Click here for literary devices. Click here for yet another list.
“The Wind Cries Mary” ~ Jimi Hendrix -- YouTube Video, Live 1967 performance
And after all the Jacks are in their boxes,
And the clowns have all gone to bed.
You can hear the happiness staggering on downstream,
Footprints dressed in red.
And the wind whispers Mary.
A broom is drearily sweeping,
Up the broken pieces of yesterday's life.
Somewhere a Queen is weepin’,
Somewhere a King has no wife.
And the wind cries Mary.
Mary.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The traffic lights they turn blue tomorrow,
And shine their emptiness down on my bed,
Their tiny island sags on downstream,
'Cause the life that lived is dead.
And the wind screams Mary.
Now will that wind ever remember,
All those names it has blown in the past.
Now with its crutch, its old age and its wisdom,
It whispers “No, this will be the last.”
And the wind screams Mary.
Mary.
Mary.
"Anna Begins" ~ Counting Crows -- YouTube Video, Live MTV Performance
My friend assures me, "It's all or nothing."
I am not worried
I am not overly concerned
My friend implores me, "For one time only, Make an exception."
I am not worried
Wrap her up in a package of lies
Send her off to a coconut island
I am not worried
I am not overly concerned
with the status of my emotions
"Oh," she says, "you're changing."
But we're always changing
It does not bother me to say this isn't love
Because if you don't want to talk about it then it isn't love
And I guess I'm going to have to live with that
But I'm sure there's something in a shade of grey
Or something in between
And I can always change my name
If that's what you mean
My friend assures me, "It's all or nothing."
But I am not really worried
I am not overly concerned
You try to tell yourself the things you try to tell yourself
To make yourself forget
I am not worried
"If it's love," she said, "then we're going to have to think about the consequences."
She can't stop shaking
I can't stop touching her and...
This time when kindness falls like rain
It washes her away and Anna begins to change her mind
"These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days," she says
And I'm not ready for this sort of thing
But I'm not going to break
And I'm not going to worry about it anymore
I'm not going to bend and I'm not going to break
And I'm not going to worry about it anymore
No no no no no,
It seems like I should say, "As long as this is love..."
But it's not all that easy so maybe I should
Snap her up in a butterfly net
Pin her down on a photograph album
I am not worried
I've done this sort of thing before
But then I start to think about the consequences
Because I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and...
The time when kindness falls like rain
It washes me away and Anna begins to change my mind
And everytime she sneezes I believe it's love and
Oh Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
She's talking in her sleep
It's keeping me awake and Anna begins to toss and turn
And every word is nonsense but I understand and
Oh Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
Her kindness bangs a gong
It's moving me along and Anna begins to fade away
It's chasing me away
She disappears and
Oh Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
"Ironic" ~ Alanis Morissette -- YouTube Video, Maverick/Warner Productions
An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic... don't you think
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures
Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole * life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought"Well isn't this nice..."
And isn't it ironic... don't you think
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures
Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face
A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic...don't you think
A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think...
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures
Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out
ir a principal |
Ir a lateral
I believe in the power of the individual. My purpose is to facilitate learning, to empower my students, and to teach them how to teach themselves. I also believe it's very important to have a sense of humor; people need to know how to laugh at themselves.
the high school
the tech tools
the word of the day
the units of study
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
- Night by Elie Wiesel
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
- The Research Paper
- Homer's Odyssey
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
my "to-read" list
braeden updates
mrs. feller's novel
counter
the teacher
the philosophy
I believe in the power of the individual. My purpose is to facilitate learning, to empower my students, and to teach them how to teach themselves. I also believe it's very important to have a sense of humor; people need to know how to laugh at themselves.
wordle
important links
academic standards
the epic poet
the bard
the abolitionist
the outsider
the survivor
the pulitzer prize winner
Using Songs to Learn Literary Devices
Posted by
M. Feller
at
9:39 PM
Labels:
literary devices,
poetry,
songs
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
27 comments:
In "Anna Begins," the song writer uses repetition to emphasize his concern for the fictional character "Anna." He frequently repeats the line "I am not worried" or "I am not overly concerned" or variations of these lines at least 7 times in his song. By repeating these lines so many times, it may suggest that the narrator, does, in fact, worry about the situation and/or his relationship with Anna.
