Theme conclusion

     With each song that I analyzed there was a common theme between them that they all shared. That theme is the idea of being able to overcome struggles and leave the past behind. Whether the struggles are everyday things or huge issues these six songs that I chose address and give the message of continuing on with your head up through the stress and sadness. Although each of the songs have their own twist on the theme they still hold true to it. In both of the songs "I hope you dance" and "the climb" we see the use of a mountain to describe struggles that are an inevitable future encounter in everyone's life. The songs, however, have different ways of telling people to just get through them and never give up. One ("I hope you dance") the speaker says to never be scared of what struggles lay ahead for you, while in "the climb" the message is very similar but focuses more on the struggles at hand. These two were the only songs with such a close connection within the theme. Yet all of the songs describe the way of getting over things and furthering one's life by staying strong and not letting a rough day or event get to them. A unique way that the song "Breakaway" pursued the message was that, even though the speaker never really mentioned a time in their life when they were facing hardships, they believed that they had the power and strength to emerge from their young life and turn themselves into something successful by just getting through whatever they experienced in their hometown. The song "let it be" made use of biblical allusions in order to convey the message of keeping your faith strong and using that to fuel the strength in order to get over issues. Through the use of repetition and strong similes the song "carry on" provides the background of what happened and why the speaker was in the hard situation and with the repeating of the line "carry on" he enforced the fact that even if you go through some horrible experience you need to continue on and think of the positive things that will come to you in the future. The song "shake it out" is a very deep song that has so much meaning and depth that allows for the song to be interpreted and allowed to be heard when you feel sad or depressed and need to keep your hopes up. The theme of staying positive and strong in order to get through times in which you may think you won't recover, is used in many songs to allow the audience to feel like they aren't alone in their situations.

Theme analysis song #6: "Carry On" by FUN

In the song Carry On by FUN there are many different examples of oxymorons, similes, metaphors and figurative language to express the fact that bad situations can be escaped and you can pick yourself up from them and “Carry on”. The allegory used within the song in the very first verse is “Well I woke up to the sound of silence…” which is obviously an oxymoron because the use of the word “sound” to describe the silence is kind of contradictory since silence has no sound. The example is used to describe how the speaker feels about the tension in the situation that he is in, usually the silence that occurs can be awkward and mysterious making someone feel lonely. Perhaps it is described as a song because the speaker is in fact alone and the silence is the constant sound (or lack of sound) that he experiences on a daily basis. The following line is “and cries were cutting like knives in a fist fight”. The cries are compared to knives in a fist fight. Perhaps the speaker is going through a breakup and the cries of his now ex cut through the silence much like a knife would cut someone in a fist fight. One of the lines that furthers the meaning of the song in order to convey it’s message is an example of figurative language. “I’ve closed enough windows to know you can never look back”, perhaps this could also be an example of an allegory. The meaning of this line is that the speaker has been through enough hard situations to know that looking back to the past could create problems and drag you back down to feeling the same way you do when you are in that specific situation. Another form of a simile used in the song is “and you’re sinking like a stone, carry on” the subject’s emotions are being compared to the sinking of a stone and how they can revert back to the troubled times when they feel alone. Yet the speaker still assures his audience that you can still carry on. Although all of the literary elements that I have listed thus far are describing the pain and sadness that life can bring one of them that reassures the point that you need to carry on through the bad times is a metaphor “may your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground, carry on” the metaphor means that when you look back at your past you shouldn’t look back at the bad things that have happened to you but you should look at when you overcame them and picked yourself up from those points in your life. Again the reassurance that you can make it through is the repetition of the phrase “carry on” at the end of the sentence. The song begins with a scene revealing a time in someone’s life where they would feel alone and be hurting but throughout the song the phrase “carry on” insures that although things seem bad you can easily get over them eventually and carry on with your life.  

