Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue and Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning

Besides being the revolution song of the 00’s, American Idiot can’t be a more accurate representation of society today. The underlying message of this song is that we as American’s are being brainwashed by false media: what is normal, how to compose ourselves, what to believe in, etc. The composers wanted its audience to know that they stand by the thought of a country founded on the principles of “Liberty and Justice for All”: a place where social injustices are as uncommon as a pink elephant with golden

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.

His songs are quite inspiring. They touch on every day themes of life. Two of his songs that proved to be quite a big hit worldwide are “True Colors” and “Another Day in Paradise.” Let us try to understand the messages behind these two outstanding songs that always make and still continue making many people, both old and young, humming along anytime the beautiful ballads are strung from their stereos.

Popular singer Elton John once said; “music has healing power; it has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours”, and for most, music is the portal to an out of body experience. African American lyricists especially have been found to use the art of music to escape the real world, commencing from the slavery era and onward. The blues song titled The Tracks of My Tears does just that; expresses the ability to remove your soul from a treacherous reality. Similarly, the lyrics from popular modern songs, written by black artists, speak volumes about what is presently going on in the country, parallel to the way African American slavery songs did. Music written at an earlier period have been found to correlate to music of the past through providing strong emotion toward present day commentary.

In the song “Glory” sung by John Legend and Common is a powerful song inspired by the Civil Rights Movement. The theme of this song is that resistance enacts change. There are several literary devices that convey the importance and power of peaceful protest such as allusion, symbolism, and metaphors. These three literary devices help to illustrate the struggle, dedication, and triumphs of those involved in peaceful protest of the civil rights movement.

In toby keiths song he talks about how america responds to being under attack. Toby keith once sang, “Now this nation that i love is fallen under attack……… soon as we could see u clearly through our big black eye. Man we lit up your world like the fourth of july”. This shows liberty because even though america is getting knocked down it will not stay down. America will get right back up and fight for what it believes in. Toby sang proudly “My daddy served in the army where he lost his right eye but he flew a flag out in our yard. Until the day that he died he wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me to grow up and live

Since the song was originally written in 2005, and then re appeared in the Fight With Tools album it makes sense that the song would by influenced by the war America was fighting in Iraq at the time. In 2003 the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq, and from then on until the present many Americans and non-Americans have died as a result of wartime violence. Even though the war went on many Americans really started to question the reason why the war was still going on if the weapons of mas destruction were already found, the reason given for the invasion of Iraq. Some also questioned the entire reason for the war; according to a MSNBC Documentary, “Some of the most senior officials in the U.S. government, including President Bush himself, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, asserted these claims in public with absolute confidence, even while privately, ranking U.S. military officers and intelligence professionals were voicing their doubts”(“ How the Bush Administration Sold the Iraq War”). However, the people did nothing and the war continued. The song was meant for people who wanted to change what is happening around

The United States has a storied musical history, shaped by a massively diverse population and geography. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Dixie’s Land” are two of the most important songs to American popular music history, and shaped the outcome of the Civil War and much of the past two centuries. Historically they represent entirely opposite ideals, but they interact immensely over the course of American history. Their complicated evolving relationships with society and each other represent the changing politics and culture of the United States from the Civil War to present day.

“Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism, but we still got terrorists her livin’ in the USA, the big CIA, the bloods and the crips and the KKK.” This line here is about the logos appeal which is mostly about finding the logic in something. The logos in the lyrics of this song are being brought to light through the use of historical and rhetorical

In Bernie’s song “God Bless America” it is a slower song that doesn’t have a lot of lyrics that change throughout the song, and show, say different things to see how people are feeling at this time like Jacksons song. In the song by Jackson he describes what people could have been or were feeling during at this time. Jackson says at the beginning of the song “did you stand there in shock at the rise of the black smoke rising against the blue sky” When he says this he is wondering what the emotions people had during the very moment they saw what was going on. The way that Bernie says “Stand beside her, and guide her” he just wants people to not give up on America, and guide people that are thinking negative on what they decide to do so everyone can live in peace. Just like comparisons there can, and will be more differences in these songs, but key ones that are important to society are presented in the

The Star-Spangled Banner has been sung exquisitely by various celebrities before many sporting events. Who doesn’t remember or know about Super Bowl XXV in 1991 when Whitney Houston serenaded America with her powerhouse voice? However, the meaning of America’s national anthem is more than just the change of pitches, octaves, and notes that are sung before a football game. As an American, our national anthem symbolizes the strength and resilience of America. For me, the words written by Francis Scott Key represents the importance of being a military child. Because of the selfless service of my father and countless others being enlisted in the United States Military, and their continuous courage to fight for America, we can state that we

Do you recall what was revealed. The day the music died?” (American Pie) Explanation Sentences: The lyrics here were a peaceful protest that ended up with death for wanting change, which strengthens why the American people were angered by the injustice. The Kent State shooting like many sad events during the 20th century had meaningful impact on people who contributed to change, which gathers the idea of corrupt morality. Many songs during this time were on the worst sides of the American government and the actions that led to death, which represents how inspiring songs were during this time.

For one thing, Alan Jackson and John Lennon’s songs about the “Working Class Hero” may leave the reader with the idea that they are very different songs. Without looking at them closer, the reader may never know that their main points are the same: working class hero’s should be celebrated. During Jackson’s version of the song, it is a bit easier to grasp this point. He bases his song off of a hard working father that has worked hard all of his life to provide for his family. He explains that

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” by Pete Seeger became a popular anti-war protest song during the 1960s. This song did not only protest against the Vietnam War but also made their generation more aware about the global problems. Songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie chicks about freedom of speech was written after they received death threats for singing against the Iraq war, protests against the violation of human rights. But music is not only used to protest, it is also used to give hope and optimism. “We Shall Overcome”, a song sung by Guy Carawan together with the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet, is perhaps the best known example of civil rights song. Instead of blaming the government, this song registered a feeling of hope and faith among African-Americans during the civil rights movement.

I chose to analyze the song “They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson. This song was released on March 31, 1996. The media found this song to be very controversial because of its use of racial slurs and the fact that it called attention to many of the problems within society. Michael Jackson had to write many apologies and explanations for this song. He said that he was upset at how many times people had misinterpreted his song.