Student Choice Test (album)

Not So American Dream

Back in the days, your army days

Back in her nurse days

A classic marriage story

A good old American boy and his girl

Lookin’ for that American dream

You always said we were the people you fought for

Our freedom, our lives

But you couldn’t save her from everything

Couldn’t keep us safe from her cancer

Couldn’t keep me safe from your own anger

I’ve heard your drunken words of how you wished you died

Wish you never made it back home to watch her die

Wish you never had a son

Is this the American Dream?

Living in a broken down apartment

Drinking your problems away

Is this what you fought for?

Sweetest Story You Ever Heard

A born son, more important than the sun,

At the time, now a burden

Bring him back to a beautiful home filled with hope

Baby blue walls, crib, a stimulating Eden

Growin up in a loving home

Hope grew, he was sure to make a name for him self

His parents, oh so very proud of their smart little boy

But everything must come to an end

18 years old, his mother dies, might as well leave him on the street

Drunken father, broken house, his Eden dead and gone

The picture of his mother

His only hope left, his only comfort

He joins the Marines, harder than his father

Thought hed seen ugly

His old life seems like heaven

Pride takes the place of hope

Determination causes his achievement

He grows stronger, becomes his own man

Drunken father wont hold him down no more

Unstable Arc

Your mistakes put your heart through the floor

Put you up to your neck in an ocean of regret and guilt

Two things you’ll never show

The arc you built didn’t last like Noah’s

Nothing built on lies ever does

The only thing you were ever good at was placing the blame on someone else

But I wont be your scapegoat

You may be Hitler, but I wont give you the satisfaction

Ive never seen another with a father like you

I can’t be perfect, no one can

Your expectations will have to wait

Back when mom was around, things were less stressful

Life was a breeze, but too strong, it carried the structure of my life away

Shes Not Coming Home

Home aint where the heart is

No it sure aint

With a drunken father

And no brother, no mother

Love isn’t to be felt, not by him nor me

Just a longing, a longing for something we cant have

My accomplishments were never enough to satisfy

The man who owns the only life ive known

But he cant, wont own me anymore

Mother who watches over, what can I do?

I cant stay here, not with this much hate felt

He’s falling off, becoming less a man each day

But not a man at all since he’s lost you

Since I’ve lost you

“She’s gone” I yell at him drunkenly waiting by the door

As if you’ll come walking through

Missing for all these years

I tell him, father, she’s not coming home

But he hates me all the more for it

Those harsh years have made him less alive than you

In my heart anyway

Loved Ones Lost

Tell me what its like, to lose something important

I cant feel, cant feel the loss

I died with her, it was clear

But so did you, you lost everything when you lost her

Love, compassion, happiness

Your miracle son meant nothing when your wife was gone

Just a burden you would love to shun

Cast me out, shut me out like you did to everyone else

A family with a mother lost

So this is what its like,

to lose something or everything.

I have nothing

The Easy Way Out

Living life without family can’t be done

Everyone needs a heart

But home ain’t where the heart is

Its just as empty as my father

Where does a lost kid wonder

When all but anger is missing

A dangerous bit a kid can do

When all is hopeless

Broken windows, robbed stores

A lost, a bored kid can do a lot of bad

Just to feel something besides hate

Wonder what wed accomplish

If we joined together

Make a family, out of brothers

No need for a mother, don’t even bother with a father

Drunken Father

Back when you were slowly dying

I felt my life fall apart

My heart was broken, into pieces

I had no idea

My life is shattered

Nothing left

No one knows my grief

The love I once felt

Turned to hate for everything

The only thing I feel is the belt

As it hits against me

A drunken father, filled with hate

A lost mother, six feet under

No one left but me

SHARK!

An old man, drowning in his guilt and regret

Shark infested water

His ship has sunk

 his lies couldn’t keep him afloat any longer

Now the sharks, his mistakes, they eat away at him

If he was smart, or honorable, he would have gone down with his ship

But hes always been a coward

As I watch him tear himself to shreds

I realize how hes never been

A good role model

Always drinking, his pain away

Never facing his fears

But I don’t need a role model,

I know enough to not end up like him

Build my life on confidence

Not going down like my old man

Student’s written song

I DON’T CARE AT ALL

What anyone else thinks

My minds made up, solid as a rock

Chorus: No one can tell me

Who to be or what to do

All that matters is that Im happy!