Theme analysis song #5: "I hope you dance" by Lee Ann Womack

In the song I hope you dance by Lee Ann Womack she uses idioms, metaphors, figurative language and also allegories in order to provide the message of keeping your head up and continuing on through your struggles and other hard times that one may come into contact with throughout their lifetime. In the very first verse of the song the speaker opens up with an idiom which is “you get your fill to eat but keep that hunger” which is kind of opposites because she hopes that this person is full yet still wants them to be hungry. The idiom allows for the speaker to express how she feels about the person that the song is intended for and how even when they are “full” they still have the availability to grow and further themselves. There was a plethora of very powerful metaphors within the song. “I hope you never fear the mountains in the distance” is used by the speaker in order to convey that struggles and other hardships that one might face in the future are like mountains in the distance. The “mountains” or struggles are inevitable but they should not be feared or worried about until they present themselves.  Another example of a metaphor in the song is “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder, you get your fill to eat but still keep that hunger” which is a comparison between the sense of wonder that the subject has to food and hunger. When you look at the two lines together they create a meaning that portrays a message of still having a sense of wonder even when you get the answer to something you look for more meanings and answers to other things in life that keeps the ability for the subject to be happy and stay full of energy and excitement. “Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens” is an allegory. The speaker does not literally mean that when a door closes they wish another would open. The phrase is meant to mean that when an opportunity does not work out she hopes that another opportunity will present itself. There were a few lines of the song that I believe are very poetic and important when considering my theme but I could not pinpoint what the poetic element that went along with them would be. For the sake of the analyzation I will just label them as figurative language. The first example that I came across was “I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean”. I believed this line to be one that impacted a lot of the song. It means that even when you “stand besides the ocean” you feel small in regards to your ego. Womack uses this to express the importance of being humble and not having an inflated ego throughout your life. Another line that I found to be influential to the song is “when you come close to selling out, reconsider” which means that whenever you feel close to quitting you don’t stop and continue to try. The whole message of the song, like pretty much every song I have picked, is that although there are things in life that could hold you back you shouldn’t fear them. You should keep yourself open to opportunity and seize every one that you can.

Song cover comparison: "Valerie" by The Zutons (later Amy Winehouse)

           The song Valerie by the Zutons was covered and made relatively famous by the popular singer Amy Winehouse produced by Mark Ronson. The song is originally sung by a man and Amy Winehouse turned it into her own when she made her interpretation of it to make it her own. The original song that was by the band the Zutons who had a more rock and roll type of sound to it. The vocals were also different because obviously it was sung by a man when it was first released, and later when Amy Winehouse covered it she added her own type of style and vocals to adopt it as her own. The version by the Zutons has more tones of rock and roll while in Winehouse’s she exhibits more of a bluesy or possibly pop vibe to it. The way that the song is presented in the Zutons’ version is more like they are talking about a girl that they know or possibly are in love with. While, the way I took it, in Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse’s version of the song it is portrayed more as a friend perhaps. She is speaking like they are close friends and she cares about her, although the song did not change the lyrics, the way it was sung seems more happy and playful than the original version. The music video by the Zutons is a real music video that shows the band in a prison, much like the song says in one of the verses. Yet in Ronson and Winehouse’s version it just is a video of them on stage and Amy Winehouse is singing the song, much like a concert video. The messages do not exactly change just the fact that it could go from a guy talking to an ex of his to the version that Amy Winehouse sang is more like her speaking to an old friend. If that is considered changing the meaning then I guess that it somewhat changes. The tempo of the song is more upbeat and peppy than that of the original by The Zutons. The instrumentals are very different as well. While there are more drums and other rock instruments in the original version and the newer version has more peppy and pop-like instruments. The vocals also have a difference because there is a slower tempo to the way the singer sings the song compared to Amy Winehouse. He also stresses different words and syllables than she does in order to create a unique sound that is not copied. The intended audience is kind of hard to place but I can only assume that the audience for The Zutons’ version is probably directed more towards men and people who enjoy rock music. Winehouse’s version is most likely directed towards females and the more hip and pop-type audience of the modern day people.

Top 3 Songs that make me feel HAPPY

One song that makes me happy is the song Count on you by Bruno Mars. I feel like this song just has such a cute little beat and meaning to it. The song includes many different versions of figurative language that are highly unlikely but somewhat intriguing and magical. For instance when the speaker says “If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea I’ll sail the world to find you” which is so cute and is an exaggeration and I think a metaphor because there is not anyone literally stuck in the middle of the sea and sailing the world is not really going to happen. Through the use of the imagery the speaker makes the song, at least to me, feel as if he is speaking to a friend or someone he is really close to and would do anything for. I just love the overall message of the song and how it sounds, it makes me think about my best friends and how we are so close and would do anything for each other.

