diction analysis

Aerosmith is a legendary band known mostly for their live stage performances. Their songs are particularly famous for their upbeat, pop-rock vibe and catchy choruses. While a majority of their songs are quick and upbeat, there is a small minority of them that are quite the opposite: slow and rhythmic. One song example from each genre would be "Walk This Way" and "Fly Away From Here", respectively. Both songs have a hint of uneducated diction, or choice of words, in them, although the upbeat song is more littered with improper language making it more apparent throughout the song. Slang words and a rap vibe, in addition to the improper diction, make the song "Walk This Way" sound noticeably more uneducated than the song "Fly Away From Here", which has more rhythmic and sophisticated lyrics.

The diction in Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" is clearly evident. Steven Tyler sings with an uneducated accent and a string of slang words, as apparent in the initial line of the song when he first sings, "yo there's a backstroke lover always hidin' 'neath the covers." "Yo" indicates the improper diction usually heard in rap songs. The words "hidin'" and "'neath" prove the point of uneducated lyrics, showing that he abbreviates most words, leaving out some letters in order to say it faster. Some of the song lyrics don't have the correct verb tenses as a proper song would. An example of this is when he says, "I noticed they was lookin' at me." It should be "they were" because "were" is plural. The line, "you ain't seen nothin'" further shows this form of diction because Tyler says "ain't" instead of "haven't" and "nothing" instead of "anything." There is also an example, in the fourth line, when he says, "a-changin' your ways" instead of "changing your ways." Further instances of diction in this song are when he doesn't pronounce the "g" in any present progressive verbs such as in "swingin'", "flyin'", and "lookin'". Finally in the last line, he says "gimme a kiss" instead of "give me a kiss."

In the song "Fly Away From Here," the diction is much more educated and proper than in the song "Walk This Way." The song is slower and more relaxed than "Walk This Way" so therefore Steven Tyler doesn't rush through the lyrics, he takes his time pronouncing the words, avoiding the abbreviation of most words. All the verb tenses in the song match up with the subject and there isn't as much abbreviation such as "gimme" or "'neath" as heard in "Walk This Way." Although he doesn't pronounce the "g" in some progressive verbs, similar to how he also failed to do so in the first song, he fully pronounces "another" instead of saying "'nother" and he doesn't say "aint" at all. This is a relatively short song compared to "Walk This Way" so there is obviously less room for diction to slip in.

"Walk This Way" and "Fly Away From Here" are almost completely opposite in every way possible, from speed to lyrics to diction. It is almost difficult to believe that they are by the same band. Aerosmith successfully achieved creating two contradictory forms of diction while staying in their musical genre, which is difficult for many artists to accomplish. This is important in the musical field because it shows that Aerosmith can adjust their songs to create a variety of different forms of diction while staying within one single music genre.