R.A.F.T.

role - Carrie Underwood
audience - ex-boyfriends
format - "burn book"
topic - why their relationships did not last

Cover Song Analysis: "What Hurts the Most"

Once in a while, a popular and current band remakes the song of a previous artist; making it their own by adding a new and creative spin to the hit. Mark Wills, a talented country singer, was chosen to sing “What Hurts the Most” by the writers of the song, Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson. "What Hurts the Most" was released for the first time on Wills 2003 album "And the Crowd Goes Wild". Although the original song by Wills was not as popular or profound as versions that would be sung later in the decade, "What Hurts the Most" is said to be one of his greatest hits. However, a mere three years later, the contemporary style of the now famous Rascal Flatts would transform the song into one that would set outstanding records in the category of country music.

The unique twang of the Rascal Flatts lead singer, Gary LeVox, in unison with the instrumental expertise of Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus combine to form a new level of country music. Throughout their musical career, the three entrepreneurs have soared with an incredible ten number one singles. Perhaps one of their most renowned hits, “What Hurts the Most” was the number one song in the United States for 4 weeks in 2006. Even more profound, the version by the Rascal Flatts ranked twenty-six on Billboards Top 100 songs for that year. The album “Me and My Gang”, which debut the song, reached the double platinum status just one month after being released. Although the version of “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts was different from Mark Wills’ original version in regards to the rank of the songs, the lyrics and the message remained

unchanged.

Poetic devices are pervasive throughout the original and lesser known version of “What Hurts the Most” by Mark Wills. The narrative throughout the song portrays the loneliness and heartbrokenness of someone that has just lost someone that was dear to them. In the same way, the singer describes how “[dealing] with the pain of losing [them]” was unbearable. Ubiquitous, alliteration is used all through the song to enhance the lyrics. When illustrating the pain that is present, the story teller says he is overwhelmed with “having so much to say/and watching [her] walk away”. The alliteration that is utilized in these two lines of the chorus was employed to augment the narrative as a whole. Similar to the use of alliteration throughout the song, hyperbole is exploited in the chorus to make certain that the audience is aware of the singer’s hardship during this time. He describes the experience of losing this woman that he loved as something that “hurt the most”. In essence, the narrator, using a metaphor, compares losing the love of his life to the worst thing imaginable.

Because the lyrics of the Mark Wills version of “What Hurts the Most” are similar to that of the more recent Rascal Flatts version, the same poetic devices are utilized in the song. However, the endings of the two songs are dissimilar. Instead of ending the song by repeating the chorus, which is the method that Mark Wills made use of, Rascal Flatts terminated the song by emphasizing that the narrator “was trying to” love this woman”. Another modification that Rascal Flatts made to the lyrics was in the first verse of the song. The singer in the original versions states that “going on with [her] still upsets [him]”. On the contrary, Rascal Flatts version describes the singer being upset by “going on with [her] gone”. By taking a different approach to the song, Rascal Flatts changed the viewpoint of the narrator from being discontent whenever he saw the girl he loved, to being lost without her love. Finally, the music in the version of “What Hurts the Most” is mellower and less optimistic when compared to the upbeat tempo of Mark Wills original version.

By and large, the transformations to “What Hurts the Most” that were made by Rascal Flatts had a profound effect on the song as a whole and the impact that the song had on the audience. Because the feelings of being brokenhearted and forlorn are pervasive in society today, the band altered the song in order to connect with the audience. The melody and tempo were also modified so as to match the tone of the song and mood of the narrator who has been faced with these unbearable situations. Even though the artists are similar in regards to their musical styling’s, the Rascal Flatts cover version of the song “What Hurts the Most”, that was originally sung by Mark Wills, was altered in order to benefit the song all together. By adjusting the music without drastically changing the lyrics, Rascal Flatts preserved the nature of the song, while still leaving their own impression on the music industry.

Oil Slicked Bird Attempts to Get Out of the Water – “Try” by Hayden Panettiere

The image of the small, oil-slicked bird in the Gulf of Mexico attempting to scale the side of a supply vessel mirrors the message that is depicted in Hayden Panettiere’s “Try”. Presently, the predicament that the bird finds itself in “seems impossible” to overcome. However, because its life depends on finding dry land where it can clean itself, the bird must continue to “try” and achieve what seems unattainable at the time. The message of the song is to never give up and let “nothing hold you back”, which is portrayed in the birds efforts to save its own life.

Anti-War Demonstrations and Protests – “Come Together” by the Beatles

When I look at this picture, I am reminded of the song “Come Together” by the Beatles. During the Vietnam War, thousands of people joined forces as a means of protesting and displaying their anti-war beliefs. As is described in the song, many people with many backgrounds “came together” during this time in order to fight a common cause. The Beatles also described the belief that “you got to be free”, which was a reoccurring theme at anti-Vietnam War protests.

Girl Holding Her Sister - “I’ll Stand By You” by the Pretenders

The picture of the small Afghan girl holding her young sister depicts the Pretenders “I’ll Stand By You”. By holding tightly to her sister, the Afghan child portrays that “[she’ll] never desert [her sister]”. In the same way, because the smallest sister most likely fully depends on her older sister, this song parallels the feelings and the devotion that the older of the two girls has toward the other.

Tone in Song

Tone is the attitude of the band toward their listeners. In the case of Boston’s “Rock n’ Roll Band” and Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar”, the bands are singing about the same subject matter, fame in rock and roll music. However, the tone that is conveyed by the bands are entirely different. Boston’s “Rock and Roll Band” suggests the ease and happiness that can be associated with fame in the rock and roll industry. On the contrary, Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” mocks the fame that is associated with rock and roll, and communicates the depressing and dark realties of this fame.