The next song that makes me feel happy is the song Rather Be by Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne. This song makes me feel happy because of the overall upbeat and happy mood that it exudes. The song uses many examples of hyperboles to stress that no matter where the speaker is she would always rather be with that one person, or perhaps a group of people. The hyperboles make me think of how I feel when my college friends leave for school and I don’t get to see them until the summer. The song also has a cute little oxymoron “we’re different and the same” which makes me feel like how even though my friends and I are not the same people we get along well together and we have great times.

Fancy by Iggy Azalea makes me feel happy for a few different reasons. The song has a few similes and different examples of figurative language. The lyrics just make me feel so fancy. The song can be a good one to listen to when I just wanna feel like I’m super posh and like I’m like the queen of England or something like that. The song uses imagery of different objects or scenes that a really rich person would experience and it makes me feel like me and Iggy can relate concerning the fabulous life that she lives.

Top 10 Poetic Songs

American Pie: I would have to say that this song is poetic because it contains many devices that reveal an intricate story of the three musicians (Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper). The devices show how their passing made “the music die”. The song has so many historical allusions as well.

Yellow Submarine: The song exudes a happy and dream-like feeling by using many different examples of imagery and different literary elements that further the happy vibes. The song includes many metaphors in simplistic terms since it was meant to be written for children. Like the submarine is a metaphor for pressure that people feel and the sea of green is money. It has so many literary elements that, on the surface, don’t seem very relevant but they are talking about the society and how life is.

Sympathy for the devil: This song uses many allusions concerning the devil, in fact the whole thing is from the perspective of the devil. The song also alludes to how the different things in history have to do with the devil.

Hotel California: The song kind of tells a story about how this traveler arrives at the hotel. The song is mainly imagery in order to show the point of view of an outsider. By telling it like this and making the hotel and woman seem so luxurious they show that it’s speaking about the upper class and how their lives seem so good. So it tells a story that has underlying meaning; the rich life is not all it cracks up to be. The first part of a song symbolizes what the high life is fantasized to be while the second part shows the reality of it.

White Rabbit: The song is one big allusion to the book/movie of Alice in Wonderland. It shows the way the song is a constant allusion through and through by the title which is a reference to Alice in Wonderland.

Star Spangled Banner: This kind of is really poetic considering the song started off as a poem and later put to music. Also who can argue with America?

Silent Night: the song is a big allusion to the story of Jesus and Christmas. With vivid imagery the story is told

Moon River: This song consists of many examples of imagery, allusion and also hyperbole. The song may be short but it packs a big punch.

Stranger in Paradise: This song has a lot of examples of metaphors in order to explain the way that the speaker feels.

Tenderly: The song uses a lot of personification and different metaphors. It also has many different versions of figurative language that I couldn’t quite put a name to.

Theme analysis song #4: "Let it be" by The Beatles

In the song “Let it Be” by the Beatles there are examples of allusion, symbolism, and also metaphors in order to portray the fact that people can get over hard times and keep themselves strong. An example of an allusion is the line “when I find myself in times of trouble mother mary comes to me” which is alluding to Mary in the bible in order to show that something higher up than himself is helping him through the hard times he is facing. “mother mary” is a religious reference which the speaker uses in order for him to portray his religion and how by using his religion is a symbolism for looking towards faith or something higher up in order to get through tough times. The way I took it would be that by alluding to religion the speaker means that when he’s in a bad time in his life he prays, looking to religion, to solve (or just get through) his problems. “And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me” when the speaker refers to an hour of darkness it is a metaphor that compares his troubled times to an hour of darkness. Darkness is usually symbolic of a bad event and something that has negatively impacted the speaker. This is also an example of figurative language because she isn’t literally in front of him giving him advice and answers on what to do in order to make things better to get over his hard times. “And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me” this is both a metaphor and symbolic. It is comparing the speaker’s bad moments to a cloud but the light is being compared to something that is bright in their life. The night is symbolic of a bad memory as well and the light that is shining on the speaker could be the realization that they can get through it and have the ability to overcome their hard times.

