Original Song

Heroes

By: Corina Jurczyk

Heroes don't look look like that
They don't go into combat
Wearing flowing capes
Wearing armored plates
Oh, no
That's not a hero

Heroes don't say their heroes
They honorably accept their medals
If they boast about
Or enjoy the crowds
Then no,
They're not a hero

{Chorus}
Heroes
Endure the pain of war
And heroes
To protect the weak they swore
Heroes
Accept the sacrifice
Because they're brave enough to give us their life

Heroes aren't like those in books
They aren't revered for catching crooks
They don't enjoy the hurt
If their eyes don't avert
Then no,
That's not a hero

To save the good
They sleep out in the wood
To help the ones in need
They fight, hopeful to suceed

{Chorus}

Because heroes wear camouflage
They join in the war's harsh barrage
With patriot power
They press through the hours
But no,
Not to become a hero

But they are
Since they travel far
They bear the sacrifice
And are brave enough to give us their life
Yeah, that's a hero

They're brave enough
And strong enough
And courageous
To give us their life

Short Fiction

Lyrics: (Inspiration is highlighted)
"In Color" Jamey Johnson

I said, grandpa what's this picture here
It's all black and white, it ain't real clear
Is that you there? He said yeah, I was 11

Times were tough back in '35
That's me and uncle Joe just tryin' to survive
A cotton farm in a great depression

If it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just tryin' to save each other
You should've seen it in color

Oh, and this one here was taken over seas
In the middle of hell in 1943
In the winter time you can almost see my breath

That was my tail gunner ole Johnny Magee
He was a high school teacher from New Orleans
And he had my back right through the day we left

If it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just tryin' to save each other
You should've seen it in color

A picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should've seen it in color

This one is my favorite one
This is me and grandma in the summer sun
All dressed up, the day we said our vows

You can't tell it here but it was hot that June
And that rose was red and her eyes were blue
And just look at that smile, I was so proud
That's the story of my life right there in black and white

And if it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just tryin' to save each other
You should've seen it in color

A pictures worth a thousand words
But you cant see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color
You should have seen it in color

Yeah, a pictures worth a thousand words
But you cant see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color

Fiction Story:

The Photograph

By: Corina Jurczyk

It is black and white, blurred and slightly torn.  It’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between the four men frozen in time, but I can tell you everything those shades of gray keep covered.  I can see the flying dirt, the blood, the death.  I can hear the machine guns, the screams of pain, the sound of boots on a forest floor.  I can see Johnny McGee, Lenny Georges, Roger Manley, along with myself, an eighteen year old at war.  Then I see everything all over again.

“Reynolds!” Lt. Thomas calls.  I run over and stand at attention.  “I want you to lead the ambush on Essen tomorrow night.”  I nod, hiding the fear.  I’ve never led anyone before.  How am I supposed to go on ambush and lead men?  As I ponder, my CO dismisses me. 

I head back through the trenches to inform my buddies.  McGee and Manley are having one of their usual political debates.  “The government doesn’t have the right to force us into fighting,” Manley stated loudly. 

McGee replies with an equally loud “Of course they do!  We are citizens that should protect our country like our fathers did.”  Those two couldn’t be more different.  McGee comes from a long family of military men.  Manley is a man of peace and against the war.  No one can really blame him though.  He lost his best friend, Andrew Crow, to a machine gun two months ago.  He hasn’t yet gotten over it.

“Boys, it looks like I’m heading the ambush tomorrow,” I say, still hiding the worry.  They stop, and McGee pats me on the back.  “What?  I haven’t done anything yet.”

“I know, but tomorrow night you will.  Just don’t die okay?” McGee jokes, causing Manley to clench his fists.  “Oh… Sorry…” he apologizes.  Manley just walks away down the zigzagging trench.

That night I have terrible nightmares.  I can’t stop thinking of dying, of causing someone else’s death, save for the Nazis.  I wake up, breathing heavily.  I don’t want to do this anymore.  I refuse to sleep again; I don’t want to picture my death another fifty times, each far worse than the last.

As dawn approached, everyone wakes up tense but excited in a cruel sort of way.  Lt. Thomas sends me out with a recon squad to figure out the best way to ambush the city.  We discover a small group of Nazis stationed in Essen, nothing to be entirely worried about.  They didn’t seem suspicious or cautious of the impending attack.  Good, I think to myself.  It will be easier if they don’t know of us. 

