Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President, come take a walk with me.

Let's pretend we're just two people, and you're not better than me.

I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?

Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?

What do you feel when you look in the mirror?

Are you proud?



How do sleep while the rest of us cry?

How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?

How do you walk with your head held high?

Can you even look me in the eye and tell me why?



Dear Mr. President, were you a lonely boy?

How can you say "No child is left behind"?

We're not dumb and we're not blind

They're all sitting in your cells

While you pave the road to hell.

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?

And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?

I can only imagine what the first lady has to say.

You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.



[Chorus]



Let me tell you about hard work

Minimum wage with a baby on the way

Let me tell you about hard work

Rebuilding your house after the bombs took it away

Let me tell you about hard work

Building your bed out of a cardboard box

Let me tell you about hard work

You don't know anything about hard work.



How do you sleep at night?

How do you walk with your head held high?

Dear Mr. President, you'd never take a walk with me, would you?





Pink is not often considered an artist with extreme intellectual lyrics. Her songs are often simply written and catchy. She takes on a new leaf with her moving song "Dear Mr. President". Although the words are hard-hitting, the song is a quiet acoustic one with vivid imagery, directing its questions to George Bush. The song is more than a catchy pop rock hit; it is a powerful piece of work.



The song's controversial imagery comes with its questions directed to President Bush. Pink asks in the chorus, "How do you sleep while the rest of us cry? How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?". The questions are obviously unanswerable but depict sorrow and pain, while the President is calm and at peace. Not only by placing these two images together create a juxtaposition, but it also effectively creates emotions through its words. Listeners quickly learn the song is directed toward Bush with the line "How can you say "No child is left behind"/We're not dumb and we're not blind", referring to Bush's No Child Left Behind Act.

With an excellent example of a protest song, Pink has definitely established herself as a more talented artist. She has taken her music higher and more controversial with "Dear Mr. President". With her imagery and juxtaposition, the song is emotionally powerful and a relate able image for Americans who suffer from this war.

"It's A Hit" Analysis

Any chimp can play human for a day
Use his opposable thumbs to iron his uniform
And run for office on election day
Fancy himself a real decision make
And deploying more troops than a salt shaker

But it's a jungle when war is made
And you'll panic and throw your own crap at the enemy
The camera pulls back to reveal your true identity
Look, it's a sheep in wolf's clothing
A smoking gun holding ape.

Any a**hole can open up a museum
Put all of the things he loves on display
So everyone could see them.
The house, a car, a thoughtful wife:
Ordinary moments in his ordinary life.

But if she breaks a smile
She'll give you away
Cause no one wants to pay to see your happiness.
No one wants to pay to see your day to day
And I'm not buying it either
But I'll try selling it anyway.

Any idiot can play Greek for a day
And join a sorority or write a tragedy
And articulating all that pain
And maybe you'll get paid.

But it's a sin when success complains
And your writers block-it don't mean s***.
Just throw it against the wall and see what sticks.
Gotta write a hit
I think this is it.
It's a hit.

And if it's not
Then it's a holiday for a hanging

Any fool can play executioner for a day
And say with fingers pointed in both directions
"He went thataway"
It's only a switch or syringe
Exempt from eternal sins.
But you still wear a cross
And you think you're gonna get in

But the pardons never come from up-stairs.
They're always a moment too late
But it's entertainment
Keep the crowd on their toes
It's justice, we're safe.
It's not a hit, it's a holiday

It's a holiday for a hanging


Rilo Kiley, a modern indie rock band, took a new step with their album properly titled More Adventurous. The CD opens up with the song "It's A Hit". It allows listeners to come to the realization that Rilo Kiley has advanced in their music. Immediately, the critical song hits at the current war the United States is in. The main target of the song appears to be political system, depicting their thought process when declaring war. By using imagery, allusions, and symbolism, the band's message becomes apparent and effectively depicted.

In the first verse, she says "Any chimp can play human for a day/Use his opposable thumbs to iron his uniform/And run for office on election day/ Fancy himself a real decision maker". Immediately, the song criticizes the decision making of the government, saying that even a "chimp" can "run for office". The word choice for the lines are also interesting. By saying "fancy himself" it shows the self-absorbment of the government's view of itself. "Fancy" is an elegant word, but because the song uses it in sarcasm, it makes the point of criticizing more effective. Following this, the song criticizes the war, calling it a "jungle" and its soldiers "smoking gun holding apes", another use of word choice and imagery.

The song is full of harsh and barbaric diction. To describe the government, she uses nouns like "idiot", "chimp", "ape", "a**hole", and "executioner". These words all allude to the government, making it appear primitive. The song also suggests the government is all about appearances, hence the "wolf in sheep's clothing" line: a vicious animal in an innocent disguise. Once again, this is an example of imagery and metaphor.

Although a harsh song, the instruments of "It's A Hit" blend well with intelligent and thought-provoking metaphors, critical imagery and allusions. The song ends with the words "It's a holiday for hanging", possibly another attack on the government for its policy for killing. The song is creative and well-thought out, and clearly, it's a hit.

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Lennon's Peaceful Diction

"Give Peace A Chance" & "Imagine"

Musician and icon, John Lennon started his career as a member of the prolific and popular band, the Beatles. After countless years and some artistical disagreements, Lennon took his own path and began a solo career that attracted new and old fans alike. His music took on a universal word: Peace. He promoted the ideas of anti-violence. If all his songs were surrounded with this central theme, then how was it possible for listeners not to become bored with the repeated message? Lennon explored unique and different styles of expressing his dreams. He took on a piano, soft rock ballad, "Imagine", and protesting rock chant with his song "Give Peace A Chance". With these differing styles, Lennon reinvented his message, explored new paths, and attracted a large audience of listners.

When listeners hear "Give Peace A Chance", they are reminded of the up-beat Beatles' songs that topped countless charts. With a blend of multiple voices and instruments, the song creates an image of peaceful protesters. The rhythm makes it a fun, enjoyable, lighter song. Throughout the song, Lennon makes continuous allusions; everything from himself to "ministers" to "revolution" to "Bobby Dylan" is mentioned throughout the song. "Give Peace A Chance" is addressed to war-supportive groups, and most likely government officials. With the line "All we are saying is give peace a chance", the song is directing its message to these officials, and the speaker is not only John Lennon, but the citizens who are being negatively affected by the violence. The song is a simple set of verses, each ending with the line "give peace a chance", which gives it the sound of a chant.

"Imagine" is an incredibly different approach to peace. In contrast to "Give Peace A Chance", "Imagine" has only a piano and precussion and Lennon sings the song by himself. Although Lennon does not have a big belting voice, the song can be considered more of a ballad, and similar to the Beatles's "Let It Be". His voice is noticeably calmer and addresses a general auidence. The song contains no illusions but asks listeners to "imagine" a world without violence. He says, "you may say I'm a dreamer", which shows that he is the speaker of the lyrics, rather than a whole group of people. He is also not addressing a single person or group, but a general auidence. With the lyrics, the auidence are allowed to view Lennon's hopes for the world, in comparison to the first song, which does not really ellaborate on this.

The messgae John Lennon wants to send is present in both songs but his approach is different. Where "Imagine" sounds more serious, "Give Peace A Chance" comes off as more protesting and light-hearted. "Imagine" tries to create an image to relate to listeners and "Give Peace A Chance" tries to relate with allusions. Both approaches are effective and do not shove Lennon's dream of peace into listeners. The two songs demonstrate that John Lennon is not a one-sided artist and can successfully experiment with two contrasting sounds and diction.