I have chosen to perform Because of You for my assessment song this term, I feel this song is sung well with my type of voice and works well within a Musical Theatre/Pop genre, thus making is suitable to use for auditions.
The story of the original song is quite complex, it focuses on a young mother looking back at her childhood and in particular her Father, how he leans on her and projects all of his issues onto her even though she is too young to deal with them all. She clearly understands it more as she's grown up and realised whats happened to her, her father has emotionally abused her, she expresses this with the line “you should have known better than to lean on me”. The character of the father in the original is obviously troubled. He is someone who can’t deal with his issues and uses the happiness of others to make himself feel better. The little girl has obviously had a bad childhood because of this, feeling that she is unable to trust any one and let anyone into her life emotionally, she states “Because of you I find it hard to trust not only me but everyone around me, because of you I am afraid”. Her father treated her that bad when she was younger that she is afraid of life and afraid to trust anyone. She later talks about her she “heard you cry every night in your sleep” I can only imagine that as a young child it must have been frightening for her to hear her father screaming in his sleep and having nightmares!
I started to think about how this story could be changed, the song could relate to someone’s past relationship, possibly a boyfriend cheated on his girlfriend. He might of had a lot of issues with himself, possibly a mental disorder, thus meaning that he put a lot of pressure on his partner, making it stres...
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...I would focus on each issues and let people know that certain sorts of things are normal to go through (i.e sexuality and pressure on drugs) but that other things, like emotional and physical abuse, aren't things that are to be ignored and you must speak up about them. There just isn't enough support nowadays for adults going through these sorts of things let alone teenagers.
In conclusion, The musical would suit theatre in education more than it would the west end, from the stories and issues it addresses it appeals more to helping people get through things and providing support than just having a random story. I think it would do a lot better. Keep the cast young as they are easier to relate too as a teenager and its more believable. The set, characters and costumes would be kept simple and Brechtian as to not distract away from the important topics discussed.
The first girl mentioned is Lisa, she feels alone in the world, her mother is a drug addict and likes to bring many men home. The song talks about things in the beginning work out well, but later on in the night, the mom and the man end up fighting. The men beat Lisa and when Lisa tries to tell her mom, her mom does not believe her. Lisa’s story can specifically relate to marriage and family because she does grow up in a functional family. The mother is a drug addict and does not take care of her daughter, it is mentioned that there is no father because the mother brings home men every night. The fact that Lisa does not have a stable family and no one to look up to is affecting her life negatively. The men that her mother does bring home, abuse Lisa and mistreat her. Lisa is a nine year old girl, she is too young to be experiencing the things she does. There is probably no main income for her family either, and if her mom does get paid, she will probably use that money towards buying more drugs. This can relate to the poverty aspect because people who grow up in poverty cannot even afford to survive on minimum wage alone. Also the fact that Lisa’s mom is a single mother means that she is e...
CONTEXT: Careless Whisper is a song about a man who cheats on his girlfriend, who find out he cheated from his best friend. The man is thankful she found out that way because it would have been difficult and more embarrassing if he had to tell her. He then sinks back into a feeling of self pity and realizes he is alone, sad, and single. It is important to note he does not ask for forgiveness or defend his actions but own up to them.
Straying away from life as a whole only to be alone, some may say is the strong way to heal themselves when dealing with extreme grief or a major crisis . In the book Wild, twenty-two year old Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost it all. Dealing with the loss of her mother, her family torn to pieces, and her very own marriage was being destroyed right before her very eyes. Living life with nothing more to lose, lifeless, she made the most life changing decision of her life. Strayed never seems remorseful on her decisions to up and leave everything behind while deciding to flee from it all. This being her way of dealing with life, it shows her as being strong; a woman of great strength and character. She shows personal strength, which is more than just a physical word. It is a word of very high value and can only be defined by searching deep within your very own soul.
