them separately from the actual music, so that they were just words on a page like any old poem.
The lyrics take on an entirely different meaning when they are coupled with notes and chords and the intonation of the singer's voice. We probably shouldn't consider sound waves when we analyze poetry, since that is not technically language, but one could make the argument that the sounds of music are important in creating deeper/broader perspectives that cannot be touched by traditional language.

This isn't limited to music. There is poetry about paintings and photographs and film and trees and all sorts of things. They can do everything that poetry does: create multi-dimensional images, communicate experiences and ideas, affirm humanity, etc. They only difference is that they do not communicate using language. By Perrine's definition, this means they are not poetry. However, I think the definition of poetry is not quite so clean-cut.

Poetry in Music

Ever since the series of blog posts regarding music lyrics, I have not been able to stop thinking about poetry in everything I read.  I find myself noticing alliteration and diction constantly.  Often, I find myself scrutinizing every piece of music I listen to.  

For example, I was listening to Passenger's "Life's for the Living" from the album All the Little Lights, when a line in particular struck me.

    "While the evening pulled the moon out of it's packet
      Stars shone like buttons on an old man's jacket"

Here the singer, Mike Rosenberg, not only misspells pocket to make it rhyme, but is using a very clever metaphor.  He compares the coming of the night to a man wearing a jacket.  The moon rises up over the horizon, as if being pulled, like something out of your pocket.  The stars then shine in the sky like freshly polished buttons on an old man's jacket.  This really paints a vivid picture of the impending nighttime, one which I very much enjoyed.

This is just one of the many times this has happened in the past two weeks since.  It may never end.  Poetry and figurative language are everywhere.

I will dig the earth

The song is called "Ne me Quittes Pas" written by Jacques Brel. He was from Belgium but wrote the song in French as well. In this song, he begs for the love of his life to stay with him. The title translates to "do not leave me." Brel rhymes loosely but the true poetry arises in the lyrics themselves. With a very emotional performance, we feel the passion and dedication he has for his lover. His complete devotion shows when he declares,

       Je creuserai la terre            I will cross the world                                                Jusqu'apres la mort            Till after my death                                                   Pour couvrir ton corps        To cover your body                                                 D'or et de lumiere               With gold and light

The repetition of "Ne me quittes pas(Do not leave me)" along with his tone conveys his helpless and desparate state of mind, and shows that he is not asking but imploring to the love of his life.

He shows how insignificant he feels without her when he pleads to be allowed to become,

    L'ombre de ton ombre     The shadow of your shadow                                         L'ombre de ta main         The shadow of your hand                                            L'ombre de ton chien      The shadow of your dog

The girl he was singing for better have stayed with him because it is obvious that he needed,

    A te regarder                  Just to look at you                                                     Danser et sourire            Dance and smile                                                         Et a t'ecouter                  And to hear you                                                         Chanter et puis rire         Sing and then laugh

After looking through the comments on songmeanings.net I saw that Brel did not mean for this to be a love song. However, he wished that it would serve as a warning for men to not get to this state of desperation.

Rhythm of Love Music Poetry

The first song I thought of to write about as poetry is Rhythm of Love by Plain White T’s. It’s on their reasonably recent album, Wonders of the Younger. Not only does it have many examples of poetic language, but also it is one of my favorite bands that I’ve actually seen in concert.

The central idea of the song is that love has a similar rhythm and feeling that is provided by music. The speaker is, if not a musician, an avid listener to music. From the frequent use of “you” and “you’re,” the audience appears to be the speaker’s love or significant other. They are in a state of bliss just by being in the presence of one another, which makes the song so pleasant to listen to.

The song begins with an idiom:

            My head is stuck in the clouds

Literally speaking, the speaker’s head cannot actually in the clouds, but it gives a visual immediately of how happy he is. It provides listeners with an image they can attach to what he is feeling, so they can understand.

Within the same verse the speaker brings in strong imagery that the audience can feel and hear when he says:

            Warm sun and wind in my ear

On top of the idiom, it gives listeners an added way to think about the feeling. It incorporates two other senses of sound and touch that add to the understanding of his bliss, which is what he ultimately wants to convey.

In order to strengthen the audience’s understanding the speaker tries to explain through multiple uses of simile in a very short amount of time. In one verse the author uses

            My heart beats like a drum

            She's got blue eyes deep like the sea

and

            She rises up like the tide

to strengthen the listener’s comprehension of the feeling.

All together the speaker conveys a state of bliss that cannot be transferred to others through language without poetic techniques.

Rain Clouds

Taking Inspiration from Sasha K, I also decided use a song in my native language. The song is Ghanan Ghanan (Rain Clouds) by AR Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire fame) and written by Javed Akhtar from the Bollywood movie Lagaan.

In a nutshell, Lagaan is set during the British rule of India (1860's), and it is about a group of villagers who make a bet with the British that if they win a cricket match, the British have to leave their village forever. The village is located in western India; there is a drought, and it has not had rain in six months. The villagers sing this song when they see rain clouds approaching their village. The song reflects the villager's happiness and desire for rain. It describes what the villagers intend to do when rain falls, and how rain will solve all their problems.

Black clouds, black clouds, shower down rain,

Let loose not the sword of lightning,

But the arrows of raindrops!

In this part of the song, the villagers are singing how they want the clouds to release rain drops, not lightning. This means that the villagers have been "teased" by the clouds in the past, by the clouds only releasing lightning in the sky without rain. Also, the significance of using a sword for lightning and arrows for raindrops is that during the time period the movie is set, the sword belonged to only the king or prince, who only cause havoc when he came to the village. Arrows belonged to soldiers of the king, and it was essentially these soldiers who helped villagers. Therefore the villagers are saying that they do not the king to come, but the soldiers.

"Light will smile upon the darkness"

In this personification line, the light represents the sun, more specifically the sun God, and the dark is how the sky will look once the God of rain and clouds take over. Although the sun God typically does not like being blocked, in this case, he will be happy because he wants the villagers to have rain.

"This anklet of lightning, this scarf of clouds, have been brought to adorn the bride of Earth"

In Indian culture, bangles, anklets, and a scarf are the necessities of a bride. Therefore, when lightning and clouds come to the Earth, the Earth will also be complete like a bride.

Change

One of the most petic songs I have heard is "Across the Universe" by the beatles, from the album No One's Gonna Change Our World.

Like many Beatles songs, "Across the Universe" is very ambiguous, and open to the individual's interpretation. But this is mine.

The lyrics

"Images of broken light

Which dance before me like a million eyes

They call me on and on across the universe"

to me show that everything we are and everything we know is composed of nothing but little bits of light, that are not unique when compared to the rest of the universe. We are nothing but miniscule lifeforms inhabiting the enormous expanse of the universe, and we do not have any sort of grand impact on the universe.

