Butterfly Kisses-Bob Carlisle

Bob Carlisle was born on September 29, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. He worked with a couple of bands before pursuing a solo career. He performed in clubs in the 1970s. He performs Christian music, his most notable song being “Butterfly Kisses.” He won the Grammy for Best Country Song in 1997. The song also won a Dove award for Song of the Year. In the late 1970s he married his wife, Jacque. They had two children together; a daughter, Brooke, and a son, Evan. "Butterfly Kisses" had been written as a gift for his daughter Brooke's sixteenth birthday and was a song that he had never intended to record.
In the song “Butterfly Kisses,” there is a simile in the line “Like the wind, the years go by.” There is a hyperbole in the line “Trying her wings out in a great big world,” because she doesn’t actually have wings to try out. There is imagery in the line “Stickin' little white flowers all up in her hair.” The reader can picture a little girl putting flowers in her hair. There is symbolism in the line “little white flowers.” The flowers symbolize purity and childhood. He uses white flowers to show how innocent his daughter is when she is a child. There is consonance in the line “sweet sixteen today,” showing the next part of his daughter’s life. The whole song tells a story, creating a picture of his daughter growing up and how he sometimes feels like he is losing his daughter, but that she will always be his baby girl. The song is emotionally evocative because it brings thoughts of growing up and having that relationship with your father.
The main device used in this song is imagery. The whole song can create a picture in the listener’s mind. There is a lot of symbolism to show the innocence of his daughter as a child. Having written this song for his daughter, Bob Carlisle’s song is relatable to many girls with good relationships with their fathers.

Ring of Fire-Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash is one of the best musicians of all time. Starting out as a poor Christian boy on a farm, Johnny Cash developed into a man who wrote influential lyrics to millions. Getting signed in 1954, Johnny Cash quickly became a hit with many people. By 1958, he had sold over six million records for his label. In 1960, Cash met Bob Dylan, and the two recorded together for Dylan’s album Nashville Skyline, and Cash covered several of Bob Dylan’s songs. Johnny Cash is best known for being a country singer, but he dappled in other genres, such as rock and roll, blues, gospel, and folk music. In the 1960s, Johnny Cash married June Carter, and the happy couple revived Cash’s career. Together, they did duets on multiple songs, and made millions. Cash’s lyrics provided inspiration for many people, and lead to his thriving career. Cash’s song “Ring of Fire” contains a number of poetic devices, showing off just one of many of his amazing songs.
When Johnny and June got married, she wrote songs with him, as well as about him. “Ring of Fire” was written by June Carter Cash about her love for Johnny. The mix of her lyrics with his voice allow for a huge country hit. The quote “love is a burning thing” is both a metaphor and personification. It is a metaphor because it is a comparison without using like or as. It is personification because love does not actually burn. “I fell into a ring of fire” is an example of hyperbole, because June did not actually fall into a ring of fire. There is also imagery, because the reader can picture a ring of fire that keeps progressing and getting larger. The “ring of fire” in itself, and the whole song, is symbolic of their love, and how they fell in love while they were both married to other people, and were thrown into a crazy life. An example of personification is “the taste of love is sweet” because love does not have a taste. The line “I fell for you like a child” is a simile because it compares her love to the how children fall in love using the word like.
The key device in this song is symbolism. It is used throughout the entire song to accentuate the chaos of June and Johnny’s love for each other at a hectic point in their lives. Imagery is also used throughout the song to picture the flames burning higher and higher. Although June was the one to write this song, Johnny Cash’s singing brings it to a new level, and the fact that it was written about their real lives makes for an even better song. Together, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash made amazing songs that rocked the country world, and brought country music to a completely new level.