Theme analysis song #3: "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus

 The Climb by Miley Cyrus In her song, The Climb, Miley Cyrus uses hyperboles, metaphors, and also personification in order to convey her message of overcoming things in life that may be hard and seem like they are impossible to get over. She often uses things like “every step I’m taking. Every move I make feels lost with no direction…” to exaggerate how whenever she does things she feels as if it’s not right. This is an example of a hyperbole, she uses the example of every step she takes and every move to show that even the smallest movements and most trivial things that she does even can make her feel lost and as if she has no concept of where she is going in life. An a example of a metaphor used in the song is “there’s always gonna be another mountain. I’m always gonna wanna make it move.” which the mountain is meant to represent her struggle and by making it move she is using figurative language because she is not literally moving a mountain it is just a form of expression to say that they are capable of something extraordinary. Another form of a metaphor is “there’s always gonna be an uphill battle sometimes I’m gonna have to lose” which is comparing her future struggles to a battle which means there are ups and downs and sometimes she will lose the battle but that is the point of life. No one goes through life easily. “ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side” the other side is symbolic of the next moment in life and what she wants to convey is that you should live in the moment and get through all the struggles. A form of personification is “the chances I’m taking sometimes might knock me down…” which personifies the chances she takes by saying they could knock her down in order to say that by taking chances she risks being knocked down and failing but she keeps moving on despite the sadness. This song relates to my theme of getting through rough times because the speaker just wants to get through life and live by staying strong, even through her struggles and setbacks.

Theme analysis song #2: "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKCGBv65w_M

 The song Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson shows my theme of leaving the past behind and overcoming struggles of the past by using literary devices such as imagery, synesthesia, and metaphors in order to suggest her want to move on with her life and go further to places she has dreamt of going. “Grew up in a small town and when the rain would fall down I'd just stare out my window. Dreaming of what could be and if I’d end up happy, I would pray” is imagery which allows the reader to sympathize with the speaker and picture what she would do on rainy days when she had nothing else to do but let her thoughts wash over her mind. I feel as though the use of this imagery does a good job at foreshadowing the feelings the speaker has towards her hometown and that she is looking forward to the future. I believe that this allows for the reader, or listener, to relate to how when people are younger and still living with their parents they dream about the future and leaving to start a life of their own. An example of figurative language that the speaker uses is “when I tried to speak out felt like no one could hear me” what she means is that (I picture this speaker as a high school student) she would speak with adults and tell them of her life or her plans or even visions and she was not understood which is why she feels as if no one hears what she is saying. By foreshadowing that she is not happy, or at least feeling some discontent, the speaker leads us to her point that she wants to “spread [her] wings and I’ll learn how to fly I’ll do what it takes til’ I touch the sky”. She uses this as a metaphor, she is essentially comparing herself to a bird. She wants to learn how to do things herself and go on her way to her future to get out of her small town. The whole song is about how the speaker plans to overcome her loneliness of living in a small town and expand her life so that she can accomplish everything she has dreamt of. “Out of the darkness and into the sun” is an example of figurative language because it means that she is emerging from somewhere where she was not happy, which the darkness symbolizes, and she goes “into the sun” which means that she is following her dreams and leaving the past behind her. “Wanna feel the warm breeze sleep under a palm tree feel the rush of the ocean” this is an example of synesthesia because of the way it describes the feel of both the breeze and the ocean. The speaker uses this to help convey the message of the song because she wants her audience to see the appeal of how she pictures where she wants to be in her future. I’d like to make note that when she speaks of where she is at the beginning, which is her hometown, she isn’t happy with it and she constantly is dreaming of getting out which she describes it as dark and rainy. Yet she describes the place she dreams of as warm and sunny. I believe she did this to make the place she dreams of seem more desirable and idealistic for someone who wants to escape a small hometown. This ties into my theme because it shows how she wishes to leave her past behind her and break free from what she has always known.

