Gloria Gaynor's Song 'I Will Survive'

The song I chose was “I’m Sorry” by the artist Joyner Lucas. This song has a pretty deep meaning to me. It’s about a man who commits suicide. Last year around Christmas time I met this guy. He was a friend of a close family member of mine. He was always hanging around them so naturally we started talking. I’m the type of person who cares about people a little too much. I started noticing that he got more quiet and more to himself. I never thought he wanted to hurt himself. I trusted him and he knew he could trust me too. Things at home weren’t good. He was hurting. No kid should ever go through that (he is my age).

I have always enjoyed music with strong, meaningful lyrics so this option was the obvious choice for my final. I find myself constantly listening to music and have listened to “Hotel California” by The Eagles more times than I can count, making it another obvious choice for me. Although, when reading through the lyrics the first time, I realized that I had never understood the song meaning and the theme it is intended to portray. It was interesting to read through it with my own, as opposed to hearing the tone it receives when listening to the song. Not having the music helped me understand the meaning of the lines better, letting the words sink in instead of them being sung quickly and then gone.

I chose “Humble and Kind,” by Tim McGraw as my theme song. “Humble and Kind” is a very good song that has very unique lyrics. The song gives advice on how to live. There are many manners in this song that are very important. The song is a parent telling their child how they should live life. It seems that the artist wrote the song on how he wishes he would have acted when he was younger. One of the main messages of this song are that everyone has something in their lives, but you still need to be nice. Some of the lyrics on the song are about the 10 Commandments. Even though we grow up, we still need to remember our manners and how to live life. “Don’t hold a grudge or a chip and here’s why Bitterness keeps you from flying.” This is an example

I chose this song because, in my opinion, it has a good thesis that backs up the song lyrics and it gives you a positive feeling. Basically, the song is telling us to always keep our faith and stay strong no matter what. It encourages people to

The poem I chose to do a close reading essay on was, “Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep” by Mary Elizabeth Frye. “Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004) is an American poet who remains known today for a single poem-a sonnet of just twelve lines-but it may be the most popular poem in the English language. “Do not stand at my grave and weep” is a consoling Holocaust poem and elegy with an interesting genesis, since it was written by a Baltimore housewife who lacked a formal education and had quite never written poetry before, and certainly none of note” (The HyperTexts). The tone of this poem is comforting and helps people find comfort with the view of death. This poem uses a lot of imagery, metaphors, and symbolism. Frye’s, “Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep,” is enlightening people how to handle a death of a loved one while using important parts of the theme such as tone, vocabulary, and overall meaning.

I picked “A Thousand Year” by Christina Perri. I love this song since the first time that I heard it. This song tells you that time can fly, and we can die but even thou he/she will love you for an eternity. My second song is “Because You Love Me” by Celine Dion. She transmits a message thru this song about the person that has been with her forever and how graceful she is to be with him. The singer cannot be more clear when she sings “You were my strength when I was weak, You were my voice when I couldn't speak, You were my eyes when I couldn't see, You saw the best there was in me

For my song I have chosen to do “Forever” by Jeff Williams. Jeff Williams is a songwriter that has other musical abilities like being able to play keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums. He is also an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music. He wrote this song to accompany a death scene in a web series called Red vs. Blue in the year 2012. He wrote this song for Red vs. Blue because he was the company that makes these videos an official songwriter for the past 3 seasons of the show. It was song by Jeff Williams’s daughter Casey Lee Williams. Therefore the meaning and tone of the song is one that is both deep and significant to people of all ages.

The most prevalent issue observed in the lyrics and music videos was gender and sexuality. This was in issue that was present and reoccurring in all of the top songs but occurred in different ways. This was no surprise though because we live “In a culture where sex and gender are centrally important” (2015; 73). The issue arises in the genre of music because of the way gender and sexuality is presented. In the top song “Die a Happy Man’ by Thomas Rhett, objectification was presented in both the lyrics and the music video. In the lyrics he says “Baby that red dress brings me to my knees, Oh but black dress makes it hard to break” and goes on to say “You’re a saint, you’re a Goddess, the cutest, the hottest, a master piece” (lyrics). It seems that his goal is to complement her, but he is objectifying her by judging her femininity (2015; 203). He also does this in the music video by having the girl in a bikini the whole time. Not only was the women objectified, but Thomas exposed a stereotypical relationship consequence. In modern society men tend to make a stereotype that they have to give up everything to be with a woman. Thomas did this in his lyrics when he talks about how he could “never get to see the Northern lights” or “never get to build my mansion in Georgia or drive a sports car up the coast of California” (lyrics). The second song was “Strip It Down” by Luke Bryan. In this song Luke definitely introduces gender roles in both the lyrics and the video. The song

Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography and personal memoir, “Born to Run,” covers all of exactly who he is and how he got to be that way. From his family life to the making of his albums, from his mental heath to his concerts, it all coincides with one another, clearly identifying who he is as a person. This book would thrill even the most hardcore Springsteen fanatics and keep them on the edge of their seat. Born to Run adds little that’s new, but its narrative voice proves to be extremely insightful

5. In “The Life You Save My Be Your Own”, selfish motives alienate Shiflet from others and from God. He works for Mrs. Crater only to have the car; on par with modernity, his labor is not rewarded in itself but only for what it can earn him. He even goes to the extreme in marrying Lucynell for the car, proving that he will manipulate situations and people to get what he wants. His disregard for Lucynell makes it easy for him to abandon her. So blinded by his own desires, he fails to see how he has distanced himself from others and God. He picks up the boy only to boast of his decency, and his fruitless advice does not fool the child. The absurdity of him praying for sinners when he has proven himself to be one conveys how the changing times distance people from morality. In “The River”, Bevel’s spectacle leads others astray and fatally confuses Harry. Mrs. Connin seems to ascribe more to Bevel’s sensationalism than true faith, and she does not see how his undermining desires of authority and status. Mrs. Connin’s

What does Christian community really mean? Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives insight into what Christians relationships were designed to be like. The main theme Bonhoeffer explores is Christ in the Christian community under the Word of God. Bonhoeffer explains God’s gift of community by arguing the following: “It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren” (Bonhoeffer, 1978, p. 20). In addition the author adds, “Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification. It is a gift of God, which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification” (p. 30). Overall Life Together is biblically

Around the time of the Harlem Renaissance, blacks still faced many adversities that prevented them from thriving as a people. As seen in the Reconstruction and Post-Reconstruction eras, blacks were often discriminated against and even attacked by whites all across the nation. These attacks all culminated in the infamous "Red Summer of 1919," when hundreds of African Americans were slaughtered in race riots in dozens of cities, including Chicago, Washington D.C., and Elaine, Arkansas. While many blacks were extremely fearful of this impending danger, the esteemed poet Claude McKay boldly spoke out against the cruelty shown towards his people. In his poem "If We Must Die," McKay encourages blacks and commands them to stand and fight against the misdeeds committed by whites. Instead of asking blacks to accept their fate or to uselessly flee from the threat of death, McKay dares them to stare death in the face and to fight against the power that whites try to hold over them. In his sonnet "If We Must Die," McKay uses bestial imagery, biblical allusions and first person perspectives to motivate African Americans to defy the violent tyranny of white Americans.

Majority of African American women get judged on the day to day basis. When scrolling through social media there will be large amounts of individuals who will bully or even belittle a colored female because of the natural kinks of her hair, her sense of fashion, the full shaped curves of her body, and the color of her skin . The poem “Still I Rise” by the well-known poet, Maya Angelou, specifically describes the reasons why she had so much confidence; even if she were to be judged by her appearances and mindset. This poem is about embracing females, but it mainly introduces similar life situations that many African American women have experienced. The symbols and point of view that Angelou specifically added in her poem made her readers realize that there are many meanings to this poem.

Crowned as "The Queen of Soul", Aretha Franklin is one of the most honored female vocal artists of the last 50 years. She is an American soul singer, songwriter as well as a pianist. Her soulful, soaring voice has earned her mythic status over the years. It has been said that Aretha was a child prodigy of the golden age of gospel and was the anointed successor to gospel singers Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson. Many idolize her and her musical intelligence to this day. She is said to be one of the most quintessential sounds of America alongside The Beetles, The Stones, and Louis Armstrong.

Life is full of loss and you cannot avoid experiencing it and well as sorrow. As people grow up they come to realize that the world is not as it seemed to be when they were younger. They get more independent and their perspective of life changes. They will have to realize that they are not going to live forever. In the short story The Hurt Man, written by Wendell Berry and published in 2003, we meet Mat who learns all of this.