Fiction

I picked up the boys at dawn and we were on our way. Didn’t know where to go till Johnny said “let’s go fishing” We all thought it was a good idea, packed up the boat and we were on our way. You could say it wasn’t a good day to fish. The clouds were dark and the boat was old. “Hey don’t forget your fishing poles at the shack” the store clerk screamed. The day was one of the best. My friends and I couldn’t have had any more fun. While packing up the boat, putting all the caught fish into the cooler until we heard a little bang on the side of the boat. Not knowing what it was we didn’t worry about it too much. We could see the dock! Not too far out and the boat slowly started stopping. The brave man that he was, Sam, jumped into the water. He quickly figured out that something had viciously bitten or ripped open the gas tank. “It hadn't been ten minutes before Jimmy's cellphone rang His old lady asked him how we'd be on the lake” Not knowing how long this would take Jimmy pretended to lose connection. We simply came up with a plan. Figured we would just swim into the dock, because it’s only a few miles away and we were all in pretty decent shape. Suddenly, rain starts coming down. The ocean waves get bigger and bigger. The last thing I remember is telling Jimmy to grab my hand before things started to get all blurry. I woke up, confused and dazed. Not a person in sight. I thought to myself “what do I do know?” No answers popped into my head. I heard a faint noise in the distance over and over again. My heart told me to follow it, so I did. (Seemed like I had been walking for hours) My bones ached and wanted rest but no; I had to keep on going. I spotted a village. Curious to who they were I crept up to their houses. I went up to what looked like a local citizen and asked her if she had seen any visitors in the last couple days. She nodded with a sorrow look on her face.

It turns out, they didn’t make it. I was the only one. The hardest thing I had ever done was telling their families. To this date I will never go on the ocean. I am more of a quiet guy, people say. I grieve on the thought of how I was the only one alive. And the constant thought of what I could have done to save my best friends. 

Friendship song

When I’m with my friends
We always make amends
But sometimes it depends
With the time we spend

It seems like we’re always laughing
Even when nothing’s happening
Never stop smiling
Even when were fighting

Always a smile on my face
Even when things are out of place
I’m always feeling safe
Security

Never a bad day
That I would have to say
They are meant to stay
Day after day

Song analysis 2

“Then” Brad Paisley

Shifting from the beginning of the relationship to the future in the song “Then” Brad Paisley uses exaggerating hyperbole, loving repetition, and powerful imagery to portray the deep feelings he has towards his future wife from the time they “first met” Paisley had always known he loved this girl ever since the first night they had met because she had him “mesmerized”

                Through the use of hyperbole, Brad Paisley is capable in showing that at the end of their first date they were “taking forty-five minutes to kiss goodnight” This is over exaggerated to show how much that they did not want to leave each other after that date.  Also, by over exaggerating and saying “and now your my whole life” is him showing that most of the time she is on his mind and anything he will ever think about. But, obviously, no one can be there whole world considering other things that are happening in one’s life.

                The use of repetition is apparent through the song. Paisley cannot stress enough how much he loves this girl. The line “And I thought I loved you then” is written in every verse because the more memories he makes with this girl makes him change his mind and re-think his feelings which are constantly growing stronger and stronger. Another poetic device in the line “And now you're my whole life/now you're my whole world” is repetition because it is repeated multiple times throughout the song. Paisley did this to show just how important and how much he thinks and dreams of her on a daily basis.

                Imagery is a powerful part of the song that really shows the listener the setting of the song. When they are under “the front porch light” you get the images of them in your head standing under the porch light not wanting to apart from each other. He brought her back to the spot they met and “there were people around, but I didn't care/Got down on one knee right there once again” This gives you the image of them back at the spot the had first met now getting engaged.  Imagery captures the pictures of key moments in their relationship to show how much Paisley loves this girl and what the future brings for them.

                Brad Paisley, in “Then”, uses exaggerated hyperbole, loving repetition, and powerful imagery showing the listeners how powerful his love from the first time he had met this girl until forever.  His love is “stronger than it's ever been” because he is with the girl of his dreams and it keeps getting stronger and stronger. 

I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you
You had me mesmerized
And three weeks later, in the front porch light
taking forty-five minutes to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet
but I thought I loved you then

Chorus

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

And i remember, taking you back to right where I first met you,
You were so surprised
There were people around, but I didn't care
Got down on one knee right there once again,
I thought I loved you then

Chorus

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
Like a river meets the sea,
stronger than it's ever been.
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

I could just see you, with a baby on the way
And I could just see you, when your hair is turning gray
What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before

And now you're my whole life
now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl
We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then

Song analysis 1

Shifting form past to present tense in “Love you out loud,” Rascal Flatts describes the situation of a man who was at first insecure and quiet until the right girl fell into his arms using the poetic devices of romantic hyperbole, calm alliteration, and first point of view. The bad originated out of the town of Columbia in Ohio. The band consists of three members Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. Gary LeVox is the lead vocalist while Jay DeMarcus plays the piano, keyboard, and bass guitar and Joe Don Rooney is the lead guitarist. The band has produced a total of seven albums which have all have been certified platinum or higher.