One of its numerous strengths was the costuming and set. This musical would not have been the same had these elements not come together to transport the viewer. In addition to the costuming and the set, the actors were very well cast. Each actor was in a role that fit them and they portrayed their characters very well. For example, the man who played Glen really seemed like a greedy Wall Street worker. The choreography was also well done. It fit true to the style of dance in the 1980s and added to the immersion experience. The only thing that could have made this experience better would be to add more music. This may just be a personal preference, but when I see a musical I like for the music to be central like it is in Hamilton or Les Miserables. However, this musical was very good and not much could be added to enhance the
In the first verse, writer Johnathan Cain is telling a story about being on the tour bus late at night thinking about his wife. He is feeling very lonely and is forced to send his love ‘along the wire’ or through a phone call, while he lays in bed alone. Another thing he says is “lovin’ a music man ain’t always what it’s supposed to be.” This makes sense because you would think being married to someone famous would be quite glamorous; however, it is actually super difficult with the busy lifestyle they live. Only hardships in the relationships are referred to until the first refrain, which provides the initial spark of hope that they are going to make the long distance work. Next, is the second verse which is much lighter and over gives off a happier tone. Cain refers to things that make him smile while on tour, even though he misses his wife. Although he still mentions that it is difficult, he says that it is their time apart from each other that makes their time together even more special. The words say, “two strangers learn to fall in love again, I get the joy of rediscovering you.” This shows that he is now looking at the situation more positively leading into the next refrain. The bridge also gives off a more encouraging vibe which leads to the end with the refrain again only talking about how they will be together forever. This leaves the song on a blissful thought, which
The man feels abandoned in a corner and he drinks for the sadness he feels. While drinking, he tells himself I do not understand why you left me, if I know she loved me, so if you ever regret your decision he will be waiting for you. Basically, the man feels broken emotionally because the women he loved, left him for no reason. This song to me is not a dancing song, however the song is more about remembering your ex-wife, ex-girlfriend or ex husband and ex-boyfriend. For me personally, this song reminds me of drinking, the title literally means bitter shots of liquor. The way the song shares the hurt the man feels by the women that left him. I could almost picture a man sitting at a bar drinking to his ex saying, “I’m drinking because of you, you caused this”. I could picture that scene in my head because I have seen my friends in Mexico and my cousins in Mexico do
Although the danger and adrenaline an unfaithful acquaintance may feel to being unfaithful to their loved one; it can cause the other person in the relationship to feel damage physically and mentally; leaving a mess of words of feeling unworthy. Both the songs: “before he cheats” and “perfect” show a women’s perspective of what it felt like to being cheated on, However “Before He Cheats” uses her betrayal of trust to good use in contrast to “perfect’s” strategy of staying in a toxic relationship. In “before he cheats” the woman who got cheated on took her deep hatred and betrayal she had towards the situation and turned it to revenge; a dish best served cold. However in “perfect” the women was hurt
Even though, a person likes to think they are in control, life will show them they are in less control than thought they were. In Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People,” the character Hulga is a person that wants to maintain control in every aspect of her life good or bad. To Hulga it seems she is in constant control of her surroundings and her life. However, she does not have control that she thinks has.
The relevance of the song was portraying that using drugs and alcohol will help you escape life situations. Regardless of how hard or tough it is. All you need to do is to get drunk or get high, than your problems will flush away. But the video don’t explain the reality of the outcome of how drugs and alcohol will or could affect your lifestyle and how it could lead you to lose your job, family and life. All it shows is the fun side of being intoxicated. Which, it raises a big flag on kids or teens that do have access to the media like the
Flannery O’Connor was born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia. She was an American writer. O’Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories in her life time. She was a southern writer who wrote in Southern Gothic style. In the Article, Female Gothic Fiction Carolyn E. Megan asks Dorothy Allison what Southern Gothic is to her and she responded with, “It’s a lyrical tradition. Language. Iconoclastic, outrageous as hell, leveled with humor. Yankees do it, but Southerners do it more. It’s the grotesque.”(Bailey 1) Later she was asked who one of her role models was and she stated that Flannery O’Connor was one she could relate to. One of O’Connor’s stronger works was “Good Country People” which was published in 1955.
A listener could possibly see it as Lil Peep trying to pick up a girl from the club and gets rejected because she has a boyfriend, so Peep goes off to fight this dude to claim his girl for a night. Understanding the meaning of the song can be a bit difficult, but if you follow verse by verse, you can see that Peep is trying to get his significant other back because of how they loved him. Lil Peep wants that last chance with his past relationship; he provides that in the song with “One more chance, baby, gimme a kiss. Ya got one more chance at a night like this” (Lil Peep). Peep meant his words, he meant his feelings, he just plasters that all over the wall and proves that what he is saying is what he is
of the famous people. Another song in which I am going to discuss is written by
This song implies that individual’s are violating the norms and values of society. They start the song with a verse that expresses this concern. “What’s wrong with the world, mama/ People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas…” (lines 1-2). This makes one aware of the disobedience of values that are held in the family. Values are “standard[s] of judgment by which people decide on desirable goals and outcomes.” (Newman, 32) Another verse in this song that illustrates how society is defying norms and values is when they sing: “People killin', people dyin'/ Children hurt and you hear them cryin/ Can you practice what you preach/ And would you turn the other cheek…” (lines 50-53). These lines utter that society has failed to act in a sane and coherent way that society once viewed as correct. The actions affirm that individuals are not living up to society’s norms. Norms are similar to “rules of conduct” and suggest how an individual “should” act. (Newman, 34) In the song they question the acts that would be taken that violate certain norms. Another example of the infringement of society’s norms and values is expressed when the s...
The use of choreography and music in a musical is not only entertaining, but can illustrate the social issues present in
Adolescence is a time of challenge and change for both teens and parents. Teens are at a stage in life where they face a multitude of pressing decisions -- including those about friends, careers, sex, smoking, drinking, drugs and parental values. At the same time, they are confronted with profound physical, social and emotional changes.