But even with this thought in mind, the Beatles still sing

"Sounds of laughter shades of earth

Are ringing through my open views

Inciting and inviting me"

which shows that even if the universe doesn't care what we do, life can still be enjoyable and fulfilling. Even though the unierse is as a whole unaffected by our presence, it is still wonderful.

The chorus, which repeats "Nothing's gonna change my world" reinforces the idea that nothing humans can do will change the universe, but also that nothing can change the singer's opinion that the world is still beautiful, with it's indifference.

Poetry Hurts

"Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails from The Downward Spiral.  Covered and edited by Johnny Cash.

I'm not a big fan of Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, but I suppose "Hurt" could be defended as poetry.  Simply put, it is not a happy song.  It was written during Reznor during his battle with drug addiction, as the song makes very clear.  Throughout the song, Reznor throws in imagery relating to his drug abuse, with lines including

The needle tears a hole,

That old familiar sting.

The original version is a relatively straightforward account of Reznor's utter misery.  When Johnny Cash covered the song in 2002, however, the lyrics become more poetic.  Cash also struggled with drug abuse, but in his cover, such lyrics as those listed above appear to hold more metaphorical meaning.  Other lyrics also take on new meanings when sung by cash.  In the cover of the song, Cash sings,

I wear this crown of thorns

upon my liar's chair

In the original, Reznor wears a crown of "shit," which further pronounces his misery.  Cash's lyrics, however, make him seem frustrated with his status.  He sees himself as a sort of false prophet, widely loved and highly regarded despite his obvious faults.  The song continues with the lines, 

Full of broken thoughts

I cannot repair

In Reznor's original, these lyrics mean that drugs have corrupted his mind, forcing him to think as a different, lesser person.  Again, in Cash's cover, these lyrics take a new meaning.  In addition to a drug addled mind, Cash was aging when he released this song.  These lyrics imply that Cash's mind is beginning to weaken, not just because of drugs, but also because of age.  It makes the listener sympathize more.

I find Reznor's music a bit too depressing for my tastes, but I will concede that "Hurt" is a decent song.  When Cash covered it, however, he turned Reznor's lyrics into something poetic.

A Call for Equal Rights; "One Love"

When I learned that we our blog post this week was to be about music that we believed was poetry, my very first thought was to post a Macklemore song. Seeing as his brand new album The Heist came out on October 9th, (and I've been listening to it nonstop ever since) I thought it would be very appropriate to discuss an extremely powerful track on the album, called "One Love". Here are the lyrics.

The gist of this song is that Macklemore is speaking out against the hate and oppression that our society has towards homosexuals. He himself is the speaker, speaking in first person and expressing his personal beliefs throughout the entire song. The audience of the song is society on a whole. He sends this message to politicians, to religious officials, to America as a country, and to every one of us. Macklemore starts the song out with the lyrics:

    When I was in the 3rd grade/ I thought that I was gay/ Cause I could could draw, my uncle was/ and I kept     my room straight/ I told my mom, tears rushing down my face/ She's like, "Ben you've loved girls since     before pre-k".

These opening lyrics are very powerful. Although at first it may seem that Macklemore is just relating an experience from his early life, it can be viewed as a statement against society's stereotypes of homosexuals. He thought that just because his uncle was gay, and because he didn't do things that were considered "manly", that he was gay. A few lines later in the song, the lyrics that appear are some of the most powerful in the song. They read:

     For those that like the same sex had the characteristics/ the right-wing conservatives think it's a     decision/ and you can be cured with some treatment and religion/ A man made rewiring of a pre-        disposition/playing God.

In these lines, he is referring to the fact that so many people think that being gay is a disease. Many religious officials and some conservatives believe that someone who is gay can be trained to be straight. That is just ridiculous because obviously it is not a choice, it is the way they are born. In many cases, they are trying to "play God" by trying to change the "pre-disposition" in these people. 

Finally, In the second verse, Macklemore speaks to all of the people on social networking websites, and just people in everyday life, that use the term "gay" as a word that means bad or awful. He says:

    Our culture founded from oppression/ Yeah, we don't have acceptance for 'em/ Call each other faggots/     behind the keys of a message board/ A word routed in hate/ yet our genre still ignores it/ Gay is     synonymous with the lesser

This passage really makes people think about the language that they use. Is it really right that so many people use this word with a negative connotation? I think it really shows a great deal of ignorance on the part of the people who use it. This whole song is extremely poetic, and is calling people to make a change in the way that they view homosexuals. Macklemore's inspiring words reveal many of our flaws as humans, but at the same time tries to get us to realize that homosexuals are people just like us. They are no different. It is the SAME LOVE that all of us have.

 

 

 

Music: Spoken Word With Chords And Pitches In The Background.

What is a song?  Well, a lyrical piece can be broken down into three parts.  The words-- which can be thought of as a poem.  The rhythm- the timing of how words are read and the beats in the background.  The "sound" aka the pitches and chords in the background.  

There are many well known songs that have either started as poems, and had instrumental music written for them, or taking a well-known melody and adapting new lyrics or an existing poem to them.

I am probably going to be a bit cliche, but I am doing a Beatles song, I Am The Walrus.  I apologize for anyone who does not enjoy the Beatles, I do enjoy them, and therefore have chosen to talk about this song. 

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. 
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly. 
I'm crying. 

The opening verse of the song could not be more poetic in my opinion.  The most obvious is the simile of comparing people running to pigs, and the idea of "flying" showing escaping or getting away. 

Other lines like:

Yellow mother custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye. 

Are seemingly nonsensical, but do provide vivid imagery.  The entire song has so many interesting lyrics that do not make too much sense, but leave the interpretation up the the reader. 

Here are the lyrics. 

Take a Walk

I tend to listen to mainstream music and when I heard the song "Take a Walk" by Passion Pit I instantly fell in love. It is part of their "Gossamer" album.

There are many different ideas or themes throughout the song from immigration to financial struggles. 

Once I was outside Penn station, selling red and white carnations. We were still alone, my wife and I. Before we married, saved my money. Brought my dear wife over. 

Financial struggles were the strongest theme throughout out the song. Michael Angelakos, the lead singer, expresses the idea of an immigrant in desperate need of money and who has been forced to sell carnations outside of a train station just to make ends meat. He's also saving the money up to bring his wife over to the new country. The next couple verses then tell about the immigrant bringing the rest of his family over but not seeing them very much because they have spread to different places along the coast.

"Honey, it's your son," I think I borrowed just too much. We had taxes, we had bills, we had a lifestyle to front.

