As I was listening to my music play-list, one of my favorite songs played. The song I was listening to was called, "Cue the Sun," written by Daphne Loves Derby which is an amazing band. If you have not heard of that song or that band, you can look up the song or band on YouTube or MySpace Music. Anyways, I will be talking about this song because the lyrics are Vague. When something is Vague, the meaning cannot exactly be confirmed unless there is some sort of solid proof to really back it up. However, when something is Ambiguous, it means that few meanings can apply to simple sentences, phrases, or lines. Comparing to Vague, Ambiguous sentences are more solid and straightforward.
For example, below is part of the chorus of "Cue the Sun" by Daphne Loves Derby.
"And if I don't come home tonight,
Just know I tried my best to fight.
Please don't think I plan to lose to the night."
Just know I tried my best to fight.
Please don't think I plan to lose to the night."
(Daphne Loves Derby, 5-7)
I honestly had to listen to the song more than once because the lyrics were not very straightforward. In fact, as I was listening to the song on repeat, I imagined many scenarios that could apply to these lyrics alone. If you read these specific three lines enough, you can think of many different interpretations and meanings. I came up with a few but there could be many more.
One scenario is a person that needs to be home for dinner, or tonight. However, he or she cannot make it home on time because he or she is having a problem with his or her boss at work. The boss wont let the person leave work early for dinner despite how much effort the person gave to convince the boss. In these lines, the person wants to tell his or her family that he or she tried his or her best to come home by nighttime. The person does not guarantee he or she will be home on time. However, the person does not plan on giving up hence, explains why he or she is says, "Please don't think I plan to lose to the night." The person needs to be home by nighttime!
Anyways, another scenario can describe a dilemma a person is facing. Maybe someone is having a fight with his or her best friends. The person might be in a situation where he or she would eventually pick one friend over the other friend. In result, a friendship will be completely broken either way. In this case, the word "home" in those three lines can represent peace, happiness, or no worries or stress. Because of the person's hardship, he or she may still be bothered by the situation. The next two lines then explain that the person is trying to "fight" through this hardship. He or she does not "plan to lose to the night." The night can mean pessimism because the night is dark, and darkness may sometimes represent negativity.
My last interpretation is what I really think this song is about. I think this song describes a person that is dying, specifically on a hospital bed. To fill in some blanks, the person was part of a car accident on his or her way home. The person suffered many fatal injuries and was rushed to the emergency room immediately. While this person thinks that he or she may die on the hospital bed, he or she wants his or her family to know he or she is fighting the pain and is trying to stay alive. When he or she says, "Please don't think I plan to lose to the night," shutting his or her eyes means he or she sees darkness or in other words night, and has passed away.
To sum it up, different meanings that I and many others probably thought of shows that these lyrics are Vague. The difference between Vague and Ambiguous is Vague sentences cannot have confirmed meanings which leads to thinking of numerous meanings. On the other hand, Ambiguous has multiple meanings but the meanings would probably be more specific than Vague sentences because Ambiguous sentences are clearer. If I were to say these three lines were Ambiguous, that means that the interpretations I provided were most likely correct, but we do not know that for sure because we do not have feedback from the artist of this song. In this case, I think they are Vague because many distinctive meanings can cycle around just those three lines of lyrics. It does not only have to be a fight with a boss, drama with friends, or a person dying. It could also be a child going through his or her parent's divorce or a fire fighter during 9/11. Various meanings rely on the reader's perspective. As long as there are multiple meanings that can apply to the lyrics, and can be supported at the same time as well, the lyrics are considered Vague.
- Pink Bean
Anyways, another scenario can describe a dilemma a person is facing. Maybe someone is having a fight with his or her best friends. The person might be in a situation where he or she would eventually pick one friend over the other friend. In result, a friendship will be completely broken either way. In this case, the word "home" in those three lines can represent peace, happiness, or no worries or stress. Because of the person's hardship, he or she may still be bothered by the situation. The next two lines then explain that the person is trying to "fight" through this hardship. He or she does not "plan to lose to the night." The night can mean pessimism because the night is dark, and darkness may sometimes represent negativity.
My last interpretation is what I really think this song is about. I think this song describes a person that is dying, specifically on a hospital bed. To fill in some blanks, the person was part of a car accident on his or her way home. The person suffered many fatal injuries and was rushed to the emergency room immediately. While this person thinks that he or she may die on the hospital bed, he or she wants his or her family to know he or she is fighting the pain and is trying to stay alive. When he or she says, "Please don't think I plan to lose to the night," shutting his or her eyes means he or she sees darkness or in other words night, and has passed away.
To sum it up, different meanings that I and many others probably thought of shows that these lyrics are Vague. The difference between Vague and Ambiguous is Vague sentences cannot have confirmed meanings which leads to thinking of numerous meanings. On the other hand, Ambiguous has multiple meanings but the meanings would probably be more specific than Vague sentences because Ambiguous sentences are clearer. If I were to say these three lines were Ambiguous, that means that the interpretations I provided were most likely correct, but we do not know that for sure because we do not have feedback from the artist of this song. In this case, I think they are Vague because many distinctive meanings can cycle around just those three lines of lyrics. It does not only have to be a fight with a boss, drama with friends, or a person dying. It could also be a child going through his or her parent's divorce or a fire fighter during 9/11. Various meanings rely on the reader's perspective. As long as there are multiple meanings that can apply to the lyrics, and can be supported at the same time as well, the lyrics are considered Vague.
- Pink Bean
Hi Pink Bean! I thought you provided an interesting spin on the vague and ambiguous sentence question. Before your post I hadn't even thought about music lyrics and how vague they actually are. Sometimes if I can't understand all of the words I will Google the lyrics. More times than not I am left saying "huh?" Not all song lyrics are clear or straightforward, as you mentioned. In fact, I'd venture to say that most song lyrics are more on the vague side rather than easy to understand. Almost as if only the songwriter understands, or the song is a piece left to analyze. I find the analyzing of songs somewhat interesting, though. Thanks for the spin on vague sentences!
ReplyDeletePink Bean,
ReplyDeleteI agree entirely with your post. There are so many songs out there with vague statements but people love them anyway because of how good the song sounds. I like how you stated that when there is a vague statement, it needs substantial evidence for support. Many songs do have proof to back up the lyrics in a song, maybe a reference to youth culture or a nickname of some sort. What makes these lyrics vague is that not everyone will understand them. For example, your example of Daphne Loves Derby, which to me makes no sense, but for an avid Daphne Loves Derby listener could make perfect sense. As you said, there are many different interpretations and meanings to these lyrics and that is what makes them so vague. All in all, great post! Not vague and thoroughly written!
Pink Bean,
ReplyDeleteLike the others wrote above, I agree with what you wrote in your blog. Musical lyrics have always struck me as being vague, and I liked the example that you used. There are countless pieces of music out there that seem like they can be interpreted from many different perspectives. Sometimes it can be tough to decipher what the artist is trying to portray as a message or explain in a story, but I also think the vagueness is a part of art and makes for interesting compositions. Thank you for bringing this up and providing specific examples.
-DLo
Thanks for the feedback guys. :) I really appreciate it. And to DLo, I agree with you that "vagueness is a part of art" and that's the beauty of it. :)
ReplyDelete- Pink Bean