Thursday, February 26, 2009

Metaphors

"One" U2

U2's "One" is a powerful song that contains a metaphor. The lyric "Love is a Temple" compares the unrelated objects of love to a temple. The song deals with the recent breakup of the narrator and his/her lover. The sex of the narrator is never determined within the lyrics. The speaker in the song is visited by "the one" they broke up with. The narrator asks if he/she has come to apologize for their mistakes, or to continue their arguments. The narrator feels regretful for his actions by asking "Did I disappoint you", "Did I ask too much." However, the two have not arrived at a point where they can work it out and become the "one" united as a couple. "Will it make it easier on you now, You got someone to blame" shows that the two are full of resentment still. U2's "One" is a great song that exemplifies regret.

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame
You say...

One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
One love
We get to share it
Leaves you baby if you
Don't care for it

Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it's...

Too late
Tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...
Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head

Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Hurt each other
Then we do it again
You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other

One...life

One


"I'll Be There For You" Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi's songs have repeatedly topped the charts for their dominant lyrics that inspire. "I'll Be There For You" is a perfect love song that displays a man's love for the woman he worships. The narrator asks her for a second chance after he regrets his decision of leaving her alone and on her own. The song is full of metaphors left and right. The lyrics are set in the first person, so the narrator refers to himself as "I". He continuously states the things that he will now perform for the one he loves. An example of a task is that he will "be the wine" when she gets drunk, to show how close he would like the relationship to be. Regret is found everywhere in Bon Jovi's lyrics of "I'll Be There For You."

I guess this time youre really leaving
I heard your suitcase say goodbye
And as my broken heart lies bleeding
You say true love in suicide

You say youre cried a thousand rivers
And now youre swimming for the shore
You left me drowning in my tears
And you wont save me anymore

Now Im praying to God youll give me one more chance, girl

Ill be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
Ill be there for you
Id live and Id die for you
Steal the sun from the sky for you
Words cant say what a love can do
Ill be there for you

I know you know were had some good times
How they have their own hiding place
I can promise you tomorrow
But I cant buy back yesterday

And baby you know my hands are dirty
But I wanted to be your valentine
Ill be the water when you get thirsty, baby
When you get drink, Ill be the wine

Ill be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
Ill be there for you
Id live and Id die for you
Steal the sun from the sky for you
Words cant say what a love can do
Ill be there for you

Solo

And I want there when you were happy
I wasnt there when you were down
I didnt mean to miss your birthday, baby
I wish Id seen you blow those candles out

Ill be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
Ill be there for you
Id live and Id die for you
Steal the sun from the sky for you
Words cant say what a love can do
Ill be there for you

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Simile

Bob Seger's "Against the Wind" is a sorrow song that is full of regret, and also has a simile. The lyric "Caught like a wildfire out of control" is used to describe the relationship between the narrator and a girlfriend. The sad song tells the story of the narrators life after his leaves the one he loves. He spends the days as a hitchhiker running away from the pain and continuously searching for shelter. The narrator regrets the decision to desert his loved one, and is now facing the reality that he is worth nothing. He simplys moves "against the wind."

It seems like yesterday
But it was long ago
Janey was lovely, she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playlng low
And the secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
Till there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove

And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
Wish I didnt know now what I didnt know then

Against the wind
We were runnin against the wind
We were young and strong, we were runnin
Against the wind

And the years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded bv stranners I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searchin
Searching for shelter again and again
Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind

Well those drifters days are past me now
Ive got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out

Against the wind
Im still runnin against the wind
Well Im older now and still

Bon Jovi's "Keep the Faith" is one of his best written pieces of lyrics. The religious lyrics make it seem that the now who is apoligizing to for his actions which he regrets is God. The song does contain a simile in the second stanza. The lyric "I am broken like an arrow" can either refer to the mental, physical, or emotional spirit that the narrator is in. The line "I have suffered for my anger" can possibly give hint to the fact that the action committed was due to the narrator's temper. This song is full of regret that the narrator is trying to apoligized for by going to his God.

