Song Analysis: Paper Planes

The song I chose is a song sung by Martina McBride, a country singer, called Concrete Angel. The song was written by Rob Crosby and Stephanie Bentley, later released on November 18, 2002. The song is about a young girl, Angela Carter, who doesn’t have the most stable and safest home. At home she is domestically abused by her drugged mother, neglected and forced to take care of herself; she packs her own school lunch, walks to school by herself, and is wearing the same dress showing her mom does not care to give her new clothes. When watching the music video, in the beginning children are laughing at her, which shows she is bullied, another main theme tackled in the song. The bruises are seen by her teacher and the neighbors hear her

I believe that this song relates to racism because of the way the English colonists and native Americans describe each other. In the song “Savages” the English colonists and the native Americans describe each other as “Barely even human” they say this because they think they are not the same people. Sure enough, this is one of the problems that the world faces every single day but in particular, the United States. As you may know, in January 20, 2017, Donald Trump commenced his presidency as the 45th president of the United States. As this was good news for some, for others it was not, because this was known to bring more racial tension to the United States, and it did. For example, in August of 2017, the Neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia occurred. It turned out very violent and

In the famous single,“Fireflies”, there were many uses of similes and metaphors to show his vivid dreams when he was young. In stanza 6, Adam Young sang “Cause I feel like such an insomniac”. This is an example of simile, Adam Young is comparing himself to a person who is regularly unable to sleep. In the last stanza, Adam Young sang “Because my dreams are bursting at the seams”. This shows an example of metaphor, because he is comparing two thoughts without using like or as. In stanza 7, Adam Young sang “I got misty eyes as they said farewell”. This is another example of metaphor, Adam Young is trying to convey the idea that he is going to cry as the fireflies said a farewell. By using many

The first simile we are introduced to in the song is line 8. A simile is using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ to compare to unlike things. In this case, he raps ‘I’m as black as the moon’. After listening, one may think ‘but the moon isn’t black’. In this lyric, he’s comparing blackness to the side of the moon never seen, the back part of the moon that is unlit by the sun and therefore invisible to humans on Earth. Later in the same line, he uses a metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech that implies comparison between two unlike entities. The metaphor is ‘came from the bottom of mankind’. This metaphor of ‘bottom’ refers to either an evolution of people from Africa or the meaning of his ethnicity being treated unfairly throughout history. The next metaphor is displayed in line 13: ‘Reciprocation of freedom only live in your eyes.’ This is a metaphor type similar to what we discussed in class. People use parts of the body to represent other things. In this line, he is referring to an ideal of freedom living in the eyes. Eyes are what we use to view and see the world therefore this line represents something that can be seen but maybe not used or felt to the person or persons at

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.

A simile is a figure of speech that compares one thing to another using the words like or as. The machines cut the trees in one big swipe like a shearer quickly cutting the fleece off a

In this song, she mocked government promises, stereotypical insults, and the continuing warning of public leaders to “Go Slow”, which the backup singers call out “Too Slow!” repeatedly. This song had no intention of being uplifting with lyrics like “we shall overcome”, instead it is a song about a movement. A woman who did not have much to begin with and small hope for the American future sings, ‘Oh but this whole country is full of lies... You’re all gonna die and die like flies.”

The song Smile by Uncle Kracker uses similes to compare everyday things or objects to how his loved one makes him feel. “You make me smile like the sun” (Shafer 1). Suns obviously can’t smile. But a sun does shine brightly. A simile to compare a sun to smile was used to give the reader a picture of a person with a big, bright and happy smile on their face. “Sing like a bird” (Shafer 1). The feeling of love can make you do crazy things. For instance singing like a bird. To compare ones singing to a birds cooing/tweeting the author is stating that the effect of love on us can make you feel as if you’re on cloud 9. “Spin like a record” (Shafer 1). A record spins around and around. To use a simile to compare a spinning record to love is stating that the love he has for this special girl is never ending and will go ‘around and around’ endlessly. “Shine like gold” (Shafer 1). When you’re in love it can bring out some of the

“Aliens” is a song about one of the biggest issues that has arisen during the 2016 presidential election race. Donal Trump is by far the most recognizable name of all the presidential hopefuls. One of his platforms early on in his campaign was that there needs to be something done about the immigrant workers who have tried to make a living in the United States. He claims that Mexican immigrants, or aliens, as they are legally recognized, are the root of some of the biggest problems in the country. For example, he claims that they must be dealt with because they are thieves, rapists, and killers. He proposes that they and all of their children be removed from the country and a giant wall built along the border to keep them out. The racism in

Similarly, in “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou conveys that people can not let anything stop them from achieving their dream and to fight back. The use of similes expresses this because it shows how good or bad a

This song was first debuted in 2013 by Brad Paisley from his album Wheelhouse. There was a lot of controversy about this song because of its ‘racism’ theme. This song portrays the lack of unity and togetherness amongst the people of the world. There is a feeling of racism, lack of respect and discrimination that is reflected in this song. The main concept of this song is for the song writer to convey a message that cultivates moral value in the mind of the reader or listener.

Ask anyone during the mid 1980’s and I can promise you they have heard “Born in the U.S.A” by Bruce Springsteen. Written in 1984, this record setting single was the theme song for America during the Vietnam war. “Born in the U.S.A” swept the nation by storm, selling 18 million copies. Every American may know to scream as loud as they can when the lyrics “BORN IN THE U.S.A” come on, but they may not necessarily know the true meaning behind the song.

Hot and cold by Katy Perry, this song is about a girl falls in love with a guy who is unsettled. He keep changing his mind about staying with her the rest of his life. Their relationship is all over the place and falling apart, instead of steady and romantic as it used to be. The song have many different figurative of language uses. She used metaphor, simile, hyperbole, and antithesis.

This week, I have been working on a new song that my mentor gave me. The song that he gave me was I’ll Fly Away. He said that this would be a good song to practice because he said that it gave me the option to play it in my own style. At first, I didn’t understand what he meant by that. He told me that it is like Christmas songs; there is not one correct way to play it. Mr. Snow said that I just needed to make sure to keep a beat while playing.

It is a sin for anyone to destroy, in a blink of an eye, what they have been working on for months or even years. Therefore, one should always face the hardships with a strong will, hold their head up high when facing an upcoming storm, because that is the only way they can survive the war that is life. Right towards the end of the song, there is an extremely empowering line that says “this road never looked so lonely, this house doesn’t burn down slowly to ashes” which stands as a reminder that right when the challenge becomes harder, one should never forget what they are fighting for and simply give up. The amount of determination reflected in this line is the reason why I listen to this song whenever I feel defeated by the obstacles. It comes to spark the flame of determination in my heart when I consider backing