Straight edge to the death is our motto

Don’t like it? Just get dropped- OH!

All these carbon copy kids drinkin’ till they cant see

You look dumber than these skinny jeans do on me

The stand out kids that you call weird

I call my brothers, closer than each hair in your heinous beard

Chorus

For my family and friends, Id fight, Id die

You can’t say the same; you’d probably curl up and cry

I’ll give you some respect when you act yourself

But that won’t happen; you’re already too alike everyone else

Short Story

This is a Learning Process

Short Story

Dazed and confused, I lay looking through a hole at the stars. Once a B-17 flying fortress, crushed metal surrounds me. It is wondrous how a few rounds could do this to such a plane. I hear my pilot damn the radio for breaking and yell at the rest of the crew and myself to salvage what we can and make double time. As the distant yells of a German search party near, we sneak into the forest surrounding the field we crash-landed in.

            Taking charge was Colonel William, the only officer who survived the crash. Five of us survived the crash; Colonel William, Privates Howard, Taylor, Wilson, Lewis, and me. Having no bearing on our location, we head as far away from the crash as we can to recuperate and devise a plan. As we start to see our surroundings from the light of the sun, we take to a dense group of trees.

            “We don’t know where we are, but we can make it out. All we have to do is make it to an allie base and we are Scott free.”

“If we don’t make it, we’re toast.”

“Do you think that’s what the founding fathers thought when they signed the Declaration? Hell no, they didn’t. They only thought of a way to make America’s future. Damn, they may not have risked their necks for petty wimps like you!”

“Colonel, we wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for your mistake!”

“I accept my mistake, and that is why I accept the responsibility that comes with it.  We will make it home, don’t you worry yet.”

“Let’s jump right into the thick of it, were surrounded by millions of Nazis who are itchin’ to kill us. Satisfyin’ a Nazi never appealed to my tastes so let’s not make any further mistakes to get us killed. We will stay in the woods, far from any cities and towns. We mustn’t attract any attention. In fact, we must keep fires to a minimum. We will ration our food, killing only what we must. Were gonna be uncomfortable, but we sure as hell will be better off out here than six feet under.”

            Private Howard and I are chosen from the group of five to scout the area in search of location. We have a map, but need to know where we are. Luckily for us, we stumble upon a child of a small village getting water from a stream. Taking the smart approach, we help him carry water back to his village. They tell us we were in a town luckily not too far from a close by English base. By not too far, I mean we don’t have to walk across the whole country.

            When we are on our way back to our encampment, we notice something a bit odd. We notice footprints that were not ours heading towards camp. The rest of the group is nowhere to be found, and we don’t know what happened.

           

“We should leave, it’s the Colonel’s fault were here anyway, let’s not risk our lives any further for such a thoughtless leader.”

“Thoughtless or not, he is still our leader.”

“So what, do you want to live or die?”

“Remember that saying, ‘No man left behind’? That applies to everyone, even someone you don’t agree with. Besides, I don’t think we will make it out alive without his superior leadership and survival skills.”

“Well, I don’t agree with you, but I don’t think you’ll be changin’ your mind. There’s no chance of us surviving alone, so looks like I’m comin’ with you.”

           

            We follow their tracks for hours before we come upon the outpost. We realize quickly that the patrol group had not caught our comrades, but had found our camp and were gathering a much larger patrol group. Using my binoculars, I can see tank tracks and many barracks. This signifies that there were a lot of people and equipment, meaning we have no chance to defeat them.

            Luckily, we had created an emergency rendezvous point on an overlooking ridge. By the time we regroup on the ridge it is dark, and they had started a fire.

“Are you kidding me? You have a fire going! You do realize how idiotic that is, right? I mean, first you cause our damned crash, and now you’re going to get us kill? Is that what you want?!”

“Who the hell do you think you are Private Walker, talking to your superior like that?”

“You know, I just don’t care. They’ll de-rank you for this anyway!”

“If we get out of here, they’ll promote me for this!”

“That’s what you think, you snobby son of a bitch. No one is gonna get out of here with you acting so foolish!”

