Hobbes
03-19-2006, 09:11 PM
I have to write a song anaylsis for english to compare songs ot poems and to look at different poptic devices within the song(simlies/metaphors ect.) I chose "She" by green day if you guys could read it and tell me what you think, if I got the message right, how it sounds in general and stuff like that. Heres the lyrics so you can see what I'm talking about. I have to turn this in tomarrow( Monday) and I can look at this in woodshop and alter it if need be. Tell me HONESTLY what you think please. :)
LYRICS
"She...
She screams in silence
a Sullen riot penitraiting through her mind
Waiting for a sign
To smash the silence with a brick of self-control
Are you locked up in a world
Thats been planned out for you
Are you feeling like a social tool without a use
Scream at me until my ears bleed
I'm taking heed just for you
She...
She's figured out
All her doubts were someone else's point of view
Wa-king up this time
To smash the silence with a brick of self-control
Are you locked up in a world
Thats been planned out for you
Are you feeling like a social tool without a use
Scream at me until my ears bleed
I'm taking heed just for you
YAHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Are you locked up in a world
Thats been planned out for you
Are you feeling like a social tool without a use
Scream at me until my ears bleed
I'm taking heed just for you"
And heres my beautiful essay thing.......
How many times have you dissected a song to find the true meaning, the poem that is hidden away inside, underneath, behind the music and the captivating chorus? Most people don’t look too deep into the songs on their iPod play-list but that’s what I’m about to do here. Usually you’ll listen to a song a few times and decide if you like it and spend a minuet or two thinking about the meaning of the outer appearance of the song. Here, I’m going to really dig deep to understand what Billie Joe was trying to say even if it’s not what it appears. Even a song or poem can have a façade.
First, I think looking at the mood will help understand the meaning and finding the poetic devices used throughout the song. Listening to the song, the music seems upbeat, as do the vocals for most of the song, except the beginning. Personally, I think this is deceiving. I think the mood of the song, while it seems happy, is really kind of sad or depressing. If you really listen to it, and read the words, this woman only known as “She” is living a miserable life. “…She screams in silence…” You don’t scream when you’re happy and the silence means she’s alone. No one likes being alone like that. “…Are you locked up in a world that been planned out for you?” She has no control over what happens in her life. Does this mean she feels a “God” type person is handing her this horrible life or is it as simple as her parents having the idea of how she should live and she either can’t or doesn’t want to live up to those set standards? “..She’s figured out all her doubts were someone else’s point of view…” She thought she had doubts about her life and how she chose to live it but then realizing they weren’t doubts at all; they were someone else’s ideas making her worry about how she’s living. This goes back to the second line ”…A sullen riot penetrating through her mind…” Could the riot have been others doubts, their points of view, the world she’s locked up in? Looking at this makes the music seems deceiving and helps me to realize that the mood may very well be less happy and upbeat but instead sad.
In trying to see the mood of “She” I also went to the surface of what I believe the meaning to be. I still want to go more in-depth by looking at each verse to see if her life seems to get better or worse as the songs goes on. I think this is defiantly a song that tells a story even if it may be fictional. Just by reading the lyrics I think She is depress or sad with her life, that it isn’t what she wanted it to be, that she’s all alone and needs somebody as a shoulder to cry on. In the third verse, right after the chorus, it says “Scream at me until my ears bleed, I’m taking heed just for you.” I looked up the word ‘heed’ to better understand the meaning of this sentence and it means to pay attention. In essence; ‘I’m paying attention just for you.’ I think here She finally finds someone to talk to, to vent with. He’s telling her ‘yell at me all you want, you can even make my ears bleed if you want to’ She finds her person who cares. In the beginning of the song She needs a sign to smash the silence but near the end she wakes up to smash it. She gained the confidence need, the love needed, to finally take charge and change the things she doesn’t like about her life. Life defiantly gets better as the songs goes on. The chorus is asking questions, making sure this isn’t happening to you and if it is telling you to change it. While it may be asking She, you can also view it as asking you these questions.
Similes and metaphors (as well and the imagery created in my head) are used throughout this song. Some examples are; “A sullen riot penetrating through her mind.” “Waiting for a sign to smash the silence with the brick of self control.” “Are you locked up in a world that’s planned out on you?” “Are you feeling like a social tool without a use?” “Scream at me until my ears bleed.” These various phrases aren’t to taken literally, the have a meaning other than what was written. You can’t really have a riot in your mind; it’s more a person verses self conflict. You will never find an actual sign (like a street sign) telling you to smash silence. Besides that you can’t smash silence, especially not with a brick of self control. They don’t make those anyways. Those are different metaphors- not to be taken literally. She was compared to a social tool without a use, an example of a simile; to be compared to by using ‘like’ or ‘as.’ “Scream at me until my ears bleed” seems to be a form of figurative language to me. I could see that as being used as a figure of speech when you’re telling someone to let it all out and to show you’re listening to them. I might tell someone to scream until my ears bleed but I don’t want my ears to bleed. I don’t even think screaming will make your ears bleed but I could be wrong. All of this really gives a new meaning to the song. Without them it would be longer and it would have to go into detail of what is trying to be said. You can avoid all of that with a metaphor, its what you want said with boring the listener by specifically spelling it all out. They defiantly give you something to think about. You need to be able to find the deeper meaning.