In Boston’s “Rock n’ Roll Band”, the band has a positive outlook on the fame that is associated with being in a rock and roll band. “No, we didn’t have much money/We barely made enough to survive/But when we got up on stage and got ready to play/People come alive” (Boston). The tone of the band as displayed in this song is that fame is worthwhile, even though it may be hard to come by. Fame, as is portrayed in “Rock n’ Roll Band”, shows that fame in rock and roll is valuable and always exciting. Because the tone of the song is positive, the band is able to convince their listeners with their optimism.

Unlike Boston’s tone toward fame in the rock and roll industry, Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” depicts a depressing and darker feeling toward the industry. The band makes use of satire by mocking the fame that is associated with fame in the rock and roll industry. Throughout “Have a Cigar”, a skeptical and cynical outlook on being famous is apparent. “Well I’ve always had a deep respect/And I mean that most sincere/The band is just fantastic/that is really what I think” (Floyd).

The two bands take a different approach at describing fame in rock and roll, and the tones in the two songs are dissimilar even though the subject matter is the same. Despite this, the two songs have some similarities. “Have a Cigar” and “Rock n’ Roll Band” are both about being in a rock and roll band and the fame that entails. Also, both bands use the motif of a cigar and compare this with fame in the industry. Ordinarily, cigars are used to represent victory, privilege, and celebration. In Floyd's "Have a Cigar", the use of the cigar is to mock the ease that is thought to accompany fame in the music industry. “Come in here, Dear boy, have a cigar/You’re gonna go far/You’re gonna fly high” (Floyd). However, Boston uses the motif of a cigar as a symbol of prosperity and affluence in “Rock n’ Roll Band”. “A man came to the stage one night/He smoked a big cigar/Drove a Cadillac car” (Boston).

Back Masking and Reverse Speech

Often in songs there is a message that can be found when listening to the song backwards. However, these messages are often sought after with such intensity that they can be created solely based on what the listener believe he or she hears. While sometimes the messages are intentional, they can be looked into too much and thought to exist even when that was not the intention of the song writer. In my opinion, back masking does exist in some songs based on the artists intentions. Also, I believe that reverse speech is based on what the audience chooses to hear while listening to the song, and it may be different from what another person hears.

1. Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" is a prime example of back masking. This song has a distinct message when played both forward and backward, and the backward lyrics are clear unlike several other examples. The references to Satan when the song is listened to in reverse is common in back masking in many songs, making it more clear that the back masking was intentional.

2. Another example of intentional back masking in song is in "I'm So Tired" by the Beatles. When played forward, a certain part of the song is only gibberish with no actual lyrics. Then, when the song is played backwards, the lyrics are "Paul is a dead man. Miss him, miss him, miss him". Because the song is merely gibberish forward and has a message backwards, the back masking was intentional. Also, often in the Beatles music, there are hints that Paul McCartney was dead.

3. Eminem's "My name is" is another example of back masking in song that was done on purpose in my opinion. When listened to backwards, the listener can hear "It is Slim. It's Eminem, it's Eminem...". In my opinion, this is on purpose because one is able to clearly hear the name of the singer when the song is listened to backwards. Therefore, this example of back masking is not hogwash, but intentional.

4. Because the song is indistinguishable when played forward, Pink Floyd's "Empty Spaces" is a prime example of back masking. The message backwards is "Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret message. Please send your message to old pink, care of the funny farm, Chalfont". The secret message, or back masking, is done on purpose in this case as is stated when the song is listened to backwards.

5. Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" is not an example of back masking. One is not able to hear the backward lyrics distinctly, and they can vary depending on the listener. These backwards song lyrics may have been "discovered" solely based on her Spears' reputation.

6. Another excellent example of back masking is Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust". In the song, "Another one bites the dust" is repeated four times. When listening to these lyrics backwards, one can hear "It's fun to smoke marijuana". These lyrics are clear and, because of the time that the song came out and the time that the band was popular, the topic of smoking was ever present. The popular saying of the time, "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" also portrays that this example is intentional back masking.

7. The apparent back masking in the "Pokemon Rap" is hogwash. One can not hear what is supposed to say "I love Satan". Also, because Pokemon is geared toward the younger generation, I do not believe that these backward lyrics were on purpose. In my opinion, this supposed example of back masking has been read too much into.

8. In Weird Al's "Nature Trail to Hell", there is a true example of back masking. Weird Al's songs are usually strange and abnormal. Therefore, when the backwards lyrics read "Satan eats Cheese Whiz", I believe this is intentional. Also, the forward lyrics are gibberish which makes it more obvious that the back masking was done on purpose.

9. "Kiss Kiss Kiss" by Yoko Ono is supposedly an example of back masking. However, the lyrics, when played forward, are in a different language. Due to this fact, I believe that the lyrics were not intentionally sung to say "I shot John Lennon" backwards. Also, Ono was Lennon's partner, and therefore this "back masking" does not make sense.

10. In my opinion, the best example of back masking in song appears when the song "Fire on High" by ELO is played backwards. This is the best example in my opinion because the original lyrics are indistinguishable, but when listened to backwards, the lyrics are very clear. Also, the backwards read that "the music is reversible". In ELO's song, one can be quite certain that the back masking in the song was intentional.

All in all, I believe that back masking is used in some songs to get a message across. However, people have listened to songs backwards and supposedly heard messages which were not intended by the song writers. I believe that back masking has to be done on purpose in songs and cannot be unintentional.