Running head: RESEARCHED ARTICLE 1

Shadow Grading Cover Letter- Researched Article

To revise my Researched Article, I follow through on removing my personal opinions from the

article, put my citing in alphabetical order, included citations for my primary sources,

reformatted the title page and the headers, and added more to my methodology in including how

I found the lyrics for each song. I also included my results section because I failed to include it

the first time I submitted this assignment. The last change I made was including more in my

discussions section and basing it off the different codes I used in my Data Analysis. The personal

opinions I removed because they’re unprofessional when it comes to a serious report supported

by facts and evidence, reformatted the document to build upon that professional look to my

paper, and included more methodology so that my research may more easily be reproduced. The

discussions section was updated in order to have more relevant material based on my primary

sources and connecting it to my research.

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Researched Article

Parker R. Bourassa

University of Central Florida

ENC1102- English Composition 2

Professor Illeia Mooney

April 20, 2020

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Introduction

Downs (2019) defines rhetoric as the way individuals communicate ideas and interpret

meaning. We apply that definition of rhetoric to our genres, which, defined by Lowe (2010), are

tools such as writing, texting, lyrics, etc, used within a community to communicate ideas. The

rock community relies on both the definition of rhetoric as well as the definition of genre, in

order to cement the foundation of lyrics’ effectiveness as a genre. The rock community has

always been one I’ve identified with and has been of interest to me, having grown up on it, and

the lyrics and their different interpretations have stood out to me over all this time. The way the

media portrays the lyrics of rock songs has been controversial, and it’s important to analyze how

lyrics are interpreted in both positive and negative meanings.

In my project, the most important element of my research has been the lyrics in songs

themselves and the ways that people interpret them. While constructing a sentence, using the

right choice of words, or opting out one word for a synonym can have a huge impact on the

meaning of the lyrics. For example, the sentences “sinking in sadness” and “drowning in sorrow”

have the same meaning, but very different impacts. People argue both sides for whether or not

song lyrics are poetry, but what is the definition of poetry? Astor (2010) argues that poetry must

be in a formal context and presentation, meaning that while they may have meaning, rock lyrics

are not poetry. But that brings forth another question, what is defined as formal? After all, the

words are written, produced, and released through a studio while some poems are just written

down somewhere and published. Steinholt (2003) views lyrics as poetry because in Russian

culture, they study rock lyrics just as we study poetry in America, both are rhetoric-dense and

can teach a lot about language. I think that both questions, the ones about the definitions of

poetry and formal, are too subjective to have a definite answer, so rock lyrics may be interpreted
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as poetry by the careful listener. With the poetic question in purgatory, no one disputes that the

lyrics carry weight and have meaning, so there are most definitely positive and negative

interpretations just like how there are positive and negative interpretations in poetry.

Another crucial aspect that my research has broached was the idea of social framing in

the way that lyrics are interpreted. Cutietta (1986) talks about explicit lyrics in rock music, and

how it was a concern for parents in older days because they had no idea of knowing what content

would be on the records they purchased. Because of this, rock music was often avoided and

parents would scold their children for listening to music with explicit lyrics. This scolding and

social framing due to a parent’s opinion shaped a negative perspective on rock for some people

who haven’t even gone into the genre on their own. Binder (1993) calls to attention the

demographics of the listeners of rock having an impact on social framing and the negative

perspective on the genre. Binder references an example for Rap music’s reputation being

damaged by a few rappers getting arrested, despite it having nothing to do with their music. The

same type of judgment can be passed onto Rock music with news about different musicians’

drug abuse, like of Three Days Grace’s Adam Gontier and Metallica’s James Hetfield both going

to rehab. There is also the notorious “Twenty-Seven Club” which is a name for the trend of

musicians dying either from suicide or drug overdose around the age of 27. These behaviors

don’t have anything to do with the music they create, and their lyrics don’t advocate the use of

drugs. In Three Days Grace’s song “Over and Over,” Adam sings about his addiction to

Oxycontin, and how he knows it isn’t good for him with lyrics such as “I know what’s best for

me but I want you instead.” The media only likes to tell everyone who’s going to rehab and who

overdosed, and they frame it as “shame on this person for abusing drugs” instead of “we’re
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proud of this person for taking steps to improve their lives and throw away their unhealthy

addictions.”

Reviewing these articles, I’ve learned a lot about lyrics being interpreted differently just

like any other words someone can say. Lyrics are a genre, used by the musical community, and

depending on the situations that people were exposed to those lyrics, they can interpret them in

very different ways. It may come from parents or the media framing the words and the

community in a certain way, and it may come from the words themselves striking different

meanings based on the reader/listener’s thoughts on a song’s particular diction. For lyrics to

successfully fulfill their message without fail, I believe it would be optimal to have no bias as

well as a strong foundation of rhetoric to understand not only literal meanings, but also rhetorical

devices such as metaphors and sarcasm.

