Ambiguious songwriting is not normally connected with the topic of war. In the song "Hands in the Sky (Big Shot)" by Straylight Run, the lyrics are surrounded with ambiguity. Despite this, it can be assumed the song is concerned with the country's current war. The song was released on their EP, which contained cover songs by Bob Dylan and personally written lyrics concerning the war.
Immediately in the first verse, the band establishes an eerie form of imagery: "Millions of men with blank faces/Italicized lies, headlines bold type". The "millions of men" represent the people of Iraq and the "italicized lies" are the news stories. The imagery continues, in a quiet, ominious sound as John Nolan sings "living lives just like deer in headlights/terrified, blind, and wait to die": a representation of how the country we are invading simply accepts and "wait[s]" for the war to turn catostrophic.
Suddenly the song becomes a heavy and loud, like the sound of violence. Nolan begins yelling the lines "Big shot screaming: put your hands in the sky/He says 'give it up boy, give it up or you're gunna die/ you'll get a bullet in the back of the neck/right between the eyes". The use of the word "boy" is to show how us as a country treat the nation we're invading. Our hostile and condescending we are to their people who don't accept our invasion of their country.
The song is surrounded by the hypocrasy of America. The army is never at fault and they are simply trying to help Iraq, or so they claim. What if the country doesn't want help, the band is asking. Through the song, the band personifies the United States, its army, and the "War on Terror" in a negative, satirical perspective.
"Sleep Through the Static" - Jack Johnson
Similar to the satirical perspective of Big Shot, Jack Johnson takes on the US citizens and their oximoronic beliefs in "Sleep Through the Static". Surrounded by sarcasm all throughout the chorus, Johnson criticizes the war in Iraq saying, "who needs 'please' when we've got guns?" Continuing after and before the line are other paradoxes that make for a satirical aim at the United States. Johnson concludes with "We went beyond where we should have gone", possibly targeting the Iraq war.
Throughout the song, Johnson uses personification, making "war", "the sun", and "thoughts" human-like. His biggest target becomes apparent in the lines "You're too good looking and mistooken/ You could watch it instead from the comfort of your burning beds". Here, Johnson is addressing the American people, who sit back and watch the war from their beds and voice their opinions but are "too good looking" to do anything.
He then continues to characterize the US government and their war policies: "We say anytime, anywhere, ju
st show your teeth and strike a fear/ God wears camouflage, cries at night, and drives a Dodge". Here Johnson first talks about how the US "strikes" a fear just because they can by abusing their power. He then personifies God as a typical American soldier, wearing camouflage and driving a dodge. These lyrics provide for the satirical aspect to Johnson's writing, saying that a majority of Americans believe that if you aren't patriotic, you aren't a good person.Throughout the song, Jack Johnson seems to want us to take a step back realize that we either have to "push for peace" or "support the troops".
"Back to Black" - Amy Winehouse (not in theme genre)
The Grammy award winning artist Amy Winehouse has more poetic lyrics than most of her generation of artists. In the song "Back to Black", possibly the most melancholic song on her album, her use of imagery is prominent throughout the song. She creates a funeral-esque mood with a saddened narrative that provides for a beautiful soul song.
The song is a mirror image; as Amy's boyfriend returns to his ex-girlfriend (or possibly a drug he's becoming readdicted to) she goes "back to black". With the metaphor "I tread a troubled track/my odds are stacked/I go back to black", Winehouse creates a vivid picture of her troubled path now that she is alone.
The song proceeds to her chorus, where she uses the hyperbole "I died a hundred times" to express her emotions exaggeratedly everytime her signifcant other left her. The ch
orus ends with a "I go back to.../I go back to..." as if its too hard for Winehouse to say "black" and imagine it.
She then continues with the imagery in the following verses. She alludes to an abusive drug usage in their relationship by saying "you love blow and i love puff/and life is like a pipe/and i'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside". Which also may infer that her lover is not going to a woman but returning to his habit of cocaine ("blow"), which is commonly referred to as a "she" or "her" ("You go back to her and I go back to...")
The song in all is a soulful ballad of struggle. With its imagery and evocative emotion, Amy Winehouse is successful in writing one of the better poetically written songs of her generation. Her voice is incredibly distinct and her CD and music should be remembered for generations to come.
The Grammy award winning artist Amy Winehouse has more poetic lyrics than most of her generation of artists. In the song "Back to Black", possibly the most melancholic song on her album, her use of imagery is prominent throughout the song. She creates a funeral-esque mood with a saddened narrative that provides for a beautiful soul song.
The song is a mirror image; as Amy's boyfriend returns to his ex-girlfriend (or possibly a drug he's becoming readdicted to) she goes "back to black". With the metaphor "I tread a troubled track/my odds are stacked/I go back to black", Winehouse creates a vivid picture of her troubled path now that she is alone.
The song proceeds to her chorus, where she uses the hyperbole "I died a hundred times" to express her emotions exaggeratedly everytime her signifcant other left her. The ch
orus ends with a "I go back to.../I go back to..." as if its too hard for Winehouse to say "black" and imagine it.She then continues with the imagery in the following verses. She alludes to an abusive drug usage in their relationship by saying "you love blow and i love puff/and life is like a pipe/and i'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside". Which also may infer that her lover is not going to a woman but returning to his habit of cocaine ("blow"), which is commonly referred to as a "she" or "her" ("You go back to her and I go back to...")
The song in all is a soulful ballad of struggle. With its imagery and evocative emotion, Amy Winehouse is successful in writing one of the better poetically written songs of her generation. Her voice is incredibly distinct and her CD and music should be remembered for generations to come.
"Hands in the Sky (Big Shot)" - Straylight Run : 110
"Sleep Through The Static" - Jack Johnson : 145
"Back to Black" - Amy Winehouse : 86
2 comments:
Oh why thank you sir. You're not so bad yourself.
I forget if I told you this before, but you should listen to "Sunshine" by Jonathan Edwards. It's a war song and it's amazing.
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