Lyric Essays

  • Medieval Ballads and Lyrics

    1604 Words  | 4 Pages

    Recently, the term ‘ballad’ can be associated with everything from Solomon’s Song to an Aerosmith song. The dictionary defines it as a traditional story in song or a simple song. However, the medieval ballad is something of a different nature than that of the popular musical ballads of today. The definition of ballad in the medieval context is a narrative poem. The authors usually remain anonymous and the ballad is more often than not accompanied by dance (Gummere). This is not surprising considering

  • Eminems Controversial Lyrics

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    began his career as an individual white rapper. Not many white people are able to succeed in the rap industry, but Eminem has proved everyone wrong. He is now one of the most talked about persons on the earth. His lyrics offend some people, this sparks controversy and censorship. His lyrics containing things such as drugs, alcohol, death, homosexuals, sex and suicide. In some of his songs he includes lyrical slander towards bands like NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Brittney Spears and Puff

  • The Negative Effects of Eminem’s Lyrics

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Negative Effects of Eminem’s Lyrics Eminem is a name that most Americans have grown to know about in the last year. Not only for his music, but for the controversy that his music brings. Many people are offended by his lyrics and they believe that he should be regulated in some way. In my paper I will give some background on Eminem, some examples of his lyrics, different points of view, and my personal beliefs on this situation. Eminem is a character whose real name is Marshall Mathers

  • The Lyrics of My Grandmother's Life

    2032 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Lyrics of My Grandmother's Life At age seven she was a star on stage, singing the role of "Becky" in the Tom Sawyer operetta. When she was ten she dunked "Mouse's" head in the teapot as the "Mad Hatter" in Alice and Wonderland. She was hoping to be "Alice", but even back then the eighth graders got all the good parts. But the experience was satisfying anyway because "Mouse" was played by her grade school rival, the same girl who competed with her for the best position on the basketball team

  • Manipulation of Lyrics in Shakespeare's As You Like It

    1693 Words  | 4 Pages

    Manipulation of Lyrics in As You Like It While it is a comedy of the turmoil of love and the experimentation with gender roles and identity, William Shakespeare's As you Like It is a historical preservation of Renaissance music. The play is fraught with spontaneous song and poetry, yet Shakespeare strategically manipulates these musical elements. Specifically, the lyrics and poetry of the play function to establish a soundtrack and a direct appeal to their Elizabethan audience, while providing

  • Structure and Style in the Greater Romantic Lyric

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    Structure and Style in the Greater Romantic Lyric In his article "Structure and Style in the Greater Romantic Lyric," M. H. Abrams works to define what constitutes the greater Romantic lyric by turning to the philosophic undertones pervading the lyrical writings of William Wordsworth and more so of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Abrams's first task is to define what is meant by the term "greater Romantic lyric," a form which the critic states in no unbiased way "includes some of the greatest Romantic

  • Aimee Mann Lyrics and Gendered Language Patterns

    5412 Words  | 11 Pages

    Aimee Mann Lyrics and Gendered Language Patterns Paul Thomas Anderson claims that many of the characters for his film Magnolia[1] were inspired by Aimee Mann lyrics and from knowing Aimee as a personal friend. As the film unfolds, the main theme of connectivity between the characters becomes apparent. If they are not connected in a physical way, they each are in a symbolic way linked as they deal with the necessity of love. Several times it is spoken in the film how someone has love to give

  • changing self, context in song lyrics

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    Text title: “Change You Or Change Me” Source/ Date: Medium: Rap song Composer: Fabolous Purpose: The main purpose of the text is indeed to entertain the listener in any way possible whether it be enjoying fab’s witty punch lines or being able to relate to the issues present. Another purpose suggested is to relate with the composer (Fabolous) and gain knowledge of the occurrences experienced by the composer e/g racism or incidents in the area . Fabolous says “I want to bring you in, and let you

  • It's Time to Stop the Censorship Music with Explicit Lyrics

    1861 Words  | 4 Pages

    It's Time to Stop the Censorship Music with Explicit Lyrics Music with explicit lyrics or content started having black and white parental advisories on them in 1994 (http://www.riaa.org/Parents-Advisory-4.cfm). Are these labels necessary? Is controversial music molding our society and causing teenagers to turn to drugs? Is censorship necessary to protect the youth of our nation. Generally, younger people are against censorship on this issue. Music is an outlet and even an anti-drug for many

  • Artists Should not be Resposible for Explicit Lyrics and their Impact on Kids

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    Artists Should not be Resposible for Explicit Lyrics and their Impact on Kids "Turn that music off! I don't want you listening to that kind of music." Many teens these days are experiencing this kind of thing almost every day. Many parents, in general, have complained and tried to regulate the music that teens are listening to these days. They complain that the music industry shouldn't be able to sell and produce the explicit CD's. The music industry gets a lot of criticism about the music

  • Male homoeroticism in Plato's Symposium and the Greek lyric poets: Complimentary or contradictory?