Mother mother tell your children
That their time has just begun
I have suffered for my anger
There are wars that cant be won

Father father please believe me
I am laying down my guns
I am broken like an arrow
Forgive me
Forgive your wayward son

Everybody needs somebody to love
(mother, mother)
Everybody needs somebody to hate
(please believe me)
Everybodys *********
cause they cant get enough
And its hard to hold on
When theres no one to lean on

Faith: you know youre gonna live thru the rain
Lord you got to keep the faith
Faith: dont let your love turn to hate
Right now we got to
Keep the faith
Keep the faith
Keep the faith
Lord we got to keep the faith

Tell me baby when I hurt you
Do you keep it all inside
Do you tell me alls forgiven
And just hide behind your pride

Everybody needs somebody to love
(mother, father)
Everybody needs somebody to hate
(please dont leave me)
Everybodys bleeding
cause the times are tough
Well its hard to be strong
When theres no one to dream on

Faith: you know youre gonna live thru the rain
Lord you got to keep the faith
Now you know is not too late
Oh you got to keep the faith
Faith: dont let your love turn to hate
Right now we got to
Keep the faith
Keep the faith
Keep the faith
Lord we got to keep the faith

Walking in the footsteps
Of societys lies
I dont like what I see no more
Sometimes I wish that I was blind
Sometimes I wait forever

To stand out in the rain
So no one sees me cryin
Trying to wash away the pain
Mother father

Theres things Ive done I cant erase
Every night we fall from grace

Its hard with the world in yours face
Trying to hold on, trying to hold on

Faith: you know youre gonna live thru the rain
Lord you got to keep the faith
Faith: dont let your love turn to hate
Right now we got to keep the faith
Faith: now its not too late
Try to hold on, trying to hold on
Keep the faith

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Linkin Park "Leave Out All The Rest"

Linkin Park, “Leave Out All the Rest”
Linkin Park has been known as a hardcore rock band that has produced chart topping songs; and their “Leave Out All the Rest” is no exception. The song can be interpreted in a few ways, but ultimately have the same meaning. The narrator experiences an epiphany that the ones he is leaving behind, a girlfriend, friend, or parent, etc. will not accept him for who he really was. He feels guilty about what he has done, and needs to make amends with those he has hurt. The line, “Forget the wrong that I’ve done,” shows the narrator wants to be remembered as a good person, and is asking for forgiveness. The narrator has tried to show he has become a new person by “taken my beating, I’ve shared what I’ve made,” and is apologizing for his actions. Many questions are left unanswered in the song “Leave Out All the Rest” such as who he is talking to and what he has done. Linkin Park’s powerful song about regret and guilt can relate too many who have experienced the same pain. Many poetic devices and messages are displayed with in “Leave Out All the Rest.”
“Leave Out All the Rest” features many poetic devices within the lyrics. Linkin Park does a great job using the devices to enhance the lyrics and meaning of the song. The first two verses of the narrative song contain rhyme in the lyrics to improve the flow of the music. The song also includes many tercets and quatrains to keep the brevity of the music while displaying the message. Foreshadowing is also apparent within the beat of the music. Before each chorus in the song, the beat of a drum is sounded. At the first chorus, the drummer beats two notes. The second time the chorus appears only one drum beat is heard, until the last chorus where no beats are drummed. The drum beating resembles a countdown to “when the time comes” for the narrator to die. “Leave Out All the Rest” was beautiful written, and the devices used by Linkin Park truly improved the intensity and power behind the lyrics.
The main theme of regret is present everywhere in Linkin Park’s “Leave Out All the Rest.” The protagonist of the song is constantly regretting his decision and actions against the one he has hurt. The chorus of the song expresses the narrator’s plea for the victim to forgive him, and see him as decent human once again. The narrator continues to regret his choices, and only wants the respect of those he has inflicted pain. His decisions have also made him experience some consequences of his actions. “I’ve taken my beating, I’ve shared what I made” are examples of how the narrator has suffered from his own judgment. The presence of regret in “Leave Out All the Rest” increases the effect of the lyrics on the listener.
“Leave Out All the Rest” can be interpreted in various ways. The key component of the song is who the narrator is speaking to. The listener of the song must decide whether the victim is a girlfriend, or someone closer such as a parental figure. If a girlfriend, the lyrics apply to the idea that he cheated on her, or left her to survive on her own. He now wants to apologize for being a jerk, and try to repair there relationship. The other interpretation is that the mother or father is the one who was hurt. The narrator may have done something to disappoint them, or go against their values and the teachings. Another interpretation within the song that does not relate to the victim is whether or not the narrator will die. Some evidence that supports this idea is “when my times comes”, and also the countdown that appears with the drum beats. Overall, “Leave Out All the Rest” is a great piece of music that displays the musical qualities of the Grammy Award winning band of Linkin Park.


