Social Relevance

Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer

This song has social relevance because it talks about the problems in the world. This song addresses the problems such as the media and the government. In the opening stanzas, the narrator says "now we see everything thats been going wrong with the world and those who lead it and we feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it." This addresses the government because they are the leaders of our world. It seems that the people who would be singing this song are teenagers who feel that they do not have a purpose in life, and nobody is listening to them, so they feel helpless. The narrator also addresses the issue of war when he says “now if we had the power to bring our neighbors home from war, they would’ve never missed a christmas, no more ribbons on the door.” This addresses war and how the community strives to do something in order to get those troops home safe for the holidays and to be with their families. The next stanza says “if you trust your television, what you get is what you got.” This is referring to if you trust the media and what they say about different issues, that is all you will believe and that could be frustrating for yourself.

Drive On by Johnny Cash

This song, "Drive On" by Johnny Cash addresses Vietnam. The narrator opens the song with the powerful words, "I got a friend named Whiskey Sam he was my boonierat buddy for a year in Nam, he said is my country just a little off track, took ‘em twenty-five years to welcome me back but, its better than not coming back at all.” This illustrates the powerful struggle that soldiers in Vietnam had to face and the hardships they had to pass through in order to get over their fears. This person explains that it took them twenty five years to fully be himself again. The next few lines read “many a good man I saw fall And even now, every time i dream i hear the men and the monkeys int he jungle scream.” This explains the struggle that he has to deal with the fact that men were killed in front of him yet he is still alive today. He still gets haunting dreams of hearing the men screaming for help and the “monkeys” screaming in the jungle. The word “monkeys” can be interpreted in many ways but I believe that it is talking about the other people from Vietnam. The monkeys are the foreigners to them.

American Woman by The Guess Who

The song “American Women” is very conflicting. It was written by the Canadian band, The Guess Who, around the time of the Vietnam War. It is said that it was inspired by a problem the band encountered while crossing the Canada/US border involving the Vietnam War draft. Thus, this would give listeners the impression that this band is bitter towards American Women. There are also rumors that this song is commentary on America imperialistic attitudes at the time of the Vietnam war. Whomever is listening to the song can interpreted in their own way, but I believe it is about the bad attitudes that were being seen during the Vietnam War. Nonetheless, it has social relevance to the Vietnam War if not just American women in general. The Guess Who made it more socially relevant because of the fact that they are Canadian and they are singing about American people, and also that it was released at the time of the Vietnam War. This song, evidently, could not be played at The Guess Who’s concert at the White House which they were going to sing for president Richard Nixon. This is another reason that it is socially relevant because if it were not about something significant why would it matter if they sang it or not?

The World in Six Songs part 2

Friendship

We're Going to Be Friends by Jack Johnson

The song "We're Going to Be Friends" by Jack Johnson is about the narrator and a school friend. He talks about them walking to school and what they will be doing together each day. They seem to really enjoy each other's company and while they are together they have a lot of fun. This is a huge aspect of friendship. To be together and love every moment of it, and most importantly to be looking forward to the next time they will be playing with each other.

Dig by Incubus

The song "Dig" by Incubus highlights the true meaning of friendship, that is, to be there for somebody when they need it most. The narrator says "if i turn into another dig me up from under what is covering the better part of me." This speaks of a true friendship because in a true friendship a person will help their friend be the best person they can be. If they ask for something, their friend should make a promise to do it. The true piece of friendship in this song is when the narrator says "each other....when everything else is gone." Friends should stay together even if the world were to turn against them. As long as they have each other, they can be alright.

Joy

Your Body is A Wonderland by John Mayer

This song is very joyful because it is about a man and how he is happy with the person he is with. He seems extremely happy because it is only them two together, and he wants to discover this woman even more than he already has. He also explains how the hair that falls on her face makes him extremely happy. Overall, this is a very happy, upbeat song and a great mood lifter.

Summer Romance by Incubus

This song is joyful because the narrator has finally "found the way for" him and his partner to "finally be free." He seems to be very excited about this realization because he explains that "when we get there, we're gonna go far away. Making sure to laugh; while we experience anti-gravity." He obviously wants to get away with this person, and it is a very happy moment because he has finally figured out how he can do so.

Comfort

Comfortable by John Mayer

This song is about a man being in love with a girl, but then them two end up not being together. He then finds another woman but remembers how comfortable he was with his first love. He says that their love was so "comfortable and so broken in." He longs for this comfort again with this other woman because that is what he knows. Usually when somebody is comfortable with something, they stay with that because they feel "at home" in a sense.

Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews Band

The song "Crash Into Me" is about comfort because the narrator is clearly talking about how he loves being very close physically and emotionally with this girl. He says "touch your lips just so I know" and this can be interpreted as him being in love with this person, and that when he touches their lips he knows. He feels comfortable being close with this person because this is the person that he loves and nobody else can compare to them.

The World in Six Songs

Friendship

"We're Going To Be Friends" by Jack Johnson. This song is about two people becoming friends at a school yard. They seem to be young children becuase they are playing a lot. The narrator explains that they are having a ton of fun and it seems that he values their friendship greatly. He even thinks bout this friend when he goes to bed at night, and he is hoping for fun all over again the next day.

Religion

"Belief" by John Mayer. This song is about believing in what you want to believe in, pertaining to religion. John Mayer is singing about accepting every religion for what it stands for. That everybody should believe in whatever theyd like to believe, no matter what religion they are apart of. He says "we're never gonna win the world," which means that not everybody will have the same beliefs at the same time, so instead of trying to win the world over with one religion, everybody needs to accept that and live the way they want to live but also let others do the same as well.

Joy

"Your Body is A Wonderland" by John Mayer. This song is very joyful because it is about a man and how he is happy with the person he is with. He seems extremely happy because it is only them two together, and he wants to discover this woman even more than he already has. He also explains how the hair that falls on her face makes him extremely happy. Overall, this is a very happy, upbeat song and a great mood lifter.

Comfort

"Comfortable" by John Mayer. This song is about a man being in love with a girl, but then them two end up not being together. He then finds another woman but remembers how comfortable he was with his first love. He says that their love was so "comfortable and so broken in." He longs for this comfort again with this other woman becuase that is what he knows. Usually when somebody is comfortable with something, they stay with that because they feel "at home" in a sense.


Knowledge

"Drive" by Incubus portrays knowledge becuase it is about a person learning from their experiences. He talks about him coming to the realization that he should be "behind the wheel." The wheel symobilizes his life, and he believes that he should be the one running his life and nobody else. He explains that "whatever tomorrow brings i'll be there, with open arms and open eyes, yeah." This song portrays a great lesson for its listeners, instructing them to run their own lives and do not let anybody behind the wheel besides themselves.

Love

"Hey, Soul Sister" by Train. This song is about a man and his obsession with a woman. He is clearly in love with her as he says "the smell of you in every single dream I dream," and "youre the one i have decided is one of my kind." He is deeply in love with her and does not want to miss anything that this woman does. It is a happy love song and makes the mood of the listener very happy for these two people.

Euphemism and Pun

Pardon Me by Incubus



Euphemism


The song "Pardon Me" by Incubus is about a man longing for peace throughout the earth, and the understanding the people around him. He believes that everyone plays mindless games. This is a Euphemism becuase he says "pardon me" before he says "as I burst into flames." He says such a harsh thing nicely by adding pardon me in front of it because he is pardoning himself before he says those violent words.



Oil and Water by Incubus



The song "Oil and Water" by Incubus is an euphemism becuase the narrator is explaining that these two people just do not mix, and he puts it in a polite way. Instead of using more vulgar language or relating their relationship to something more harsh, he uses oil and water as a metaphor. He also says that there is "no parasol that could shelter this weather." He refers to their bad relationship as weather instead of saying that it is just bad in itself. I believe that this entire song is a euphemism becuase the narrator compares his relationship with someone else to oil and water and along the way uses other metaphors, but he does not bash this other person in any way.


Pun

11 am by Incubus



The song 11am is about a man that misses his partner and wants them back, and he is longing for forgiveness from this person. When he says "the garbage truck beeps as it backs up, and I start my day thinking about what i've thrown away" he uses a pun. The pun is that the garbage truck is picking up the weeks trash, and he is thinking about what he has thrown away. He is not thinking about what trash he has thrown away, but what he has given up in his life such as this girl. This is a pun becuase trash is thrown into the garbage, and the truck is there to pick it up.


Dig by Incubus


The song "Dig" by Incubus is about somebody longing for the love of somebody else. They want the reassurance that this person will remind them if they are not being themself, and also that they will be there for them when everything else is gone. The narrator uses a pun when he says "we all have something that digs at us, at least we dig eachother." The first dig is talking about something that is bothering those people, the second dig is about liking eachother. Another pun used in the song is "dig me up from underwhat is covering the better part of me" this can be seen as digging something out of the dirt, becuase the dirt is covering that certain something. What the narrator is really saying is to get him out of the way he has been acting if it is covering the better part of him.

Allegory, Allusion, Ambiguity

Allegory-

Believe by The Bravery


This song, "Believe" by The Bravery is an all around allegory. It has symbolic meaning aside from what the song plainly sounds like. The narrator says "Waiting for our ship to come but our ships not coming back." When he says this, it is evident that these people are not, in reality, waiting for their ship to come, they are waiting for their realization of what is going on around them as the rest of the song illuminates. Another line reads "Something's always coming you can hear it in the ground, It swells into the air with the rising, rising sound and never comes but shakes the boards and rattles all the doors." The point of this line is not to make the listener believe that there is some type of monster living in the boards of a home, but to symbolize that there is something in the back of these peoples minds telling them they need to start doing something important with their lives, and they are longing for this realization.

Allusion-

St. Patricks Day by John Mayer



This entire song is alluding different holidays and months of the year. The narrator is longing for St. Patricks Day because of the specific reasons that he does not like the other months. He alludes to November, December and the holiday of Christmas, January, February and it's holiday of Valentines day and finally he mentions St. Patrick's Day. He longs for St. Patricks day so he can forget about January being frozen, and being alone at Christmas time, because he clearly is missing somebody and maybe he will see them around St. Patrck's day.


Ambiguity-

A Kiss To Send Us Off by Incubus


"A Kiss To Send Us Off" by Incubus is about somebody longing for one last kiss from, evidently, somebody they care about. The song is ultimately ambiguous because there are a few things that the narrator might know that the audience is confused about such as why should they meet on November 11th. Also, why do they need to kiss "before the sky falls out this cloud" they are hovering on? It is very ambiguous because it can leave the listener with many questions as to why the narrator is so specific about where they need to meet and what will happen if they do not kiss.