In “She” practically every word has a double meaning, something hidden under a façade of music and metaphors. Does all of this make the song less fun? Maybe, maybe not; it’s for you to decide. I still love this song regardless of all the hidden messages. I still listen to it and hear something happy and upbeat even if that’s not the case. If Billie Joe wanted it any different he would have made the music more depressing or the lyrics more fitting. He wanted this song to seem happy and energetic even if its content is less then cheerful.
LYRICS
"She...
She screams in silence
a Sullen riot penitraiting through her mind
Waiting for a sign
To smash the silence with a brick of self-control
Are you locked up in a world
Thats been planned out for you
Are you feeling like a social tool without a use
Scream at me until my ears bleed
I'm taking heed just for you
She...
She's figured out
All her doubts were someone else's point of view
Wa-king up this time
To smash the silence with a brick of self-control
Are you locked up in a world
Thats been planned out for you
Are you feeling like a social tool without a use
Scream at me until my ears bleed
I'm taking heed just for you
YAHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Are you locked up in a world
Thats been planned out for you
Are you feeling like a social tool without a use
Scream at me until my ears bleed
I'm taking heed just for you"
And heres my beautiful essay thing.......
How many times have you dissected a song to find the true meaning, the poem that is hidden away inside, underneath, behind the music and the captivating chorus? Most people don’t look too deep into the songs on their iPod play-list but that’s what I’m about to do here. Usually you’ll listen to a song a few times and decide if you like it and spend a minuet or two thinking about the meaning of the outer appearance of the song. Here, I’m going to really dig deep to understand what Billie Joe was trying to say even if it’s not what it appears. Even a song or poem can have a façade.
First, I think looking at the mood will help understand the meaning and finding the poetic devices used throughout the song. Listening to the song, the music seems upbeat, as do the vocals for most of the song, except the beginning. Personally, I think this is deceiving. I think the mood of the song, while it seems happy, is really kind of sad or depressing. If you really listen to it, and read the words, this woman only known as “She” is living a miserable life. “…She screams in silence…” You don’t scream when you’re happy and the silence means she’s alone. No one likes being alone like that. “…Are you locked up in a world that been planned out for you?” She has no control over what happens in her life. Does this mean she feels a “God” type person is handing her this horrible life or is it as simple as her parents having the idea of how she should live and she either can’t or doesn’t want to live up to those set standards? “..She’s figured out all her doubts were someone else’s point of view…” She thought she had doubts about her life and how she chose to live it but then realizing they weren’t doubts at all; they were someone else’s ideas making her worry about how she’s living. This goes back to the second line ”…A sullen riot penetrating through her mind…” Could the riot have been others doubts, their points of view, the world she’s locked up in? Looking at this makes the music seems deceiving and helps me to realize that the mood may very well be less happy and upbeat but instead sad.
In trying to see the mood of “She” I also went to the surface of what I believe the meaning to be. I still want to go more in-depth by looking at each verse to see if her life seems to get better or worse as the songs goes on. I think this is defiantly a song that tells a story even if it may be fictional. Just by reading the lyrics I think She is depress or sad with her life, that it isn’t what she wanted it to be, that she’s all alone and needs somebody as a shoulder to cry on. In the third verse, right after the chorus, it says “Scream at me until my ears bleed, I’m taking heed just for you.” I looked up the word ‘heed’ to better understand the meaning of this sentence and it means to pay attention. In essence; ‘I’m paying attention just for you.’ I think here She finally finds someone to talk to, to vent with. He’s telling her ‘yell at me all you want, you can even make my ears bleed if you want to’ She finds her person who cares. In the beginning of the song She needs a sign to smash the silence but near the end she wakes up to smash it. She gained the confidence need, the love needed, to finally take charge and change the things she doesn’t like about her life. Life defiantly gets better as the songs goes on. The chorus is asking questions, making sure this isn’t happening to you and if it is telling you to change it. While it may be asking She, you can also view it as asking you these questions.
Similes and metaphors (as well and the imagery created in my head) are used throughout this song. Some examples are; “A sullen riot penetrating through her mind.” “Waiting for a sign to smash the silence with the brick of self control.” “Are you locked up in a world that’s planned out on you?” “Are you feeling like a social tool without a use?” “Scream at me until my ears bleed.” These various phrases aren’t to taken literally, the have a meaning other than what was written. You can’t really have a riot in your mind; it’s more a person verses self conflict. You will never find an actual sign (like a street sign) telling you to smash silence. Besides that you can’t smash silence, especially not with a brick of self control. They don’t make those anyways. Those are different metaphors- not to be taken literally. She was compared to a social tool without a use, an example of a simile; to be compared to by using ‘like’ or ‘as.’ “Scream at me until my ears bleed” seems to be a form of figurative language to me. I could see that as being used as a figure of speech when you’re telling someone to let it all out and to show you’re listening to them. I might tell someone to scream until my ears bleed but I don’t want my ears to bleed. I don’t even think screaming will make your ears bleed but I could be wrong. All of this really gives a new meaning to the song. Without them it would be longer and it would have to go into detail of what is trying to be said. You can avoid all of that with a metaphor, its what you want said with boring the listener by specifically spelling it all out. They defiantly give you something to think about. You need to be able to find the deeper meaning.
In “She” practically every word has a double meaning, something hidden under a façade of music and metaphors. Does all of this make the song less fun? Maybe, maybe not; it’s for you to decide. I still love this song regardless of all the hidden messages. I still listen to it and hear something happy and upbeat even if that’s not the case. If Billie Joe wanted it any different he would have made the music more depressing or the lyrics more fitting. He wanted this song to seem happy and energetic even if its content is less then cheerful.