When we return to the trenches a few miles outside the city, fear returns, and I refuse to talk with anyone.  Not even McGee, my best friend, can get through to me.  I don’t want to talk.  I don’t want to do anything.  Shaking, sweating in the middle of winter, I sit there.  I don’t eat and ignore all around me.  Though I want to, I can’t cry; how great would that look?  Their leader is a crying baby.  As night approaches, Thomas comes to talk to me.  “What’s wrong with you, Reynolds?  You haven’t talked to anyone today.  I know you haven’t led before, but you know enough.  This ambush shouldn’t be hard.  Clayton told me it should be a piece of cake.”

“Then let him lead.  He can do better than me,” I blurt out.

“Clayton can’t lead due to his injury.  You know that,” the lieutenant replies, reminding me of Clayton’s concussion.

I mutter a “Yes, sir” and am dismissed.  A stupid Army photographer comes to take a photograph of McGee, Georges, Manley, and I before we leave.  I don’t want to be in it, but McGee insisted so I give in.

The ambush begins at around eleven that night.  I have around 40 men under my control, including McGee.  We head into the city, remaining as quiet as possible.  I tell Sanders and Georges to scout out the main road, and not even a minute later, we hear two gun shots.  I start running for cover, nearly forgetting that I was in charge.  Great.  Now the Nazis know of us.  So much for ambush.

The Georges and Sanders don’t return, so we head out.  I put on a brave face and tell my men to kill only those uniformed.  I don’t want to kill the people stuck in this city, unable to escape the madness of war.

As we reached the heart of the city, McGee stays with me after I send the others towards the eastern and southern parts of Essen.  We hear firing from our left, and run towards it, even though our minds beg us to run in the opposite direction.  We leave three Nazis in the street, dead.  My confidence boosted, we head back to the main road out of the city.

Bang! I twist to my right.  McGee is collapsed in the snow, blood pooling below him, changing the innocent white to red.  Bang!  I fall, clasping my shoulder and black out.

He wasn’t supposed to die.  He was supposed to win medals and rise through the ranks.  He was supposed to have a family after the war.  He was supposed to live, but he didn’t. 

Tears streaming down my face, I crush the photo in my hand and toss it into the fire burning beside me.

SA2: "Last Words" Thousnd Foot Crutch

“Last Words” by Thousand Foot Crutch

Shifting from apologetic to instructional tone in “Last Words”, Thousand Foot Crutch incorporates ghostly point of view, letter format, and losing hyperbole in order to warn listeners that “the world is not worth leaving”.

                Thousand Foot Crutch talks from the point of view of a dead loved one who committed suicide so that listeners will be persuaded that regret comes after suicide.  The speaker is “living in a world of regret” after they have committed suicide.  Through a suicide note, the speaker tells the listener they “never meant to hurt [them] dearly”.   The speaker in “Last Words” warns that “life is more than just the games you’re playing” by explaining how “the world is not worth leaving”.  Thousand Foot Crutch wants to convey a story of a person who regrets their choice of suicide and wants to warn their suicidal “loved one” that suicide is not the answer.  The speaker in wished they took “life seriously” and thanked “God in the morning for another day”.  The speaker portrays these things through the next tool, format.

                Thousand Foot Crutch wrote this song in a way such that it portrays the reading of a letter the speaker wrote to encompass the thought of a suicide note being that “last words” one will ever say.  “Last Words” begins with “Dear loved one,” a proper introduction on a letter.  The name is not mentioned due to the multitudes actually addressed in the song.  The speaker, who is actually the writer of this message, says “this might be the last chance [they] get” to say they are sorry.  The speaker continues by apologizing about how they “never meant to hurt” the listener and “there’s so much [the speaker has] done wrong”.  Then they continue with “Listen I’ve got to tell you something/These are the last words/I’m ever gonna get to say to you”.  They mark that they have chosen the path of suicide with this.  However throughout the rest of the song, the speaker warns the listener to not follow in their footsteps and “take life seriously”.  The speaker then asked the listener to “tell [their] mother that [they] love her”, which means this is the only copy of the letter.  The speaker is filled with regret about their decision, but they do not have “what it takes to make it through” “what life pulls [them] through”.  In a way, the letter is a letter to the speaker themself by telling how they should not have committed suicide.  The song does not end like a letter, but Thousand Foot Crutch probably wanted the speaker to remain anonymous for the sake of the listeners.

