Analysis Of John Mayer's Song 'An It'

This song is a wakeup call for America to set a better example for the next generation. People are hurting other people. Some are paranoid of what will happen next. Life should not be scary, but there are people afraid to walk out and be among the chaos. Everybody is against one another, and they are not willing to compromise. “It’s time we stop” and look at what we are doing and what has become of us. There are wars for ignorant reasons, there are people hurting, there are innocent children watching, WAKE UP AMERICA! The riots and wars are not worth all of this pain and suffering.

He mentions the fight in the House of Representatives that broke out, in relation with the civil rights bill. He also about the equality between black and white people in the 1960’s. At this point this is being read the words “all is calm, all is bright” this completely contrast from the subject about racism but the song is representing a sense of tranquillity as if everything is okay when it is not.

Millions of people in the world listen to music for all different reasons. Most people all over the world listen to different genres of music in order to relax, but not too many people pay attention to the actual lyrics of a song. If you listen to the lyrics of a song you will realize that many songs have important messages or themes to them. An example of this is the lyrics of the song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur. If you listen to this song, you will realize that Tupac raps about not only the problems that African Americans face from society, but also the struggles that poor people in society have to endure and overcome. Many

The song I picked for this homework assignment is called Runaway Love by Ludacris and Mary J. Blige. The song is describing the hardships of three young girls and their struggle to survive. Finally, the girls are fed up with the lives they are forced to live and decide to pack up their things and run away. I think this song can relate to many aspects of sociology that we have learned in class. Some examples shown through the song are poverty, education, healthcare, marriage and family. All three girls’ different stories and struggles they face.

The song “Caught in the Crowd” is about a girl that had befriend a boy. She had witnessed the boy being bullied physical and verbally but she had decided to walk away when he needed her the most. The issue is represented positively because by telling us that we should stand up for what is

The song expresses how people are not living up to society's values and norms. It suggest that the socialization is at fault and that they contribute to improvement of self being. The song implies the way society goes against values and norms by one of the very first lyrics in the song. The lyric goes, “What’s wrong with the world, mama, People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas…” (lines 1-2). This makes one aware of the lack of values in one's family. Values is the belief or an idea that a person or group has to determine is correct or not. Another verse of how the band shows one disobedience of the values and norms comes toward the middle of the song. “People killin', people dyin’, Children hurt and you hear them cryin, Can you practice what you preach, And would you turn the other cheek…” (lines 50-53). These verses show of society has failed to act stable and logical way that society once viewed as correct living. These actions show that citizens have not lived up to the expectations of society. Social norms are likes the laws of society. Laws are things that are illegal behaviour and norms are like behaving in a way society wouldn’t like. For example being in gangs, like the bloods, or the crips, or a big group that goes against society's norms like racial groups. An example of a racial group would be the KKK.

The song’s character is just a member of the majority, even if the songwriters condemn his way of thinking. The criticism of the average citizen becomes much clearer during the second section of the song.

The lyrical message of the song is very ‘in your face.’ There's no question as to what the singer is referencing, nor his stance on the issue. The song structure (reiterating the chorus after listing certain people, events, etc.) helps reiterate his message by singing the chorus stating his opinion after bringing up controversial issues in an ABAB form. Additionally, Joel uses metaphors such as “fire burning” to represent contention among mankind to illustrate his message. The rhythmic feel also contributes to the pleasing sound of the recording, thus showing, along with the previously mentioned musical aspects, the detail put into creating “We Didn’t Start the Fire” in an endeavor to help the listener be receptive to the message. The level of success of these methods are shown in receptivity of the song following its release. This song was very well received by some and horribly received by others. Some people claimed that it was one of the worst songs written. Yet, some people really liked it. For example, some school teachers thought that it was an amazing song for teaching students about different things happening during that time period since it covers so many events (Fetters). I personally think that it makes a very persuasive case in combating arguments that his generation was lazy or had it easy because Joel cites numerous cases that people would be hard pressed to argue were inconsequential. However, Joel doesn't expressly state what people of his generation were doing to combat ‘evil’ in the world, which was also part of his argument. Instead, people have to do research for themselves and come up with their own conclusion, thus weakening his

Through songs many people express their feelings of the world threw the words they have wrote. Many songs talk about civil rights of the people and how change should be an option. In the world we live in today we have social issues that people have to face such as: police brutality, racial profiling, discrimination etc. Through Kendrick Lamar, Public Enemy, The Game, Bebe Winans, and N.W.A they will use their voice as a weapon for change among all people. Music with a message thrives in a live setting, for obvious reasons, and many politically conscious musicians aim to channel the heightened emotions

Has it ever occurred to you that this generation tries to search for the next best thing? Is it like a business man try to look for the next best thing that everyone is buying? I mean if other people do it and there perfectly fine doing it we assume that we could do it and we think we will be just fine as well. Take those examples and try to use it with music. Do you think that what we listen to can affect us in any way or not? Maybe and maybe not, but some of us tend to get influenced by what they put into their heads. Not everything that we see or do can import negative thought or feelings, but listening is a part of that category as well. Therefore, what these artists are trying to do is trying to use a rhetorical device to tell us that

This song implies that individual’s are violating the norms and values of society. They start the song with a verse that expresses

I agree with the statement, the best popular musicians treat social and political issues in their song. Macklemore, one of the most famous hip-hop/rap artist’s in the game right now has just come out with a song called White Privilege II fighting for the social issues of black rights. This song speaks out and supports the Black LED organization and anti-racist education & discourse. In the first verse of the song Macklemore says, “No justice, no peace," okay, I'm saying that

I agree with the theory of “Little Boxes,” I too thought this song had a lot to do with the way American society was taught to grow up. I wonder where the “Rules” of growing up where established, like who original set forth the correct way society was to grow? Still to this day the “ticky tacky” concept of building track homes is used and depending on the culture you are brought up in, college, home, marriage, and then a family is still a traditional way of thriving. Are we living the way we want or the way our parents want us to live? Again, depending on your upbringing will determine whether you follow in your parent’s footsteps or you choose your own path. It is not uncommon today for children to choose their career and even more so when teen pregnancy on the rise, the baby doesn’t always come after

Just as it was a crucial time for America in terms of politics and social issues, it was just as big for the music industry. People expressed their social opinions and political beliefs in a way that was the most true to them. Music was, and still is, a worldwide phenomenon for it has been able to take the shape of justice and to mold the minds of it’s listeners. Artists at the time had extreme social and political influence and used their defined stances on cultural issues to influence their music as well as their

After listening to the song, I believe the purpose of the song was to reach out to people in hope that they would want to fix the world they were living in. I believe John Mayer is trying to give people that extra push to get up and do something useful. “Now we see everything that’s going wrong, With the world and those who lead it, We just feel like we don’t have the means, To rise above and beat it” (Lines 5-8). John is trying to reach out to people and make them realize that everyone has a place in the things going on around them. He want’s our generation to realize that with the help of each other and we can rise up and make changes around the world. The song is meant to be persuading to the younger generations telling them they should