            We jog in the direction of the English base until we think we distanced ourselves enough from their patrol grid, and then we continue to press on at a slower pace. Drained and aggravated I don’t want to continue walking, but we want to get the hell out of dodge. No one wants to get captured, and that is our motivation.

“You know, Walker I agree with you. Colonel William is foolish, but our superior nonetheless.”

“He’s going to get us killed.”

“You’ll be just as easy to blame. If we don’t work as a team, we won’t make it out. You are the only one stopping teamwork here.”

“So, your saying I have to forgive him and look past his stupidity? I just don’t see it.”

“Think about your kids. They’ll be fatherless just because you’re stubborn.”

“I would never let that happen.”

            He’s right. I’m being stubborn and it’s affecting the whole group, but I can’t just let the Colonel make these stupid decisions when he’s supposed to be the intelligent one. Our group would be so much stronger with a better leader, but at least we have an officer with us.

According to the map, we stay away from known German outposts and towns on our path to safety. We set up camp when the group needs rest. We try to pick points in the dense forest to avoid any patrols.

           

            Outside of the makeshift shelter, Colonel William comes up and says:
 I understand that some of my decisions have upset you.”

“Well, sir, I realize that you are my superior, but I do disagree with some of your actions.”

“I am sorry to hear that, but honestly this whole situation has confused my decisions and-“

“You know, if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even be out here.”

“I know that, but you have to get over that. Without teamwork, we are nothing.”

“Yes, and I understand that, but I will correct anything you do wrong.

“Well Walker, I hope you mean that in a supportive way.”

We are almost to the camp according to the map. All I can think about is my wife and kids. When I reach base, I am requesting leave.

As we walk towards camp, the Colonel decides we should survey the area from an overlooking ridge. We notice a few hangars and a runway designed for large planes such as cargo and bombers. Nothing major, but definitely not just an outpost.

As we survey deeper, an out of the ordinary soldier catches Taylor’s attention. The soldier had a swastika on his shoulder. This camp was clearly taken by the Nazis.

“God damn it!” yells the Colonel.

“Sir, we are far from another base, and they might be over run as well. What do you suggest?”

“I know this is going to sound insane, but I am too tired of walking to continue on for another let down. We have to make a drastic action; we must steal a plane from the hangar.”

“That is madness sir, we’re all going to die!” says Howard.

“He is your superior, and therefore in the right.” I say.

“Then it is settled, we will sneak in near the hangars and find our vehicle. Whichever is ready to fly, we take. Remember men, be stealthy.”

As we approach the fences surrounding the base, we take the men out the guard towers with silenced M1903 Springfield rifles. We climb the fence and head to the hangars as a tactical unit would. We find our plane, a Lockheed Hudson. It is a fueled and ready to go. With enough machine guns to defend us in the sky, this medium bomber is our ticket home. Each taking his ordinary position and myself as co-pilot, we fire up the engine and head to the runway anticipating the delayed German reaction.

We have enough time to begin our take off before we were fired upon. The tail gunner suppresses all rounds fired upon us. Surprised by the success of our attempt, we rejoice in our sanction. Focusing on our current direction and the nearest air base, we angle ourselves on the correct path. I pull out my pictures of my family and begin to cry. For once in the past few days, I know I will see my wife and kids again.

“You know why I listened to you sir?”

“Because you remembered I am your superior.”

“No, I forgave you. I knew it was the only way to get back home.”

Song lyrics

Teach me how to forgive and forget
Makes me feel alive
When you work so hard with such reckless hands
This is consequence
This is consequence

You can call it a curse
You can pretend like you got it under control
But we all know
It couldn't be farther from the truth
There's only seconds left before my nerves go numb tonight

Teach me how to forgive and forget
Makes me strong
Stronger than ever before
when you work so hard with such reckless hands
Will you sink or swim
Will you sink or swim

Be faithful and nothing but forgiveness to
To trace our way back home
To trace our way back home

She is the voice and I am the action
we're all impostors when it comes down to it
I'll shake the foundation
I'll bring the stars down tonight
Just to watch you
Just to watch you fall

