Euphemisn and puns

Skinny Dippin' by Whitney Duncan


In this song "Skinny Dippin" by Whitney Duncan there are a couple Euphemisms present. A euphemism are a set of words with a harmonious sound to them when said or sang. "Sly southern grin" has that harmonious sound to it and is a euphemism. Other example of euphemisms in this song are; "old beach bend", "hope you know how to swim", "Mud between our toes" and "Chills from the Mississippi, chills from the way he kissed me". These are all wonderful examples of euphemisms.

Red High Heels by Kellie Pickler

Kellie Picklers song "Red high heels" contains many literary devices. There are some euphemisms in this song. "You say that you’ll call and you don’t" is an example of one. Another is
"I’m spinning my wheels". Others are; "red high heels", "you can watch me walk if you want to", "I'll bet you want me back now don't you" and "baby get real". These lyrics all have a harmonious sound to them when sang.

Give it to me Straight by Tim Mcgraw

There is a pun in the song "Give it to me straight" by Tim McGraw. The song title is a pun in it's self. This is because there are two meanings to this lyric. You can take this situation as Tim McGraw at a bar asking the bartender to give him a shot straight or as Tim asking George Straight to sing him a song. Some people may not pick up on both of these scenarios because they might not know who George Straight is.

American Ride by Toby Keith

The song "American Ride" by Toby Keith has a pun in it. "Daddy works his ass off payin' for the good life" is a pun because if he is working so hard all the time, it isn't really considered the "good life". This is an example of a pun in modern day music.

Narrative

John Mayor- No such thing


There was once a boy who was a nerd in High School. He kind of blended in and did what ever he thought would keep him under the radar like; wearing very dull colors, never talking in class, getting average grades, and never asking questions. He never had a girlfriend either or even kissed a girl. There was one girl he had his eye one for years but he did not know what to say to her. It was finally Graduation Day, which was a day of celebration for all kids involved, especially this boy. He walked quickly to get his deploma and at that moment he looked into the crowd and realized that he could be himself for the first time in his life. He began to break out of his shell that day and many days to come that week. He got enough courage to call the girl he had been crazy about for a long time. She answered and they talked for hours. He knew he would never be the same. College quickly came for him and he was one of the most popular boys in his grade. He always dreamed about going back to High School and walking in with the confidence he has now and how different it would have been if he realized he was a great person during his four years at school. He would dream of kicking open the doors and running down the hallways he got bullied and made fun of in. He dreams of how incidents would have been like if he had the confidence to stand up to kids who were bullying him and others. He went through life with this attitude and is now touring the world speaking about self-help books to make kids more confident about themselves.

6 Song Types and Analysis and formal

Love, Religion, Friendship, Joy, and Comfort.







Friendship- Find out who your friends are by Tracy Lawrence



Love-Love story by Taylow Sweft



Religion- O little town of bethlehem byKenny Chesney



Joy- Smile by Uncle Kracker



Comfort- Alright by Darious Rutger







Religion- Silent Night by Taylor Swift. Baby Jesus is born- Garth Brooks



Friendship- Wrapped up in you by Garth Brooks. Wind beneath my wings by Bette Midler



Joy- Change by Taylor Swift. Up by Shania Twain







Within the song "Silent Night" by the Temptations there are many examples of literary devices. An example of symbolism would be "Holy infant". This is a symbol for baby Jesus. "Round yon Virgin Mother and Child" is an example of an allusion because it is a reference to the Virgin Mother Mary and Baby Jesus. Another literary devise I have come across in this song is personification. The line "sleep in heavenly peace" is an example of this because it is gives human qualities to peace. Peace cannot actually be heavenly. Also within the song is an example of a hyperbole. "The light of this world is shinnin' inside of you" is an exaggeration because the llight of the world does not shine inside of you. there is local color throughout this song. The examples of this are when religion is mentioned. They talk about "Wise men following a holy light", "Tell the children of Abraham there's a star over Bethlehem and "Baby Jesus is born". This song is full of literary devices and scores a 124 on my song rating sheet.