The song features a man struggling financially to support his family because he had made bad investments. He is then forced to ask his parents for money to pay bills and other necessities. This is an extremely embarrassing act and he admits to being a coward but he justifies it by saying they will tear apart the socialists and rebel against society.

The songwriter uses imagery to portray the different struggles the individuals go through such as "selling red and white carnations"  and later on describing his children playing games. The idea that the kids are playing games expresses their aloofness towards the crucial struggles their parents are going through. Their parents are sheltering them from reality and protecting their innocence. There is also personification in the song where the songwriter described the skyscrapers scraping the sky. Finally, "I took a walk" could be seen as diction because there are many possible meanings behind the phrase. It could express the need for separation from reality to reflect on events or just to control emotions.

Sing Out.

Growing up, Cat Stevens was always playing in the background of my chaotic household. It wasn't until I got a bit older, however, that I was able to appreciate Stevens' songs for their poetic lyrics and incredible meaning rather than the gentle nature of Stevens' voice.

Who is Cat Stevens? 

Stevens was born on July 21st, 1948 in London. He was raised Greek Orthodox and sent to a Roman Catholic school. Stevens became an incredibly popular folksinger and songwriter in the 1970's but, when his stresses of his new found life and extreme partying landed him in the hospital for three months, he terminated his career for a period of time to convert to Islam. In 1990 he returned to writing and performing Islamic-themed music and in 2004 began, again, to release his more popular non-religious based songs.   

Just a little of historical background. 

Anyway, one particular song that had, and continues to have, sentimental value to me is Stevens' song If You Want To Sing Out

The song is, on one hand, incredibly simplistic. The lyrics are, vocabulary wise, easy to understand and the song as a whole is short and repetitive. 

According to Perrine, poetry is an experience to remember. Poetry should, in general, make you feel something even if it's not what everyone else seems to be feeling.

In that sense, Stevens has created a poetic song whose simplicity creates, for me, a unique experience close to my heart. The song itself states that one should create his or her own ways of life; that there is no one way to indiscriminately follow. Stevens illuminates the fact that life, in itself, is about taking personal opportunities and doing what one feels is right for him or for her in any given moment. He also writes, essentially, that everyone branches off in their own, unique way and that they should, too, be respected for their decisions on how they choose to live.

Stevens uses the short lines structure help communicate with everyone. 

For example, Stevens writes: 

Well, if you want to sing out, sing out,

and if you want to be free, be free.

There's a million things to be, you know that there are.

And if you want to live high, live high,

and if you want to live low, live low.

There's a million ways to go, you know that there are.

The fact that his lines are so short and their structure so simple helps the listener look deeper into the the actual spiritual meaning of song as a whole rather than contemplating on the vocabulary meaning or taking apart the sentences to figure out what the meaning of the lyrics are, at all. 

The tone of the song is happy and free. The rhythm of the song and the structure of the lyrics creates an upbeat tone that makes the listener feel positive and optimistic. Although the vocabulary is simple, it is obvious, when listening and merely reading the lyrics, that the song was written to create a happy feeling rather than a feeling of darkness or depression. I have a feeling of "floatiness" while listening to this song as its freedom generates a hidden happiness because of its tempo and obvious casualness.  

I think this song could be overlooked by many people because its older and seems incredibly straightforward. However, I like it for those reasons in particular because it gives me the experience of being able to appreciate something that can be easily taken advantage of; freedom. 

I think, in general, there is complete clarity to the meaning of the song. Some songs mean different things based on different interpretations. However, I feel as though Cat Stevens has done an incredibly good job of creating a song which has such a simplistic and poetic structure to it that it is interpreted the same by every listener or reader. The song creates a sense of togetherness as it pushes people to accept who they are and to accept other for who they are. 

One a different note, the song can be seen as having an extremely existentialist point of view. Breaking down the lyrics, it is obvious that it basically states that one should go with his or her own desires, not the desires of the community. Along with that, I think it is incredibly interesting how often i notice when certain things come off as existentialist thanks to AP College English-- not complaining though... it gives me a whole different perspective. 

 

 

Memories of My Previous Life

The song I am choosing for this weeks blog is called Daylight by Maroon 5, and this is off of their fourth album "Overexposed".

While trying to pick ONE specific song that would be good for this post I thought of many, All At Once and Vienna by The Fray were two I strongly considered. But then I thought of Daylight as an option. Those two songs however had very different meanings, one of which has one of my favorite music lyrics of all time coming from All at Once, "sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same," which i'd really suggest you listen to those two songs also... However, Daylight I think is about two people finally coming to the conclusion that there time together is over. Whether it is referring to a relationship, friendships, or even family members.

The easiest way for me to talk about this song though is to relate it back to my own life using my own experiences for how the songs poetic language works. Imagery is a huge part of this song. One of the biggest scenes I get in my mind is coming from the third verse that says "this is our last night... cuz I know, when I wake I will have to slip away." I get the underlying sadness that comes from this line because as he would wake up in the morning, he was going to have to leave the person he cared about. The last night before I left my home, my best friend and I of 13 years were together for the last time.  The next line that gives strong imagery is "and when the daylight comes i'll have to go, but tonight i'm going to hold you so close," all I can see is two people, laying together, trying to cherish their last moments together, knowing one will leave the other. Another literary device that comes through to me from this song is foreshadowing, and for obvious things... "The sky is getting back the stars are burning out somebody slow it down," and what is being is said here is that the stars going are away again as the sun rises, but they/we want the passing of time to slow down to spend as much time together as they can before it is too late. But also the line "I was afraid of the dark, but now it's all that I want all that I want," yet again, harps on the idea of not wanting the next day come. Thus leading to my next and final literary device, diction, and specifically the connotation of the words in this song. I think out of this song, the best example of that is the last line I just quoted. But what's ironic is that light in this song, is the negative, and darkness is the positive. Now obviously this is not the usual case when it comes to literature or music, but this song protrays this perfectly. All you want is the darkness of nighttime and not the light of a new day.

Daylight I see as a great song that gives the listener every opportunity to make their own visions and thoughts from these words. I think some of the best music does that, you may know what a musician's intent was when writing a particular song, but each music lover, like myself, makes their own theories and comparisons to their lives from it. All three of the songs I gave in this post at the beginning, are songs that do just that, and I strongly suggest each and everyone of you, that read my post to listen to them a few times over and see how you can relate to these songs, or what you think the meaning behind them is...

Ashamed

I grew up on country, it only seems natural that I would have been drawn to this country-blues hybrid. The song Ashamed by Deer Tick from the album War Elephant is one of my favorite songs without question. Other songs that the lead singer- songwriter John McCauley recorded on this debut album at age nineteen are upbeat, soulful songs riddled with youthful turmoil. Ashamed stands out immediately even in its first four bars of melancholy guitar- picked chords. In the song, the narrator grieves the loss of a significant other though mistakes of his own making.With no clear central theme, it seems the song was meant to fall on the ears of the girl he lost.