Amazed-Lonestar

Lonestar is a talented band, whose members are all from Texas. From 1993 to 1994, Lonestar played about 500 gigs while traveling in a Jeep Cherokee and a trailer that carried all of their equipment. They promoted themselves with a six song live CD. In 1995, the band was offered a record contract by BNA Records. Their self titled debut album featured a Top Ten hit, entitled “Tequila Talkin’.” Their second single, "No News," hit number one in 1996 and remained there for three weeks. The Academy of Country Music named Lonestar its top new group of the year for 1995. "Runnin' Away With My Heart," co-written by Michael Britt, made the Top 10. Billboard, Music Row and Country Weekly all gave year-end awards to the band. Their self-titled debut became a gold record. In 1998, Lonestar had its first ballad single, called “Say When.” Also in 1998, the singer, John Rich, left the band to pursue a solo career. The band’s third album, entitled “Lonely Grill”, had a chart topping single, “Amazed”, that stayed there for eight weeks in 1999. This broke records and made the band a crossover sensation. “Amazed” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Lonely Grill was certified multiplatinum in 2000.
The song “Amazed” by Lonestar has many different poetic devices that work together as a whole to make a wonderful love song. For example, the line “This feeling inside me, is almost more than I can take” is an example of a cliché. It is an overused expression that shows how the man’s love for his girlfriend is overpowering to the point where it almost hurts, which can also be a hyperbole. The line “I can hear your thoughts. I can see your dreams” is an example of a hyperbole, because his cannot really hear her thoughts or see her dreams. The line “I’m so in love with you” is another example of a cliché, because that term is overused when people explain their love for others. There is imagery in the lines “the smell of your skin, the taste of your kiss, the way you whisper in the dark, your hair all around me,” because you can picture all of these things in your head. There is an example of hyperbole in the lines “your hair all around me, baby you surround me. You touch everyplace in my heart.” This is a hyperbole because her hair is not really all around him, she doesn’t surround him, and she cannot physically touch his heart. There is another cliché in the line “I wanna spend the rest of my life with you by my side.” This is again another overused expression. Although all these clichés may take away from the song a bit, it all fits together to form a ballad about a man whose love for his girlfriend grows stronger every day, and using clichés shows his growing love for her through time.

Jesus, Take the Wheel-Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood was born March 10, 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. As a childhood, Carrie played in talent shows and sung in her church choir. In 1996, Carrie was set to get a recording contract with Capitol Records, but when the management changed, she didn’t get the contract. At age thirteen, Carrie became a vegetarian, saying she wouldn’t want to eat one of her own animals, and didn’t want to eat other animals either. She graduated in 2001 from Checotah High School as salutatorian. After high school, she attended Northeastern State University. She graduated magna cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and an emphasis in journalism. She was a member of the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. She competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university, and was runner up of the Miss NSU pageant in 2004. In the summer of 2004, Underwood auditioned for American Idol in St. Louis, Missouri. She was one of five winners never voted in the bottom three. On May 25, 2005, Underwood was crowned the winner of the fourth season of American Idol. She has returned to Idol many times to perform on new seasons’ shows. On November 15, 2005, Carrie released her debut album, Some Hearts, and made the Billboard 200 chart, selling 315, 000 copies. Some Hearts made it to number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and was the biggest debut of any country artist since the SoundScan system was used in 1991. The album has been certified septuple Platinum by the RIAA and is the fastest selling debut country album in the history of the SoundScan use. The album’s second single, “Jesus, Take the Wheel” was released to radios on October 18, 2005. It was played so much that it made it to number thirty-nine on the Billboard Country chart in its first week, and was number one for six consecutive weeks. Carrie has since released two more albums, Carnival Ride on October 23, 2007, and Play On on November 3, 2009. She has embarked on multiple tours, and has received many awards for songs and music videos. Most recently, in May of 2010, Carrie was named one of the 100 Most Beautiful People in the World by People Magazine. Carrie has also made a few TV appearances since 2009. She began to date Canadian hockey player Mike Fisher after meeting him at one of her concerts in 2008. On December 20, 2009, the two became engaged.
The song “Jesus, Take the Wheel” has many different poetic devices that work together as a whole to make a beautiful song. For example, the line “She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati on a snow white Christmas Eve. Goin' home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat” show imagery. While listening to the song, a person can picture a woman driving home in the snow with a baby in the backseat of the car. Another example of a poetic device is symbolism. The title “Jesus, take the wheel” is a symbol for her losing her place in life and needing Jesus to help her. The “wheel” symbolizes her life and where she is in life. There is consonance in the line “she was so scared.” The song as a whole has social relevance, because a lot of people veer off the course they started on, and soon don’t know where they are going any more. They look for guidance from anyone as they try to go back to where they started from. Throughout the song, there is euphony. The way Carrie sings the song works together to create a song that people want to listen to, and can relate to easily. It is emotionally evocative, allowing people to put themselves in her shoes and think about a time where they needed help in life. Carrie has an expansive range, making the song even better. There is a simile in the line “she cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock.”
The key device in this song is symbolism, though imagery is used throughout it as well. The symbolism of Jesus taking the wheel of the car is used to show how she needs his help in getting her life back. Her loss of control of the car is a symbol of her loss of control of her own life. She is turning to God for help and guidance, and the imagery allows the person listening to the song to picture someone’s life being troubled and being in need of help.

