Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Learning to write our own songs thru' using literary devices

There are three common ways of writing songs:
Telling a story (with a plot).
Using repetitive sentence structures
Using metaphors, allusions and symbolism


Here are some songs written by students

Telling a story

1) UNLIKELY LOVE
Once upon a time
There was a girly prince
Who likedwearing pink clothes
And play with Barbies,
But he was trapped in a pink castle.

Once upon a time
There lived a tomboy girl
She toyed with water guns
She knew karate moves
She was on her way to rescue the prince.

With the guide her love,
she dared to risk her life
She used a gun to shoot at the dragon's head
Finally she made it
and then they fell in love
[Spoken]-Will you marry me?-Yes, I will.
Together they lived happily ever after.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FN5Ao8PiA

2) IN THIS KIND OF LOVE
Know I have to let you go.
Eventhough I can't do so
'Coz I know you too well, more than anything else

In the corner of my heart
I have known it from the start
You can never love me, like the way you love him.

**And all I fear was very right
All your love will never take my side
Even for a while

Refrain:
Now all you have to do is make your mind
Who you really love
I can't go on living a lie
In this kind of love
'Coz love would never let you break your heart
Never fall apart
Once is enough
This can't go on
*I got to learn to let you go…

Back to ***I got to learn to let you go……To let you go..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9rH67qjcFo

Repeated sentence structures

3) I WANT YOU
You stand over there
I wonder who you are
Made me... mesmerized

Your first impression
Attracts me a lot
Wish I knew your name

Inside my head
There is a love that's going crazy
Would you come to me
Get to know me
Have a crush on me

Refrain:
I want you
But I'm shy
I love your eyes, your nose, your smile
And I want you, I want you to be mine

I want you
But Im shy
I love your style, your move, your face
But I feel shy to tell you I love you

I love you
I want you
But I dont know what to do
I am speechless
I am confused
I dont know what to do
Oh I dont know (5x)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFbUpdhaMSg

4) AWAITING
You’re the one that I’ve been searching
You’re the one that I’ve been dreaming of
You’re the one that I’ve been looking for,
the one who made me breathless

You’re the one who brings my smile back
You’re the one who brightens my day
You’re the one who looks me in the eyes when I am feeling lonely
All this time, you’re the only one I love
All this time, you’re the only one I need
(You're the only one I love, the only one I need)

And now, I’m sitting here by myself
Thinking about the time we have spent
All our happiness and all our grief
All the memories kept in my heart
But now, you’re a thousand miles away
Keeping all the promise we have made
Till the day well be one again
I’ll wait for you till the day you come back again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyFwSssUj5I

Metaphors, allusions and symbols

5) WHEN YOU'RE NOT HERE....
Since we were little, we'd been the best of friends
You were always there, whenever I was alone
Laughing together and crying with each other
Sharing joy and tears and talking ’till midnight
"Promise me, friends forever”

And the years have gone by, we're chasing diffenrent dreams
All we've ever had has turned into memories
The plane is flying high gradually blurs what's in my eyes
You have gone away but in my heart you'll stay
"Promise me, forget me not”

Things fall apart when you're not here
Words can't describe how I feel inside
I miss you like flowers miss sunshine
Oh God please bring back..my sunshine to me
Dry my tears, warm my lonely heart

Things fall apart when you're not here
But I love you so so I let you go
Go chase your wish and follow your dreams
Just remember that, whenever you go
I'll be there, by your side, till the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi_6r6aPlic

6) Uses the words of the wedding vows. This is an allusion.
FOREVER LOVE
Just hold on
believe in me
you know our love will never end here

You kept my love in your heart
I will always be by your side

You and I
forever love
you will always be a part of my life

Nothing can separate us
until death tears us apart (3x)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvBA0M_7t8w

Songs/music create mood and tone for a literary text.

Music sets the tone and mood of the scene:
Outside the marriage bureau
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFca95KhNHs
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdTQcrrW8wM
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Xkq33lsVY
Going for the bread by Patricia Grace
Both group act out the same scene but the choice of music give the scenes a different mood/tone.
Comic ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-CclJsj9mA
Sober ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFg8ekEm5_g

Comparing the two songs

Comparison 1
The difference between the two songs is that one looks at life as a wheel, and the other one looks at life as a long winding road.
In the first song, the Circle Game, life is seen as a wheel that keeps rolling; “and the seasons they go round and round”. It means that things will keep repeating itself, and there will be times when everything is wonderful and joyful and there will be times when nothing feels right. So it tells us that whenever we are down, we could look back to see what we have done wrong, so that we will not repeat the same mistakes, and so that we can do better in the future. This song seems to be similar to a flash-back story. For example, the song pictures a-twenty-year old boy who remembers his life back then when he had so many dreams, and now those dreams have come true, and yet there were still so many dreams that he wished he could make happen but it is too late.
The second song, the God will make a way looks at life as a long winding road and “God will make a way where there seems to be no way”. It means that we should not look back to what we have done, never regret it, just keep moving forward, and whenever we find difficulties, just pray to God for help. This song usually portrays a character, is focused on the future hope of success, who works hard to reach his dreams without looking back. Like in the song, the words tells us that we should just work hard and pray; ‘ora et labora’.

Comparison 2
The “Circle game” and “Durian” have some similarities. Both of them express the concept of “what goes around, comes around”. The story of “Durian” is about a girl getting her revenge after being treated unfairly by her aunt, while the “Circle game” is basically about the years of life keep rolling around and repeating itself. In this perspective of life, we are warned to be careful with what we do, since it will affect us in a cyclical fashion. In my opinion, this is rather a depressing perspective since everything that happens to us in the future is only the repetition of the things we did in the beginning. Furthermore, we have no escape because the circle of life has no ends.
On the other hand, “God will make a way” is like the story “Going for the Bread” in a way. “God will make a way” convinces us that even at the most hopeless of times, we will eventually overcome the difficulties of life and move on. It views life as a path that we choose, rather than a circle. Similarly, “Going for the Bread” uses metaphor to imply that life is like a journey we have to travel. Both the song and the story encourage us to be strong and do not give up even when things fall apart. Unlike “Circle game”, this song brings us hope that we can make a change if we try hard enough.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Compare and contrast two songs

1) Compare and contrast the lyrics of the song "Circle game" and "God will make a way". These songs reflects two different ways of looking at life. What are the differences and how would affect the way stories are written?

Circle game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XOV34vsjfg
Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

Chorus
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and dawn
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game.

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, when you're older, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell him,Take your time, it won't be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur Coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through.


God will make a way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hOjYR8UZT8

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we can not see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way
He will make a way

Also take note of the different metaphors used in the two songs.
The first song looks as at life as a carousel of time and the second song looks at life as a journey in which you need to make your way/ path through. In the stories you have been reading "The Durian" by Catherine Lim sees life as a cycle of seasons while "Going for the Bread" by Patricia Grace sees life as a path or journey. Does the use of these two different metaphors change the tone of the story?