Immediately, McCauley's choice of diction draws you in. His vivid imagery envelops the listener into a word that he is creating. For example, in his description of the fallout he uses blood and murder closely followed by the illustration of fallen arches no longer gold to possibly suggest a loss of brilliance or goodness.

Murdered my throat, screaming bloody all night
Hit him with a book and how he crumbles
Oh you should have seen the arches tumble
They are golden no more
Now I'm smiling in my blood

The fact that he is smiling in his own blood implies that he is the only one wounded and bleeding, he is along, and he feels some sort of twisted comfort in this state. However, murdering his own throat screaming bloody all night just previous to that shows us the true feelings and emotions about the situation. The theme of blood and savagery does not end there. Throughout the song words like animalistic, broken, torn, and bloody assist in maintaining this idea of loss on a primitive basis. Finally, an abrupt ending with chords cut off unexpectedly coencides with the narrator's death. So distraught over the loss, he is willing to end his life. We know these events are related because he prefaces his death with emotional actions. Even the short last stanza implies the rash and unexpected nature of his death.

I bow my head in the morning light and say goodnight
I held her hand and I, I kissed her eyes
Stumbled down the stairs and hang my self on high
And I started for the town and out the front yard
And died

Even Now by Dashboard Confessional

I love love love Dashboard Conessional, and I think their song Even Now from their most recent album, Alter the Ending is especially beautiful. It is more of an example of the importance of poetry being recited rather than striking use of figurative language. The lyrics are pretty literal and straightforward, and most of the emotion comes in through the singer's voice and gentle tone. To me, the lyrics read like someone's articulation of a relationship that they're looking back on and finally laying to rest. When I hear this song, images of a happy couple pop into my head. They thought they'd be together forever, but life has pulled them in different directions. 

The repetition of the phrase "even now" in virtually every stanza expresses the speaker's fondness and the persistence of his memories of the woman he loved. He won't forget how she made him feel, and he doesn't want to. He wants to remember how much he enjoyed their time together. I also noticed that his memories vary in respect to which of the sense they appeal to. Below, the singer uses olfactory, tactile, and visual descriptions to further appleal to the listener. Not only does the song put images in my head and sound through in ears, but I can feel it, too. 

Even now I can smell the clothes...

Even now I can feel your arms...

Even now I can see you smile...



I love that the diction in the song is simple. This really allows me to decide for myself what kinds of things I discern when I hear the song, I can easily relate to what the speaker is saying. It broadens my scope of awareness and understanding while being completely relatable. This song isn't throwing some intense idea of love and idealized romance at me and expecting me to understand what those are like. Not everyone has experienced them. I can interpret the song in a way that I can guess what those things feel like. However, most if not all of us have smelled fresh laundry, and that's what this song is all about. Words like "gently," "skin," "dreams," and "love," are everyday concets and things that we're familiar with. This song comforts me and draws me in rather than distancing me with lofty words that I can't identify with.

Even now I can feel your eyes
Watch me as I strum
Much too late at night

This stanza is my favorite and it gives me chills. I picture the speaker sitting on the edge of the bed with his guitar, fingerpicking, while his girlfriend is pretendng to be asleep but is secretly watching and listening to him, thinking he doesn't notice. The way the singer's voice guides me through the song gives me a warm, content feeling, which I'm sure is similar to what he is feeling as well.  

 

 

Jimi Jimi Jimi

Jimi Hendrix is world renowned for his guitar. However he was a competent lyricist as well, and that is reflected in many of his songs. If I had to chose one which truly is musical poetry however, Castles Made of Sand is that song. In three short stanzas, he relates the experience of three different people in such a deep way that I still find new meaning in the song after hundreds of times of hearing it. Here are the lyrics.

The first stanza tells the story of an average Joe going through problems with his woman. My favorite line is when he says"the neighbors start to gossip and drool." You get this image of all the neighbors peering out their windows watching the spectacle, and drooling like infants absent-mindedly. He then says "He cries old girl you must be mad, happened to the sweet love you and me had." Remember that line.

After every stanza he says "And so castles made of sand, fall in the sea, eventually."

Second stanza he tells the story of a young Indian warrior aspriring to be chief. The whole stanza is so powerful, because he relates to everyone by telling the story of a youth with a dream. Yet on the eve of his first battle, after "many moons", he's killed in his sleep by a surprise attack.

And again, he says "And so castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually."

In the final stanza, he tells the story of a woman, mute and in a wheelchair. She becomes sick of living, so she decides to die. She takes her wheelchair to the edge of the shore, but then she sees a spectacle that makes her jump. A golden winged ship, passing her way. The true depth of the song follows that, when he says "and it really didn't have to stop, it just kept on going."

What is that golden winged ship, and why does is just keep on going? Although I'm probably wrong, I think the ship symbolizes time, and she, like the heart broken man or the indian boy with a dream, lose or gain everything with the passing of time. Thats why the chorus is "Castles made of sand slip into the sea, eventually."

Take a Minute

In 2009, K'naan came out with the song Take a Minute of the album Troubadour. I found out about the song becasue i had listened to one of his songs that was affiliated with the world cup in 2010 and came across this song from the same album. he grew up in Somalia till he was 13 and has deep connections with Somalia and Africa. most of his music has a positive message about how to live life, his roots in africa, and about peace during war. 

thorughout the song, K'naan repeats the idea that giving is priceless and has helped him through tough situations. he describes that when his mother was sick, "But as soon as you came out the hospital you gave me sweets". there is a huge theme about how his mother and Africa has taught him that one of the most important things in life is to give back and that giving is a great way to feel good when things are bad. just to reinforce, he says "And I felt the givin' gettin' me up off the wall" referring to what the "given'" has done for him. 

he helps convey this message of service and giving through repetition of "By showing me to give is priceless". he begins the first part of sentence differently, with stating that his mother, once, and Africaonce has taught him this. through the repetition, he is trying to establish how he was taught and is almost apealing to the emotions of the readers by giving personal evidence. it creates an image of how he has learned this idea of service. 

throughout the song as well, he repeats an ironic idea that"And any man who knows a thing knows / He knows not a damn, damn thing at all". this is ironic beacuse as one becomes more knowledgeable, he realizes that he does not know a thing at all. this irony shows the reader to not be really critical of new ideas and be open to idea that they do not know everything. by doing this, the reader can understand that while they might be going through a tough time, giving could help them because they will not be close minded people and think they know everything. they can finally embrace the bigger picture and embrace the message K'naan is trying to send. 

finally, he uses an abundant amount of diction that emphasizes letting things go, embracing life, and doing service. his diction includes "priceless" "off the wall" "let it ride" "breeze" "doors is open" "inspiration" "heinous" "enjoying" the word choice he uses helps create an image of taking things day by day and truly loving life in every aspect. whether from hard times to loving times. all of this then helps him build up the message that giving is priceless.