The song "Wrapped up in you" scored an 81 on my song rating sheet. This is because of the plethora of literary devices within the lyrics. "I love you like a lyric loves a melody" is an example of a metaphor. This is comparingmy love for someone to the connection of a lyric and it's melody. The melody needs the lyric as much as the two need each other. The point of view in this song is first person because it uses "I" and "Me". There is a hyperbole in this song as well. "There ain't no number high enough to end this phrase" which is an exaggeration. "To never have the sunlight on your face" gives you the mental picture of someone's face in the shade.This is an example of imagery.




"Wind Beneath my Wings" by Bette Midler is a classic song. The title is a perfect example of the imagery used in the song. A beautiful smile to hide the pain", is another image portrayed by this m classic song,you can just picture a smile on someone that you know must be in pain. A cliche within this song would have to be "You're my hero". People say this a lot and it is a very over-used expression.


In the song "Up" by Shania Twain there are multiple literary devices used. The first literary device that jumped out to me was imagery. "Even my skin is acting weird" gives me the image of someone having a lot of acne and wrinkles on their face. "I wish that I could grow beard" is an example of satire. This is Shania joking and being sarcastic, she does not really want to grow a beard. There are a couple examples of hyperbole's in this song. One is "I just wanna disappear", because it is an exaggeration. She does not really want to disappear.





FORMAL SONG ANALYSIS



This is because of the plethora of literary devices within the lyrics. "I love you like a lyric loves a melody" is an example of a metaphor. This is comparing my love for someone to the connection of a lyric and it's melody. The melody needs the lyric as much as the two need each other. The point of view in this song is first person because it uses "I" and "Me". There is a hyperbole in this song as well. "There ain't no number high enough to end this phrase" which is an exaggeration. "To never have the sunlight on your face" gives you the mental picture of someone's face in the shade.This is an example of imagery.

Garth Brook was born on February 7, 1962 as Troyal Garth Brooks. He is one of the greatest American country music singers of the 90's. His first album was released in 1989 and was number two in the United States country album. He crossed over to pop music, but still had his country roots shine throughout his many hits. Garth Brooks had six albums, one containing the song "Wrapped up in you". There are many aspects about this song that makes it's a hit.

I filled out a song rating sheet for this song and it scored an 81. This is because he uses a plethora of literary devices throughout the songs. His song "wrapped up in you" is full of metaphors. "I love you like a lyric loves a melody" is an example of just one of them. This is comparing my love for someone to the connection of a lyric and it's melody. Another metaphors is "I need you like a penny needs a wishing well". Garth's album sales grew up to 68,363,000 by the end of 2009. It was said that one of his rivals as a musician were the Beatles.

Since 1989, Brooks has released 19 records in all, which include; 9 studio albums, 1 live album, 4 compilation albums, 3 Christmas albums and 2 box sets, along with 77 singles. Many of his songs are emotionally evocative and stir up emotions when people listen to them. The mood in this song is very happy. There is a plethora of alliteration throughout the song. Some examples of this is are; "let me see", "Baby, Completely", "ways, phrase" and "know, grow". While there is some poor annunciation and predictable rhyme, it is a very good and easy listening song. Garth Brooks is a fabulous singer and is easily one of the greatest musicians of the 90's.

My song- music: home- michael buble

Today I woke up
Began to smudge on my make up
The though of you
Ran through my head
As soon as I jumped out of bed
I get in my car
And our song is on
It seems everything I do
Reminds me of you
Your face, your eyes
Those blue Levis
That smile, that smell
Of your favorite shirt
I wish I knew
What you were up to
These days we're so out of touch
Boy I miss you so much
Outside it rains and
Reminds me of that time
Caught in it for hours
Dancing, laughing
With no cares at all
And now you're gone
Seems wrong to me
We had a strong connection
And now the spark is gone
The places we used to go
Seem off limits now
A visit,
Out of the question
My friends want me to come out
But all i do now is scream and shout

Worst Song Ever

The song "Take it off" by Ke$ha is one of the worst songs ever according to my song rating sheet. First of all the entire song is auto-tuned and incoherent. This makes the song seem whiney and a lot of the words are not enunciated properly. Along with this, there is a lot of predictable rhyme. Some examples of this rhyme are; "There's a place I know if you're looking for a show. Where they go hardcore and there's glitter on the floor" and "There's a place downtown, where the freaks all come around. It's a hole in the wall. It's a dirty free for all". Another reason why this song is very bad is the poor word choice. "Where the freaks all come around" is an example of this. She could have said something else besides freaks. Althought I enjoy this song, the song rating sheet shows that this song is not a very good one, actually it is very bad.