Ultraviolet-Alexz Johnson

Alexz Johnson was born November 4, 1986 in New Westminster, British Columbia. She is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is the sixth of ten children, and has acted in a few known shows or movies. She was in Disney Channel’s show “So Weird”, The-N’s “Instant Star”, and Final Destination 3. She played Jude Harrison on “Instant Star”, her character being a winner of an American Idol-like contest. She sang for the shows four seasons while working on her debut album. She starred and featured on the TV show’s four soundtracks. In early 2008, Alexz signed with Epic Records. She was due to release an album in late 2009, however, Epic records released a third of their artists from their contracts, Alexz being one of them. She then stated she would be working on a different album independently with her brother Brendan. Her debut album Voodoo was released March 30, 2010.
The song “Ultraviolet” was released on the fourth soundtrack for “Instant Star.” There are many hyperboles in this song, including the line “Everybody knows the truth. Everybody sees right through.” This is an exaggeration because not every single person knows the truth behind what is going on in their relationship. There is a simile in the line “I swear that you're just sinking in like a stain that's on my skin.” This shows how her boyfriend is always with her and on her mind, and he stays there like a stain. There is another simile in the line “Your love's like ultraviolet.” This shows how his love can be dangerous and soaks into her, and she feels like it burns into her skin. There is a hyperbole in the line “I can feel it burn, but I like it, yeah.” This is supposed to show how his love is always with her, but love can’t actually burn, and she can’t feel it burn, so it is both a hyperbole and personification.
The main device in this song is simile. Similes are used through the whole chorus and in another verse, comparing her boyfriend’s love to ultraviolet rays and to stains that can’t be removed. She uses similes to show how his love lasts inside of her, and it helps the listener know how deep their love is for each other.

Bring Me to Life -Evanescence

Evanescence is an American rock band formed in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. The two met at a youth camp where Moody heard Amy Lee singing a song by Meatloaf. In early 2003, the band was completed by Amy Lee and Ben Moody's friends, John LeCompt, Rocky Gray and Will Boyd, all of whom worked on Evanescence's earlier songs. Meanwhile, Evanescence signed on with their first major label, Wind-up Records, and began work on their first album, Fallen. Fallen spent forty-three weeks on the Billboard Top 10, was certified seven times Platinum in the United States, and sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide, including seven million in the U.S. The album was listed for one hundred and four weeks on the Billboard Top 200, and it was one of eight albums in the history of the chart to spend at least a year on the Billboard Top 50. Evanescence's major label debut single "Bring Me to Life", featuring guest vocals from Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, was a global hit for the band and reached number five on the American Billboard Hot 100. It gave Evanescence their first UK number one single, where it stayed for four weeks from June-July 2003. The song also became the official theme for WWE No Way Out 2003.
The song “Bring Me to Life” has many poetic devices in it. For example, there is a simile in the line “How can you see into my eyes like open doors?” This shows how he can see what she is thinking, as if her eyes were open doors. There is consonance in the line “Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold.” There is a hyperbole in the line “Frozen inside without your touch.” This is an exaggeration because she is not really frozen inside. There is another hyperbole in the line “Only you are the life among the dead.” There is another hyperbole in the line “I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems.” Obviously, he has not really been sleeping for a thousand years.
The main device in this song is hyperbole, because they are both exaggerating the fact that they feel empty without the other. They use many hyperboles to show how alone they feel and how they feel like they are going to die unless the other one is with them.

Social Relevance in Country Music

Tim McGraw-If You're Reading This

This song is talking about a soldier in the war writing to his wife. He is saying that he wishes he were with her, and could see his daughter being born. “If you're reading this, half way around the world, I won't be there to see the birth of our little girl. I hope she looks like you. I hope she fights like me. Stand up for the innocent and weak.” This shows how he wants his daughter to fight like him, even if he’s not there for her. He is saying how he is going to day one day, and his wife will move on and be happy. “There's going to come a day, when you'll move on and find someone else, and that's ok. Just remember this. I'm in a better place where soldiers live in peace, and angels sing amazing grace.” He wants his wife to know that when he dies, he’ll be in a good place, and that he wants her to be happy. “So lay me down in that open field out on the edge of town.” This shows how he is ready to die. He is not afraid to be killed for his country, and he wants his wife to know that he is safe and that he wants her to be happy.