Sandcastles

I'm always looking for new music to keep my iPod entertaining and mix it up once in a while. About a year and a half ago, when I was going through some hard times, a friend of mine showed me the song "Sandcastles" by Kate Voegele. I rediscovered the song a few weeks ago when my college process was really getting underway. The opening lines, "I got this ticket in my hand/And I got a long, long day ahead" reminded me of this great opportunity for furthering my education but the work that really needs to be put into making the best decisions for myself: academically and financially. The general ideas of the song are to let go of concerns or stress because there will always be people who will support you and sometimes the best way to do that is go back to the basics. Maybe not literally build a sandcastle, but do something childish.

The way I interpret "build sandcastles" is in a metaphorical sense. Sandcastles are easy. They require sand, a cup or bucket, and at least two hands. They are a reminder of childhood days on the beach with family and friends, adding creating motes and being forced to protect the kingdom from a terrible monster who eventually destroys the entire castle with their overly large, smelly feet. "I'd rather make sandcastles/Instead of these wide-world decisions" is saying sometimes, you can't be an adult or mature enough. It's exhausting to have responsibilities so it would be nice to be able to go back to when the destruction of your sandcastle was your greatest concern.

The second stanza of the song says, "I got these worn out red boots on". The color red traditionally symbolizes a few different ideas but one common meaning is energy. The speaker has the energy to begin a new life but the imagery of the 'worn out red boots' gives the idea that that 'new' road is well traveled. While there is energy in the process, there is also some experience. Looking at this song as a senior in high school, that road is leading directly to college. Thousands, millions of students have traveled that same road. Many have failed and many have gone beyond success. This new part of life needs to be started with full energy levels and the vibrant uniqueness of those red boots. We need to remember our individualism as we take the most common road for teenagers.And then there's the line, "And there was nothing like the first time that I saw open road/And I wasn't terrified to ride it on my own". I literally see an open road at this point. Maybe it's Robert Frost's fork in the road and we need to choose one. It seems many do take the most traveled and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as we know the options available.

Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time finding optimistic songs. The only really happy songs I ever seem to find are country  and not everyone appreciates that. But this one is different. The tone is consistently optimistic and individualistic. In the second stanza the speaker says, "I know plenty more who've been there all along". There could be a focus on the people who weren't there for them or for those who left, but instead the focus is on those who stayed. Who cared enough to stick around. The norm for many is to have a religion of some form. It can be catholicism or christianity, buddism, etc. but for the speaker, religion is music and that's all that matters. "And I don't have a plan at all/But I got this six-string religion" and that optimistim and individualism, that idea that you don't always need a plan, is so helpful to those individuals that are floundering and bawking at the idea of declaring a major at 17, and figuring out our whole lives in four years. Plans aren't necessary, as long as we're living for something or someone.

 

Government of Glass

One of my personal favorite songs is "Castle of Glass" from Linkin Park's album Living Things. I believe this song represents the tale of a soldier returning home from war. The lyrics taken literally seem to suggest war and if you look at them figuratively they describe what a soldier might experience upon returning home.

Take me down to the fighting end, 
Wash the poison from off my skin 
Show me how to be whole again 

This verse suggests the battle is over. I believe that the poison is the memory of what happened during the war. Washing off this poison would be a metaphor for forgetting. All the soldier wants to do is for everything to go back to normal (to be whole again) but these memories keep him from doing so.

Bring me home in blinding dream 
Through the secrets that I have seen 
Wash the sorrow from off my skin 
And show me how to be whole again 

Here it is shown literally that the soldier returns home. He finds everyone to be blind to how the world truely is. Since he has seen the secrets of how the world really works he realizes that his old life is only a dream. The second half of the verse is a repeat of the the second half of the first verse except the word poison is replaced with sorrow which reinforces the idea of the painful memories being the poison.

Finally I believe that the Castle of Glass is a metaphor for the government. People believe that it is strong and can provide them with protection. When its power is, however, limited and the structure is very fragile, akin to glass.

'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass 

This metaphor repeated a few times throughout the song is very interesting. Since the speaker is the soldier, he is relating himself to a crack in the glass castle. Following the idea of the Castle of Glass being the government, the soldier who returned from war can see what most people can not about it. He knows how it is fragile. The soldier lost faith in the government becoming a "crack" in its structure.

 

Winter Winds

Trying to pick just one song for this post was extremely challenging.  I finally settled on "Winter Winds" from Mumford & Sons debut album, Sigh No More.  

The song could be about someone who is falling in love and wants to be in love, but doesn't think they should be getting into a relationship.  To get across this message the song uses quite a bit of figurative or poetic language.  Most obvious is alliteration, in the lines "winter winds", "litter London with lonely", "strife strikes at your sleep", and "spring swaps snow".  All these add to the song when it is said aloud, as well as making it flow smoothly, when the singer is in a confused state as to whether or not they should let themselves love.  The song uses diction when it says "as the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts".  It presents an image of hearts just being tossed around like trash blown in the wind and left throughout the streets of the city, as many couples often break up around the holidays, despite no one wanting to be alone during that time of year.  The song also uses personificatoin in the line "remember spring swaps snow for leaves".  It personifies spring saying that winter will pass and spring will come and  fall will soon follow after that.  The singer is trying to reassure the person they are speaking to that time will go on and things will get better, even if they aren't together.  Overall I think the song, no matter how you interpret it, is a form of poetry.

Round Here

While trying to pick a song for this assignment, I went through all of my folk solo-guitar-with-beard music. Next I went to my rap collections and tried to find something in there. I finally decided that a poem I would defend as poetry would be "Round Here" from Counting Crows their 1993 album Augst and Everything After. It's an enigmatic song that has very simple lyrics that guide the listener to an eery place.

 It is complex and intricate. This song can be interpreted in so many different ways. The theme I will discuss is the idea that nothing in our lives is simple or clear. Everything is complex and crazy is objective. 

The speaker of this poem is a man who is desperate and is questioning his life and everything that is happening in his life. He feels incomplete and he is having an identity crisis. The audience of this poem is more confusing. He could be addressing suburban people like us who think we live this perfect life. He may be trying to burst our bubble and tell us a story that could relate to us. The basic story line of the piece is a man who is dealing with his lover or sister's mental illness. Her illness gets more severe throughout the song, and the speaker become more and more frustrated and bitter. He seems to get crazy along with her.