"Leave Out All The Rest"

I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

[Chorus]
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
[End Chorus]

Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I made

I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
But neither have you

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

[Chorus]
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
[End Chorus]

Forgetting
All the hurt inside
You've learned to hide so well

Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are

[Chorus]
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

Forgetting
All the hurt inside
You've learned to hide so well

Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are
I can't be who you are

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Narrative Song

Nickelback's "Someone that you're with" is a great example of a narrative song for Regret in Rock & Roll

Nickelback's "Someone that you're with" displays regret in the lyrics. The subject of the song has recently been attracted to a woman who has moved in next to him. He is hesitant to ask the girl out, and is ultimately too late because the the neighbor has a boyfriend. The subject shows much regret that he had not talked or asked out the woman. He is so paranoid over the issue that he listens to hear at what time the woman arrives back home in the middle of the night. The subject is very interested in the woman, listening to her music and also thinking about her every move. Regret is a music theme in "Someone that you're with", and the song can relate to many love-struck individuals.

Lyrics:
"Someone That You're With"

I reside in 209, you're in 208
You moved in last Friday night,
and I just couldn't wait
So I tried to call across the hall,
to ask you out someday
But a lineup formed outside your door, and I was way too late

[CHORUS]
Well I'd rather start off slow
This whole thing's like
some sort of race
Instead of winning what I want
I'm sitting here in second place

Because somewhere
the one I wanna be with's
with somebody else
Oh god, I wanna be that
someone that you're with
I wanna be that someone
that you're with
And I can talk about it all day long
'til I run out of breath
But I still wanna be that
someone that you're with
I've got to be that
someone that you're with
And I'm pacing by the phone
'Cause I hate to be alone
And if you're out there with him
somewhere and just about to kiss
God I wanna be that
someone that you're with

Well I hear your favorite songs
you sing along with everyday
And I borrow things that
I don't need for conversation sake
Last night I heard your key,
it hit your lock at 4 AM
Instead of being out with me
you must be out with them

[CHORUS]

Because somewhere the one
I wanna be with's
with somebody else
Oh god, I wanna be that
someone that you're with
I wanna be that
someone that you're with
And I can talk about it all day long
'til I run out of breath
But I still wanna be that
someone that you're with
I've got to be that
someone that you're with
And I'm pacing by the phone
'Cause I hate to be alone
And if you're out there with him
somewhere and just about to kiss
God, I wanna be that
someone that you're with

Well somewhere the one
I wanna be with's
with somebody else
Oh god, I wanna be that
someone that you're with
And I can talk about it all day long
'til I run out of breath
But I still wanna be that
someone that you're with
I've got to be that
someone that you're with
And I'm pacing by the phone
'Cause I hate to be alone
And if you're out there with him
somewhere and just about to kiss
God, I've got to be that
someone that
I wanna be that someone that
I've got to be that
someone that you're with