Social Relevance Songs

American Soldier: Toby Keith



This song has social relevance to war. Toby Keith wrote this song about a man who goes off to war and the struggles he goes through being an " American Soldier". This song expains how hard it is to try to be a father, husband, and son and also fight for your country. But these soldiers dont do it for the money, because they still struggle to make ends meet. This man doesnt do it for himself he does it for his country and he knows that he is real good under pressure and can be as good as he can be. He says " I'm out here on the front lines, so sleep in peace tonight" this is showing how they sacrifice there lives so we all can sleep at peace. They know what they are getting into when they sign on that dotted line and they know the sacrifice! All in all this song shows how much these men and woman do for our country and also shows what there familys go through.







Courtesy of the red, white, and blue--Toby Keith



This song is one of the many songs that came out right after 9/11. This song makes you proud to be an american and of our flag. Its a great song for our military memebers that are serving our country right now here and far away. This song makes them feel like they are making a difference and they are protecting their country, The United States and our flag. It shows the cause the military is fighting for. This song is for those days the military men are feeling down and depressed, it lifts there heads to what they are fighting for and how much they are defending their country. They give up so much for us to be free and sleep at nights knowing we are safe. We all should be very greatful for these men and woman out there fighting for us!





Where were you (when the world stopped turning) Alan Jackson

Where were you by Alan Jackson is a song that asks us what we were doing when the world trade centers were crashed into by terrorists. It tells us how we are so vulnerable to terrorists and how we need to be more prepared for something like this to happen again. This song portrays the feeling of fear and horror we will felt watching our tv's watching over and over again the planes hitting the trade centers and wondering if we knew anyone on those planes or on those streets. Also goes into detail about the how much american pride we saw, all the red, white, and blue people wore and the respect we showed for the men, woman, and children who died that day. All in all this is a great example of social relevance to 9/11.

Irony

Dont think I Dont Think about it- Darius Rucker

Don't think i don't wonder 'bout
Could've been should've been all worked out
I know what i felt and i know what i said
But don't think i don't think about it

This song is a good example of the usage of the literary device, Irony. This song has irony because this guy is trying to change how the girl thinks and irony is the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. The literal meaning being that the girl in his life thinks he doesnt care and never thinks about what they could have been but he wants her too know that he does think about it. For example, "I know what i felt and i know what i said, but dont think i dont think about it", he must have told her how he felt and he must have cheated or something and told her he loved her but she just cuts him off.


Who says you cant go home- Sugerland

Ive spent 20 years tryin to get out of this place
I was lookin for somethin i couldn't replace
I was runin away from the only thing I've ever known
who says you cant go home


Who says you cant go home is a great example of a song with irony in it. This song is about someone who has longed to move far away from home but then goes away and misses home alot. For example, " Ive spent 20 years trying to get out of this place", they couldnt wait to move away but in reality they needed to move far away just to see how much they love home. This is irony because the orginial focus of this person was to move far away but then changes and says, "Who says you cant go home?".

Paradox

Winner at a Losing Game- Rascal Flatts


Have you ever had to love someone
That just don't feel the same
Tryin' to make somebody care for you
The way I doIs like tryin' to catch the rain
And if love is really forever
I'm a winner at a losin' game

A paradox is an opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion. This song is a great example of one because the line, "Winner at a losing game" contradicts itself by saying he won a game that cant be won. You cant win a game that is unwinable. But the lyrics are trying to explain that this man loves a girl who just doesnt feel the same and he cant do anything about it.

Hyperbole

Take Me There- Rascal Flatts

I wanna know, everything about you.
And I wanna go, down every road you've been.
Where your hopes and dreams and wishes live, where you keep the rest of your life hid.
I wanna know the girl behind that pretty stare.Take me there.

Take me there is a song about a guy who is truely in love with this girl and wants to know everything about her. I used this song as an example for an hyperbole because it exaggerates the point that he wants to know alot about her. For example, "I wanna go down every road you've been", he legitimately doesnt want to go down ever single road shes ever been on he just wants to know alittle about where she used to live.



Yeah She Does- Rodney Atkins

I love every thing about her,
Specially when she wants my love
She's got a jealous bone
She likes me under her thumb

And if she ever said goodbye
I know that I would surely die

Yeah she does by Rodney A. is about how much he knows his wife loves him. This song is a good example of usage of the literary device, hyperbole. There are several examples of hyperboles in this songs. For example, "She likes me under her thumb", this line is exaggerating the fact that shes jealous it is stating she is so jealous that she keeps him under her thumb. Another example is "And if she ever said goodbye, I know that i would surely die", this is trying to show that if she ever left him he would be extremely crushed but he wouldnt legitimately die.

Alliteration

This Kiss- Faith Hill
Baby, hello, oh, no, goodbye
But you got me like a rocket
Shooting straight across the sky

This kiss, this kiss
This kiss, this kiss

You can kiss me with the windows open
While the rain comes pouring inside
Kiss me in sweet slow motion

This song has several example of Alliteration. Alliteration is the commencement of two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group. "Shooting straight", "This kiss", and "Sweet slow" are the examples from the song above.


How Forever Feels- Kenny Chesney

oh now i know how jimmy buffet feels
hands on the wheel, cruisin' down the interstate
gas pedal sticks, carries my car away

I wanna know how forever feels
hey i wanna know how forever feels girl
i wanna know how forever feels

This song has some examples of Alliteration in it. The title itself is an example of alliteration. Also, "Carries my car" is an example because carry and car have the same sllyables. This song is about a boy wondering how forever would feel with her and how he knows he want to be with her forever.

Imagery- Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts

Bless The Broken Road by: Rascal Flatts

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

[Chorus:]
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

“Bless The Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts is a song about finding someone you love and thanking god for bringing you to him or her. This song has several examples of imagery in it. One example of imager is, “Hoping I would find true love along the broken road”, this simply means finding love when you’ve had several breakups and heartbreaks along the way. Another example is, “Wiped my brow and kept pushing through”. This is explaining the hard journey this person is going through to find their true love but they just brush off the hard stuff and keep going. This song uses good and strong lyrics that paint good pictures in your head about what the lyrics mean.

Imagery- Breathe by: Faith Hill

Breathe by: Faith Hill

I can feel the magic floating in the air

Beign with you gets me that way

I watch the sunlight dance across your face

And i've never been this swept away

All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze

When i'm lying wrapped up in your arms

The whole world just fades away

The only thing I hear Is the beating of your heart

CHORUS:

Cause I can feel you breathe

It's washing over me

And suddenly i'm melting into you

There's nothing left to prove

Baby, all we need is just to be

Caught up in the touch

Slow and steady rush

Baby, isn't that the way that love's suppose to be

I can feel you breathe

In a way I know my heart is waking up

As all the walls come tumbling down

Closer than i've ever felt before

And I know, and you know

There's no need for words right now

I chose Breathe by Faith Hill to portray a song with lots of imagery. This song is about how you feel when you meet the right person and are in love. This song has several examples of imagery. For example, “I watch the sunlight dance across your face, And I’ve never been this swept away”. This is imagery because you can just feel the love between these two people and picture it clearly in your head. Another example of imagery is, “I can feel the magic floating in the air, Being with you gets me that way”. These lines get the imagine of someone completely head over heels for this special someone, almost like they are floating in the air because they are so much in love.

Possible Theme and Genre

I think my theme might be love. My genre is going to be country. I chose country because country music if my favorite type of music. I am not completly sure on my theme yet.