Social Relevance

Jimmy Buffet writes a lot of songs that contain Social Relevance. "Hey Good Lookin" is a great example of a hit song with Social Relevance. When Buffet sings, "I got a hot-rod Ford and a two-dollar bill". This has to do with society. The "Ford" he is talking about is a brand of cars, and it makes you think of a Ford Truck. The "two-dollar bill" is American money. This is all socially relevant.

There are a few examples of Social Relevance in the song "Something Like That" by Tim McGraw. When he says "It was Labor Day weekend", it is relevant to our calendar today. It is a weekend most people know of. Another line he says "I was headed down to New Orleans to meet some friends of mine for Mardi Gras". This is an event that goes on in New Orleans every year. This is socially relevant.

"Mayberry" by Rascal Flatts contains many examples of social relevance. The line "Sunday was the day of rest" is socially relevant because it is said to be the sabath day which is the day you go to church. "Well I miss Mayberry" is relevant because Mayberry is a place. Also "Sitting on the porch drinking ice cold Cherry coke" is socially relevant because this is a drink you could purchase back in the day and still to this day. "Where everything is black & white", is socially relevant because televisions used to be black and white and that is what they are trying to get at. Another socially relevant line in this song is "To look through God's window". This is relevant because it mentions God, which is part of religion.

War Songs

(“Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue”- Toby Keith & "Traveling soldier"- Dixie Chicks)


Toby Keith was asked to sing a patriotic song on ABC. This was for a patriotic special and ABC though Toby would be great for the spot. His plan was to sing “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue”. Because of the rough lyrics in the song, they made a request he sing another song or at least soften up the lyrics. He refused and did not appear on the special. This incident gave the song a lot of publicity and people formed their own opinions of it. Keith was interviewed on 60 Minutes to discuss the song and people comments. He thought people would have this reaction to his song. He knew people would have a problem with some of his lyrics and other would love it. Toby Keith feels very close to soldiers in the war and sings about them in a lot of his songs. He even plays live shows for them whenever he can. He has said he is 100% behind the troops fighting to day.

The Dixie Chicks are very patriotic, and this shows through a couple of songs they have written about their country and the war. The lead vocalist said "we don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas". This shows they are not a fan of war, but they support the troops and their efforts. The statement offended people who thought it rude and unpatriotic.This statement caused a controversy. The Dixie Chicks feel strongly about this was as does everyone else, and they showed they do not support the cause or the president. Although the song has nothing to do with the controversy, the group was faced with an incident with it.
War is a very power genre. It raises emotions in every person who hears it. When i heard the song “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue” it made me happy and proud to be an American. It made me feel that we, as a nation, were powerful and confident and would never let anyone take that away from us ever again after 9/11. If a person were to say they felt no emotion when hearing songs about war, they would be lying.

Paradox

Toby Keith- American Ride

"Got herself a record deal, can't even sing a not" is a paradox. You can not get a record deal if you can not sing. Although some people today can not sign and their producers use auto tune to make them sound good. So this is true i guess in some ways.

Jason Aldean- Big Green Tractor

"When the fireflies are dancing and the moon comes out" is an example of a paradox. Fireflies can not actaully dance like it says in thsi lyric. Although they fly in paths that seem like dancing, so this is a paradox because it can be true and false at the same time!

Simile

Wild at Heart- Gloriana

"Those stars burn like diamonds" is a lyric from the hit song Wild at Heart. This is a simile. It is comparing comparing stars to diamonds. Another lyric in that song is "Light me up like a bottle rocket". It is comparing the singer to a bottle rocket.