    1721 Words  | 4 Pages

    Greek lyric poets: Complimentary or contradictory? Works Cited Missing Images of male homosocial and homoerotic relations pervade Athenian culture. From plays to poetry and jugs to the justice system one can find these relations represented pictorially and in words. But do all these images align with each other or are there irreconcilable differences between them? To look at this question we will take two small pieces of culture, a philosophical treatise, Plato's Symposium and the lyric poetry

  • American Pie

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    "American Pie" by Don McLean, is a very interesting song. After listening to the lyrics and the song itself, there is a meaning to this song. Each line of the lyrics has a special meaning to what Don McLean wanted to say, but in his own special way. If one was to look at each lyrics one by one, they will be able to find out the big picture of the whole song. It tells a story of Mclean's favorite performers, Buddy HOlly. American Pie was rumoured to be the name of the plane that BUddy Holly died in

  • The Wisdom of Frost Exposed in The Oven Bird

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Wisdom of Frost Exposed in The Oven Bird These seemingly negligible birds, symbols of the lyric voice, have intuited the Oven Bird's lesson and are the signs by which one is meant to divine Frost's acceptance of the linguistic implications of the fall from innocence. The Oven Bird, who watching "That other fall we name the fall" come to cover the world with dust, "Knows in singing not to sing." Instead, "The question that he frames in all but words / Is what to make of a diminished thing

  • Does Musical Content Influence a Society?

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s pliable, fad-driven societies, music holds a key role in influencing modern culture. Through music, lyrics, and music videos, specific lifestyles and activities can be suggested and advertised. These activities can range from becoming a follower of Christ to earning respect to being promiscuous. This alone proves that music plays an influential part in the daily lives of modern societies. This also shows that music’s effect can be positive or negative. With this evidence comes a question:

  • Eddie Vedder Is A Vampire

    1819 Words  | 4 Pages

    everything points to his being an immortal. An in depth analysis of his lyrics shows that Pearl Jam's second album, “Versus”, has been used by Vedder as sounding boards for the complex emotions and change of perspective that come with one's transition to vampirism. Other lyricists have used vampiric images before - for instance Sting, in Moon Over Bourbon Street, which was written in first person - but Vedder is unique in that his lyrics evolve over time as being indicative of his vampiric state. Either

  • EMINEM: How Much Damage Can You Do With a Pen

    3780 Words  | 8 Pages

    controversial album, The Marshall Mathers LP. If it possible for one single quote to sum up my research paper, then this quote does it. There exists an intense and extremely controversial set of circumstances surrounding Eminem and his music. Eminem’s lyrics have been intensely criticized lately and have been categorized as hate-filled and inappropriate by many gay organizations. The leading organization in this controversy is the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, more commonly referred to

  • You Should Be Here Poem Analysis

    1306 Words  | 3 Pages

    “They say God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” This, lyrics from the Intro of her album, justifies how Kehlani, an artist from Oakland, the third largest city in the Bay Area, have put in so much effort and hard work to be able to set herself apart and stand out from all the other aspiring singers. In this album, entitled You Should Be Here, is not just any typical album that talks about drugs, having a sexual intercourse

  • A Study of Hello, All About Eve; Scarlet and Joy Division; and The Eternal

    2342 Words  | 5 Pages

    provoke people into believing that they lie more comfortably into a sub-genre, for example; gothic rock, gothic folk etc. The main features of gothic music are hard to pinpoint because of this diversity however they regularly include melancholy lyrics, unusual vocals created by singers who are not accepted into the “charts”, often with drawn out notes and, more recently, female fronted. This is certainly true of Evanescence and All About Eve however, Joy Division were the most ground breaking

  • Bakkhai

    1286 Words  | 3 Pages

    remains are taken inside at the end - Bacchic dancing is the ‘imitation’ of nymphs, Pans, sileni and satyrs; a form of mimesis - Dance as an aid to the spectators and pictorial clarification; complex metres of danced choral lyric vs. simple rhythms of sung lyrics, suggesting this complexity with its ‘resolutions, contractions and shifting rhythms, was first made possible by the interpretative power of dance - After Pentheus has departed for the mountains, the mood of the persecuted Lydian

  • Positive Influence: Hip-Hop Music

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    such as helping to understand what people in the world are going through, gets teens to understand that they are not alone, and writing lyrics along with composing music giving people a voice when they are scared to speak. All humans live different lives; some grow up without a mother or father, so they turn to music or other activities. Hip-hop music lyrics help individuals understand their situation. "It is though improvisation that music grows naturally from its roots in the young child …" (Pond