Method

In order to collect usable information for my project, my primary research consisted of

randomly selecting songs that fit my criteria of rock music, which I did by shuffling through a

very large playlist of various artists and analyzing the songs that come up. I then put together

different codes including tone of the song, lyrics, and the topic being addressed in the song along

with the artist’s perspective of it. The tone may match or contrast the lyrics, which completely

changes the meaning (if you think for example, Pumped Up Kicks), the lyrics may be read by

their denotation or between the lines for a different meaning, and the topic addressed along with

the artist’s perspective can be interpreted either positively or negatively depending on the other

factors. The songs that I randomly selected were Doomed -– by Bring Me The Horizon, I Have a

Problem -– by Beartooth, Bullet -– by Hollywood Undead, and 45 -– by Shinedown. The way

that I found the lyrics for each song was simply by googling them and finding the most reputable
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sources that take the author’s input into account as well, such as “Genius.” I believe that the first

song, 45 by Shinedown, has a positive meaning in the way that people have had the type of

feelings like their life has been wasted and not seeing any light at the end. What’s positive about

that is it’s a feeling we all go through and it’s comforting knowing your feelings are valid and

that you’re able to pick yourself back up. The second song, Bullet by Hollywood Undead, gives

us the perspective of someone about to commit suicide but it’s put in an upbeat, happy song. I

think it’s a positive message because it makes you more aware of suicide, and there are people

out there putting on a happy exterior that really need help, and it teaches people to stay vigilant

for any signs that the ones they love are not okay. The third song, Doomed by Bring Me The

Horizon, is about not being able to outrun your demons, so embracing them instead. The

message is positive to me because there’s always going to be problems in the world, and some of

them you just can’t resolve. So being able to make peace with yourself despite the situation is a

positive message to me. The fourth song, I Have A Problem by Beartooth, I think is an amazing

example of how rock music’s meaning flies over the head of non-careful listeners. The sound is

aggressive and desperate, but the message is about getting help. Addiction is a serious topic

many people struggle with, and the first step is accepting it, and this song brings people to

recognize that and start searching for solutions, which to me is most definitely a positive

message.

Results

The first song, 45 by Shinedown, has a positive meaning in the way that people have had

the type of feelings like their life has been wasted and not seeing any light at the end. What’s

positive about that is it’s a feeling we all go through and it’s comforting knowing your feelings

are valid and that you’re able to pick yourself back up. The second song, Bullet by Hollywood
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Undead, gives us the perspective of someone about to commit suicide but it’s put in an upbeat,

happy song. It can be interpreted as a positive message because it makes you more aware of

suicide, and there are people out there putting on a happy exterior that really need help, and it

teaches people to stay vigilant for any signs that the ones they love are not okay. The third song,

Doomed by Bring Me The Horizon, is about not being able to outrun your demons, so embracing

them instead. The message is positive because there’s always going to be problems in the world,

and some of them you just can’t resolve. So being able to make peace with yourself despite the

situation is a positive message outlook. The fourth song, I Have A Problem by Beartooth, is an

amazing example of how rock music’s meaning flies over the head of non-careful listeners. The

sound is aggressive and desperate, but the message is about getting help. Addiction is a serious

topic many people struggle with, and the first step is accepting it, and this song brings people to

recognize that and start searching for solutions, which is most definitely a positive message.

Discussion

My data brings in the whole idea of interpretation being different amongst listeners,

because rock music may be interpreted just like any other form of art. Astor, P. (2010) talks

about how music itself isn’t poetry, but the words still matter. The source claimed that it wasn’t

poetry because of the “informal” presentation of the text, however, the words are like any other

form of art that may be interpreted differently depending on the mind of the reader. If they

wanted to, teachers could actually implement rock music in their curriculum just as they would

poetry, and Steinholt, Y. (2003) talks about how this exact idea is done in Russia because rock

music is the nation’s leading musical culture. The fact that rock music is used in substitution for

other works of art just furthers the idea that rock itself is an art form. Also, like art, music is
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made with an idea in mind, and the way the song is done is the genre and the listener’s

perspective is the effectiveness of that genre. Both of these concepts tie in with my central code

of lyrics. Lyrics, being the words themselves are important for determining the poetic value of a

piece. Lyrics in I Have A Problem have a more blunt and cry for help in their meaning, and

Doomed uses metaphors to cope and provide a better outlook on life and situations.

One of my other essential codes was the tone of a song. The tone often isn’t too tricky to

pinpoint, it’s often the feeling you get without close examination of the entire piece. Cutietta R.

(1986) is a good example of how tone can often stand out just like the sharpness of an explicit

word. However, those explicit words can also shape the tone because of the context behind it and

emotion put into it. Songs with more explicit words are often more emotional unless the words

are used in a satirical or humorous way, and the emotion behind a song is essential for

determining a positive or negative perception of it. The song Bullet by Hollywood Undead is a

great example of this because of the upbeat tone’s contrast for such a sad and serious topic.

A third essential code I included was the topic of the song itself. Some topics are more

taboo, and people tend to shy away from topics that are more serious and controversial like the

topics of abuse, suicide, and depression. The topics of I Have A Problem and Bullet may come

off as negative at first glance, but when you combine the rest of the elements of the song, such as

Bullet’s upbeat tone, and I Have A Problem’s lyrics, it’s easier to find a more positive meaning.