Smile- Uncle Kracker

The line, "You make me smile like the sun" is a simile. He is comparing a smile to the sun. He is trying to say it is bright and happy. "sing like bird" is also a simile. He is comparing a person singing to a bird chirping. This lyric "spin like a record" is also a simile because it compares a person spinning to a record spinning. "dance like a fool" is one comparing someone dancing to a fool. "Shine like gold" is comparing a shine to gold. "buzz like a bee" is comparing a buzzing to a bees buzzing.

Metaphor

Somebody Like You- Keith Urban

The lyric "I'd take one step forward and look two steps back" metaphor. What Keith means is he id not getting anywhere. By taking a step forward and two steps back, he can not get anywhere. "lonely yesterdays" is also a metaphor. He is saying he was lonely in the past.

How Do You Like Me Now- Toby Keith

In the song how do you like me now the line "Now that I'm on my way?" is a metaphor. He is saying he is on his way to being famous. He is not really saying that though, he is beating around the bush which makes it a metaphor.

Simile

I Need You- Tim McGraw & Faith Hill


Similes compare two things. Like in this lyric "I need you like a needle needs a vein". This is a couple saying they need each other like other things need things. A needle needs a vein to work. Another simile is "I need you like Like my uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs a rain". He is explaining his uncle needs the rain because he is probably a farmer. Another one is "I need you Like a lighthouse on a coast". These are all examples of similes.

Personification

Taylor Swift- Forever & Always

There is one example of personification in this song. Personification is when you assign human characteristics to an inanimate object. Taylor does this when she sings, "smile that could light up this whole town". This gives a smile human characteristics. A smile can not really light up a whole town, that's silly.

Taylor Swift- Fearless

There is also only one example of personification in this particular song. This gives pavement human qualities. "There’s a glow off the pavement". The pavement does not actually glow.


Sarah Buxton- Outside my window

In this song there are some examples of personification. "The world's flying by our window outside" is an example because a world can not fly by a window. "we'll just disappear" you can not actually disappear so this is personification.

Point of View

Trisha Yearwood- Shes in love with the boy---- 3rd person


This song is in the third person. Some lyrics that prove this are; "Katie's sittin' on her old front porch". She is singing about Katie. "Her daddy says, He ain't worth a lick" and "She's in love with the boy". This shows this song is in the third person because she keeps saying; he, she, and Katie. Also she says "She's gonna marry that boy someday" and "He says, young lady, get on up to your room". What can I say... it's 3rd person!


Deana Carter- Strawberry Wine---- 1st person

This song is in the third person. "I was thirsting for knowledge" and "I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child" are both in the first person. Her point of view does not change throughout the song. "My first taste of love oh bittersweet" and "I still remember when thirty was old" are still in the first person. "But year after year I come back to this place". This entire song is in the first person.

Sarah Buxton- Outside My Window---- 1st person

In this song there are examples of point of view. It is the first person and "I see a red bird". Also another "I see a couple kissin huggin". She is talking about herself. "Wish I knew what hes thinkin" and "I know Im dreamin like a child" are both evidence of point of view in this song.

Kenny Chesney- I remember---- 1st person

In this song there is evidence that shows this songs point of view is 1st person. "I'm sittin here alone" is one because he used I'm. Also "I'm longin for your touch" is an example. "I remember tears in your eyes", "I can't find a way" and "I wanna wake up to the day" are all what shows point of view in my eyes.

Narrative

Keith Urban- Stupid Boy

This song is a narrative. It is because it tells a story. It tells the story about a boy that took advantage of a girls love. "she laid her heart and soul right in your hands and you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans. She never even knew she had a choice and that's what happens. When the only voice she hears is telling her she can't". This lyric from the song shows that a girl loved this boy and he took everything for granted.

Taylor Swift- Fifteen

This song is a narrative. "You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors it's the morning of your very first day and you say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody's way". This tells the story about a girl that is beginning her high school career. She is starting her day off. Also Taylor sings "You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail and soon enough you're best friends. Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool, we'll be outta here as soon as we can". This tells the story about this girls high school times.