Theme analysis song #1: "Shake it out" by Florence and the Machine

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCWnVznnWcs

        The band Florence and the Machine use literary elements such as paradox, metaphor, similes, and also figurative language in the song "Shake it out" in order to convey the common theme of overcoming hard times they have faced. A paradox that is repeated throughout the song is “It’s always darkest before the dawn” which is contradictory because darkness is usually referred to when thinking of the night while the dawn is more represented by light. This could also be figurative language because it is literally darkest before the dawn but also it means that everyone, no matter who they are, face hard times before they can overcome them and face the good times. An important simile that adds to the song as a whole is “regrets collect like old friends” which is comparing the collection of regrets that she has to the meeting up of old friends who have lost touch but every so often come back and linger on her mind. “And all of the ghouls come out to play” is a metaphor for the ghouls who are her regrets and bad thoughts that reveal themselves when she has moments of freethinking. Another example of a metaphor is “And every demon wants his pound of flesh” which means that the “demons” which are her thoughts fight to be the one to bother her at a certain moment in time. So all of her pent up thoughts are being brought up when she thinks about them, and it is hard for her to focus on one as they all are on her mind. “I can never leave the past behind” is figurative language because it is saying that she can not leave the past behind which is, if you look at it from a literal view, impossible, but it means that she can not leave what has happened to her in the past and she continues to go back to thinking about it. “Tonight I’m gonna bury that horse in the ground” is a metaphor for the way the speaker is going to finally let go of the bad time or thoughts that she has been holding onto for so long. “It’s hard to dance with a devil on your back so shake him off” which is a metaphor because she is saying that she can’t live her life the way she wants if she has not let go of things that are bringing her down. These poetic elements work towards my theme, of overcoming struggles and leaving the past behind, by showing that the speaker has gone through a harsh time which is usually symbolized by the word “dark” and she overcomes the dark by saying that she has buried it and she is shaking it out.

Comparison of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" Video and Song

In Pink Floyd’s song The Wall the video and song both share the similar idea of stifled creativity and the society trying to diminish individuality. In the song it repeats the idea of bricks. Maybe the song writer wanted to convey that the bricks are a metaphor for people in the society. By saying that they’re just bricks in the wall one can only assume that they mean the wall is the world , or society, and the bricks are people who are being molded how everyone else wants them to be. That being said, this idea of conforming to society and being just like everyone else is shown in the video through various things like masks, the many bricks, the train, and also the conveyor belt. The masks worn by the children shows that they are not their own individual people they’re all the same. The masks were expressionless and had no concept of what the individual underneath it looked like. This shows what the song wanted to convey because the children were all the same, wearing the same clothes and also masks that were all the same so basically they were just the same people who had the same thoughts. The train and the way the people were reaching out of it as they arrived could be the film maker’s way of showing that these people did not really want to conform to society and they all just wanted to be themselves to suggest that the rest of the video will have them being molded and forced into what society wants them to be like. I really think that the conveyor belt just adds to the meaning of the song. It creates a more visual and straightforward way to comprehend the song. By having the conveyor belt it shows how the song really does mean that society is shaping people to be the same. No one has any individual thoughts or feelings, and by showing a conveyor belt with the children on it, it’s as if they are mass produced like many of the modern day things that are all alike with no contrast to set them apart from the others. I think that maybe the songwriter wanted to say that the school systems are molding kids into what they think they should be like, not allowing them to show their creativity or individual thoughts. Then again if you don’t take it in such a literal sense the teacher could be society and the kids they’re talking about could be people in general. Either way both the video and the song convey that there is a strong influence that wants people to all be alike and have the same thought processes and no individuality.

Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

    Through the use of dual perspectives, Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now shifts from naïve and hopeful about life and love to being experienced but disillusioned by them in order to suggest that "something's lost and something's gained in living every day."  Mitchell uses the example in the third stanza that she has lost friends on her way to figuring out life and love. She was able to gain some insight on what love actually is, yet she lost friends on her way there. The way she suggests that something is gained and lost in the circle of life is through imagery and different stages of her life. All throughout she speaks of not knowing what life is to not knowing what love is and still not knowing despite the fact that she has had many experiences. I, personally, can relate this to my own life because when she sings about looking at life from both sides, although I haven’t really lived very long I can see the vast difference in my views from when I was a little kid. What I relate to in the song is when she goes from being a child to being a young adult I can feel the way she is describing. The imagery she uses to describe herself as a child amplifies the reality of the song. Every human goes through different stages of life. Mitchell takes her audience through the stages by using imaginative examples. By using the motif of looking at things from both sides, at least in my opinion, means that as she grew up her views on certain topics have changed. She goes from childhood thinking that all the world is just ice cream castles and like a fairy tale, to slowly realizing that the world is more abstract than she once had thought as a young child.

