Lyrics Analysis

Lyrics Analysis

  

As a group we printed out the lyrics of the song, Noserings and Shoestrings by the indie artist Nina Nesbitt for our music video, and discussed the hidden meanings behind the lyrics. By doing this it allowed us all to understand a deeper connotation of the lyrics and what the song really meant. Therefore it meant that when it came to producing our music video we would be able to ensure that all elements of our music video connoted the correct representation that we all anticipated from the lyrics. This would therefore enhance the likelihood of our music video being appealing to our target audience as creating visual connotations would engage the viewers and allow them to enjoy our music video more. Below is images of the lyrics that we annotated as a group:

 

The song begins with the lyrics 'ruffled hair, a lose shoestring' which instantly provides the audience with the visuals of a male who the artist is supposedly singing about. The words 'ruffled' and 'lose' are significant in portraying that the male, (that is known to be the artists boyfriend) has a somewhat scruffy and messy appearance which may be a direct link to the type of relationship the artist and her boyfriend are in. During these lyrics of the music video we anticipate to include a number of shots of the artists boyfriend to provide the audience with a realistic visual of the particular individual which will allow them to understand his part in the song in more depth. The first line of lyrics is then closely followed with the lyrics 'covered arms and a nose ring'. The connotation of the lyric 'ring' is usually linked to the idea of marriage which is a juxtaposition of the relationship represented in the song. This would therefore provide the audience with the idea that the artist anticipates her relationship to follow that of a typical, happy one and therefore she is kidding herself believing that it could someday be. The lyrics 'he goes out till the lights up' are then employed. The connotation of the lyric 'lights' is typically happy, however the lyrics contrast the positive representation of this as it is linked to the artists 'misguided' boyfriend.
 

The lyrics ‘he doesn't know what he's worth’ connotes to the audience the idea that  the artist still perceives her boyfriend as important and worthy regardless of his ‘scruffy’ and ‘misguided’ image. At this point in the music video we anticipate to include a close up shot of the artist to illustrate the artists’ emotions to the audience which will further allow them to develop a deeper meaning to the song. The lyrics to follow, in the chorus, provide the audience with a deeper representation of the artists’ boyfriend. The lyrics ‘a little obsessed’ may be suggestive of him having an addictive personality, and somewhat the idea of him being addicted to drugs or alcohol. The lyrics ‘get’s money from his parents’ further highlights his childish behaviour and the idea that he has a somewhat reckless personality. In addition to this the lyrics ‘I guess that's adolescence at its best’ highlights that the artist may have a somewhat mothering role over her boyfriend and is almost blinded by his idiotic behaviour blaming it on his ‘adolescence’. At this point in the music video we hope to show past scenes of the artist and boyfriends’ relationship to show a complete contrast from the happier times to those of which are current where he has become reckless and misguided. This would therefore reinforce the boyfriends’ personality and behaviour for the audience to further understand. The following line continues to illustrate the boyfriend to the audience the lyric ‘distressed’ highlights that he is vulnerable due to his personality and behaviour and ‘keeps a bottle inside his vest’ illustrates that the boyfriend cannot stop his addictive behaviour. It has led him to keep the alcohol close to his heart which signifies the love his has for it, which may somewhat be more over powering than his love for the artist.

The lyrics ‘he says 'live fast and die young’ shows how the boyfriend is racing through his life with his reckless behaviour and that he enjoys in his adolescence. The artist then sings the lyrics ‘what’s done it done’ which connotes that the damage the boyfriend has done from his addiction cannot be repaired. In addition to this it somewhat signifies how the artist attempted to help her boyfriend but it was out of her control. During these lyrics a we hope to employ a sequence of camera shots which further present the boyfriend partaking in the addictive behaviour so that the lyrics directly relate to the visuals which would follow Goodwin’s theory.  The lyrics ‘you only live once’ sung by the artist may somewhat be sarcastic, mimicking the mind frame of her boyfriend as this phrase may be the cause of his addictive behaviour. Following these lyrics the artist is heard singing ‘woa-oh-oh-oh’ which connotates that she is disorientated by the relationship and also suggestive of her boyfriend being intoxication from the addictive problems he has. This connotation would be highlighted in our music video through the employment of a 360 degree camera shot of the boyfriend partaking in his addictive behaviour to allow the audience to understand a visual representation of his personality.

The lyric ‘skate-parks’ is suggestive of the boyfriend having a passion for fast pace and high adrenaline activities. In our music video we will employ the skate park as the boyfriends place to escape to and will therefore be evident throughout the music video to constantly provide the audience with the reminder of the boyfriends’ behaviour and personality. In addition to this the lyric ‘lighter’ highlights his passion for reckless idea and connotes the idea of fire and that fire is damaging which may link to the effect his behaviour is having on his relationship. Besides this connotation the lyric further presents how the boyfriend has a passion for the wrong things, danger and recklessness. The lyrics ‘going nowhere’ emphasize the idea that the boyfriends attitude and behaviour will lead him nowhere in life, it contrasts with his interest in living a fast pace life as he in reality is not progressing anywhere. The lyrics ‘maybe if life wasn’t so hard’ further portrays how the artist has a somewhat mothering role over her boyfriend. Linking with the lyrics ‘if he got off to a better start’ together connotes how the artist blames life and not him, further conveying how she is blinded by her love for him and somewhat brushes off his idiotic behaviour.

After these lyrics the chorus is repeated and therefore the connotations are equivalent to those previously stated.

The lyrics ‘keep calm and carry on’ are almost representative of the artist talking to herself because she is unable to talk to her boyfriend due to his behaviour. The lyrics ‘he’ll sit with his guitar and play another song’ are employed and the lyric ‘another’ is extremely significant in illustrating how the artists boyfriend leads a repetitive life in how he acts and what he does. It also presents how the artist is becoming fed up with having to put up with her boyfriend’s behaviour and the lyrics ‘will he come tonight before it gets light?’ shows how the artists happiness relies on whether her boyfriend will return that night as she is constantly left worrying about him. The lyric ‘light’ also typically connotes a happy element, however the lyrics provide a contrast to this. Following this the lyrics ‘I guess he might’ portrays how she doubts him and their relationship but however has hope that he may for once return. At this point of the music video we hope to include a close up of the artist performing to portray her emotions in detail to her boyfriends’ behaviour which will allow the audience to engage with the song on a higher level. Subsequent to this the lyrics ‘but he’ll be home by dawn’ highlights to the audience the unreasonable times the artists boyfriend returns from being out. In addition to this it may also connote the artists hopes of a new beginning with her boyfriend due to the lyric ‘dawn’ being representative of a new day beginning, and therefore a new beginning for their relationship.

The last page of the lyrics consists of the chorus which I have included the connotations of previously. The repetition of the connotations of the chorus reinforces the hidden meaning behind the song and allows the audience to become more engaged. The song ends with the lyrics ‘what’s done is done´ which may hold a number of connotations. It may be representative of the artists’ relationship coming to an end, or the boyfriends’ behaviour coming to an end. However in our music video we hope to connote the representation of the artists’ relationship coming to an end providing the audience with a fully developed ending to accompany their in depth understanding of the hidden meanings behind the lyrics of the song.