The whole song is a melodic and poetic chaotic crescnedo. It starts off very solemn, but eery. They live in a normal town. The first line of the song is a simile showing how he already feels not normal.He says, "Step out of the door like a ghost/ into a fog where no one notice/ the contrast of white on white". The lack of subject in this first line suggests that we could also be these ghosts walking into our own lives, "the fog". The fog represents the things that cloud and clog our perception of how life really is. It suggests that our life isn't just plain and simple. Everything is complicated and gray. There is a contrast of white on white, but if we step out of this fog then we can actually notice how complicated our lives are.

The difference between crazy and normal is a big theme of the song that is demonstrated in repetition. He repeats the phrase "Round Here" throughout the whole song. In the beginning, round here is followed by generic phrases that a mother would say to her son or phrases that you would hear in church: "Round here we always stand up straight/...Round here we sacrifice like lambs". As it gets later and later in the song, the Round Here's start sounding like they are pointed at the audience and not to the speaker. He is telling us "Round here she is always on my mind/ Round here hey man we got lots of time... I can't see nothing round here". He uses repition to plead to us. At first it feels like someone is telling the speaker that these phrases, but by the end the repition of this phrase makes the reader feel like the reader is begging them for something. It's like this place, round here, is making him go insane.

Lastly, we were talking in class about words that are multideminsional. His diction choice of crumbling is phenomenal in "In between the moon and you[Maria]/ the angels get a better view/ of the crumbling difference between wrong and right" and "can't you see my walls are crumbling?". Crumbling literally makes me picture a wall sort of slowly turning into nothing. It's blunt and obvious. Crumbling in the first quote is related to Maria's actions with her own illness that are questionable. This word relates back to the theme about how everything is not so simple. Maria's actions can't be totally called wrong, because of her illness. Everything is complicated. In the second quote, he is talking about himself. Now, it's not just barriers that are crumbling, but his soul, his normalcy, his sanity, and his reality seems like its all falling apart. When something crumbles, what was there before totally dissappears. That is what is happening to the speaker. His world of perfection is disappearing.

I absolutely adore this song. It has so many different meaning and themes. Please go listen to this song, and hopefully you will think it is poetry just like I do.

London Is Drowning

One of my all time favorite songs is London Calling by The Clash. From their 1979 album by the same name, this song is basically a criticism of society using a portrayal of apocalyptic London. The title is a reference to the BBC during WWII, which would identify itself as "This is London calling.." when broadcasting into occupied countries. While some people may think this song is just an angry rant, I personally think the lyrics are incredibly poetic.

According to Perrine, poetry is an experience and should make you feel something. This song definately makes me feel as though I am in the midst of all the chaos of some kind of crisis or apocalypse. These repeated lines I think are really effective in portraying the kind of societal meltdown that is occuring:

                            The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
                            Meltdown expected, the wheat is growin' thin
                            A nuclear error, but I have no fear
'                           Cause London is drowning, and I, I live by the river

We have a very clear picture of what is happening; the world is in shambles and the end is near. When I listen to this song, I can clearly feel the desperation and hopelessness of the situation, and I can feel the anger expressed. If this isn't what Perrine was referring to by "experiencing a poem" then I don't know what is.

Also, the whole song is just an extended metaphor that uses more specific ones to illustrate the point.  For example "London calling to the imitation zone/forget it brother, you can go it alone," (the "imitation zone" being everywhere that is not England or London), is just a metaphor for how when things get tough, people tend to abandon those around them, another criticism of society and human nature. You can picture people (or in this case London) calling out for help, but people just turning them away and saying "sorry, you're on your own." The entire song, of course, uses war and apocalypse as a metaphor for events taking place that Joe Strummer and the rest of the band felt were concerning. This use of language and metaphor is a major part of what makes "London Calling" so poetic.

The opening line "London calling to the faraway towns/now war is declared and battle come down" adds to the dark and ominous tone of the song and the poetry within the lyrics. When I hear this line, I picture "battle" as some kind of black cloud that is sweeping through the countryside and descending onto the world. This dark imagery and tone definitely increases the poetic value, in my opinion at least. A lot of The Clash's other music is upbeat and more fun, and "London Calling" being darker and more serious is what I think sets it apart and makes it more poetic. This song is really trying to say something, and for a 3.5 minute song, it packs a lot of power.

Just as a side note, I also noticed a lot of existentialism in this song. In the line "A nuclear error, but I have no fear/ 'causeLondon is drowning, and I live by the river"  we have everything that is going wrong, but the speaker just throws up his hands and decides he may just as well get it over with: if "London is drowning" and he lives by the river, then  he is going to die, and there's really nothing to be done about it. Also the line "London Calling to the zombies of death/ Quit holding out and draw another breath" deals with idea that death is inevitable, so people should just accept it. Plus the zombie metaphor is awesome.

 

 

City and Colour

According to Perrine, great poetry is the literature that has been critically acclaimed for decades. One must fully analyze poetry with a dictionary in hand in order to grasp its entire meaning and intrinsic value. A person must read a poem multiple times before he or she is able to claim that they understand its message. Perrine argues that any piece of literature can be considered poetry if it fits these more 'intense' criteria. The purpose of this post was to show that music is just another, maybe more popular, form of poetry.

While Perrine might dismiss my argument as naive or base, I firmly believe that music is much better than any other form of poetry. Music does not require its listeners to know the exact definition of every word in a song. In fact, few people even listen to the actual words of some of their favorite songs. Music can evoke emotion not only through its poetic lyrics, but also through the sounds. Poems meerly try to replicate this musicality through line structure on a page. 

One of my favorite songs that I somewhat recently discovered is called "The Girl," a single by City and Colour. I had been doing my homework with my Pandora station on in the background when, all of the sudden, the music stopped. I thought something was wrong with my internet, but it was really just part of the song. It caught my attention. The song had been building up momentum until it cut to silence, slowly crescendoing its way back into full force for the final chorus. The lyrics were simple enough to begin easily singing along, and the message was a simple one that was something with which almost anyone could identify.

"The Girl" is written from the perspective of a man who is trying to show his girlfriend some sort of appreciation for all that she has made of him. "You don't ask for no diamond rings/no delicate string of pearls/That's why I wrote this song to sing/My beautiful girl." She sounds modest, but free-spirited. She does not want material things, and I think it is also partially because the artist does not think that those alone would be good enough for her anyway. All he can think to do, though, is to tell her all that she means to him.

He loves her because she has made him the best he feels he can be. For example, he sings "Well I'm off chasing my own dreams/Sailing around the world/Please know that I'm yours to keep/My beautiful girl." He loves her for making him feel free, but knows that he does not want to be free from her.

