In “Like Rock &Roll and Radio”, Ray LaMontagne utilizes  perspective allusion,  vivid imagery, and comparative similes in order to explain how some things can change over time and have different outcomes, such as rock and roll and the radio. Ray explains things with few words but plenty of details in order to make a more general touch to the song.

Ray LaMontagne uses perspective allusion to help relate how things can change over time just like they do in history. One of the many allusions that he uses in his song is the Vaudeville show. This was a theatrical genre of a variety of entertainment in the US and in Canada from the 1880’s to the 1930’s. Each show was created by a series of separate, unrelated acts put together on a common thing.  He uses the line, “Are we strangers now? Like the Ziegfeld Gal and the Vaudeville show?”.  Ray uses the Vaudeville show as an allusion in order to show that things over time because the show was popular at one point but is now not in existence anymore. People can be so close at some point and then the next second they could be total strangers and that’s basically what LaMontagne is trying to explain through the use of allusion.

Another tool that Ray LaMontagne uses is vivid imagery to relate to help elucidate that some things can change over time. The use of this imagery may be small but you can see the meaning behind it.  He writes, “Does it deepen over time, like the river that is winding through the Canyon?”. This helps the people listening to visualize water going through a canyon and trying to figure out if it deepens the canyon over time by the weathering away of the canyon itself.  Also it refers back to love and if love can deepen over time. A person can visual compare that and realize it is possible because people end up in marriage and in most cases it’s because people have fallen in love over time, they weren’t born that way. Many things can be changed over time and vivid imagery is an excellent way to have a person visualize this.

Lastly, LaMontagne uses similes in order to compare things to things that can relate but not in the way that would be make sense in the big picture. He writes, “Are we strangers now? Like rock and roll and the radio?”. This is the biggest simile with the most meaning in the entire song because of the meaning behind it. Ray uses this simile to compare rock and roll with the radio, and how rock and roll really doesn’t show up on the radio much anymore. He is also comparing it to strangers because of how rock and roll is becoming a stranger to the radio.  The genre of music played on the radio varies depending upon the station being played. Over time radio stations have changed very much and play a variety of different music. Just like people change over time so do other things, this can be depicted by the similes used through this song.

Throughout the song “Like Rock & Roll and Radio”,  Ray LaMontagne uses perspective allusion, vivid imagery, and comparative similes in order to show the progression or change of things over time. The allusions used help to relate to things from the past and show people how they have become strangers now instead of closely relatable. The imagery in the song helps to show the reader how things change over time and give them a visual aid. The last but not least thing used throughout the song is the similes which help the most to compare things and show how change has occurred over time. All these different tools and devices work together in the song to help piece together the puzzle and for a picture of how things can change over time.

Its My Year

Im the chillest girl your ever gunna meet

Wanna talk mad crap then you'll be a dead beat

My homies are the sickest and we always be chillin

You ask us to hang and i'm sure we'll be willin.

My life is a puzzle still bein put together

It will never be finished, it'll go on forever

Senior year be approachin

And i'll need a lil coachin to get into college

Cuz i aint got all the knowledge

From being a little home town girl

Im gunna take this world for a whirl

You might think I'm weak

But wait till you hear me speak

Im sorry for this but this rap is over

Hope your lucky as me and find a  four leaf clover

Word.

Story

The car crashed into mine sending it into the air, doing three flips and then landing back on the ground about 100 feet away. I had my seat belt on which probably saved my life. Although I did have my seat belt on, I ended up hitting my head off the steering wheel which resulted in me being unconscious. That was the last thing I could remember about anything. A few days after arriving at the hospital, I woke up in a dazed and confused state. I knew I was in a hospital because I had gotten into a car accident so I wasn’t totally freaked out. After I finally opened my eyes fully I saw a bunch of IV’s and wires attached to me and an oxygen tube going in through my nose. I looked around the room to see if there was anyone else in there with me that I could ask about how injured I was but no one was there. I slowly started to close my eyes and fall back into a deep sleep. A few days passed and I woke up again and this time there was a nurse in the room with me who was checking my vitals. After a few minutes of checking my vitals she finally realized I had woken up and rushed to go get the doctor. The next thing I knew there was the doctor rushing into the room along with the nurse who had been there moments before. The doctor performed some tests on me and then began to ask me some questions about my life. I answered the questions as well as I could but some of them I just didn’t know the answer to. After looking over the results of the tests, the doctor then began to explain to me what exactly happened and how severely I had been injured. He told me that I have broken right leg, two broken ribs, a gash across my forehead from hitting the steering wheel, a major concussion, a sprained left wrist and some memory loss. The memory loss was from hitting my head so hard off of the steering wheel, is what the doctor said. By the time the doctor finished explaining everything I laid my head back done to process all of this and then fell asleep. Over the next few weeks I went to therapy and had my doctor checking in on me every day. When the day finally arrived that I could go home, I called my friend Brittany and asked her to come pick me up at the hospital since I still couldn’t drive because of my sprained wrist and crutches.  When she got to the hospital the nurses had already wheeled me down to the lobby and I had already signed the discharge papers. Brittany then wheeled me to the car and helped me in. After we were all set to go and were pulling out of the parking lot, I turned on the radio. The song that just started to play was “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson. This song reminded me of just how lucky I had been when I didn’t die in that car crash. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, is the motto which I now live by because the car crash didn’t kill me but after I recover it will make me stronger.