"Hallelujah"

             Well I heard there was a secret chord

that David played and it pleased the Lord

This is an illusion to the bible where David was a peasant who later became king. Although his many bad deeds he always was honest and was loved by the lord

But you don't really care for music, do you?

I feel like you could take it as the literal way where the story is about David but my interpretation of the song without any of the background information I would say that it means that no matter what this guy can’t do anything right for the girl. The music that was pleasing to the lord, the highest symbol in every aspect of life, wasn’t even good enough

Well it goes like this:

The fourth, the fifth,

The minor fall and the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

compared to the end of the song this hallelujah has a good connotation and it means that the king gave his praise after hearing the song

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...

Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you

The beauty of this girl is so strong that he forgets that she isn’t good for him and that the relationship is that of a toxic one. This is also personification giving the beauty and moonlight human like qualities like overthrowing him as if he’s a king (my interpretation of it even though I know it’s about David). He let his guard down when he saw her beauty and it overthrew him like it was opposing him and was like a warrior or something.

She tied you to her kitchen chair

The girl is trying to tie him down and get him to conform to what she wants him to be like.

She broke your throne and she cut your hair

This is an allusion to Samson, the longer his hair the stronger he was so when “she” cut his hair is meaning that she is taking away his manliness or his personality and voice. If he’s being seen as a king then by breaking his throne she would be knocking him down and controlling him.

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

This means that she was almost demanding or forcing him to praise her by "drawing" it from his lips.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...

Baby I've been here before

I've seen this room and I've walked this floor

This guy has seen the room and by room it means the girl which is a metaphor, and the floor is a metaphor for how he’s seen how these relationships turn out and how it’s not good for people.

I used to live alone before I knew you

And I've seen your flag on the marble arch

A flag is symbolic of either defeat by surrendering or victory, in this case it is victory. With her flag hanging it means that she sees it as her winning that she “conquered” him and got him to be how she expected/wanted him to be

and love is not a victory march

This means that love isn’t supposed to be something that you show off or you win or lose, the relationship was supposed to be equal but this girl made it almost her goal to “win”

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

The prayer of him being able to love this girl and have them be equal and happy is basically broken, hence the cold and broken prayer that will most likely never be answered

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...

there was a time when you let me know

What's really going on below

There was a time in their relationship before she started to drift away that they could talk and know what was going on in each other’s heads.

But now you never show that to me, do you?

The girl is almost pushing him away not talking to him as they used to

But remember when I moved in you

And the holy dove was moving too

And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

They used to have something that was peaceful and amazing (the dove is a symbol of peace) and here hallelujah has a positive connotation meaning that they breathed they had what seemed like something that wouldn’t change

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...

Maybe there's a God above

But all I've ever learned from love

Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you

An allusion to the old west where they would have a showdown and whoever pulled their gun first would win. By using this reference he means that all he ever learned from love was at the first sign of anyone pushing away from him he’d push away immediately to protect himself.

And it's not a cry that you hear at night

It's not somebody who's seen the light

The light is a metaphor for other relationships like this and how somebody who had been through it would be more apprehensive in the situation

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Repetition to stress that the relationship is still cold and broken and it has no love

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah

   

A device that Leonard Cohen used in this song is allusion. Throughout the song he makes many biblical references many of which involve David. He tells a story of David while also making it relatable to the modern day. In the first verse he states “that David played and he pleased the lord” which is alluding to how David was mostly a bad person but because of how honest he was he was forgiven. He also alludes to Samson and when it says cut your hair it is alluding to the story of how the longer his hair was the stronger he was and by in the song cutting the speaker’s hair the girl is taking away his strength to be his own person

Another device used is metaphor. By mentioning the dove it is a metaphor/symbol of peace which is useful to describe what they once had that had disappeared. He says hallelujah which is a metaphor for their relationship and its hanging on the edge like a prayer. The music that she doesn't like is a metaphor for how the girl is never happy with anything he does and he can't please her.

The last device is repetition. The whole chorus is basically saying hallelujah which like I said in the paragraph above is to say that they're or atleast he is praying for the relationship to succeed. By saying he drew the hallelujah it means that the girl is pulling it from him