Rascal Flatts uses romantic hyperbole in the line “what you do to my heart just makes it melt.” People sometimes are so deeply in love that the feeling inside of them is occasionally warm. That feeling can be so powerful that your heart feels like it is melting.  This use of hyperbole is romantic in the way the songwriter shows his love for his girlfriend. Throughout the song he carries on the use of hyperbole by saying “you keep bringin’ out the free in me” She brings out the happiness in him making him less stressed and feeling like he will always have her to make him happy. She doesn’t actually make him free.

In the first stanza “ I have always been a little shy, I’ve always been the quiet type till now, and I never let my feelings show, I just never left anybody know, Just how much I was so deep in love, But now that you’re in my arms…” first point of view is used throughout the whole stanza. Also, the rhyme scheme is used in the words “know” and “now” The song says, “I want the whole world to know just what I’m all about; I love to love you out loud”. Alliteration along with first person point of view is used. In “Whole word” and “love loud” demonstrate the use of alliteration because the words start with the same letter right next to each other. They are so in love and want everyone to know.  

Everyone can relate to Rascal Flatts songs because they are about hope, love, hardship, breakup, or friendship. The song “Love you out loud” is saying how the guy who was originally shy and insecure met the girl of his dreams and transformed into a guy who wanted to shout out his love to the world. He did this by using a variety of poetic devises.  The poetic devices help the listeners relate to the song in a way that makes them remember a time when this happened to them.  Rascal Flatts used romantic hyperbole, calm alliteration, and first point of view throughout the entire song.

            "Love You Out Loud"

I have always been a little shy
I've always been the quiet type till now
And I never let my feelings show
I never let anybody know
Just how much I was so deep in love
But now that you're in my arms

[Chorus]
I'm gonna stand on a rooftop, climb up a mountaintop
Baby, scream and shout
I wanna sing it on the radio, show it on a video
Baby, leave no doubt
I want the whole world to know just what I'm all about
I love to love you out loud

You keep bringing out the free in me
What you do to my heart just makes me melt
And I don't think I can resist
But I've never been one to kiss and tell
A love this true can't be subdued
So I'm gonna let out a yell

[Repeat Chorus]

[Bridge]
Baby, I want the whole world to see
Just how good your love looks on me

[Repeat Chorus]

Baby, I love to love you out loud
Yeah, I love to love you out loud

   

Irony Analysis

In the song “Funny the way it is”,  the Dave Matthews Band demonstrates verbal irony, clever contradictory, and descriptive imagery to convey the idea of how one thing can be happening in life while something else totally opposite is going on too; “funny the way it is”

Irony is the most used device is the song “Funny the way it is” Dave Matthews band uses irony to show that “One kid is walking 10 miles to school, another’s dropping out” This shows that while one student is willing to walk 10 miles to school every day just to get an education, another is not thankful enough for their education and would love to do other things besides that.  When the Dave Matthews Band writes that “On a soldier’s last breath his baby’s being born” At the exact moment when the soldier is taking his last breath his own baby is taking his first breath into the world. This also has the use of paradox because babies are being born every day and every one dies some way, somehow.  When “somebody’s heart is broken it becomes your favorite song” is ironic because many songs that people listen to consist about a break up. These songs are appealing to listeners because many people can relate to it in some way or another.

Contradictory is another device that is used in the song.  Usually you don’t “hear laughter while the children play war” When you think of war the first thing that comes to your mind is death not laughter. War is the total opposite of laughter.

Different uses of imagery are used throughout the song.  A more positive, happy use of imagery is used through the line “Lying in the park on a beautiful day/Sunshine in the grass, and the children play” This is portraying a happy scene in the song. On the other hand, that image quickly changes in the next lines when “Siren’s passing, fire engine red/Someone’s house is burning down on a day like this” The image changes to negative rather than positive. Also, the negative feel carries out throughout the song when “A bomb blast brings a building crashing to the floor” and when “Someone is screaming and crying in the apartment upstairs” The images change as the song goes on shifting from positive to negative. 

In "Wasted" Carrie Underwood uses vivid imagery and heartbreaking simile to communicate the idea that not every thing in life can be perfect, and if you don't ever take risks then you'll end up regretting it.


Standing at the back door
She tried to make it fast
One tear hit the hard wood
It fell like broken glass
She said sometimes love slips away
And you just can't get it back
Let's face it

For one split second
She almost turned around
But that would be like pouring rain drops
Back into a cloud
So she took another step and said
I see the way out and I'm gonna take it

I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waiting to wake up one day and find
That I let all these years go by
Wasted

Another glass of whisky but it still don't kill the pain
So he stumbles to the sink and pours it down the drain
He said it's time to be a man and stop living for yesterday
Gotta face it

'Cause I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waiting to wake up one day and find
That I let all these years go by
Wasted

Oh I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing
The still of the morning, the color of the night
I ain't spending no more time
Wasted

She kept drivin' along
Till the moon and the sun were floating side-by-side
He looked in the mirror and his eyes were clear
For the first time in a while, hey yeah

Oh, I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waiting to wake up one day and find
That I let all these years go by
Wasted

Oh I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing
The still of the morning, the color of the night
I ain't spending no more time
Wasted

Oh, I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waiting to wake up one day and find
That I let all these years go by
Wasted, yeah yeah

Oh I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing
The still of the morning, the color of the night
I ain't spending no more time
Wasted