Let’s Evaluate My Writing Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

The prompt for my class’s first essay is, “Analyze the rhetoric used in a music video of your choice.” For the life of me, I couldn’t think of a good music video to write about, because my young and feeble mind was scarred immensely a few years ago when I watched the video of a song I liked. Little 10 year old Mikey wanted to listen to this song while doing homework, and because he didn’t have money on his iTunes account, he turned to YouTube. He searched for the song and saw the music video pop up as the first result, and when he clicked on it, he was greeted by two people getting their limbs ripped off and being stitched back together (rather poorly too). Since that incident, I never really watched music videos, with the (very) occasional exception every now and then. Anyway, It took me a while to figure out which video to use, and I finally decided to use the song “I Want to Break Free” by Queen. I saw the video when I was much older, thankfully, because as a kid I probably wouldn’t have been able to grasp much of the meaning behind the unorthodox imagery. ANYWAY, as I studied both the video and analyses by other contributors, I picked up on much more meaning than I first imagined.

So, this is supposed to be an annotation of the lyrics, so I’ll start annotating. After all, the song is about more than Freddie Mercury’s excellent voice and dressing in drag.

I want to break free
I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
You’re so self satisfied I don’t need you
I’ve got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free

I’ve fallen in love
I’ve fallen in love for the first time
And this time I know it’s for real
I’ve fallen in love, yeah
God knows, God knows I’ve fallen in love

It’s strange but it’s true, yeah
I can’t get over the way you love me like you do
But I have to be sure
When I walk out that door
Oh, how I want to be free, baby
Oh, how I want to be free
Oh, how I want to break free

But life still goes on
I can’t get used to living without, living without
Living without you by my side
I don’t want to live alone, hey
God knows, got to make it on my own

So baby can’t you see
I’ve got to break free
I’ve got to break free
I want to break free, yeah
I want, I want, I want, I want to break free

First, what issue is the band focusing on? Well, this is one of the most common debates regarding the song. Some argue that the issue is the discrimination of homosexuals in the 70s and 80s. Others believe that it touches on the feeling of being trapped in a mundane or boring life with no relief. I personally agree with the latter, mostly because Mercury didn’t even write the lyrics, but rather the band’s base player did. The main thesis of the lyric could be broken down into a simple and obvious phrase: “I want to break free.” The repetition of this phrase as well as the naming of the song point to it pretty vividly. This song was most likely written as a way to express their message of escaping from the “ordinary.” I mean, I can’t think of another reason to release a song, other than making money (but in my opinion, anybody can write an easy repeatable song with no deeper meaning and still make millions. Look at any pop star ever). Songs ARE expressions of thoughts and emotions. Moving on, the intended audience was most likely fans of Queen, both old and new. Popular bands release their songs to be shared and to grow their fanbase. More fans = more people to reach out to with your song’s message.

Overall, I think the band’s message, while controversial (especially at the time) opened an avenue of thought for those who listen. Whoever hears the song, watches the video, and/or reads the lyrics obtains a different and unique perspective of Queen’s main point. If you haven’t heard the song, give it a listen, and watch the video. The lyrics are here but with all 3 you have the complete picture.

I still don’t know how to end a blog, so i guess happy Valentine’s Day?