In the song Dreamer by Ozzy Osbourne, he uses an oxymoron. 'I watch the sun go down like everyone of us' is a line from that song that does give a serious effect on the reader. The sun is the object that goes down, not us, which is exactly why it is an oxymoron.
reptition
"Liar, Liar" by Alexz Johnson displays repitition with "liar liar, oh, liar, liar" throughout the song. She also repeats "Tell me you love me/need me/want me". The song displays personification with saying "Pour my pain into words."
Lastly, she uses a the metaphor "You played me, like a radio"
I'm sinking like a stone in the sea.
I'm burning like a bridge for your body
Brand New Lyrics
Jones,metaphor
In the song "Back in Black" ACDC repeats over and over the chorus line. "Cause I'm back. Yes I'm back! Well, I'm back. Yes, I'm back! Well I'm baaaack, baaack...Well I'm back. Well I'm back in black, Yes I'm back in black!" This chorus repeats over and over again with the same lyrics. It is an example of repeaditive lyrics.
Zachary
The song Sunday Drive by the Early November uses repitition bye saying " I will never be the same", three times. It also has many other repititions throughout the song.
The song "Time to Dance" uses a phrase as follows: "Well, she's not bleeding on the ballroom floor just for the attention." The songwriter is using an example of situational/verbal irony. Verbal because of the sarcasm used with bleeding for the attention, and situational from the perspective of whoever is actually bleeding on the ballroom floor.
In the song "Soon" by Leann Rimes, the artist uses irony in the lyrics "soon as the mountains turn into rivers, soon as the sea turns into sand, soon as the sun comes up at midnight." This is considered to be irony because mountains will never turn into rivers, sea's will never turn into sand, and the sun will never come up at midnight.
In the song "I Hope You Dance," the writer repeats the phrase "I hope". She says these lines over 15 times. By repeating this line, she is telling the listen to live life to the fullest and never take anything for granted.
Hey, girl, you know you drive me crazy
one look puts the rhythm in my hand.
Still I'll never understand why you hang around
I see what's going down.
Cover up with makeup in the mirror
tell yourself, it's never gonna happen again
you cry alone and then he swears he loves you.
Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.
A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect
every action in this world will bear a consequence
If you wade around forever, you will surely drown
I see what's going down.
I see the way you go and say you're right again,
say you're right again
heed my lecture
Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.
Face down in the dirt, she said,
"This doesn't hurt", she said,
"I finally had enough."
[x2]
One day she will tell you that she has had enough
it's coming round again.
Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.
[x2]
Face down in the dirt, she said,
"This doesn't hurt", she said,
"I finally had enough."
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Fuller, repetition
In "Runaway Love," Ludacris uses repetition to emphasize fact that these three little girls are "forced to think that hell is a place called home" and that they want to run very, very far away from home. In every verse he repeats hmself and says, "the world is so cold." this sis personification because the world can't be cold(harsh).
Darrett,Lockett
In "Move Along", the song writer says "When you fall everyone stands." This is an example of irony. The whole song is about moving on, even when it's hard. The example demonstrates how you feel when your behind or left out.
Fuller (cont.)
In the song "Face Down," the artist use repetition by saying, "Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.", many times. He is emphasizing on feelings and emotion.
In the song Staple it together by Jack Johnson it says,
"And every brick he laid
a mistake they say
That his walls are getting taller
his world is getting smaller". This is an example of a metaphor because a mistake is not really a brick and he is comparing two opposite things and making them seem alike together.
In the song "strangers" by Martina McBride,this line "They'll be dividing all the blame" is a literay divice of personification. This is because the word "blame" cannot be physically divided. But Martina uses personification to show that the two people are not giving just one person all the blame the are sharing the fault of their mistakes.
The song "I'm going Down," the song writes expresses how much she is sad she is that her boyfriend left her. She uses repition in the line "I'm going down." She misses him and sits in silence with all her sorrow.
Alexa, repetition
In the song "The one I gave my heart to" the song writer uses repetition. Through out the whole song the writer repeats the question "How could the one..." The whole song is a huge repetition of a form of that one line.