Toby Keith-Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue

This song is about people who are proud of America, and who always respect their flag and their country. “American girls and American guys, will always stand up and salute. We'll always recognize, when we see ol' glory flying.” He talks about all the different symbols of freedom in the United States, and what they mean. “Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list, and the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist. And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell, when you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.” This shows how they have different things that show their dedication to the United States. He also talks about how we are in war, and how no matter what, we fought back. “Now this nation that I love has fallen under attack. A sucker punch came flyin' from somewhere in the back. As soon as we could see clearly through our big black eye, man we lit up your world like the fourth of July.” This quote shows a lot of imagery of war, and of American citizens showing their pride. Another thing he talks about is how his dad served in the Army, and fought for his country and supported it until he died. “My daddy served in the Army, where he lost his right eye. But he flew a flag out in our yard 'til the day that he died.”

Carrie Underwood-Don’t Forget To Remember Me

This song is about a girl going off to college and moving on with her life, and asking her family to always remember her. “18 years have come and gone. For momma they flew by, but for me they just drug on.” Throughout the song, she talks about her new life, getting an apartment, and paying bills. She thinks about how her life is now, and how her life was then. “This downtown apartment sure makes me miss home and those bills there on the counter remind me I'm on my own. And just like every Sunday I called momma up last night. And even when it's not, I tell her everything's alright.” She talks about how she misses her family, but she’s trying to be her own person. She wants her family to remember her all the time, and know that she misses them. “Before we hung up I said ‘Hey momma, don't forget to tell my baby sister I'll see her in the fall. And tell mee-mal that I miss her. Yeah, I should give her a call. And make sure you tell Daddy that I'm still his little girl. Yeah I still feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be. Don't forget to remember me.’” This shows how, as much as she misses her family, she is living her life and growing up, and she doesn’t want to give up. She is all alone, but she feels like she’s doing the right thing by growing up, and she doesn’t want to give up. “Tonight I find myself kneeling by the bed to pray. I haven't done this in a while, so I don't know what to say but Lord I feel so small some times in this big ol' place. I know there are more important things, but don't forget to remember me.”

The World in Six Songs

The six songs in "The World in Six Songs" are friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion, and love songs.

A song about friendship is "Me and My Gang" by Rascal Flatts. A song about joy is "Give Me Sunshine" by Ryan Adams. A song about comfort is "Cowgirls Don't Cry" by Brooks & Dunn. A song about knowledge is "Stand" by Rascal Flatts. A song about religion is "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood. A song about love in country music would be "Two People Fell in Love" by Brad Paisley.

Allusion, Ambiguity, and Allegory in Country Music

The song "Love Story" by Taylor Swift uses allusion in its lyrics. The line "Cause you were Romeo, I was the scarlet letter, and my daddy said, 'stay away from Juliet'" alludes to Romeo & Juliet and The Scarlet Letter to describe a boy that the father won't let her see.

The song "Wasted" by Carrie Underwood uses ambiguity in its lyrics. For example, the title "Wasted" can refer to the girl not wanting to waste her life away, or the man in the song who spends most of his life wasted.

The song "Welcome to the Future" by Brad Paisley includes allegory in its lyrics. The entire song references things from the past that are so different from today. It also talks about his grandfather in World War Two, and talks about things back then that could apply to things in other wars.

Simile in Country Music

One song with a simile in it is "Love Like Heaven" by Sarah Buxton. The line "a love like heaven" is a simile. It shows how she wants a sweet, pure love like heaven.

Another song with similes in it is "To Find A Heart" by Big Kenny. The line "and when it hurts like Hell, that's when you know it's real" shows a simile by saying the level that love hurts, and when it feels like Hell, then you know it's real.

Metaphor in Country Music

The song "Love Story" by Taylor Swift includes examples of metaphors in it's lyrics. For example, the line "Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter" is a mixed metaphor, because Romeo was in love with Juliet, and the girl from The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, was a whore who had her minister's love child.


The song "She's My Kind Of Rain" by Tim McGraw has many literary devices in it, including metaphors. The line "She's the sunset's shadow, she's like Rembrandt’s light, she's the history that's made at night, she's my lost companion, she's my dreamin' tree, together in this brief eternity" is an extended metaphor, showing that his wife is everything in his life.

Paradox in Country Music

The song "Hate to Love" by Shania Twain is an example of a paradox. For example, the title "hate to love" is a paradox because she is saying that she hates to love him, which contradicts what she is saying.

Personification in Country Music

The song "Kinda Like It's Love" by Jason McCoy includes personification in it's lyrics. For example, the line "kinda like it's love particularly when my soul starts hummin'" because souls cannot actually hum. Also, the line "I'll kiss the lips of Providence" is an example of personification because Providence doesn't actually have lips."

The song "Living Our Love Song" by Jason Michael Carroll includes personification in it's lyrics as well. The line "one thing that's stayed the same is our love is still growing strong" is an ecample of personification because love cannot physically grow and cannot be strong.

