I'll Pray for you. No?

“Pray for You," recorded by Jaron and the Long Road to Love is a fairly humorous example of irony in text. The song starts with the narrator explaining a message the preacher delivered in a Sunday church service...

He said you cant go hating others who have done wrong to you.

Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn.

Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them.

With this intro, the audience expects the rest of the song to be a wholesome, church-like message. However, this certainly is not the case, which is made apparent as the narrator proceeds to list all that he is praying for. He prays her tire blows out, her dreams never come true, and other hateful wishes.

Yes, this text is a play on words. It is also ironic. The tone conveys positive wishes and a kind-hearted message. Prayers are ordinarily in the best interest of whoever is being prayed for. Thus, it is ironic that this song is actually a hateful, angry post-breakup ballad. 

The clever use of irony allows the listener to relate with the narrator. Rather than following the country music stereotype of wining or sulking, "Pray for You" breaks the mold and gets the point across without the annoyance. Using irony also implies that the text should not be taken completely seriously. Clearly, the narrator doesn't actually want his ex-girlfriend to be "flying high when [her] engine stalls." It does, however, convey the magnitude of his bitterness toward her. 

Weatherphors: A look into the lyrics of Sister Hazel

For me, Sister Hazel encompasses the music of the 90's. Many would probably think more along the lines of Matchbox Twenty, Pearl Jam, or another mega-hit group, but I prefer the upbeat alternative sounds that mimic the feel of 1990's popular culture. However, it is not just Sister Hazel's sound that reels me in. It is their offbeat, almost crafty, lyrics that have taken hold of my iPod and my soul. Every Sister Hazel song is stacked with metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, and the like. For today, I've chosen to focus on a metaphor common to several Sister Hazel tunes. Let's call it the weatherphor.

Sister Hazel uses weather to describe all kinds of relationships. Take Swan Dive, for example: The lyrics say, “Would you think you could meditate in the middle of the eye of a hurricane; Would you now but somehow we were tethered here together; We can weather our the weather here.” In this example, they are making reference to weather with the hurricane and creating, out of this reference, an opportunity to use weather as a reference for the struggles in life that may affect a relationship.

In Champagne High, they say, “Spring turned to summer; But then winter turned to mean; The distance seemed right; At the time it was best – to leave.” In this case, they use the seasons to describe the transformations in a relationship. The seasons and the weather we associate with those particular seasons are a metaphor for the good and the bad that came with the relationship described in this song.

And of course, there is Your Winter. The song title in itself is a metaphor. They use “your winter” as a metaphor for that slump you’re in when a relationship ends. In this song, he is saying he does not want to be his ex’s winter. He will not be that someone clouding her days.

Sister Hazel does an incredible job of embedding these and many other metaphors into their lyrics. Relationships can only be described the same way a certain number of times, and Sister Hazel makes that break with the common lyric language to engage listeners with a brand new perspective.

 

Modern Romantic Comedy - the Cinderella Storyline

In the Modern Romantic Comedy, you can expect a strong-willed, hard-working female who is stuck in some sort of lower status, whether it is in her social class, her appearance, or her popularity. She is always a very relatable character, making her the perfect protagonist for a modern day female audience. The male lead is typically of a higher status. However, he doesn’t quite fit the mold of his societal counterparts. He falls in love with her genuine nature and ultimately brings her into his world through their romance. You can also expect some resistance from significant characters in his and her lives, but in the end, these people are overruled by the couple’s love; prince charming rescues Cinderella. They are always seemingly destined to be together, and they always live happily ever after.

In A Cinderella Story and Ever After, the classic Cinderella Story mold is presented with a few modern twists. In A Cinderella Story, Hillary Duff’s character is an unpopular, insignificant orphan. When she snags the “prince charming” played by Chad Michael Murray, everything falls into place and she can live happily ever after. Ever After is the classic tale in the classic setting. However, the movie offers a new perspective on the storyline with original details, making it a modern rendition.

The American President is a romantic comedy about the romance between a Washington, D.C. lobbyist and the President of the United States. Annette Benning plays the intelligent and successful Washington lobbyist, Sidney Allen Wade, hired by an environmental interest group. She is pursued by Michael Douglas’s character, President Andrew Shepherd. Shepherd’s staff does not support the romance. In fact, his election opponent uses the romance in his campaign against the President. Wade’s boss is against the relationship from the start, and he ultimately fires Wade because of how her personal life affected her work. Nonetheless, Shepherd rescues Wade in the end with an eloquent and passionate press conference speech. Again, they all live happily ever after.

Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is yet another example of the classic tale with a very modern twist. Roberts plays a California hooker, and Gere is the millionaire hunk. But Robert’s character isn’t just your everyday Hollywood hooker; she is Julia Roberts, America’s sweetheart. She is cute, honest, and most importantly relatable. Gere’s character gives her the true princess experience. He buys her whatever she wants, flies her to the opera, and saves her from his raunchy attorney. She steals the heart of society’s most eligible bachelor, and they live happily ever after.

The End.