Dallas Green, the man behind City and Colour, communicates his simple message mostly by using simple diction and easy metaphors. "When you cry/a piece of my heart dies," for example, personifies his feelings in a effortless, albeit cliched, way. I do not think that this is for lack of a better device, but to add to the simple persona of the song. He also talks about how he is off "sailing around the world." He is not actually sailing, but trying to compare how flighty he feels compared to her consistency. The rest of the lyrics are just plain and matter of fact, because I think he sends most of his message through people's understanding and identification with the lyrics, as well as the beauty of the literal music behind his words.

So although poetry might be more critically acclaimed (and pretentious), I believe music, this song in particular, does a much job at affecting sentiment than almost any arrangement of words on a page.

Sun Eyed or Cyanide?

Some songs leave such a deep impression that an image is ingrained in your mind, capturing the setting where you first heard the lyrics. Such is true for the song "Girl" on Beck's Guero album; it transports me back to a car ride through Michigan on a humid June day every time I listen to it. Passing through abysmal cornfields and dilapidated grain silos under hanging clouds that dot a deep blue sky, the unexpected introduction of a succession of beats caught me by surprise, and entranced with the unsettling lyrics. 

The meaning of the song is ambiguous, and through exploration of my own, it seems like the artist intended it to be. In my own opinion, the song takes a jab at immaturity while repudiating society. It describes the story of the girl who stumbles through life, attempting to fit into the construct of society. She is hopelessly self destructive and naive, and the narrator recognizes this and is condescending towards her childish ways as she rebels against social norms. There is much controversy about what the "true" meaning of the song is, but the complexity of the lyrics and message is undeniable. In the same way a multidimensional poem evokes emotion and imagination, the "Girl" does the same. Underlying tones convey a sense of societal discontent and the absurdity of contemporary society. The true interpretation of the song is with the listeners, so, to each their own.

The song begins with a images of a distressed youth who to me promotes an image of Marie from Trust. 

A fist pounding on a vending machine/ And toy diamond ring stuck on her finger/ With a noose she can hang from the sun/ And put it out with her dark sunglasses

She begins by pounding her immature fist on a vending machine, a sign of distress and frustration, then the lyrics describe a "toy" diamond ring on her finger, maybe an attempt to fit into society, yet she is too childish to realize that the ring does not mean anything. The two following lines described shows the depression felt by the girl, yet dark sunglasses cover her emotions and make her appear aloof. The metaphor used when saying that she could hang from the sun by a noose, promotes deeper though and adds to the depth of the song.

Walking crooked down the beach/ She spits on the sand where their bones are bleaching

The song continues to demonstrate an unsettling and uncaring girl who appears to be on a path to nowhere. The imagery and diction in the line describing of her walking "crooked" adds to the image of a girl who does not know how to fit into society. The following line that describes her spitting shows obvious repudiation of societal etiquette, but what intrigues me is the latter part "where their bones are bleaching." It is paradoxical because people go to the beach to get tan, yet Beck talks of bones bleaching, another metaphor that makes you think about the true meaning of the song.

Throw a coin in a fountain of dust/ White noise, her ears are ringing/ Got a ticket for a midnight hanging/ Throw a bullet from a freight train leaving

The throwing a coin into a fountain of dust shows the irresponsible changes the girl takes, leaving her ears ringing. This imagery adds to the desolate atmosphere created by the beat of the song. The prospect of her escaping her life by taking a train illustrates the confusion felt by youth and running away from problems. Throwing a bullet while leaving shows the desire for revenge against society that the girl feels has wronged her. The underlying tone of the song lends to an interpretation of a girl hopelessly trapped within the walls of society. 

The crux of the song is the dispute over the chorus. Beck has never released the actual lyrics and it is disputed if it says, "Hey, my sun eyed girl," or, "Hey, my cyanide girl," the what he actually meant would have resonating implications on the meaning of the song. But for now, enjoy the song, notice the hints of existentialism.

When You Notice the Stripes

One of the ideas of poetry is to portray complicated, multifaceted thoughts using carefully chosen language. It's clear that James Mercer of the Shins knows this as he sings

New slang when you notice the stripes
The dirt in your fries

These lyrics, from the Shins' song "New Slang", describe the precise sort of thing that Perrine thinks poetry is all about- elevated, deepened existence. Mercer notices "the stripes", which have presumably gone unseen his entire life, and there's also something nasty in his food that he never noticed either. This is such an odd sensation that he requires "new slang" to describe it- moving beyond the traditional use of everyday language, the way poets do.
Unlike Perrine, however, Mercer doesn't seem to enjoy his poetic revelation. The choice of "dirt in your fries" as a metaphor makes this pretty apparent. He also sings

Turn me back into the pet
I was when we met
I was happier then, with no mindset 

This line implies that since he met the subject of the song, he has become intellectually elevated (he had an awakening, if you will.)  Mercer employs metaphor once again to creatively drive home his thoughts. (He uses figurative language throughout the song, at one point singing "dawn breaks like a bull through the hall".) It seems that Mercer clearly isn't thrilled with this new enlightened worldview, begging to go back to a simpler time. The entire song has a rather lonely, sentimental sound to it, which is emphasized by the lyrics.

Mercer demonstrates verbal finesse throughout the song. The opening line goes

Gold teeth and a curse for this town
Were both in my mouth
Only, I don't know how they got out, dear

It can be presumed that Mercer (or the character he's narrating for) insulted a town in front of one of the locals, who then knocked out his teeth. Through Mercer's lyricism, however, this scene takes on a new layer of life and imagery.
Throughout the song, this delicate use of words and metaphor creates a uniquely whimsical and melancholy mood- something that can only be done by someone who understands how to manipulate language. This poetry can be seen in the chorus:

If you'd'a took to me
Like a gull takes to the wind
Well I'd'a jumped from my tree
And I'd'a danced like the king of the eyesores
And the rest of our lives would've fared well. 

Music Is Poetry? No, Poetry Is Music

"Faust Arp" - Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

In typical Thom Yorke fashion, the sixth of ten tracks on Radiohead's second to most recent album makes use of rich and layered metaphors and winding chains of equivocation.

Not as firmly within typical Yorke fashion, "Faust Arp" also involves frequent repetition of short phrases and words. From the start, lines such as "Wakey, wakey, rise and shine / It's on again, off again, on again" and "Fingers in the blackbird pie / I'm tingling, tingling, tingling" show the monotony of the narrator's perceived situation. Yorke does not settle for repetition, however, to show monotony; he adds references to the futility of the narrator's actions and the fact that, well, he isn't getting anywhere (e.g. "Dead from the neck up / I guess I'm stuck, stuck, stuck"; "Watch me fall like dominoes / In pretty patterns") to further illustrate the narrator's situation.