And I swear, I don't see it like this
Your words are like a whisper in my ear
But some will seek for more
To find a way out of here
I swear, I don't see it like this
Voices are a whisper in my ear
But some will seek for more
To find a way back home

Song Analysis two: “Eleven, Seventeen” by Therefore I Am

Song Analysis 2: “Eleven, Seventeen” 

            Building from an introduction to an explanation in “Eleven, Seventeen,” Therefore I Am employs carbon-copy hyperbole, pestering personification and natural simile to elucidate that we are all similarly “born and bound to misery.” It is known that no two people are exactly the same, and therefore saying that “we are the same fragile frames” is in fact a hyperbole, but the point of saying this is to put it in the aspect that every person is made “of flesh and bone/of blood and teeth.” Thus, the use of this hyperbole is exercised to influence the understanding that the only real distinction is the “different names” that we “carry,” or our way of dealing with the “misery” in which we are “all born and bound to.” Though no two people can be exactly the same, Therefore I Am is attempting to show that we are all humans who go through the same “agony.”

            Engaged in “Eleven, Seventeen,” annoying personification begins as objectification when “the agony of the world grows in our bodies/like a painful pearl.” But, as the song continues, it “grows” into personification, depicting an “agony” that “we can not purge” that is “always changing its face with age.” This personification of the “agony” helps to define it, instead of using the concept of agony and putting a face on the “misery.” Defining the agony, which makes us so alike, helps to show just how it affects everyone in a similar way, which helps to get the point across.

            The natural simile exercised within “Eleven, Seventeen” shows how “the agony of the world” is “like a painful pearl” that “grows in our bodies.” In this example of simile, the speaker is explaining how natural, yet painful, the agony in which they speak of is. It is a common thing, and therefore explains why everyone feels it, creating a similarity between all. This agony even affects the speaker in that it “marks” their “mind,” and “presses down on” them, “like a fallen leaf left in fresh concrete.” Instead of creating an expression of an observation the speaker makes of everyone else, this personal message creates the feeling in the reader that the “agony” they feel is natural, and shared by everyone.

           

            Throughout “Eleven Seventeen,” the speaker builds from their introduction of how “misery” and “agony” affect them and make them feel lost and confused, creating the individual acceptance of the reader to his or her own feeling of “misery” as normal. Without this introduction, the speaker would create an outlook on the rest of the human race, instead of creating a mutual conclusion. The devices mentioned help the speaker to make the point that everyone feels this natural pain. Though people deal with this pain and suffering differently, it is what makes every human alike and therefore “the same fragile frames/ of flesh and bone/ of blood and teeth/ all born and bound to misery.” The speaker makes the point that every human, whether they are from The United States of America or Lithuania, are similar. This point brings the reader to further thoughts such as if we are so similar, why then, do we have so many altercations, from disagreements to wars?

Lyrics to Eleven, Seventeen :

Soon I Will Wake To Cavalcades Parading Through My Room
Flying Flags And Signs That Say

“fear And Confusion, This Haunting Conclusion,
Will Begin To Swallow Everything That You Are.
Just Don’t Think So Hard.”

We Are The Same Fragile Frames
Of Flesh And Bone
Of Blood And Teeth
All Born And Bound To Misery
We Are All The Same
We Just Carry Different Names

And The Agony Of The World Grows In Our Bodies
Like A Painful Pearl
And It We Can Not Purge
It Always Remains
It’s Always Changing It’s Face With Age

This Marks My Mind
It Presses Down On Me
It Marks My Mind
Like A Fallen Leaf Left In Fresh Concrete

Song Analysis 1(Tumbling)

Jared Marvel

Mr. Kefor

10/13/11

POS

Theme genre thesis

Shifting from first person ‘I’ to first person ‘you’ point of view in “Tumbling,” Van Khai Truong employs romantic hyperbole, an apologetic tone, and amorous imagery to elucidate the power of the “presence of a lover.” Seen throughout this song, romantic hyperbole acts as a means of exaggerating how the speaker feels like he has “a broken heart on fire” when he loses his girlfriend. This exaggeration speaks to people who have gone through unwanted breakups, bringing the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness to light. Hyperbole is an excellent choice because not only can it show how much the loss of a lover can bring one down, but also how much seeing them can lift one’s spirits. “I’ve waited for days with you’re smile still in tact,/because your teeth shine right through me.” Even her smile can lift him up, showing just how powerful her presence is.

