“The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert is a song that tells the story of a woman going back to visit her childhood home after experiencing life as an adult. The speaker discusses how she identifies her home with the memories and experiences that have molded her into the person she becomes, but she feels that something is missing from her life. She believes that going back to “the house” will help her recover her true sense of self. When my childhood home was sold, I experienced a deep sense of loss. Like the speaker in the song, I felt that I was missing pieces of myself for many years afterwards. Just as the speaker learns that it is not the tangible house that keeps her memories alive, but herself, I eventually learned that while letting go of the “house” I grew up in was difficult, I would carry the memories and experiences of growing up there within my heart. In the opening verse of the song, the speaker discusses the need to see her childhood home at least once more before moving on with her life. She shares with the current homeowner some of her experiences while growing up in the house. For instance, she says, “I know they say you can’t go home again, but I just had to come back one last time.” This shows that the speaker realizes that returning “home” is going to be a different experience than it was when she lived there, but she cannot resist the temptation of a final visit to the “house”. The speaker says that “Up those stairs in that little back bedroom, is where I did my homework and learned to play guitar. And I bet you didn’t know, under that live oak, my favorite dog is buried in the yard.” This indicates some of the significant memories the speaker has of her time in the house, such as honing her... ... middle of paper ... ...2 inches in May of 1991. We primed and painted over it, and with a few strokes of a paintbrush, the history of those three children was gone. I cried as we locked up the house for the last time. I felt like we had just spackled, primed, and painted over my childhood. I felt as if my identity had been erased, and like the character in the song, I had lost myself. There was no longer any physical evidence that I had ever lived in, much less grew up in, the house. For many years I would pass by the house and long to stop and look at it. One day I realized that the house was just that, a house. While it served as a physical reminder of my childhood, the actual memories and experiences I had growing up there were what mattered, and they would stay with me forever. Works Cited Lambert, Miranda. “The House That Built Me”. Revolution. Columbia Nashville, 2010. CD
First, home shaped Melinda’s identity. They noticed. “A sketch pad with charcoal pencils. They say they have noticed her drawing” (Anderson 72). This shapes Melinda’s identity, because it shows her that even when she thinks no one cares about her, her parents are always there. In the end that experience showed her if she ever wanted to talk about what happened her
The personification of her home lets the author express old memories the house held and will never have again, she speaks of no one ever sitting under its roof, or ever eating at its table and how in silence will it lie. By personificating the house she reveals the emotional attachment people tend
Some say one thing, while someone else will say something completely different. Such is the case on the song “Red House.” Noel Redding said the song was about Jimi’s old girlfriend back in the United States (soundcheckmusicblog.com). Linda Keith said the song was about her friend’s red velvet walls and decor that was grazed her apartment (Roby 148). Others say it has no true meaning at all.
The opening poem brings up ideas of unfamiliarity and distance. Frank is confused with how his house has changed so much after he has come back from war, but in reality, he was only denying his past, deceiving himself. The lock and the key represent how even though Frank wants to get rid of his bad memories, they’ll always stay with him, just like how his past can never be erased. In contrast, at the end of the novel, the poem positively finishes the story, using words such as “strong,” “beautiful,” “alive and well.” It completely contrasts the beginning where darkness looms with the “shadow” of the house. Cee in the end, says the words “Let’s go home,” again emphasizing her pride for her home, Lotus. Also, the novel’s last word, “home” resolves the internal battle that has recurred throughout Cee’s and Frank’s
where she was in her childhood home " How I have loved this house in
She was living in Sacramento, California her whole life. The first couple of years she was doing well with paying rent in her new gentrified city until her landlord went up a couple of hundred dollars.The reason he did that was because he wanted the new residents to live in his property and plus since everything else was high, rent for his property should be as well. Living in a neighborhood for so long and being pushed out of it, takes away good memories. The gentrification in her city affected her because she had to
Upon renovating the quaint little house on the hill with my mom, my own feelings toward the house changed dramatically. Before the project took off, I hesitated to step foot inside the building. The odor and dim lighting made it difficult to envision a successful result, but once we finished I was tempted to move in myself. This is the goal. Taking on this second project, I’d do my best to make the house one I’d love to live in while not allowing myself to implement my personal style preferences. The result is a home both move-in ready and open for visitors.
Reading the lyrics makes it seem like the song is a very depressing story about the writer’s life and how he is lost and does not know what to do with his life. At the beginning of the song the singer states, “Some nights I stay up cashing in my bad luck / Some nights I call it a draw” (1-2). The singer suggests that he is a gambler and that some nights he “cashes in his bad luck”, meaning he gambles his money away, and some nights he calls it a draw, meaning he went even. The song then states, “Some Nights I wish that my lips could build a castle / Some nights ...
