Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Lyric analysis essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
I chose Cole Porter's 1934 song from Anything Goes, You're The Top. The two lead character's Billy Crocker and Reno Sweeney equally share the lyrics of the song. The lyrics sound flirtatious and fun. It is a light hearted song which sounds as if it is meant to up lift the other person being sung to. It is a wonderful song that captures a lot of history in a short time just to describe how great Billy and Reno think each other are. At the beginning of the song they explain why they are about to sing and then at the end of the first verse say, "At least it'll tell you how great you are."(Porter 8). Right after the last sentence of the first verse the chorus begins with, "You're the top! You're the Coliseum."(Porter 9). From there
the song never repeats any of the examples given for the other person being the "top". The only line repeated is "You're the top!"(Porter 9). Some of the comparisons are the Louvre, Mickey Mouse, Gandhi, Garbo's salary, toy balloon, Bishop Manning, hot tamale, Tower of Babel and my favorite "You're the moon over Mae West's Shoulder"(Porter 64). It is a lovely song I could listen to over and over. Lyrics to “You’re the Top!” (1934) by Cole Porter. NCTE/IRA, 2005. Web. 26 June 2015.
In Verhsawn Ashanti Young’s article titled, “Nah, We Straight: An argument Against Code Switching,” he makes his objectives clear as he argues against people Right to their own language. The author questions the advantage of standard American English as opposed to other types of English. He refers to those aspect as code switching, which he believes can lead to racist thinking. Code switching, according to Young, calls out for one way of speaking to be omitted in favor of others, based on one's rhetorical situations. The author points out that students are required to translate from Afro-American English or Spanglish to standard English and not the other way around, which is concerning. Youngs method to get around this segregation is the usage
There are over thirty genres of books in the world. All of stories are told and written in many different forms from written to spoken, action to romance, or fiction to non-fiction. But, all stories have something in common--a theme that is intended to make a difference to the reader. No matter what the story is about, it is centered around a strong theme. The author of The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien., uses a separate theme in each of his vignettes. But, these themes aren't always depicted through truth. "I'm forty-three years old, true, and I'm a writer now , and a long time ago I walked through Quang Ngai Province as a foot soldier. Almost everything else is invented"(171). O'Brien uses story-truth and happening-truth in The Things They Carried to show a great theme. In certain cases in the book, story-truth shows theme better and happening-truth isn't used and vice versa. In the vignette "The
“Fire away. Take your best shot, show me what you got. Honey I’m not afraid (Chris, Lines 4-5)…” Strength, love, heartache, all words that many people can identify with, but what about mental illness, depression, and suicide. These words are those that humans avoid, pretend they are not there, but in reality those three words effect many more people that was ever thought possible. Over 18.2% of United States citizens suffer from a mental illness (Depression), 6.7% of United States citizens suffer from depression (Depression), and each year in the United States there are on average 42,773 deaths by suicide (American). Now, many people can relate to the words love and heartbreak, but many more can identify with the three words that the world
All of this is brought to the reader by an abundant use of figurative language throughout the song. For Instance, the scaffold the man is standing on symbolizes his position in life (he is scared and wants to escape. In the third stanza, after describing the problems with his world and how he prays, he curses the windstorms. This is actually a metaphor for his mental confusion and despair. In the next stanza, the prestige of the boardroom is made evident by the allusion of it towards a pharoahs tomb. We know in the end that he has pulled it all together when he calls his “crystal clear canvas” (the windows) a “masterpiece” . He has given value to his work and thus, value to his life.
Joseph Porter’s, “A River of Promise” provides a detailed report of the first explorers of the North American West. The piece engages in a well written secondary source to argue that the expedition of Lewis and Clark, the two famously known for exploring the American Western frontier, were credited for significant findings that were not completely their own. Joseph C. Porter utilizes text from diaries and journals to highlight the help and guidance from the natives and prior European explorers which ultimately allowed the Lewis and Clark expedition to occur. The document by Porter also reveals that Lewis and Clark at the time were establishing crucial government documents which were the structure for scientific, technological and social understanding
Writing a song is certainly a difficult task, there are many techniques used in the making of songs. The artist writes a song very carefully in order to properly convey the message to the listeners. Some songs in particular use a lot of techniques to show the listener their reason for creating the song. There are so many different themes a song can portray. “The Hall of Fame” is one of those songs. The point of this song is to inspire people going through a tough time, and show them they can get through it and become something great. The Script’s song “Hall of Fame” uses rhetorical devices in a way that makes the listener understand that in order to overcome every obstacle life has, the listener has to fight for it.