Hyperbole

Alabama- Feels so right


There are a couple examples of hyperbole's in this song. One is "breathe words upon my skin". This is an exaggeration. You can not actually breathe words on someones skin. "Lying here beside you I hear the echoes of your sighs" this also is a hyperbole. Your sighs probably can not echo. Another example of a hyperbole in this is "give my heart a smile". Your heart can not actually smile.



Kenny Chesney- How Forever Feels

There are a couple hyperbole's in this wonderful song. "Carries my car away" is another one. A car can't really be carried away. This is an exaggeration which makes it a hyperbole. This is a hyperbole also, "I could feel the speed from my head to my toes". This man did not actually feel the speed in his body. "Man I'm gonna die if she really says yes" . He was not going to die is she did not say yes. He was going to feel bad and sad but not die. This was another hyperbole.

Aliteration

Dixie Chicks- Cowboy Take Me Away---- Consonance

There are many examples of Alliteration in this song, but I am going to focus on Assonance. "I wanna walk" is one. Also the "miles and miles" line is one. "Simple smile" is another example of alliteration. They say "sounds so", "touch the", and "as high as". One other example was "i wanna break it in my hands".



Tim McGraw- Don't Take The Girl---- Consonance

When Tim says "Take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson" these are both examples of alliteration. Also he sings "Same sweet girl". "He held her tight and kissed her lips" was another example. Also there is "Take my money, take my credit cards". And also" grandpa gave me",
"momma's fading fast", and "hit his knees". These are all really good examples of Consonance Alliteration.


Sarah Buxton- Outside My Window---- both

One example of alliteration is " singin sittin". It is consonance alteration. " kissin huggin" this is assonance. "a good laugh, a warm bath" this is also alteration. This is also alliteration, "hymn theyre singin". Another example of alliteration is "good laugh, a warm bath".

Allusion Ambiguity Allegory

Taylor Swift- Love Story ---- Allusion!

Taylor refrences to Romeo and Juliet in her song. This is a reference to a piece of literary work. She is refrencing this because she wants to explain how they feel together. They feel like Romeo and Juliet; like they can never be together but they want to be as much as they did.

Blake Shelton- Hillbilly Bone---- Ambiguity!

When Blake and Trace Atkins sing about everyone having a Hillbilly bone, the actual meaning of the bone is open to interpretation. Some think they are saying that everyone likes country things no matter what, even if they do not like the music. You can like; trucks, hay, horses, jean shorts, cowboys, and more!

Colin Raye- That's my story and I'm stickin' to it---- Allegory!

When he stays out too late one night, he lies about where he has been. He says he was out in the hammock. Then his wife explains she put that away. Then he srealizes he should just tell the truth and tells her he was playing cards with the boys. This tells the lesson that honesty is the best policy and lying is messy work.

Imagery within Songs

Amaze by Lonestar



This song, "Amaze" by Lonestar, exemplifies the proper use of imagery. There are many lines that use imagery to get the point across. When he sings "I can hear your thoughts, I can see your dreams" he is displaying imagery. Saying this helps the listener actually picture this in their mind. The listener makes the picture and understands the song better. You can see what he means when you hear the lyrics. Also when he sings "The smell of your skin, the taste of your kiss" he is using imagery. The way the song is written shows how the lyrics are supposed to be displayed as. You are supposed to feel the lyrics more and you do.



Today was a Fairytale by Taylor Swift


The imagery in this song shows how big of a crush the singer has on some boy. It says "you took me by the hand" and you can just picture some boy taking Taylor Swift by the hand. Another example is "you told me i was pretty when i looked like a mess". This makes one picture a girl with her hair a mess, sweatpants on, and smudged make-up on. "You've got a smile that takes me to another planet". This makes you think of a beautiful boy with the whitest teeth and big lips. This lyric "I can feel my heart its beating in my chest" makes you think of a heart actually beating in a girls chest and you can also picture the sound that goes along with it.

Theme and genre

The theme i am focusing on for this class is love and then genre is Country. I chose this because i have a song in mind that is perfect for the theme. The song is Why don't we just dance. It is new and is my favorite song.