Song Lyrics and Poetry Comparison Activity

Transcription

1 Song Lyrics and Poetry Comparison Activity Group 1: Unpretty and Flawless Imperfection Unpretty by Dallas Austin and Tionne Watkins Performed by TLC I wish could tie you up in my shoes Make you feel unpretty too I was told I was beautiful But what does that mean to you Look into the mirror who's inside there The one with the long hair Same old me again today (yeah) My outsides look cool My insides are blue Everytime I think I'm through It's because of you I've tried different ways But it's all the same At the end of the day I have myself to blame I'm just trippin' You can buy your hair if it won't grow You can fix your nose if he says so You can buy all the make up That M.A.C. can make But if you can't look inside you Find out who am I too Be in the position to make me feel So damn unpretty I'll make you feel unpretty too Never insecure until I met you Now I'm bein' stupid I used to be so cute to me Just a little bit skinny Why do I look to all these things To keep you happy Maybe get rid of you And then I'll get back to me (hey) It's because of you I've tried different ways But it's all the same At the end of the day I have myself to blame I'm just trippin' Flawless Imperfection by Natasha Dubois The world is just a lie, I am just it's pawn, Trying to reach the goal, I try to gain perfection, but only gain an empty soul. They take and take from you, But never tell you what it is they want to see. They hold high expectations you can never live up to, A picture of something you can never be. All their fingers point, Their words drag you into the deep. You fall again and scream, As you try to find yourself but only find deceit. Purge to please, Starve to see them smile and wish that you could. Unknowingly we're blessed with their disease, All becoming victims of Hollywood. I now stare unwillingly at my own disgust, Peer into the glass at my reflection. Still hearing their words and disapproval, I've become just another flawless imperfection. My outsides look cool My insides are blue Everytime I think I'm through

2 Group 2: Crossroads and The Road Not Taken Crossroads Written and Performed by Tracy Chapman All you folks think you own my life But you never made any sacrifice Demons they are on my trail I'm standing at the crossroads of the hell I look to the left I look to the right There're hands that grab me on every side Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. All you folks think I got my price At which I'll sell all that is mine You think money rules when all else fails Go sell your soul and keep your shell I'm trying to protect what I keep inside All the reasons why I live my life Some say the devil be a mystical thing I say the devil he a walking man He a fool he a liar conjurer and a thief He try to tell you what you want Try to tell you what you need Standing at the point The road it cross you down What is at your back Which way do you turn Who will come to find you first Your devils or your gods All you folks think you run my life Say I should be willing to compromise I say all you demons go back to hell I'll save my soul save myself The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black.

3 Group 3: Red and Dreams Red Written and Performed by Taylor Swift Loving him is like drivin a new Maserati down a dead end street Faster than the wind, passionate as sin ending so suddenly Loving him is like trying to change your mind Once you're already flying through the free fall Like the colors of autumn so bright just before they lose it all Losing him is blue like I've never known Burning red, And as the ride keeps spinning, running my head Comes back to me burning red Yeah Yeah Loving him is like drivin a new Maserati down a dead end street Dreams by Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken- winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow. Touching him is like Realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you Memorizing him was as easy as Knowing all the words to your old favorite song Fighting with him is like Trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer Regretting him is like Wishing you never found out that love could be that strong Losing him is blue like I've never known Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes Tell myself it's time now gotta let go Moving on from him is impossible when I still see it all in my head Burning red Burning red Oh, losing you is blue like I've never known Cuz loving him was red, Yeah Yeah Red

4 Group 4: One, Iron, and Here Dead Lie We One by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich Performed by Metallica I can't remember anything Can't tell if this is true or dream Deep down inside I feel to scream This terrible silence stops me Now that the war is through with me I'm waking up, I cannot see That there is not much left of me Nothing is real but pain now Oh please, God, wake me Back in the womb it's much too real In pumps life that I must feel But can't look forward to reveal Look to the time when I'll live Fed through the tube that sticks in me Just like a wartime novelty Tied to machines that make me be Cut this life off from me Oh please, God, wake me Now the world is gone, I'm just one Oh God, help me Oh please, God, help me Taken my soul Left me with life in hell Iron by Carl Sandburg Guns, Long, steel guns, Pointed from the war ships In the name of the war god. Straight, shining, polished guns, Clambered over with jackies in white blouses, Glory of tan faces, tousled hair, white teeth, Laughing lithe jackies in white blouses, Sitting on the guns singing war songs, war chanties. Shovels, Broad, iron shovels, Scooping out oblong vaults, Loosening turf and leveling sod. I ask you To witness- - The shovel is brother to the gun. Here Dead Lie We by AE Housman Here dead we lie Because we did not choose To live and shame the land From which we sprung. Life, to be sure, Is nothing much to lose, But young men think it is, And we were young. Darkness imprisoning me All that I see Absolute horror I cannot live I cannot die Trapped in myself Body my holding cell Landmine has taken my sight Taken my speech Taken my hearing Taken my arms Taken my legs

5 Group 5: Let Her Go, Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, and When You Are Old Let Her Go by Passenger Well you only need the light when it's burning low Only hate the road when you re missin' home And you let her go Staring at the bottom of your glass Hoping one day you'll make a dream last But dreams come slow and they go so fast You see her when you close your eyes Maybe one day you'll understand why Everything you touch surely dies But you only need the light when it's burning low Staring at the ceiling in the dark Same old empty feeling in your heart 'Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast 'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low 'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low And you let her go When You Are Old by W.B. Yeats WHEN you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. Well you see her when you fall asleep But never to touch and never to keep 'Cause you loved her too much And you dived too deep Well you only need the light when it's burning low And you let her go (oh, oh, ooh, oh no) And you let her go (oh, oh, ooh, oh no) Will you let her go?