Comments

Welcome to my blog. Please your comments about my playlist/blog here.

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.

Diction songs

Fly Away From Here lyrics by aerosmith

Gotta find a way
yeah I cant wait another day
aint nothing gonna change
if we stay around here
gotta do what it takes
cause its all in our hands
we all make mistakes
yeah but its never too late to start again
take another breath and say another prayer
and Fly Away from here
anywhere yeah I dont care
we just fly away from here
our hopes & dreams are out there somewhere
wont let time pass us by
we'll just Fly yeah
If this life it seems harder now
it aint no never mind you got me by your side
and anytime you want
yeah we can catch a train & find a better place
cause we wont let nothing or noone keep getting us down
maybe you & I could pack our bags & hit the sky
and Fly Away From Here
anywhere yeah I dont care
we just fly away from here
our hopes & dreams are out there somewhere
we wont let time pass us by
we just Fly
do you see a bluer sky now
you can have a better life now
open your eyes
cause no one here can ever stop us
they can try but we wont let them
no way
maybe you & I
could pack our bags & say goodbye
and Fly Away From Here
anywhere honey I dont care
we just fly away from here
our hopes & dreams are out there somewhere
Fly Away from Here
yeah anywhere honey I dont I dont I dont
yeah we just fly away

















walk this way lyrics- aerosmith

Yo there's a Backstroke lover always hidin' 'neath the covers
Till I talked to your daddy he say
He said you ain't seen nothin' till you're down on a muffin
Then you're sure to be a changin' your ways
I met a cheerleader was a real young bleeder
Oh the times I could reminisce
'Cause the best things of lovin' with her sister and her cousin
Only started with a little kiss
Like this
Seesaw swingin' with the boys in the school
And your feet flyin' up in the air
Singin' hey diddle diddle
With your kitty in the middle of the swing like you didn't care
So I took a big chance at the high school dance
With a missy who was ready to play
Wasn't me she was foolin' 'cause she knew what she was doin'
And I knowed love was here to stay
When she told me toWalk this way
Walk this waytalk this way
Walk this waytalk this way
Walk this waytalk this way
Walk this wayJust gimme a kiss
Like this
Schoolgirl sleezy with a classy kinda sassy
Little skirt's climbing way up the knee
There was three young ladies in the school gym locker
When I noticed they was lookin' at me
I was a high school loser never made it with a lady
Till the boys told me somethin' I missed
Then my next door neighbor with a daughter had a favor
So I gave her just a little kiss
Like this
Seesaw swingin' with the boys in the school
And your feet flyin' up in the air
Singin' hey diddle diddle
With your kitty in the middle of the swing like you didn't care
So I took a big chance at the high school dance
With a missy who was ready to play
Wasn't me she was foolin' 'cause she knew what she was doin'
When she told me how to walk this way
She told me toWalk this way
Talk this way
Walk this way
talk this way
walk this way
talk this way
Walk this way
Talk this way
Just gimme a kiss
Like this

Analysis of Stream of Conciousness

A stream of consciousness is the written equivalent of someone's thought process. It is exactly what the author was thinking and in precisely the same order of which he thought it in. The song "It's the End of the World as We Know it" by REM perfectly demonstrates this literary term. It may seem, at first that the song is just a random assortment of words and phrases, but if you further analyze the song you will realize that the lyrics appear much more significant than expected. They are well thought out and meaningful; there are many allusions to many different world events, past and present. Almost all of the world events mentioned in the song has changed the world as we know it in some way, shape, or form. Every verse of Michael Stipe's clever song relate to the chaotic end of the world as we know it.

The first and most obvious reference to the end of the world is in the first line. The lyrics, "Earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane" set up an imagery of the end of the world by mentioning natural disasters, small animals running around, and an aeroplane, possibly one burning to the ground. The lyrics, "Eye of a hurricane," "Overflow, population," "Automotive incinerate," and "Boom!" located in various other verses also dictate the chaos of the physical ending of the world. When Stripe says "world serves its own needs, regardless of your own needs," he is stating that at the end of the world, every man will only care for himself ("Save yourself, serve yourself") no matter how desperately someone else may need help. There will be hysteria everywhere and no one will stop to think about anyone's needs. Stripe also alludes to governmental corruption in the end of the world by saying, "You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty psyched." The words "vitriolic" and "patriotic" have almost completely opposite meanings and are followed by the words "slam, fight" suggesting that the differences stated above may have started a fight and since there is no government or order in the world, it won't ever be resolved. It is also seems like there is a very subtle allusion to terrorism. Although 9/11 hasn't yet occurred yet, it still seems vaguely representative of the attack or one like it. The lines "Team by team reporters baffled, trump, tethered crop. Look at that low plane!" and "Six o'clock- tv hour. Don't get caught in foreign tower" are similar to a terrorist attack. The reporters are looking at a low plane, baffled, which could resemble a possible terrorist attack, which would probably be abundant at the end of the world. "Six o'clock- tv hour" is usually the time that the news comes on and "Don't get caught in foreign tower" could also suggest a terrorist attack meaning that at the end of the world, the whole world will be watching the news at exactly six o'clock to see what foreign tower is being attacked next. In the very last line, "It's time I had some time alone," Stripe is saying that it's alright with him that the world is ending because all he really wanted was to finally have some time to himself.

In conclusion, although it seems like a random array of nonsense, REM's lyrics actually have a rather significant meaning behind them. In the song, he alludes to many events that he claims will cause the ending of our world as we know it. The ironic thing is that all those events have already happened or are happening right now, such as "a nice continental drift divide" and "team reporters baffled..." He states all these things that would lead the world to self-corruption and by the end you realize that those things are exactly what make up the world we live in today.Although this song does not relate to my theme of young love, the song "At my most beautiful" by the same artist does. It about Michael Stripe singing about the one he loves and how he has finally found a way to make her smile.

It's the end of the world as we know it- REM

That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane -
Lenny Bruce is not afraid. Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn -
world serves its own needs, don’t misserve your own needs. Feed it up a knock,
speed, grunt no, strength no. Ladder structure clatter with fear of height,
down height. Wire in a fire, represent the seven games in a government for
hire and a combat site. Left her, wasn’t coming in a hurry with the furies
breathing down your neck. Team by team reporters baffled, trump, tethered
crop. Look at that low plane! Fine then. Uh oh, overflow, population,
common group, but it’ll do. Save yourself, serve yourself. World serves it's
own needs, listen to your heart bleed. Tell me with the rapture and the
reverent in the right - right. You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright
light, feeling pretty psyched.


It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.


Six o’clock - TV hour. Don’t get caught in foreign tower. Slash and burn,
return, listen to yourself churn. Lock him in uniform and book burning,
blood letting. Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate. Light a candle,
light a motive. Step down, step down. Watch a heel crush, crush. Uh oh,
this means no fear - cavalier. Renegade and steer clear! A tournament,
a tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives
and I decline.


It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.


The other night I tripped a nice continental drift divide. Mountains sit in a line.
Leonard Bernstein. Leonid Breshnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs.
Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! You symbiotic, patriotic,
slam, but neck, right? Right.


It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine...fine...
(It’s time I had some time alone)