Lyrics for an essay!!!

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prisz25

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So my teacher wants us to write an author's purpose/rhetorical device essay on a song and of course I want to do it on a U2 song....but I don't know which one to do it on....

Suggestions totally welcome!!!!

Here are some of the ones I thought of....

Please
Streets
Wake up Dead Man

PLEASe HELP ME!!!! :wink:
 
I would write it on Wake Up Deadman, for sure. Touching how (in my interpretation) the views of religion and "the man upstairs." The story of how God/Jesus ignores a single persons struggles and just sits by and watches. I think it could get interesting. I'd love to read when you're finished. :yes:
 
I don't see Wake Up Deadman at all like that^. I see it as a desperate man crying out to God. The "Wake Up Deadman and Listen" parts is God responding.

You really can't go wrong with any of these songs prisz. They're loaded with great lyrics. :wink:
 
I think I am going to go with Wake Up Dead Man....

What would the actual words Wake Up Dead Man mean to you?... I see them as the world has numbed this person out and he is hopeless (dead man) ...

This person feels isolated and alienated from God that his words aren't even useful so he has to relay his words through Jesus to actually reach God.

Would the purpose be to vent , to question....?
 
The song is about an awakening, a transition. If MacPhisto & the Fly were characters similar to Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters, then I would see Deadman more like the Patient. In this song, the world (Wormwood in TSL?) has hurt Deadman. He is very weak, but not entirely hopeless. He calls out to Jesus (God) for help. Jesus answers with the bigger picture.
 
Ok so this song is basically about an awakening from a spiritual death that was brought on by disappointments in the world. He is angry as he sees these things happening. The man is searching for answers and help from God/Jesus who at this time seems distant but in reality is still there "over the hum of the radio".
Thanks!!!
Any other interpretations of this song are totally welcome...:D
 
The obvious reference in the song is to the story of Lazarus being brought to life.
 
Yea that was the first reference I saw to it for sure! but there has to be more depth and different interpretations to it than just Lazarus...
 
Oh yea the first I thought of were those actually!!!

This was my first list then I narrowed them down...

Wake Up Dead man
Streets
Please
ASOHC
The Unforgettable Fire
The Electric Co.
Mofo
Running to stand still
 
Please
ASOHC
The Electric Co.

Anyone of these would be quite interesting do you have a book or something that tells you the message or history behing the songs?
 
I thought the "dead man" in the song was Jesus?

And asking Jesus why he's not doing anything to help us?

That's my interpretation of it, anyway. :shrug:

Any of those songs would be good to work with. Once you get done, would you care to share your essay? I'd be interested in reading it!

Good luck! :)
 
Thanks! I will totally share.... beware it is a total AP style essay about purpose...lol

:wink:
 
Wake Up Dead Man is a good one. I don 't know it THAT well enough, though.
I think I would do Yahweh. you could do so much with the "take this heart, and make it break" line that closes that beautiful song. Throughout the whole song, he sings to Jesus about this world. The "always pain before a child is born" part references all the bad things that are happening in this world. There is a lot of pain when giving birth to a new baby, but there's also a lot of joy when the baby finally is born. He's saying there is so much pain, violence, and poverty being experienced in this world, but when we keep fighting and make it through, we have only strengthened ourselves. the "still waiting for the dawn" states the same thing, that we are living in the dark now, but there will be a sunrise when it'll all be over. Like, we may be living through bad times now, but we can strive and just do our best while we're here, becuase we know something better [aka the dawn] is coming, even if it hasn't come yet.

and in closing, he asks God to break his heart. this may strike you as odd, but I think it's so beautiful. Realizing the context, I think Bono's referring to how calloused we are to all the violence nowadays. we turn on the news, and all they talk about is violence. We hear about all this horrible stuff, but then we go right back to eating our dinners and stuff (this is referenced in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is about! see how cool U2 is?). we hear it all the time, and it's sad to say that we've gotten used to always hearing violence on the news, and it doesn't really touch us. we're sad when we hear it, but we go "oh, that's sad" and move on. And so I think Bono's asking God to break our hearts, meaning to let emotion back into it. let us feel sad when these things happen. let it affect us.
 
Yahweh is an amazing song!!!! The lyrics are so poetic! It is actually one of my favorites off HTDAAB...
 
I did an essay once on "One Tree Hill." But all I really did was explain that the song was written for their friend/roadie who died, and explain who Jara was. And that I thought painted roses was an Alice in Wonderland reference. Hey, I was only in 8th grade at the time, cut me some slack!!
 
Into the Heart is a really good book as far as discussion of U2 lyric references and meanings.

Not a bad essay topic for an 8th grader, thousandfold. I bet you got an excellent grade on it. :wink:
 
Carek1230 said:

Not a bad essay topic for an 8th grader, thousandfold. I bet you got an excellent grade on it. :wink:


Yeah, but it wasn't for a real class, per se... it was for PAL (Peer Assistance Leadership), which was an elective. That I actually picked because I am a total dork!

Carek1230 said:

Into the Heart is a really good book as far as discussion of U2 lyric references and meanings.

It looks great, I wish I had it! Maybe next time I'm at Barnes & Noble...
 
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