The rap song I chose to analyze is entitled Feel Good Inc. sung by the band known as the Gorillaz. Released in May 2005, the song quickly became globally popular. Understandably, the musical instruments and beat alone allowed the song to reach top 10 on billboards. However, it was not until further analysis of the song lyrics did I realize how rhythmical and lyrical the song was. After examining the track, one can identify the constant use of rhyme and repetition within it allowing the song to sound more appealing and therefore more popular.
Beginning with the first stanza, consisting of eight lines, one can see there is a lot of end rhyme associated within it. The rhyme scheme is patterned as AA, BB, CC.... with a combination of masculine and feminine rhyme. Some examples are back and wack or style and smile. From just looking at the structure with the first stanza, one can see that the song is a narrative piece. The song focuses on the idea of being physically trapped or confined. While the narrator longs to be free, he will never escape the chains around him. He says that the city around him is crumbling and he is desperate to leave, however he is conflicted with the reality he will never make it out of his prison.
A: City's breaking down on a camel's back. (Male) ---> City is crumbling apart
A: They just have to go 'cause they don't know wack (Male)
B: So all you fill the streets it's appealing to see (Male) ---> His freedom is appealing
B: You won't get out the county, 'cause you're bad and free (Male) ---> Reality is we will never escape
C: You've got a new horizon it's ephemeral style. (Female)
C: A melancholy town where we never smile. (Female)
The second stanza or the chorus consisted of again eight lines and again focuses on end rhyme, AA, BB, but ever other two lines. Some examples are land and hand or free and me. All the rhymes however, are male rhymes consisting of one syllable. However, within the chorus there is a lot of repetition such as the word windmill, used four times, hand and land ,each used twice, forever, three times, and love, twice. The stanza continues with this idea of the narrator being confined as he relates love and freedom to a windmill. The imagery often associated with windmills is that of a positive and peaceful landscape. The song begins by saying the windmill turns hand in hand. This being said, the narrator longs to live in a world such as that, where everyone live in peace, hand in hand. However, the song then goes on to say it is ticking falling down, relating this particular line back to the city idea in the first stanza, where the world around the narrator is crumbling. He says love and freedom are forever, and he wished to continue to "turn forever" trying desperately to ignore the harsh reality.
A:Windmill, windmill for the land. (Male)
A:Turned forever hand in hand (Male) ---> Narrator wishes to live in a world hand in hand (peaceful)
Take it all in on your stride
It is ticking, falling down ---> Narrator knows the reality is the world around is crumbling
B:Love forever love is free (Male)
B:Let's turn forever you and me(Male) ---> Trying to escape confinement/reality and live peacefully)
Windmill, windmill for the land
Is everybody in?
The third stanza is seven lines long and similarly follows a AA, BB, CC rhyme pattern with a mixture of female and male rhyme. Although there is end rhyme such as here and year there is also internal rhyme such as hazmats and cats. Furthermore, there is also rhyme between the words, attack, track, and crack all with the same ending of "ack". There is also another case of internal rhyme between stepping, and reppin' which although located in two different lines have similar sounds. Additionally, there is even an example of rich rhyme where care, and bear sound the same but have different endings. Another example is heart and harder where both posses the same "ar" sound. Overall, this stanza is filled with rhyme.
Laughing gas these hazmats, fast cats, ---> Internal rhyme
C: A melancholy town where we never smile. (Female)
The second stanza or the chorus consisted of again eight lines and again focuses on end rhyme, AA, BB, but ever other two lines. Some examples are land and hand or free and me. All the rhymes however, are male rhymes consisting of one syllable. However, within the chorus there is a lot of repetition such as the word windmill, used four times, hand and land ,each used twice, forever, three times, and love, twice. The stanza continues with this idea of the narrator being confined as he relates love and freedom to a windmill. The imagery often associated with windmills is that of a positive and peaceful landscape. The song begins by saying the windmill turns hand in hand. This being said, the narrator longs to live in a world such as that, where everyone live in peace, hand in hand. However, the song then goes on to say it is ticking falling down, relating this particular line back to the city idea in the first stanza, where the world around the narrator is crumbling. He says love and freedom are forever, and he wished to continue to "turn forever" trying desperately to ignore the harsh reality.
A:Windmill, windmill for the land. (Male)
A:Turned forever hand in hand (Male) ---> Narrator wishes to live in a world hand in hand (peaceful)
Take it all in on your stride
It is ticking, falling down ---> Narrator knows the reality is the world around is crumbling
B:Love forever love is free (Male)
B:Let's turn forever you and me(Male) ---> Trying to escape confinement/reality and live peacefully)
Windmill, windmill for the land
Is everybody in?