April 10th

The first song that I chose out of the top 100 that was placed at number  5, Stronger by Kelly Clarkson.  This song tells you that no matter what bad things happen in life a person can still stand up and be strong. Just because bad things do happen does not mean your world comes to an end, it just means you have hit a rough patch. As Kelly Clarkson would say, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. The placing of this song on this list shows that many people are beginning to learn that even if something bad happens they can still live and grow from the experience.  The way gender plays a role in this song is the woman is telling how she can be strong without the man after he did her wrong.  The success of this song is measured on vocal skill and how popular the song is among Americans.

The second song I chose out of the top 100 was placed at number  9, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. This song is about a young teen girl wanting a boy to call her and be all hers. Carly states, “Here’s my number, so call me maybe”. He decided not to call but she still has feelings for him no matter what. This song shows how taking a risk sometimes can have a good or bad outcome. The placing on this list shows how sometimes a song may have a good meaning but doesn’t have enough information to it to be placed on the top. The way gender plays a role in this song is the girl is waiting for the boy to call her, maybe. Then in the end she finds out that the boy of her dreams is not into girls, he’s in boys because he gives his number to the boy guitarist. The success of this song is based on how much it is listened to and the popularity of it among young American teens.

The last song I chose out of the top 100 was placed at number 17, The Motto by Drake Featuring Lil Wayne. This song is about the way of life and how life has a certain motto “Yolo”. What Yolo means is that You Only Live Once. Drake states, “You only live once: that’s the motto YOLO”.This is true because you have one life to live. What the lyrics truly mean is to live life to its fullest because you’re only going to have one chance to do it. Gender in this song does not play a role it is equally set apart in this song. The success of this song is based on how a person views life and the way they want to enjoy it.

Comparative Essay

Though both ”Have a Cigar” and “Rock ‘n Roll Band” depicts a rock bands rise to the top, “Have a Cigar” incorporates a cynical tone in order to show the mocking of one of their former members to prove that they can still grow strong while “Rock ‘n Roll Band” utilizes a more upbeat and pessimistic tone in order to show that the rise to fame can be an enthusiastic and exciting time.

    In the song “Have a Cigar” by Pink Floyd, the

Song Analysis One, Amen by Edens Edge

         In the song Amen by Edens Edge, they use visual imagery, creative hyperbole, and frequent contrast, in order to show the many different points of views that are used to so the story of a woman hiding her feelings and in the end just wants it to be "the preachers son and the farmers daughter".
         Edens Edge uses second person point of view in order to produce the story that they want to get across. To help this to happen they use visual imagery to show you what the words mean and bring them to life. Edens Edge writes, "I heard Mary Jane at the powder puff beauty shop" (4). In that line a person can visualize a woman named Mary Jane either getting her hair done or she is the hair dresser talking about something. The main character hears what she is talking about and is really happy to hear it to. Also they write, "Saying that blonde in her tube top, She left our Jimmy for a boy in Illinois Someone give me an amen, Someone give me an amen"(5-7). This line helps you to depict that the boy that the main character is after just had his heart broken by the woman  he was with because he left her. All of these lines are easy to visualize in a persons head because of the way they are being portrayed. 
        Another thing that helps to tell the story of a woman who's love has been a secret until now is creative hyperbole's. The band writes, "You finally came out of that love coma, boy"(3).  They are saying that he finally realized that she was not the right one for him after she had left him. The "preachers son" is the apple of the main characters eye and is happy to see that he is not in love with the other girl anymore. Another creative line they use is, "You had your head so high in the clouds" (18). No one can really have their head high in the clouds because it is quite impossible. What they mean by that when they say that is he finally realized what was going on and now has cleared his head to understand whats going on. Each one of these lines helps to create an idea of how this young man comes to realize that the main character loves him.
       Lastly the band uses frequent contrast to show how sometimes things are not always easy. Such as the line, "you finally got rid of that girlfriend" (2) compared to "She left our Jimmy for a boy in Illinois"(6). In the first line they  say that he finally got ride of his girlfriend. Although they say that in the first line, when a person compares it to the second line where it says she left him then a person can not be quite sure. If someone does continue to listen to the song or read the lyrics. Another set of lines in which contrast is used are lines that are placed further down in the song. The band writes, "Yeah right, like I really could've said something" (16) in comparison to "For hiding my feelings, now I can finally spit it out". These lines have to different views on them in which they go against each other. First off in the line that comes first it is saying how she could not tell the young man about her feelings. Then in the second line it says how she can now finally tell him that she likes him. In the end of the song you do realize how she was unable to tell him because of the girlfriend but now can because she is out of the picture.
      In order to show the story that they wanted to portray Edens Edge used visual imagery, creative hyperbole, and frequent contrast. The visual imagery helps the person listening to the song to imagine what is going on. The listener can put the lyrics together and visualize in their head the woman talking about the man she is in love with. Then using creative imagery you can see how much she has fallen for the man and wants to show it in a bigger way then it is. She just wants it to be known how much she loves him and wants to be with him. The last poetic device to helps to ensure the reader will understand the song is frequent contrast. Contradiction may confuse the listener a little bit but it helps to show them that there are two sides to every story. Some rumors do tend to go around and if you do not go to the main source you may never find out which is true. Overall this song has so much meaning to it and understanding and the way its written makes it so much better and easier to relate to.
      