The song is delievered as an address to an antagonist, possibly a romantic partner ("I love you"). Its attitude is firmly negative, cynical, and disappointed. Yorke promotes this trend throughout as he references the antagonist's failings: failure to empathize ("It's what you feel now / What you ought to, what you ought to / Reasonable and sensible"), failure to not be unscrupulous, to follow unspecified guidelines or norms ("Exactly where do you get off / Is enough, is enough / I love you but enough is enough, enough"), failure to be sane ("You got a head full of feathers"), and failure to acknowledge what is going on between the two of them ("An elephant that's in the room / Is tumbling, tumbling, tumbling"). The attitude - negative yet cynical and sarcastic enough, particularly with the line "What you ought to," not to be totally bleak - is what really makes the song's message work.

Since the narrator is not looking too positively at the world - or, more importantly, at his romantic partner - throughout the song but is too sarcastic to have resigned hope or sanity, the listener is given a complex yet purposeful taste of emotion and taught a lesson about the simplicity of it... and all in what's by more than a minute the shortest song on In Rainbows and the least heavily produced (most of the instrumentation is just Thom Yorke singing over an acoustic guitar).

Meaning in the Melody

"The Lucky Ones" by Brendan James from the album Brendan James (Bonus Track Version) is poetry. The poem speaks of seizing opportunity, pariticularly opportunity that is new and uncertain. For instance, the poem states, "We race from our schoolyards into the unknown." The speaker of the poem is attempting something new that has not been done. "The Lucky Ones" suggests that the parents of the speaker want their children to have a better life than they did. The speaker of the poem is reassuring the audience that "..we're gonna be fine." Despite the challenge of seizing uncertain opportunity, the speaker believes it will all work out for the best. Whenever I hear the song, I think of recent immigrants. To me, the parents in the song, recently traveled to the big city described.  The poem states, "I sitll hear their voices in the back of my head/ Saying 'You'll do it better than we ever did..'" The parents want their children to have a better future, yet many challenges still lie in the path of their children.  The song described seizing those opportunities. The speaker describes, "In a time that our best has to be good enough" and "You and I, we will live differently." The speaker is suggesting to make the most of what they have to build that ideal future.

One way the poem conveys its meaning is through figurative language. My favorite line from the song is, "With our hearts in our hands/Like loaded guns."  The line suggests that the speaker is acting passionately and emotionally. He is not seeking to hide to his heart, but holding out to the world. However, the second line, comparing the heart to a loaded gun, show the speaker is powerful for acting honestly and emotionally. The line suggests that taking a risk, seizing the new opportunity, with all of himself on the line, is a good and empowering thing. Another instance of figurative language is the description of "On the edge of a moment." Moments do not literally have edges, but giving a moment an edge, suggests the position is precarious and the opportunity needs to be seized right away. Similarly, the speaker describes, "Searching for love/Counting steps as we go." Again, there are not literal steps that can be taken on the journey to love, but suggesting that there are, emphasizes the journey the speaker is taking.

Next, the poem uses patriotic allusions to suggest new opportunity in a new land. The lines "In a land that we love" and "Stretching from sea to sea," reference popular conceptions of America as a land of opportunity. These allusions support the idea that the speaker is the child of recent immigrants, trying to improve his future.

Finally, the poem adopts a confident tone. It states "We're the lucky ones" and "This moment is yours/This moment is mine/And we're gonna be fine." Questions about the future are stated as assertions, giving the poem a confident voice that helps assure the audience.

Like Sinking Ships

“A Dustland Fairytale” is a song by The Killers on their Day and Age album, it is defiantly poetry there is a meaning behind all of the fancy language and it must be read over more than once, like our readings tell us to do. This song was written by of one of the band members about his childhood. It starts with his parents meeting and how their lives had many issues and he says at one point in the song:

I saw the ending when they turned the page, I threw my money and I ran away

He knew that things would end badly so he left so as not to deal with it (a little like Meursault and his sleeping). He still feels that his dreams and those of his mother’s were ruined by his father:

Castles in the sky sit stranded, vandalized. The drawbridge is closing.

The castles are to symbolize their dreams and by saying the drawbridge is closing it shows that there was no way to get to their dreams anymore.  There is no way out of the situation it ultimately shattered the dreams of those involved.

There is also a lot of use of simile in this song for example: 

And the decades disappear

Like sinking ships but we persevere.

The ships sinking like time passing makes the events all seem very dramatic and life changing though they are said with no stress on them.  The use of this particular simile is rather fascinating, it has a great impact and it said beautifully.

Now, I was never really sure what this song was entirely about, it is kind of hard to figure out the significance of the lyrics.  I did a little research on the song and apparently it is about how one of the band member’s parents met and his father being an alcoholic.  Eventually he overcomes the alcoholism by joining the Mormon Church and wants the family to move to Utah but he wants to stay where he is in Nevada.  Later his mother develops cancer and dies.  That’s not exactly what I thought it was at all but the complexity of language in this song is really amazing, and analyzing it was very interesting. 

The Tracks of Society

I chose the song "Breakdown" on the album In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson.  I think the meaning of the song is to remind people slow down.  Now a days people rush through life always thinking about what they have to do next, but in this song Jack Johnson breaks away from the the speedy culture to stop look around.

In the song, Jack Johnson goes back and forth between being a passenger on a train and being the train itself.  Either way, the train represents a person following the tracks of society of which that person is forced to go along with it.  Because of this, he hopes he, or the train, will breakdown, forcing everything to a halt.  He writes,

    I need this here old train to breakdown / oh please just let me please breakdown / well the engine     screams out loud.

The personification of the engine screaming, while he wants to breakdown is powerful in that it brings a feeling of pain.  The person, the train, is so desprerate that it wants to fall apart, or essentially give up.  I think this is a comment about our culture's expectations in that people are suppose to just keep going and going like they're perfect.  It makes it sound like the pleasure is being taken out of life.

In order appreciate our current lives, Johnson says one must get off the track society has set forth.  He does this through his lines,

    Though my window's got a view, well the frame I'm looking through / seems to have no concern for     now.

The "window" represents what people see when they are following today's fast paced society, while the "now" is the present.  This means that from the standpoint of societal life, there can be no appreciation for the present. 

Finally, Johnson leaves the use of the train and talks more straightforward on how people can stop and appreciate what is around them in the lines,

    But you can't stop nothing if you got no control / Of the thoughts in your mind that you kept and     you know

Johnson advocates for people to think for themselves.  He says you can't enjoy your life if you're following what others want you to do, or think you should do.  In order to get off the "track" of society, you must think for yourself.