Point of View in Country Music

The song "The World" by Brad Paisley is an example of second person narrative. He says what his wife is to people she meets (waiter, bank teller, etc.), and then how she means the world to him.

The song "Love Lives" by Chad Brock is an example of third person omniscient. The song is an observation of a man in a delivery room and a nursery going through life with his child.

The song "You Hold Me Together" by Dierks Bentley is an example of first person narrative. He is saying all of these bad things that have happened to him. It is also an example of second person narrative, when he says how she holds him together through everything bad in his life.

The song "The Breath You Take" by George Strait is an example of third person narrative, when he talks about a son and his father and them spending time together. It is also an example of first person narrative, when he talks about himself, his daughter, and his father.

Hyperbole in Country Music

The song "Today Was A Fairtale" by Taylor Swift is full of hyperboles. For example, "You've got a smile that takes me to another planet." Obviously, their love does not literally take them to another planet. The quote, "Time slows down whenever you're around" shows hyperbole because time doesn't actually slow down. Another example of hyperbole is "But can you feel this magic in the air?" There is not actual magic in the air. Another example is the title, "Today was a fairytale." The day was not actually a fairytale because life is reality not a fairytale.

Alliteration in Country Music

One song that has alliteration in country music is "Remember When" by Alan Jackson. An example of alliteration in this song is, "Remember when I was young and so were you and time stood still and love was all we knew." The alliteration in this quote is "stood still," and it is consonance. Another example is, "Remember when thirty seemed so old. Now lookin' back it's just a steppin' stone." The alliteration in this quote is "seemed so" and "steppin' stone," and they are both consonance.

Another song with alliteration in it is "Sombody Like You" by Keith Urban. Alliteration in this song is "When you put your arms around me, you let me know there's nothing in this world I can't do." The alliteration is "arms around" and it is assonance. Another example is, "And it sure feels good, to finally feel the way I do." The alliteration is "finally feel," and it is consonance.

A third song with an example of alliteration is "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. Some alliteration in this song is, "So close your eyes, escape this town for a little while." The alliteration is "eyes escape," and it is assonance. Another example of alliteration is "'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter and my daddy said stay away from Juliet." The alliteration is "said stay" and it is an example of consonance.

Imagery in Country Music

One song that shows imagery in my theme and genre is "Then" by Brad Paisley. This song was written about Brad and his wife, and goes through the different stages of their relationship. He starts from the beginning, and tells his wife how he fell in love with her more and more, and his love at a certain stage in their relationship didn't even compare to his love at that moment. "I could just see you, with a baby on the way. And I could just see you, when your hair is turning gray. What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more. But I've said that before." This shows imagery because you can picture him talking about their future, and having children and growing old together. Throughout the song, you can picture each sage he describes, and feel his love for his wife.



A second song that shows imagery would be "Carrying Your Love with Me" by George Strait. This song talks about a man carrying a woman's love with him everywhere he goes. He says that her love keeps him strong. "On a lonely highway, stuck out in the rain. Darlin' all I have to do is speak your name. The clouds roll back and the waters part. The sun starts shining in my heart for you." This shows imagery because you can imagine a highway with barely any cars in the rain. You can see in your head the sky clearing up and the rain going away. And then you can practically see the sun shining from his heart when thinking about her. Everything about this song shows some imagery, where you can picture him leaving and simply saying her name to make him feel better. George Strait is one of the best artists in the country genre, and through many of his songs, like this one, you can see the love he talks about in his songs.

Paisley, Brad. "Then." American Saturday Night. Arista Nashville. 2009. http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/brad-paisley-lyrics/then-lyrics.html. 2/3/10

Strait, George. "Carrying Your Love with Me. "Carrying Your Love with Me. Mca Nashville. 1997. http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/strait-george/carrying-your-love-with-me-8798.html 2/3/10

Love and Country Music

The theme I chose is love and the genre is country music. There are many examples of country songs written about love. For example, the song "Mary's Song (My My My)" by Taylor Swift talks about love. The song is about a girl and a boy who meet as children and grow up to fall in love with each other. "Well I was sixteen when suddenly, I wasn't that little girl you used to see. But your eyes still shined like pretty lights." I think this song shows how these two people met as kids and grew up to realize that they love each other. There are many other examples of songs that influenced my decision, but this song sums it up pretty well. Country music was chosen as my genre because I feel that country music is made to show the artist's true feelings, while other genres like rock or rap, are created to be popular. Country music has been around for a long time andmost songs are about all different types of love.