Amen by Edens Edge

I heard from a friend of a friend of a friend that

you finally got rid of that girlfriend

You finally came out of that love coma, boy

I heard Mary Jane at the powder puff beauty shop

Saying that blonde in her tube top

She left our Jimmy for a boy in Illinois

Someone give me an amen, Someone give me an amen

Chorus:

Can I get a thank god, hallelujah?

You finally saw what she was doing to you

Your mama called that she was right

Glad to see you saw the light

Whole town, Yeah we hooped and hollered

She drove away, nobody stopped her

Na na na na na na,I'll say it again

Someone give me an amen.

Yeah right, like I really could've said something

You wouldn't heard it if the train was coming

You had your head so high in the clouds

Oh I,I had a really good reason

For hiding my feelings, now I can finally spit it out

Someone give me an amen, someone give me an amen!

Chorus:

Can I get a thank god, hallelujah?

You finally saw what she was doing to you

Your mama called that she was right

Glad to see you saw the light

Whole town, Yeah we hooped and hollered

She drove away, nobody stopped her

Na na na na na na,I'll say it again

Someone give me an amen.

I'm standing right here in front of you

I think I love you too.

Can I get a thank god, hallelujah?

Baby, Do you believe it, do you?

Your mama called it she was right

Glad to see you saw the light

Whole town, Yeah we hooped and hollered

The preachers son and the farmers daughter

Na na na na na, I'll say it again

Someone give me an amen

Someone give me an amen

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

Little Green Song Analysis

 

In “Little Green”, Joni Mitchell uses despairing characterization, hopeful imagery, and selfish characterization in order to show that sometimes people have to make tough decisions even if they don’t want to. In life there are trials that people must go through that are not always the easiest thing to do. Mitchell does this in a very well written manner through out this song.

The first example that shows that people make hard decisions because it’s just a part of life is despairing characterization. Mitchell writes, “There’ll be icicles and birthday clothes/ And sometimes there’ll be sorrow”.  Sometimes people will be upset about things and that’s just part of life. Just like Joni is upset because of having to give up her child which is what the song is about. That line from the song is characterizing Joni being sad because of making the tough decision to give up her child. She writes, “You’re sad and you’re sorry, but you’re not ashamed”. This line is talking about Joni being upset about giving up her child because she does not have the money to be able to take care of her. Joni is sad that she has had to give her child up and is sorry, but she is not ashamed because she knows she is making the right choice.

Another example is hopeful imagery that helps give someone who listens a hopeful insight on “Little Green’s” future. “Little Green”, have a happy ending”, this helps to imagine “Little Green”, Joni’s daughter having a good future. Although her mother may have given her up it doesn't mean she can’t have a good life. Also Joni writes, “Call her green and the winters cannot fade her”. This is showing that if you call the daughter by her name she will smile and be ok. The little girl is a strong girl who maybe may not understand the situation yet but is doing well enough to try and make it through. Sometimes making tough decisions is not always the easiest things to do but her daughter’s future will hopefully be better by the decision she made.

Lastly, the final example is selfish characterization which helps to describe “Little Green’s” father. Mitchell writes, “He went to California/Hearing that everything’s warmer there”.  He left to go to California just because he liked it there better. He did not really care all that much about his daughter. Joni also writes, “So you write him a letter and say ”her eyes are blue”/ He sends you a poem and she’s lost to you”. This line is telling how Joni writes a letter to the father of “Little Green” about how her eyes are blue. The father then replies back with a poem about how he does not really care about his daughter. Also he writes about how his life is better off with the decision he has made to leave his daughter behind.

Sometimes making tough decisions can be stressful on a person. Joni Mitchell makes one of the toughest decisions of her life when she has chosen to give up her child. She writes the song “Little Green” to describe the situation of what happens. She uses despairing characterization to describe how upset she is about this. Also she uses hopeful imagery to show that there may be a light in this situation and that hopefully her daughter will be alright and understand. Lastly Joni uses selfish characterization to show that the father of “Little Green” was not the best man in the world and how it made it hard for her to deal with the situation because of it. All of these devices help to describe or show how hard and tough a situation or decision can really be.