The band "Underoath" in their song "Writing on the Walls" They use repetition in saying
"We walk alone
We walk alone
We walk alone
We walk alone
We walk alone
We walk alone, back home
Alone, back home" They do this to add importance to this line and to add importance and intensity to the bridge.
Louis Armstrong in "What a wonderful world". He uses metaphors by saying "red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you" they aren't really blooming for me and him. He also uses repition by saying its a wonderful world over and over again.
the song i chose was Free and easy down the road i go by Dierks Bentely. it has repitition and personification in it. He repeats the line "Free and easy down the road i go" telling about his life and living his life on tour with his new wife! the personification is when hea says "Hanging memories on the high line poles" which is telling about how much fun his life is now that he has made it to fame and has a much better life, and making memories to tell the world!!
In the song "Satan is my Motor" by Cake, there is a personification in the lyrics when they say "I've got tires that grab the road". This is a personification because tires cannot actually grab the road.
Robert Christian I did ray charels the song i chose was hit the road jack. This song use repition. He con stantly says hit the road jack and you're the meanest old woman that i ever seen Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Woah Woman, oh woman, don't treat me so mean,
You're the meanest old woman that I've ever seen.
I guess if you said so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Now baby, listen baby, don't ya treat me this-a way
Cause I'll be back on my feet some day.
(Don't care if you do 'cause it's understood)
(you ain't got no money you just ain't no good.)
Well, I guess if you say so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Well
(don't you come back no more.)
Uh, what you say?
(don't you come back no more.)
I didn't understand you
(don't you come back no more.)
You can't mean that
(don't you come back no more.)
Oh, now baby, please
(don't you come back no more.)
What you tryin' to do to me?
(don't you come back no more.)
Oh, don't treat me like that
(don't you come back no more.)
Ray Charles Lyrics
in the song "karma police" by radiohead, the opening verse begins with "Karma police, arrest this man, he talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge, hes like a detuned radio" where the writer uses several examples of similies in the verse. also, during the chorus he repeats "this is what you get..." three times before finishing with "when you mess with us." and later during the bridge part of the song the singer sings continuously "And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself..."
Dragon Force strains the importance of repition in he song "Through The Fire And Flames."It connects with the listener and brings across a since of urgency and desperation in the form of awsome rock."So far away we wait for the day.For the lives all so wasted and gone .We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days.Through the fire and flames we carry on."The song symbolyizes the pains and struggles we must all go through. Life may be difficult,but in order to succeed we must push through the fire and flames. CALEB
in his song 'banana pancakes', jack johnson uses a rhythm that is slightly irregular but flows perfectly from line to line. also, several lines use rhyme. he sets the scene using words that put us in a bedroom scene on a rainy day, but not necessarily describing the scene. this leaves the rest of the setting and mood of the piece to the imagination by using imagery.
'But just maybe, laka ukulele
Mommy made a baby
Really don't mind the practice
Cause your my little lady
Lady lady love me
Cause I love to lay here lazy
We could close the curtains
Pretend like there's no world outside
And we could pretend it all the time'
(and sorry so late, i share a computer with my little sister and i dont always have prime access to it.)
My decision to identify the song 'Rescue' by Eve 6 was hesitant, but was chosen because I frequently listen to their music. The charazterization of the girl in the song is a lust of the artist that is smybolized as his perfect savior. She is also symbolized as an animated vixen stealing his heart with Cupid's arrow and putting him into a trance. Many examples of figurative language are in this song that are seldomn recognized by the listener. The girl is compared to Jessica Rabbit in the sense that she "collects bad habits." She is also described as a siren. His lust was also described as a smog that prevented him from seeing anything but the present. Repitition was used in stating that she rescued he writer. Another example of this is "In the blink of an eyelid." The girl is said to come in the blink of an eyelid. The song later states that the young lover doesn't want to blink, as he will miss seeing his 'love' come. This blink of an eye could also be considered a hyperbole, as she does not appear at such a speed.
(Jones cont.)In this increadbly short song, Brand New is using smilies such as, I'm sinking like a sone and I'm burning like a bridge are not only similies but personification as well.
Post a Comment