                Thousand Foot Crutch includes materialistic hyperbole so that the amount lost in committing suicide is presented.  Referring to the listener’s thoughts on life, the speaker says “you can have everything, but have nothing”.  The speaker is introducing the thought that what their “loved one” has amounts to nothing.  The speaker tells the listener that “when everything falls away from [them]” to “know the world is not worth leaving”.  This hyperbole embodies the feelings a depressed person has, feelings in which they feel they “have nothing”.  The speaker is relating to the reader by remembering how it felt to feel like absolutely no one wants them anymore.  The use of this device helps non-suicidal listeners feel how others feel and reminds suicidal listeners that in reality “everything [doesn’t fall] away from you”.

                With the use of paranormal point of view, message format, and greedy hyperbole, Thousand Foot Crutch communicates the idea of “living in a world of regret” after suicide.

Youtube video with lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HnW3UdJhZg&feature=watch_response

Song Analysis One/SA1

               Shifting from first to second person, as well as questioning to answering, point of view in “Someone Worth Dying For”, Mikeschair utilizes contradictory assonance, persuasive repetition, and worried characterization to portray the idea that even though one might think they are “just some wandering soul” and have no purpose in life, they must remember that God created them for a reason and Jesus paid for their sins on the cross.

                The pairs of lines using assonance in this song seem to challenge each other.  In the lines “Am I more than flesh and bone?/Am I really something beautiful?” the word “bone”, a repulsive and sickly object, is paired with “beautiful”, the adjective used for describing visually appeasing objects.  The speaker is comparing what they think of themselves with what they hope God thinks of them.  Another contradiction is found in the lines “I’m not just some wandering soul/That you don’t see and you don’t know.”  Souls are not scientifically known to exist.  When the other words are added, the sentence becomes more understandable because “some wandering soul” that “you don’t know” is unknown and therefore logical even though this song deals with religion.  Assonance in the lines “I know you’ve heard that truth that God has set you free/But you think you’re the one that grace could never reach” pairs being able to do anything with trying for something you will never obtain.  The contradictory assonance in “Someone Worth Dying For” is necessary due to its contribution of contemplating who one really is.  This assonance will be swayed to one option with the use of the next device, repetition.

                When people repeat things over and over, they remember them better.  They will start believing it as fact if they hear it enough times.  The repetition used in “Someone Worth Dying For” first tries to show that the struggling people in the world want to believe they are worth more with “Yeah I wanna believe, I wanna believe”.  After this line, the repetition changing to persuading the worried into believing they are in fact worth something.  The line “Yeah you gotta believe, you gotta believe” is repeated not only in the line itself but also in the song twice.  “He wants you to see, He wants you to see/That you’re not just some wandering soul” repeats the fact the God Himself wants them to know they have purpose.  The songs ends with “You’re someone worth dying for” repeated twice.  These repetitions are making sure the self-proclaimed worthless people never forget that they are worth dying for.

                The speaker begins the song with stating different types of people that could be or may become the listener.  “You might be the wife/Waiting up at night” portrays a woman who is so worried about her life that she cannot even sleep.  Characterized in the lines “You might be the man/Struggling to provide/Feeling like it’s hopeless”, this man feels so worthless that he does not want to try anymore to support his family because “it’s hopeless”.  The second verse of “Someone Worth Dying For” portrays two other types of people.  “Maybe you’re the son/Who chose a broken road” represents a son shunned by his family due to his mistakes in life.  The lines “Maybe you’re the girl/Thinking you’ll end up alone” tell of a girl afraid to become an old maid because no men want her.  All these different kinds of characterizations are calling towards all different types of listeners.  Unspecific toward gender or age, this song is more relatable and helpful for those who believe they are not “someone worth dying for”.

                Mikeschair conveys the thought that everyone is “someone worth dying for” with the help of self-challenging assonance, bias repetition, and struggling characterization.  This song reminds listeners that even though they feel unwanted, God wants them to do something in life and any mistakes they make along the way have already been forgiven through Jesus’ death.

Lyrics

You might be the wife,
Waiting up at night
You might be the man,
Struggling to provide
Feeling like it’s hopeless

And maybe you’re the son,
Who chose a broken road
Maybe you’re the girl,
Thinking you’ll end up alone
Praying God can you hear me?
Oh God are you listening?