My conclusion is that rock music has both positive and negative interpretations, however,

the interpretation depends entirely on the listener. Music is a form of art, and like art, people will

use their past experiences as well as their knowledge of the world to draw their own meaning

from the piece they’re interpreting. There are different aspects of art that do narrow down the
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types of interpretations, like the tone of the song, the lyrics, and the theme or topic being

addressed. After all, if a song is called “Happy Song” you can assume that happiness will be in

the interpretation, whether or not people say that the song is happy or unhappy is the part that

depends entirely on the listener. In further research, it would be interesting to analyze the people

who interpret songs a certain way. For example, if two people don’t agree on the meaning of a

song, questioning why they feel the way they do about the song would give an insight to how

their brain works, and what traits determine different interpretations.

Works Cited-

References

Astor, P. (2010). The poetry of rock: song lyrics are not poems but the words still matter; another

look at Richard Goldstein's collection of rock lyrics. Popular Music, 29(1), 143-148. Retrieved

February 9, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/40541482

Binder, A. (1993). Constructing Racial Rhetoric: Media Depictions of Harm in Heavy Metal and

Rap Music. American Sociological Review, 58(6), 753-767. Retrieved February 10, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/2095949

Cutietta, R. (1986). Rock music gets a label. Music Educators Journal, 72(8), 36-38. Retrieved

February 9, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/3396657

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DONALDSON, S. (1968). LOVE IN ROCK-AND-ROLL LYRICS. ETC: A Review of General

Semantics, 25(3), 354-358. Retrieved March 3, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/42576257

Larrick, N. (1971). Pop/Rock Lyrics, Poetry and Reading. Journal of Reading, 15(3), 184-190.

Retrieved March 3, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/40032536

Wardle, E., & Downs, D. (2020). Writing about writing (p. 460). Boston, MA: Bedford Books

St. Martins.

Lowe, C., & Zemliansky, P. (2011). Writing spaces: readings on writing. West Lafayette, Ind:

Parlor Press.

Steinholt, Y. (2003). You can't rid a song of Its words: notes on the hegemony of lyrics in

Russian rock songs. Popular Music,22(1), 89-108. Retrieved February 9, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/853558

Beartooth (2013). I Have A Problem [Recorded by Caleb Shomo]. On EP: Sick;  Location: Red

Bull Records

Kean Matthew, Malia Lee David, Nicholls Matthew Stephen, Sykes Oliver Scott, Fish Jordon

Keith Attwood (2015). Doomed On Album: That’s The Spirit; Location: Epitaph Records

Smith Brent, Battaglia Anthony, (2003). 45 [Recorded by Shinedown]. On Album: Leave a

Whisper  Location: Atlantic Records

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Kean Matthew, Malia Lee David, Nicholls Matthew Stephen, Sykes Oliver Scott, Fish Jordon

Keith Attwood

Writers Unknown, Griffin Boice (2011). Bullet [Recorded by Hollywood Undead]. On Album:

American Tragedy Label. A&M Octone Records

Appendices

45 Bullet Doomed I Have A Problem

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Dramatic; Upbeat, happy, Dark, dramatic Verses are heavy,

Melancholy- some childish desperate, and
conveys a sadder aspect angry, chorus is
message; regret hopeful

Tone
Topic: Difficult life; Topic: Suicide; The struggles and Topic: addiction,
Perspective: Denial Perspective: He's darkness that primarily alcohol;
going to attempt it comes into life and Perspective:
embracing it wanting to recover
and live life

Topic
Metaphors like Vivid imagery- "legs The lyrics "Come rain The lines "I'm done
"swimming through are dangling off the on my parade 'cause I lying to myself" and
the ashes of edge" Metaphor: "I'm wanna feel it" are bad "I'm sick of drinking
more scarred, more situations that come
another life" and my life away" show
scarred than my wrist into life and
"Always acceptance of a
is" lyrics convey embracing the pain of
condemning me" wanting to die and it. The metaphor "I problem and
Show listeners a life practically being on thought I'd sold my wanting to resolve
not lived the way the way already which soul but he kept the it, which I find to be
the artist wanted is probably a negative receipt" refers to a positive message
message but relatable giving up but being in resolving
Figurative given a second personal problems.
Language/Lyrics chance
Definitely a sadder Very upbeat and The song, while dark This song's
song. The topic is happy sound, but the in tone, is about aggressive verses
serious, talking lyrics are depressing. embracing whatever reflect the struggle of
The tone makes it comes your way in addiction, and the
about a life gone to
hard to take the lyrics life, being in love with hopeful choruses
waste and no sign
seriously, which to me the mess. I personally reflect self reflection
of resolution. resembles someone find the message to and turning to others
However, it may putting on a happy be positive because as a way to try and
also be something exterior but when you it's about being solve the problem. To
for people to relate listen closely they content despite the me, the message of
to, and there’s need help, and I think situation this song is
comfort in knowing that's the message overwhelmingly about
you aren’t alone. the song is trying to positive change.
Analysis convey.