Most all songs written today have a deeper hidden meaning behind them that you probably won’t hear if you only listen to them once. In Sam Smith’s Lay Me Down, I believe he is trying to convey a much deeper meaning than what the average listener would hear right away. Sam Smith is openly gay, and I believe this song is about marriage equality and the changes he wants to see/is seeing in society.
At the very beginning of the song Smith sings, “Yes, I do, I believe that I will be, where I was right there, right next to you.” Implying that one day he hopes to be with the person he loves. In the past few years there have been major changes in society and in the government. Through this, I think many people have changed their views on marriage equality to become more accepting. Recently, it has become legal in all states for homosexual couples to get married. A report on CNN.com stated, “In a landmark opinion, a divided Supreme Court on Friday ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide, establishing a new civil right and handing gay rights advocates a historic victory.”
Marriage
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equality has recently become a widely popular subject/argument throughout the world. There are distinct differences between older generations and generations of today, in the acceptance of homosexuality. In older generations, homosexuality and other “non-orthodox” marriage/relationships were not accepted at all, and even considered evil by some people. I believe that a more people from ‘my generation’, believe that anyone should be able to do what they want with their life if it makes them happy. Smith is a firm believer in marriage equality, and many of his songs have this message in them. Although my thesis for this song is marriage equality, I believe there is a deeper meaning. When someone first listens to this song they may think that it is about the death of someone who you are close to, but the more I listened to this song I realized that it is more about just losing someone in general. “Told me not to cry when you were gone/ But the feeling's overwhelming, it's much too strong.” I consider these lyrics some of the most important and most emotional, in the song. “Told me not to cry when you were gone,” Right after the music video for Lay Me Down was released, Smith posted on Facebook explaining the video, “This video shows my dreams that one day gay men and women and transgendered men and women all over the world, like all our straight families and friends, will be able to get married under any roof, in any city, in any town, in any village, in any country.” In the video Smith seems to be singing the song in front of a sorrowful crowd at a funeral, but by the end of the song it has turned into a happy gay marriage.
Smith spoke with RollingStone saying, “Obviously gay marriage isn't legal in churches, and we're doing a gay marriage today, in the church. We're the first ever to do it. It's obviously not a real marriage, but still.” To some this may just be an arrogant gesture towards the church, but many see it as a courageous act to prove his point about
equality. Through some research I found that Smith uses gender neutral pronouns as not to offend anyone, this allows his songs to apply to everyone, gay, straight, white, black, male or female. And for those that do not know what gender neutral pronouns are, a blog on Wordpress that lists gender neutral pronouns stated, that they, “are pronouns to use when someone’s gender is unknown or when the individual is neither male or female.” The use of these terms has created an uproar at colleges and universities across the country. These Universities now have to decide whether or not they are going to make their professors use these pronouns. Many have decided to and have even created a system for professors and students so the professor will know how to address their students.
If the line is clearly drawn in the sand between church and state it will ultimately be for the betterment of many. Members of the clergy will no longer fear the repercussions of performing marriages for the select homosexual couples who wish to be joined in their church of their choosing. Moody states one catholic priest said: “We can bless a dog, we can bless a boat, but we can’t say a prayer over two people who love each other.” (355) The sacrament of marriage will forever be a topic not everyone can agree upon but as history proves change is inevitability a spoke on a wheel that will constantly be moving forward.
“Hurt” a song originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails which portrays self-harm and heroin addiction has been covered by many great artists including Johnny cash. When Johnny cash covered this song I got a deferent message from the lyrics while he sings it, maybe it is because of his voice or how he lived his life, but when he is singing this song I get a sense that he is singing about a loved one that has passed on, growing older, and his legacy.
The analysis of this song lead me to actually dislike the song because I found that my first impression of the song was much different than after analyzing it for weeks. I love the bands music but I just don't like this one particular song. I guess there are many ways to interpret this song but I feel as if the song is way to deep in thought for a singer such as Dave Matthews. As Dave stated at one of his concerts, "Some people drink, and some don't; some people like to smoke a bowl, and some don't. Some people do and some people don't but its ok `cause it was ment to be that way." Dave Matthews is no Wordsworth, but its ok because it was meant to be that way!
