think about your favorite songs and the messages the artists may be trying to convey.\npick one song and use…

think about your favorite songs and the messages the artists may be trying to convey.\npick one song and use google for a copy of the lyrics. copy and paste the lyrics at the top of your writing (remember to identify the artist and song title).\nthen, write at least three (2) paragraphs explaining (a) what you believe the message of the song is, (b) how the music adds to or deletes from the message presented in the lyrics, and (c) why you chose this particular song.

think about your favorite songs and the messages the artists may be trying to convey.\npick one song and use google for a copy of the lyrics. copy and paste the lyrics at the top of your writing (remember to identify the artist and song title).\nthen, write at least three (2) paragraphs explaining (a) what you believe the message of the song is, (b) how the music adds to or deletes from the message presented in the lyrics, and (c) why you chose this particular song.

Answer

Brief Explanations:

  1. First, select a meaningful song, retrieve its full lyrics, and properly cite the artist and title.
  2. For part (a): Analyze the lyrical content (themes, imagery, narrative) to define the core message (e.g., resilience, love, social commentary).
  3. For part (b): Connect musical elements (tempo, instrumentation, vocal tone, genre) to the lyrical message—explain how they amplify, soften, or recontextualize the words.
  4. For part (c): Link personal experience, connection to the message, or cultural relevance to explain why this song was chosen over others.

Answer:

Example Response:

Artist: Billie Eilish Song Title: What Was I Made For? Lyrics: I used to float, now I just fall down I used to know, but I'm not sure now What I was made for What was I made for? Taking a drive, I was an ideal Looked so alive, turns out I'm not real Just something you paid for What was I made for? 'Cause I, I don't know how to feel But I wanna try I don't know how to feel But I wanna try I don't know how to feel But I wanna try Tell me, what was I made for? Hmm-mm-mm I used to see the floor through the ceiling Used to cry, now I don't even feel it I don't know how to feel But I wanna try Tell me, what was I made for?

(a) The core message of What Was I Made For? is the quiet, disorienting grief of losing a sense of purpose and identity. The lyrics frame this as a hollowing-out: the speaker moves from feeling "alive" and idealistic to feeling like a performative, ungenuine "something you paid for." It captures the numbness of existential confusion, paired with a fragile, lingering desire to reconnect with emotion and meaning.

(b) The music amplifies this intimate, mournful message perfectly. The slow, sparse piano melody creates a hollow, empty sonic space that mirrors the speaker's sense of emptiness. Billie Eilish's soft, breathy vocal delivery feels like a private confession, avoiding dramatic flair to emphasize the quiet, internal nature of this crisis. The gradual build of subtle vocal harmonies in the final verses adds a layer of quiet longing, reinforcing the line "I don't know how to feel, but I wanna try" without overwhelming the song's delicate, introspective core. There is no loud instrumentation or tempo shift—this restraint keeps the focus on the raw, vulnerable confusion of the lyrics.

(c) I chose this song because it articulates a feeling of quiet disorientation that is often hard to put into words. During a period of transition after graduating college, I struggled to reconcile the "ideal" version of myself I had imagined with the uncertainty of my real life. This song didn't offer a solution, but it validated the messy, numb feeling of not knowing my own purpose, which made me feel less alone. Its understated, honest tone feels far more relatable than more bombastic songs about self-doubt, and it has become a gentle touchstone for acknowledging and sitting with uncertainty rather than rushing to fix it.