From time to time, the reader hears of a red light in the house of 124 Bluestone Road. Sethe is haunted by a life changing choice she made in her past. Her daughter's infant ghost haunts the house that Sethe and her daughter, Denver occupy. Sethe cannot move forward in her life because of a choice she made many years ago, which was to kill her baby girl. This decision was based upon the fact that Sethe did not want her daughter to be taken back into slavery. Sethe tries to repress the past, but cannot with this ghost haunting her. Paul D. proceeds to enters Sethe's life again, and as a result he causes more negative memories to resurface. He brings back the memories of Sweet Home, the plantation where they were slaves together. Sethe recalls Sweet Home and states, "Comes back whether we want it to or not" (Morrison 16). This statement reflects the meaning that no matter how hard someone tries, memories cannot be repressed forever, they will resurface at some point whether the person wants them to or not. When Paul D. arrives at her house, the memories from Sweet Home resurface, which in this instances is a very deconstructive matte...
There are numerous literary devices used in this song. One of the literary devices used is symbolism. The snowman that the narrator keeps referring to, symbolizes love. The love that the narrator has for her sister and how she’d do anything for her. Her loves her and just wants to be with her, no matter what they do. The empty rooms also symbolize the emptiness that the narrator feels without her sister. The rooms represent the space in her heart meant for her sister, but it’s empty because her sister isn’t there. The door separating the sisters symbolizes the defence mechanism that the narrator's sister puts up. The narrator is trying to get her sister to take that “wall” down so she can comfort her and help her in any way possible. The bicycle is a symbol of the journey that the narrator's sister is on. The journey that she must endure to break the repetitive cycle of her blocking her sister out. The clock is a countdown to when the narrator and her sister will finally break down the wall. It’s just a matter of time. In conclusion, this song represents family and a bond that never be broken. Even through rough times, family will always be by your
The natural world does not care for the house as the humans did and there is nothing there for the house to accomplish. “It was raining outside.” (Bradbury 1)This rain suggests a sadness and gloom that has fallen over the house from the loss of its “gods”. This happened at eight o’clock, and when ten o’clock rolls around “The sun came out from behind the rain.” The sun represents the shedding of light on the dark world and bringing forth of new information. It is here in the story that one learns that the family is actually dead and not simply on a trip. “The gentle sprinkler rain filled the garden with falling light.” This falling light epitomizes the end of an era of not only humans but the end of the life of this house. This sentence, along with the poem by Sara Teasdale later in the story, foreshadow the end outcome of this story; the death of all man-made
I think that the narrator feels much alone in life, even though she has a family who cares for her. She is clinically depressed so naturally she is going to feel isolated from the world. Speaking about a house that the narrator grew up in, she writes, 'and there was one chair that always seemed like a strong friend.
Everything seems like it’s falling out of place, it’s going too fast, and my mind is out of control. I think these thoughts as I lay on my new bed, in my new room, in this new house, in this new city, wondering how I got to this place. “My life was fine,” I say to myself, “I didn’t want to go.” Thinking back I wonder how my father felt as he came home to the house in Stockton, knowing his wife and kids left to San Diego to live a new life. Every time that thought comes to my mind, it feels as if I’m carrying a ten ton boulder around my heart; weighing me down with guilt. The thought is blocked out as I close my eyes, picturing my old room; I see the light brown walls again and the vacation pictures of the Florida and camping trip stapled to them. I can see the photo of me on the ice rink with my friends and the desk that I built with my own hands. I see my bed; it still has my checkered blue and green blanket on it! Across from the room stands my bulky gray television with its back facing the black curtain covered closet. My emotions run deep, sadness rages through my body with a wave of regret. As I open my eyes I see this new place in San Diego, one large black covered bed and a small wooden nightstand that sits next to a similar closet like in my old room. When I was told we would be moving to San Diego, I was silenced from the decision.
As I look back on my childhood a great number of memories hide in my mind; sleepovers with friends, hanging upside down on the monkey bars, eating ice cream are but a few. The one memory that doesn't hide is of the postcard perfect house that I love and adore. From the hearty cattails and rose brown apple trees to the grilled cheese, this place reminds me of my childhood fun but also the love that my whole family shared. The red brick house and its surroundings will keep my memories forever.
grandmother’s house because it made me feel safe and warm. There was a smell of