Am I more than Flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful
And I wanna believe, I wanna believe
I’m not just a wandering soul
That you don’t see it and you don’t know
And I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Am someone worth dying for

I know you found the truth
That God has send you free
If you think you’re the one
That grace will never reach
So you just keep asking,
Oh what everybody’s asking

Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
And I wanna believe, I wanna believe
I’m not just a wandering soul
As you don’t see it and you don’t know
And I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Am someone worth dying for

You’re worth it
You can’t earn it
That the cross has proven
That you’re sacred and blameless
Your life has purpose

And you are more than flesh and bone
Can’t you see you’re something beautiful
Yes you gotta believe
You gotta believe
He wants you to see
He wants you to see
That’s you’re not just some wandering soul
That can’t be seen and can’t be known
Cause you gotta believe
You gotta believe that you are
Someone worth dying for, oh


You’re someone worth dying for, oh
You’re someone worth dying for

Oxymoron, Irony, and Paradox in Song Analysis

Shifting from a bored to happy mood in “Escape”, Rupert Holmes utilizes romantic irony, musical simile, and suburban imagery to convey the idea that it is necessary to escape the “same old dull routine” in order to remember the purpose of life-changing events.

“Escape” is about a man who is sick of his wife and wants someone new.  He sees a personal ad and replies with hopes of meeting her.  When he does, he finds his own wife.  In the line “I didn’t think about my lady, I know that sounds kind of mean” the man clearly does not want to have anything to do with his wife.  The irony comes into play in the lines “I knew her smile in an instant, I knew the curve of her face/It was my own lovely lady, and she said ‘Oh, it’s you.’”  The man was expecting a beautiful woman he has never met to walk into the bar, but instead he sees his own wife.   The irony is also comedic because the couple just goes with it; they laugh and plan their escape despite finding out they both attempted to cheat on one another.  The irony in this song shows that he needed to escape his daily routine to realize that he actually loves his wife who he described using a less important but still necessary device, simile.

The man in “Escape” claims that his wife was “like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song.”  The “worn-out recording” term can also be applied to his routine.  Everything in this man’s life is repetitive and boring.  He wanted to break free from it, which is the whole reason why he replied to the ad in the newspaper.  To become worn-out, a song must be played so many times.  This shows that his life and conversations with his wife were expected and uninteresting.  Had his lifestyle been on the boring side of normal instead of repetitive, the man would have never have replied to his wife’s ad, and he would have never escaped and fell in love with his wife again.

The suburban imagery used in this song gives it a story many people can relate to.  In the line “I read the paper in bed” the man is portrayed as a normal husband most likely in an average house.  The man asks the woman, unknown to him as his wife, to meet him “at a bar called O’Malley’s” to plan their escape.  This relates to a lot of people because many couples meet in bars.  The descriptions they give of themselves shows that they are like most suburban people.  Like many people, the man is “not much into health food”.  In the line “if you have half-a-brain”, the woman shows that she wants an average suburban man.  She doesn’t want to escape with a college professor nor someone who had not even graduated high school.  These lines are important to the song’s story sounding like it could actually happen to a couple.

In “Escape”, Rupert Holmes tells of a couple’s journey to rekindle their love through the use of comedic irony, cliché simile, and relatable imagery.  These devices help Holmes’s idea of changing up one’s daily life to remember the good things in life and why certain things were chosen over others to be portrayed in the fun and casual manner used in “Escape”.

Song Thesis Statement 1

Thesis Statement:

In "Does Anybody Hear Her", the Casting Crowns uses athletic hyperbole, damaging metaphor, and sorrowful characterization to convey the idea that we must look beyond ourselves, our circle of familiars, and rumors or gossip to help someone who really needs it.

Lyrics:

She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon's ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She's another two years older
And she's three more steps behind

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

She is yearning
For shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She is searching
For a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
And we've never even met her

If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
And we've never even met her

Never even met her
(Never Even Met her)

(Ohhhhh)Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me

Does anybody hear her? (Does anybody hear her?) Does anybody see? (Does anybody See?)
Does anybody even know she's going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple (shadow of her steeple)
With all the lost and lonely people (Lost and Lonely people)
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?

She is running a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction