"The Guidelines" Analysis by Reece

Rappers favorite things to brag about are women, money and most of all that they’re the best rapper out there, but they’re way of saying it isn’t very reinforce because saying “I’m the best rapper in the world” doesn’t say much for a valid point. Saying “Evident my embellishment peaks at two ninety two I.Q” (29) “The way I shape this landscape, automatically makes this vivid”(35). Proves a good point that he can be the best rapper through a vivid expression of words. He can take on the shape of anything he wants or needs to be to present his point of being the best through your imagination using wild elements and a contagious flow of words.

Taking shape of objects and situations shows that he can take form of being the best rapper or it can show what he needs to be the best and can transform. “I incubate, every other millennium.” to me this is saying that he’s bringing alive other millenniums, that he might be bringing influences from past millenniums into his work  because to incubate can mean to help bring to life like when a baby is in a incubator or a chicken egg getting incubated so it can hatch.

A flow of words can be persuasive and in this song it’s not hard for me to believe that Aceyalone is easily a great rapper. “I give it a rivet, hold it, stand at the pivot I love it, learn to live it, then give you my exhibit”(36-37) this shows that his way with rhyming words comes easily and almost makes a stain in your mind. In my opinion if someone can leave an imprint in your mind then their good at what they do.  “My attempts to redefine your hip hop guidelines, you can play the sidelines, ride rhymes in your spare time” (100) saying you can play the sidelines is like saying that you’re not good enough to be out on the field were he’s at and ride rhymes in your spare time could be saying that whoever is riding the sideline only rhymes on his spare time, not taking it seriously like a full time job.

                The second this song start the imagery automatically explodes in my mind. “My feet are made of bricks, when I walk my footprints indent cement” (93) it’s like he’s trying to show that were ever he goes he has such a huge impact that his footprints indent cement. “your ashes spark the flashes, of the neon from be-yond, what planet could I be on?”(55) I vision him traveling all over the place and causing a sensation where ever he is. A important factor when you want to make a impression or point to me is imagery when you can interpret a song and imagine it in your head it almost becomes your own in a way, and I feel this way with this song because I see him trying to persuade people all over the place that he’s the best at what he does and is trying to make it his own.

                In a world where rap music has largely become generic, it becomes hard to find a true genuine piece of art work that you can call a song. The guidelines by Aceyalone is in a whole other field of songs because of the fact that he doesn’t has to flat out say I’m the best rapper but instead he can take shape of a place or situation and make you imagine it and because of this it leaves a impression and impressions can live on for ever.   

Hear "The Guidelines" here.    
Read "The Guidelines" here.

"The A Team" Analysis by Sam

The A Team

Everyone who has ever read a story or listened to a song can personally interpret it differently than the person they are sitting next to. It’s a natural tendency in which the lyrics or plot connects with us and our feelings. Following this point everyone is entitled to their own opinion. For example I think the song “The ‘A’ Team” by Ed Sheeran is about a young girl living the life of a prostitute.

          The evidence that helps me lead to this conclusion is when Sheeran sings of “Long nights, strange men / or sells love to another man” (6 and 20). The definition of a prostitute is someone who sells their body for money through the act of sex, which is what I think, is being suggested in the lines above. Another example that led me to believe of prostitution are lines (5 and 10) which say “Struggling to pay rent / been this way since 18”.  I can’t say I know how a prostitute lives or even that what we see on the television is completely true, but usually turning tricks isn’t a lifestyle individuals choose for no reason, especially at the age of 18.

          When I first heard this song I did not hear verses that signaled prostitution. My thoughts were that this song was about a young girl who was sick. “White lips, pale face / been this way since 18 / but lately her face seems / slowly sinking, wasting / crumbling like pastries /” (1, 10-13), all influenced me to come to this conclusion, and due to the fact that those are descriptions we sometimes give when someone is really ill. I believe that the way Sheeran sings these lines also played a part because they stuck out to me the most. Although those phrases are also spots where one could argue a different meaning is present.

          In support of that statement you could put “White lips, pale face, / burnt lungs, sour taste, / crumbling like pastries, / and go mad for a couple grams / and in a pipe she flies to the motherland” (1, 3, 13, 17, 19) together and get the results of possible drug use. The motherland and pipe that is being mentioned here I think is the tool and place where her mind goes during the high to find happiness or relief in her darkest times.  It makes sense with the previous lines mentioned that this may be what is going on. Like I said before I don’t know the details but I do connect drugs and prostitution under the same lifestyle choice.

          At some point in every piece of literature the story changes. Midway through the song Sheeran sings “Call girl, no phone / an angel will die, / covered in white, / closed eye, / and hoping for a better life / and in a pipe we fly to the motherland” (29, 46-48, 64), here is where I think the girl finally has had enough and ends up dying. Unlike before I assume that pipe and motherland is describing the transportation type and place the girl is now at which may mean heaven. This is where things get fuzzy; I have yet to really figure it out how certain phrases mentioned even relate to this topic. In the chorus temperature and angels are sang of. All I can think about for relation is that Ed Sheeran’s song “The ‘A’ Team” is telling the story of a girl and her choices, which whom he is in love with. Herself loss causes Sheeran to die too so he could be with her, and to finally show her love and affection she didn’t find during her life on earth….

"Suicide Note" Analysis by Mahalia

Death

           

Every day people in the world die from car crashes, natural causes, cancer or simply fighting for their country. No one understands why some people get longer lives than others or why bad things happen to good people but the world is still a mystery. In the poem it talks about life by using nature and happy things like rainbows, April sun and fresh dirt to describe life. “I am fresh turned dirt / in the April sun” (17-18).  When I think about this seen it makes me smile because I like spring day and they are always full of life blooming around. When the speaker mentions dirt it makes me think of the element earth; which stands for growth and renewal of life.  Life is not just a heart beat but also the flow of a river or the sound of thunder roaring in the night sky. The poem “Suicide Note” by Mark Gibbons describes death.

This poem stands for death because when the speaker starts naming off people that have died and one of those people committed suicide themselves. “I am Christ, Hitler…” (28-31). The speaker may have put Christ in the poem because he sacrificed his life for others’ sins and he died for things he believed in. The speaker may also have mentioned Christ in the poem to reassure that he or she was going to die for the sins they committed and not for nothing. The speaker put Hitler into the poem to show that Hitler killed himself because of his sin and maybe to show that even a powerful man can kill himself and not just be remembered because he killed himself. Both of these people are well known for different reason and for the speaker to get recognized he has to die first. “I am / changing my name to plastic, cold as / my blood, clear as a storm” (35-37).  This quote means that the writer is going to change his name to something everyone knows and that’s plastic. Plastic is something that people take for advantage and the speaker could feel like people take him for advantage, so that is why he or she want to die. Plastic is also something people throw away like yesterday’s garbage. He or she’s blood is cold because he is scared for what’s next after he dies; the speaker feels all alone and has given up faith. The speaker feels lifeless and the only option is to commit suicide and he final makes his decision at the end of the poem. When the speaker says “clear as a storm” he or she is referring to his thoughts have cleared and know the speaker knows death is the right choices.

Another reason this poem represents death is because the speaker also uses nature to stand for death not just life. “I am cottonwood / bark floating in an eddy” (5-6). This phrase may stand for the speaker who is all alone and by saying he is bark floating he or she mean that they are floating by in life and when he sinks that will be the end of life. By putting this phrase in the poem he or she is stating that they can’t float forever and the speaker does not want to live any longer. The speaker also said “I am comets, the moon, my father’s ash” (10-11). The comets stand for the speaker wanting to leave this earth and that every comet dies out; he or she is a comet that is about to die. The moon stands for the mark he or she is going to leave behind on his or her loved ones. The moon is always there reminding people that there is another whole universe out there. The speaker is the moon reminding people that there is another life beside the one he or she has now. The speaker’s father is going to get his or her ashes once they die.

In the beginning of the poem up until the middle of the poem the speaker is confused about life and death and what choices he or she has. In the middle of the poem the speaker says “…..whispering voices that hiss—there is no forgiveness” (22-24).  Up to this point in the poem the speaker was having doubts about what he was going to do next. Whispering voices that hiss at the speaker stand for his conscience and the things that he is telling himself have convinced him that death is the solution. When the speaker states there is no forgiveness he or she knows he does not deserve forgiveness by god or anyone and he know what he is doing is wrong but he has made up his choice. He or she also wants people to know when they here voices it is him. The speaker wants people to fear him especially when he or she states “I am the reason /  you fear the dark” (18-19) The speaker wants people to know even if he or she is dead there soul will live on because people will think of the speaker when they are scared.