According to West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, a study in Maryland revealed that “70 percent of those stopped and searched on a stretch of I-95 were African American- despite the the fact that they represented only 17 percent of drivers on the road.” In light of this confounding statistic, it can be seen that racism and racial profiling was, and still is, an issue in society. Even so, in his essay “Just Walk on By”, Brent Staples apprises of his story as a young, black man growing up in a large city and him facing racial profiling on the city streets. Furthermore, Staples shows his message that many people are willing to judge a person and assume what that person might have done and will do by their outside appearance by using a strong
In the nonfiction novel, The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown emphasizes the importance of persistent dedication to one’s self and their teammates through the use of recollections from the 1936 University of Washington varsity boat. Pushed to the breaking point, the boys sacrifice their own needs for those of the boat and demand more from one another on their quest for the gold at the 1936 Olympics. As the final medal race approaches, the University of Washington’s stroke, Don Hume, falls ill; however, rather than replace their teammate, Joe Rantz insists Don rows, “‘If you put him in the boat, Coach, we will pull him across the line. Just strap him in. He can just go along for the ride’” (335). Through the countless hours of training and
The song “I Get a Kick Out of You” is written and composed by Cole Porter. Porter was well known as one of the prominent songwriters of the 20th century as he was one of the lyricists who was writing his own music and lyrics of most of his songs. Therefore, he’s mostly known for his “Individual songs than complete shows. Porter’s lyrics contain more intellectual references to poetry, philosophy, history, painting and literature than do the lyrics of any other Broadway songwriter. He is best known for the 1934 classic “Anything Goes” and “I Get a Kick Out of You” and for the 1938 Kiss Me, Kate with “Too Darn Hot” and Wunderbar” (Lesson: The Composers of the Broadway). So, beginning 1930s, he wrote many hit songs and one of those hit songs is known as “I get a Kick Out of You.” Which he originally
save the choirs," (lines 5-6) writes Owen in "Anthem." The tone of "Anthem" is very
These tenors represent the full spectrum of emotions and strength in life. It is as if he is discussing god and the life you have been given. It is gentle enough that you often feel strong and powerful but also strong enough to humble you.
“Reuben, Reuben” was a much happier song and the first of the songs performed in English; however, my favorite pieces were “Water Come-A-Me Eye” and “Great Day!” I especially enjoyed “Water Come-A-Me Eye” because of the percussion instruments that some of the choir members played. Jasmina Begovic kept a steady beat on the maracas and provided a pleasant accompaniment to the melodies of the choir. The other percussion instruments were equally enjoyable and added an element to the song that other songs did not have. “Great Day!” was particularly enjoyable because of the fast-paced rhythm and the energy of the performers. This song had a faster tempo than the other songs and was a great way to conclude the concert. Though it seemed as if the entire concert had picked up speed when the choir sang “Reuben, Reuben,” “Guantanamera,” and “Water Come-A-Me Eye” consecutively, the rhythm eventually slowed down when they performed “Fare You Well,” a traditional American folksong with a rather melancholy sound to it.
The diction and syntax in the lyrics by themselves reflect the style of this era, without even having to hear the music. The rhyming of “State” and “Great” reflect the kinds of diction in songwriting that was popular in this time period.
In all of her poems Grace Nichols explores a variety of themes such as immigration and emigration in her poem “Icons”. However in “Black” she also explores several other themes such as race and perception. In this essay I aim to determine whether or not “Black” is mainly a poem about skin colour or of it can simply be perceived as such.
These songs made their way throughout history. People listened to these songs during protest and rallies when they wanted to feel a sense of prosperity. For example, during 2011, protesters on Occupy Wall St. scattered around the world “challenging social and economic inequality, as well as corporate greed and its influence upon government policy. The uncompromising sentiments expressed on Bob’s “Get Up Stand Up”, lyrics that are repeatedly chanted at these demonstrations, seem to have directly inspired the protesters’ dissenting stance: “Some people think a great God will come down from the sky, take away everything and make everybody feel high/but if you know what life is worth, you will look for yours on earth and now we see the light, we’re gonna stand up for our rights!””