Lyric Analysis

To assist us in making a successful music video, we decided to annotate the lyrics to our chosen song in terms of hidden meaning and visual accompaniment. Firstly, we annotated the lyrics to find any hidden meanings so that we could attempt to interpret these meanings into the video in order for the audience to have a deeper understanding of the song itself, or even an out of the ordinary perception that may stimulate their own ideas. By thinking outside of the box in terms of literal meaning, this engages the audience and therefore encourages them to pay attention as it is unpredictable in terms of what the lyrics are saying. Below is a picture of the annotated version of the lyrics to 'Noserings and Shoestrings'; we have written beside the lyric our own interpretations in which the main points will be discussed further:

Page 1 of lyrics

The song starts with the lyric 'Ruffled hair, a lose shoestring...' which presents to the audience the literal appearance of the boy she is singing about, supposedly her boyfriend. From this description we can identify that his appearance is very messy, with his hair 'ruffled' and his shoestring 'loose'. His messy appearance connotes their relationship as this is also 'messy'. It lacks stability and consistency and in turn, is all over the place. The song continues with the line, 'covered arms and a nose ring...' in which the reference to a ring can be associated with marriage and therefore a stable relationship in which reality contrasts. This could suggest that the artist is deluding herself into believing that her relationship is in fact perfect and her partner is 'marriage material'. Further in the song, the artist sings, 'He goes out till the lights up...' in which the word light connotes happiness, however the lyrics oppose this as the artist presents herself as unhappy; again suggesting her delusion. It then continues with 'But he's self confessed and a little obsessed...' suggesting that her boyfriend has a slightly addictive personality from the term 'little obsessed' in which this can explain why he does drugs and also drinks. It indicates that their relationship doesn't work because of the way her boyfriend is/acts. Later in the song, the lyrics suggest that the artist plays a mothering role towards her boyfriend, rather than acting as a girlfriend. The lyric 'I guess that's adolescence at its best' in slightly condescending, as if she were older and wiser than he and therefore blaming his actions for the age that he his. The word 'adolescence' highlights this as by mentioning his age, it emphasises to the audience that he is young and therefore more naive then her. After each chorus, the artist sings 'woah-oh-oh-oh, woah-oh-oh-oh, woah-oh-oh-ohaoh'. The phrase 'woah' is often said when about to fall and therefore these lyrics connote disorientation, as if in the mind set of her boyfriend as a result of his over use of alcohol or drugs. It may also suggest her confusion toward the situation as she has no idea what to do or say. The song is also suggestive of pace in which her boyfriend lives his life through the lyrics. The lyric 'Hangs about at skate parks...' indicates fast paced movement as he is 'skating', also suggesting that he enjoys the thrill it gives when living life fast. However, the line after this 'And he's going nowhere' is juxtaposed with the previous as the artist now reveals that although living fast, he is going nowhere. It portrays his delusion in terms of reality against his illusion.

Page 2 of lyrics

Page 2 of the lyrics heavily consist of repeated lyrics from the previous page, in which we have noted rather than repeating what has already been stated. The effect that the repetition of lyrics has, consist of many; it familiarises the lyrics for the audience, so that the song is more memorable; it emphasises the meaning of the song as it focuses on the same themes of delusion, young love and intoxication. The second page of lyrics also consists of new verses of the song, one starting with the line, 'Keep calm and carry on, he's drunk all night long...' in which we can see that the artist is in fact talking to herself about her own issues, suggesting that she cannot talk about the situation with her boyfriend as a result of his delusion and over consumption of alcohol etc; portraying her as lonely. This is then followed by the line, 'He'll sit there with his guitar and play another song' suggesting to the audience that the artist is now familiar with herboyfriend's behaviour, so much so that she can now predict it. The term 'another song' connotes his life, as it is now repetitive in the way he acts/is, conveying lack of progression. There is a recurring motif in which light plays in this song, as it connotes the happiness the artist wants both for herself and her boyfriend. The line 'But he'll be home by dawn', portrays to the audience the extreme times in which her boyfriends comes home from a night out; not only this but it also indicates a new beginning, as dawn is how the day starts and therefore the artist uses this time period to convey her hope of 'new day, new beginning' for both her boyfriend and her relationship.

Page 3 of lyrics

The last page of the lyrics, consist of the chorus being repeated, in which this was analysed in the previous pages. The song ends with the line, 'What's done is done' in which the repetition of the word 'done' suggests to the audience that the relationship is also 'done' as this is placed at the end of the song. The artist has used a phrase often said by her boyfriend to portray to the audience that the relationship is over, indicating that it is his own fault for being deluded and in turn ruining their relationship. It shows her progress from being deluded herself, to becoming a much stronger and wiser person.

By analysing the lyrics of the song, we have been able to identify how the artist is feeling while singing such song. In turn, we can include this into our music video to illustrate our artist representation as more accurate and therefore, the audience will have a correct short portrayal of Nina Nesbitt. This will appeal to them as it allows the audience to 'know the artist better' and furthermore, build a relationship with her in order to maintain a consistent interest. As a result of the emotion depicted from the lyrics, we have decided that our target audience will consist of more females rather than males, as they will be able to understand and connect with such emotion with more ease in comparison to males. The artist will be viewed as more of a friend to females as a result, rather than sexually appealing to males as this is not including in her image.

How have the group lyric annotations assist you with the planning the micro elements, style, target audience and conventions of your chosen song?

ANNOTATIONS FOR CONTENT OF MUSIC VIDEO