Songs with Hidden Meanings

     I love doing blog posts about music, so here's another one. Everybody listens to music but do we actually realize what we are listening to? We memorize the lyrics to a number of songs but do we actually know what they mean? For example, songs like "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Umbrella," have a whole other figurative meaning that drastically differs from the lyrics. I've always loved songs that have a hidden meaning because it makes the song deeper and more interesting.


     Okay, so for starters I'm going to analyze the song "Umbrella" by Rihanna. The lyrics to this song go something:


      "You have my heart, and we’ll never be worlds apart.
Maybe in magazines, but you’ll still be my star.
Baby, ‘cause in the dark,
You can’t see shiny cars.
And that’s when you need me there,
With you I’ll always share.
Because when the sun shines, we shine together,
Told you I’ll be here forever,
Said I’ll always be your friend,
Took an oath that I’m a stick it out till the end.
Now that it’s raining more than ever,
Know that we still have each other."


     This song can be interpreted in two ways. One, Rihanna is singing about a rainy day while she is with the one she loves under an umbrella. The second option is just a little more deep. The other meaning of the song is even when everything is down and going wrong or through all the bad things in life the love they have for each other will prevail. Rihanna is using rain to symbolize all the bad things in life and is using the umbrella to symbolize their love. Love will keep them together through all the bad things life may bring.


     The next song I'm going to analyze is Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." Here are some of the lyrics for this song:


"Every rose has its thorn,
Just like every night has it’s dawn,
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song,
Every rose has its thorn"


     We all know roses have thorns on them that can hurt to grab. Therefore, the song can be taken literally in that every rose has its thorn just like how everything in life has something that happens. Now the figurative meaning is pretty interesting. When Poison says "Every rose has its thorn" it is figuratively using it to symbolize that appearances can be deceiving and that even the most beautiful things in the world have a down side. Poison continues this statement by naming things that inevitably happen such as dawn after night. With good there always come bad and sometimes you have to look past the appearances to see it.


    These were two pretty simple hidden meanings to figure out but there are thousands of songs out there today that mean something totally different from what their lyrics literally say. Its these hidden meanings that makes songs so deep and interesting.

Presentations- Steve Jobs Outfit

Tuesday’s class about presentations really made me think about what presenters should do when talking to a crowd and what is acceptable and not. I mean Steve Jobs presented the iPhone in nothing but jeans and a T-shirt. Did that take away from his credibility? Should he have been dressed up?

I know that people’s opinions vary on this topic but in my opinion I believe that his attire didn’t take anything away from his presentation at all. I actually found it nice that bhe was dressed so casually because I think it related to the everyday person. I think if he dressed up in a business suit he would have been portraying the upper class who wears suit and ties to work everyday. It would have came off as if though he was talking down to everybody even though we know Steve Jobs wouldn’t do that. I think that his outfit selection was done purposely to show that this smart phone is for everybody not just the upper class so I think it was a benefit for his presentation.

            Steve Jobs was able to pull this off; however, I don’t thibnk just anybody can. Steve Jobs has already established his ethos with his intelligence with Apple so he doesn’t need to dress up to establish his credibility. Who you are plays a big part in how you should look presenting. For example, if an unknown presenter I think that you must be dressed up to look nice, clean and educated. If you showed up in sweatpants and T-shirt you would already turn your audience off just by your appearance. However, if you come dressed presentably and you know what youre talking aboput I still think that your presentation will be a hit. After all, its all about the presentation in the end, so if you know what you are talking about, and can show it and share your idea with your audience effectively then I don’t think your clothes take much away from the presentation.

           Clothes do not make the presentation, the facts and ideas do.