Paper #2
Song Choices:
“Dreaming With a Broken Heart” by John Mayer “’I Feel Like Dying” by Lil’ Wayne
“Grace is Gone” by the Dave Matthews Band
“Story of a girl” by Matchbook Romance
The four songs that I chose for this paper are all composed by new artists that have arrived on the music scene well after the blues era ended. Obviously these songs are not a direct result of the blues era. However, I think that each of them embodies the core qualities of blues music. I believe a huge part of the blue’s genre involves the central themes of loss, depression, and loneliness. Although the actual era in which blues music was popular is now over, the core themes and ideas of blue music can still be found all over today’s music scene. Although that style of music is not popular, especially amongst today’s youth, the fact that the messages that were delivered in those songs are still incredibly popular speaks wonders for what the blues artists created.
The first song I chose, “Grace is Gone” by the Dave Matthews Band, tells the story of a person who had fallen in love and was left by the other person and is now extremely bitter. The vivid lyrics of this song paint a picture of loss, loneliness and sorrow, and help to portray a strong central theme of hopelessness and …show more content…
Although this may not be the purest or most direct example of the blues in modern music I feel it definitely embodies the qualities. This song is definitely blunt and extreme; it definitely gets the message across. He feels trapped within himself and his loneliness. His only friends were the drugs and thus he spirals into a direct depression. This loneliness, again, is a common theme through these songs and blues music in general. The darkness and depression that Wayne embodies in this song is almost difficult to listen to but is a much more extreme message of what the original blue’s artists were