This evokes a direct connection with their emotions causing them to be more susceptible to let the meaning of the song resonate through their bodies. The image that the artists convey is easily understandable by the audience mainly because of the lyrics ease of interpretation. The song starts off by describing the scene as a “picture with a broken frame” letting the listener to imagine their life currently being shattered into many pieces. Then, the song describes life as “The edge of a canyon with only one way down”, which allows the audience to imagine that they have only one outcome, which is to fail. After being placed in this unescapable place, the song starts to describe another setting as a safe haven that anyone can reach. This place is found while looking up to the “sky on your knees” giving this place the significance of “heaven”. Once the person has found this place, the song says, “One more small piece of you/Starts to fall into place” reminding them of the picture frame that was broken being put back together. In order for the lyrics to be effective, the audience needed to feel comfortable when listening to the
In the beginning, before any lyrics are sung, the music starts off slow and very inviting. The purpose of this to relieve yourself and just be able to sit back and take in everything he is about to say, and take something away from this song to help the listener for the days to come.The first message the speaker tries to convey comes from the first two lines, “You know there’s a light
"..it wasn't until God literally reached down into the pits of hell that my life had become, in my apartment that night and He pulled me out of it. And He showed me, 'You know what, I love you. It doesn't matter what you do, who you are, I love you,'" Smith continued. "It was like an immediate freedom. ... God was asking me to trust Him. He was asking me if I wanted a new life, or if I didn't want a new life. And I wanted a new life. Thankfully He gave me
Her song expressed how relieved and blessed se felt after the moment of crying out to Jesus in her bedroom. Through her hard times in life, Britt Nicole accepted Jesus in her heart and from that point, it changed her life. She feels relief about the acceptance of Jesus. The song “All This Time” is her salvation story and how Jesus rescued her in the moment. She learned that she didn’t have to face life alone. He would be with her every single moment and would not leave her side. In her blog Britt Nicole states,” He saved me from a broken life and gave me something to sing about. He restored my darkest moments and I know what the enemy meant for bad, Jesus will turn for
Smith would start his song as instrumentals and was more interested in the shapes of chords, the movements and sequences they made between each other and the implied melody that a chord sequence would have. Smith would play versions of chords where the bass note is a 5th like a C with a G in the bass, nothing terribly exciting but there was something he liked about it. Smith would like to sing late at night, he felt like being relaxed made his songwriting flow. He would gradually build up lyrics that were not tied melodically to the song. In my opinion smiths lyrics are very poetic but he never thought his lyrics as stand alone poetry. Smith never worried himself with mixing up...
"In The Air Tonight" is a strophic composition produced by Phil Collins. The aria consists of an electronic drum set an electric guitar and a prophet to add an additional fullness to the song. The exposition of the monody is at an adagio tempo. The electronic drum kit repeats a drum pattern with 12 drum hits in each loop, while accenting on every third beat {eg.1-2-1-2-1-2-1-22-1-2 | 11-2-1-2-1-2-1-22-1-2}. In the middle of the first loop the electric guitar roars a triple stopping that drags on for fifteen seconds, and is quickly followed by the sound of a nymph sounding guitar riff in the background accompanied by the prophet. The prophet presents the main melody of the song. A series of warm instruments accompany the drum pattern followed by the sound of Phil Collins's tenor voice reverbed a tad to add an eerieness to the song. He first announces in a slightly whispered, muffled voice:
He goes on to claim that as a man that is happily married he is the perfect person to degrade women in jest of popular culture. He believes that his song is a “feminist movement within itself” because it urges women to free themselves from their square, monogamous sex lives and have some fun (read: having wild sex).... ... middle of paper ... ...
In the video produced on TED “Embrace the Remix” by Kirby Ferguson, he discusses the importance of understanding that “creativity comes from without not from within and that we are not self made but dependent on each other” (Ferguson, 2012). Ferguson discusses how everything is a remix and defines remixing as copying, transforming, and combining. He makes a logical sound argument through the use of logical fallacies to convince his viewers. Ferguson argues how remixing helps creativity through the use of logos by providing cases of Steve Jobs building off ideas, appealing to ethos with poisioning the wall fallacy, and emotionally appeal to the viewers through pathos with appeal to tradition.
Waldrep, C. The Use and Abuse of the Law: Public Opinion and United Methodist Church Trials of Ministers Performing Same-Sex Union Ceremonies. Law and History Review, 30, 953-1005.
In an article titled, “I've Been Divorced Four Times, But Homosexuals Are the Ones Destroying Marriage,” published in February of 2014, blogger Matt Walsh intends to move anyone who advocates for “traditional marriage” to focus their attention on preventing divorce instead of opposing gay marriage. The title is mocking the hypocrisy of some “traditional marriage” advocates who are serial divorcee supposedly doing everything they can to preserve the sanctity of marriage. The author believes in what is commonly called “traditional marriage,” though the term is considered a historically misleading term by some. Steve Chapman declares in the Chicago Tribune,“What conservatives regard as traditional marriage is not very traditional at all. It's radically different from what prevailed a century or two centuries ago.” Opponents of “traditional marriage” are not concerned with threats to the institution like Walsh is. In the Huffington Post, Carina Kolodny says that equality for gay marriage will, “fundamentally destroy 'traditional marriage,' and I, for one, will dance on its grave.” Other advocates for “traditional marriage” might also argue that the greatest threat to marriage is no-fault divorce laws or pre-marital cohabitation, and yes, gay marriage. Walsh's target audience is limited to conservative Christians; his appeals to God, the holiness of marriage, and church practices are only effective supporting material for this intended audience.
...re central to the agenda. The conference underlined the fact that the rights of gays had become one of the most vexed and challenging issues facing contemporary Christianity” (Hunt, 2009). Traditionalists alongside the world’s more prominent religions generally disapprove of homosexuality and often cite religious arguments to support their views. Since 2003, the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church have opened their doors to gay bishops and clergy, even as most other denominations keep their teaching against homosexual behavior intact. In relation, overall support for same-sex marriage has jumped to 53 percent in 2013. During this time, same-sex marriage became legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, that restricted federal recognition of legally wed gay couples.
CSNY is profoundly successful in conveying their message in the song by using the right lyrics and vocals accompanied by the tune of the guitars. “Helplessly Hoping” can be interpreted in so many ways that in either way it, nonetheless, will insinuate on the same thing, which is love. As they put it love is not lying, and it will always be around. Listening to the song can put one in an emotional roller-coaster that its theme can be known beforehand. This perplexed relationship describes the essence of love, and its implications. It reflects on how love can be capricious, which gives a sense of mystery. The harmony of the group in the song makes it one of my favorites, and puts it in my top list of love songs in all times.