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Analysis Of 'Hey There Delilah'

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Confessing Love Through Song The purpose of this paper is to analyze the song “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s. This paper will identify the message and tone of the song, as well as the artist’s appeal to the audience by analyzing the organization of the song, and the specific rhetorical strategies the artist used to connect to the audience. The song’s organization, style, figurative language, and hyperboles in the lyrics will also be analyzed to connect the artist’s intention back to the audience. In this song, the artist’s main point and thesis, is that he is head over heels in love with a girl named Delilah. He wants to tell the world, and Delilah herself, how much he loves her, and how their love conquers the distance between them.
This song was released in May 2006 in the United states, with the intended audience being people ranging in age from middle school age to college age. He chose this range in age to connect to a broad amount of people, with the general assumption that they would be familiar with what love is, or have experienced it themselves.
The artist wants the audience to feel his substantial affection for Delilah, and how it is unchanging even though they are separated by distance. He appeals to the audience’s emotions of admiration, compassion, and longing for another person. The artist does this by singing about his extensive love for Delilah, which may lead people to think of someone they themselves care deeply about, or an example of love in their life.
The artist chooses an upbeat and happy tempo that repeats throughout the song. He chooses this repeating tempo to draw the listener’s attention to the lyrics of the song. The slow, yet happy tempo paired with the artists bright and cheery voice creates a sense of ease and happiness within the song itself, and the audience.
In this song, for the majority of the time the artist is confessing and explaining his love for Delilah to the world, and Delilah herself. He does this by telling the audience exactly what he is thinking, however, he does use imagery on occasion to accentuate his point. For example, the artist uses the simile “Times Square can’t shine as bright as you,” to compare Delilah’s radiance to the lights of New

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