The third stanza is seven lines long and similarly follows a AA, BB, CC rhyme pattern with a mixture of female and male rhyme. Although there is end rhyme such as here and year there is also internal rhyme such as hazmats and cats. Furthermore, there is also rhyme between the words, attack, track, and crack all with the same ending of "ack". There is also another case of internal rhyme between stepping, and reppin' which although located in two different lines have similar sounds. Additionally, there is even an example of rich rhyme where care, and bear sound the same but have different endings. Another example is heart and harder where both posses the same "ar" sound. Overall, this stanza is filled with rhyme.
Laughing gas these hazmats, fast cats, ---> Internal rhyme
A: Lining them up like ass cracks, (Male) ---> End rhyme
A: Lay these ponies at the track (Male) ---> End rhyme
A: It's my chocolate attack. (Female) ---> End rhyme
B: I'm stepping in the heart of this here (Male)
B: Care bear reppin' it harder this year (Male) ---> Care/bear same sounds
Watch me as I gravitate
The forth and last stanza is similar to the third with end rhyme, repetition, and rich rhyme with similar vowel sounds. an example of similar sounding rhyme s that of town and sound with both having a long "ow" sound within. A similar example is in lines five and six where dust and us, share the similar sound of "us" in them. An example of repetition is found in the first and second line where the word town is repeated. Within line nine, get it, get it is similarly repeated twice too. Additionally, yo is also repeated in the first and last lines too as well as sound, in the third and seventh line. This stanza also goes back to the idea that the narrator is tying to escape. The song says that we are gonna go ghost town...gonna bite the dust, can't fight with us...so don't stop. This illustrates that the narrator realizing that he is truly confined is leaving his chains, arguing there is nothing you can do to stop me, and I will not stop until I am free.
A: Yo, we gonna go ghost town, ---> Town repeated
A: This motown,---> Similar sound with sound
A: With your sound
You're in the blink
B: Gonna bite the dust ---> Similar sound with us
B:Can't fight with us
With your sound
You kill the INC.
So don't stop, get it, get it ---> Repetition
Until you jet ahead.
Yo, watch the way I navigate
Overall, Feel Good Inc. incorporates multiple rhyme patterns and repetition which allows the song to sound so appealing. The song by any means is fantastic, brilliant and a well developed rap song making perfect for this assignment.
Rhyme Websites:
http://www.public.asu.edu/~aarios/formsofverse/furtherreading/page2.html
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-term/rhyme
A: It's my chocolate attack. (Female) ---> End rhyme
B: I'm stepping in the heart of this here (Male)
B: Care bear reppin' it harder this year (Male) ---> Care/bear same sounds
Watch me as I gravitate
The forth and last stanza is similar to the third with end rhyme, repetition, and rich rhyme with similar vowel sounds. an example of similar sounding rhyme s that of town and sound with both having a long "ow" sound within. A similar example is in lines five and six where dust and us, share the similar sound of "us" in them. An example of repetition is found in the first and second line where the word town is repeated. Within line nine, get it, get it is similarly repeated twice too. Additionally, yo is also repeated in the first and last lines too as well as sound, in the third and seventh line. This stanza also goes back to the idea that the narrator is tying to escape. The song says that we are gonna go ghost town...gonna bite the dust, can't fight with us...so don't stop. This illustrates that the narrator realizing that he is truly confined is leaving his chains, arguing there is nothing you can do to stop me, and I will not stop until I am free.
A: Yo, we gonna go ghost town, ---> Town repeated
A: This motown,---> Similar sound with sound
A: With your sound
You're in the blink
B: Gonna bite the dust ---> Similar sound with us
B:Can't fight with us
With your sound
You kill the INC.
So don't stop, get it, get it ---> Repetition
Until you jet ahead.
Yo, watch the way I navigate
Overall, Feel Good Inc. incorporates multiple rhyme patterns and repetition which allows the song to sound so appealing. The song by any means is fantastic, brilliant and a well developed rap song making perfect for this assignment.
Rhyme Websites:
http://www.public.asu.edu/~aarios/formsofverse/furtherreading/page2.html
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-term/rhyme
SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Chriswontmiss
ReplyDeleteTHE BIGG SHOW PRESENTED BY CREEPNATION!!!
Hosted by @trizzythemouth @boss_soi and @chriswontmiss Live from @creepnation
studios every sunday 12p - 2p....
see our lastest post......
click here to know more about us https://chriswontmiss.com/