 The poem “Suicide Note” by Mark Gibbons describes that the speaker is talking about death. The speaker implied multiple times that this poem was about death. The speaker puts people in the poem that died by sacrificing them self and by taking their own life because the speaker intends to die. Hitler and Christ are still talked about today so maybe the speaker may think that taking his own life he will be remembered for ever. The speaker also uses nature to incorporate that he or she is not afraid to die and they would rather die on their own terms then natures terms. I also think committing suicide is deifying nature and the speaker is trying to make a point that any natural disaster that happens could not kill him or her. The speaker also wants to be feared by others because he does not want people to forget him, so when it dark he wants people to know he is always there. The title “Suicide Note” is another place the speaker implies that this poem means/stands for death.

"Isis" Analysis by Skyla

           Bob Dylan wrote a song called Isis, the song could represent a lot of different things. I think it’s about the speaker’s relationship with Isis and all the battles they fought through together. The speaker talks about how his relationship with Isis was a constant battle and how he had to get away from it all for a while and find himself again.

            The speaker and Isis got married on the 5^th of May, but he couldn’t seem to keep her for long. Once he lost Isis he took off and tried becoming a new person by changing himself.   The speaker thought he couldn’t do anything right, so he wanted to go someplace where he could do no wrong. Along his journey to find this place the speaker ran across a strange man who wanted to take him amongst the hills for a treasure hunt. The strange man promised the speaker that they would be back by the fourth.

            When they set off for their journey the speaker was thinking about the world’s biggest necklace and diamonds and how Isis always thought he was so reckless. The speaker is trying to figure out what went wrong in his  marriage and how he could get her back, once the speaker and the strange man find the treasure the speaker would take it back to Isis and prove to her he is worth something. Along the journey the strange man died and left the speaker to finish this journey on his own. Once the speaker ran across the treasure there really wasn’t a treasure nothing but an empty casket.  He was confused on what this journey was about all along and what the man’s reasoning behind all this was. The speaker took the man and put him in the closed casket and thanked him for making him realize his life at home with Isis wasn’t as bad as he thought and he was the happiest when he was around his wife whom he loved and cared about.

            The speaker set back on his journey and started to return home.  All the way home the speaker thought about what Isis said to him before he left, “ they would one day meet again and everything would be different next time they met up again”(22). The speaker wanted everything to be different with Isis and be together and stay together and to never have this kind of problem again.

            In conclusion I think this song represents’ a struggled marriage and how the speaker made a mistake and realized that along his journey. That he had the best thing at home waiting for him and he loved her more then anything in the world. This journey helped the speaker find himself and wake him up and make him realize that Isis wasn’t trying to make it seem like he did everything wrong that she just wanted them to work together along there own kind of journey.

Read "Isis" lyrics here.

"Isis" Analysis by Jessica

Song Interpretation 

            There are many ways to interpret songs and there are several different meanings in a song. In my opinion songs are meant for you to understand the lyrics in a way that you can relate to. To me the song “Isis” by Bob Dylan symbolizes how a man’s love never dies.

            In the very first two lines the song state, “I married Isis on the fifth day of May” “But I could not hold on to her very long”.(1-2) As I was reading those lines I instantly thought that he had married his dream girl but couldn’t keep her because something terrible happened or she was no longer living. Further on details had given me more evidence that she was no longer living, in line five he said that he was now in a darker place with no happiness, and very little light. (5) To me these lines suggest that this man is going through some rough times, and his love life has gone downhill very quickly.

            My next pieces of evidence suggest that she has died makes my interpretation very convincing. “How she told me that one day we would meet up again. And things would be different the next time we wed.” (21-22) This stuck out like a sore thumb, heavily hinting that Isis is in another place, for instant Heaven, and that she will marry this man again when he meets up with her there. Also in line 24 Bob had song the line in past tense, I still can’t remember all of the things that she used to say, indicating that she is no longer among us. But yet he is still deeply in love with her and wants to be back with her desperately.

            Lastly in the last few “stanzas” it becomes clear that Isis had passed away and that her lover was finally is reunited with light in their eyes. (43) Coming from the east, going into the light, going to Heaven. Being wedded again. This all leads me to believe that all along he had loved her whether she was there with him or not. But he is reunited in the end with his beloved Isis, his wife.

            Therefore, I am coming to the conclusion that a man’s love never dies. In the beginning of the song he was happy with his marriage but suffered long with drawls losing her. He had never lost his love for her and finished his work down here on earth. And finally he had met up with her at the end of his time, and he and Isis lived their immortality life together. Loving each other to their fullest, because they know their love will never die. 
Read "Isis" lyrics here.