Adopted by Truong, the apologetic tone serves the purpose to show just how sorry he is. Through his song, he shows that he’s “been trying to be better than” he was, exemplifying his regret. He wishes that she would “stop and think” of him, just as he is doing while writing this song. This amount of longing for another is only possible because he feels empty without her. If she were there with him, then he would feel whole and indefinitely better. Truong inevitably reminds the audience of a time they caused the end of a great relationship and the feeling that encapsulated them. This reminder signals the notion that the presence of a lover is so strong that their exit from one’s life leads to desperation.

Truong applies amorous imagery throughout “Tumbling” as a means of tying the song together and drawing more attention and life to it. Not only does he think so highly of her to say she has a nice smile, but a smile that could “shine right through me.” Instead of using a simple line such as I like your smile, he instead elaborates with this line that begets the thought of a smile so bright that it would blind the reader. Whilst Truong could just have easily told us that he was very sad, he describes himself as having “a broken heart on fire,” which brings the reader to an understanding of just how tormented he must feel. The bright smile, which shows how minute a detail he notices about her, that he remembers and perpetual torment he feels when she is gone help bring us to the ultimate conclusion that not only does he miss his lover, but does not feel whole without her.

The shift in “Tumbling” from first to second person helps to establish the personal feel of the song. Instead of talking about his friends or family in the song, the only people mentioned are himself and his lover. This shows that not only is the “presence of a lover” intensely strong, but also makes those involved feel as though they are the only ones that matter. This illusion that they are the only ones that matter truly show how strong the connection is in that it puts somewhat of a trance on those under the spell of love which conjures up the feeling that nothing else matters.

Oxymoron song analysis

          Shifting from an adulterous predicament to a moment of sudden recognition in “Escape,” Rupert Holmes employs awkward irony, secretive paradox, and romantic imagery to express that though our normal lives may seem “like a worn out recording, of a favorite song,” the excitement we look elsewhere for may be hidden right before our eyes. Engaged in this song, secretive paradox plays a big role in getting Holmes’ message across. The story of the song is of a man’s boring life that “had fallen into the same old dull routine” and how he plans to escape. So, he “wrote to the paper” to meet his dream girl. When he gets there, it is paradoxically his “own lovely lady” who he wrote to. This paradox is set up to show that the speaker is tired of his “old lady” and had “been together too long” but in fact the perfect life they dreamed of and planned to escape to was with their significant other, the person they “never knew.” This helps depict that the excitement we look elsewhere for may be hidden right before our eyes because all the things they both claim to love lies in the person who they find “worn-out.”

            In the song, awkward irony is operated by Holmes when his “own lovely lady” walks in the bar, despite this being his attempt to get rid of what he thought was their “old dull routine.” When they realized “‘Oh, it’s you,”’ they “laughed for a moment” because they realized that though they had expected to meet the person they would escape with, they met the person they had hoped to escape. To them, this person held a different meaning. Though they thought they were sick of them, the irony of the situation is that they didn’t know their own partner well enough to know that they had their escape lying right before their eyes.

            Romantic imagery, also utilized by Holmes, is constant throughout the song, seen in the four letters written between the couple. The imagery is based upon senses that most people enjoy such as “Pina Coladas” and “making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape” to help attract people closer to the song, making the message that much easier to see. Since the subject of the loss of the “spark” in love is used, imagery based upon romance helps to draw people close to the song who may have their own relationship issues. Although not directly connected to the message, the imagery used in this song emphasizes the message, and elucidates how little this couple searched for these simple, yet romantic, in their own partner before giving up and looking elsewhere. Through his use of secretive paradox, awkward irony, and romantic imagery in “Escape,” Holmes makes the speaker and his partner look almost stupid for not knowing these simple things about each other and therefore makes us further questions our own lives as to whether or not we have looked into everything as deep as we should have.

"Tumbling" by Van Khai Truong

In "Tumbling," Van Khai Truong uses sweet hyperboles, an apologetic mood, and a first person point of view to convey the power of love.




And, I've been awake just a while,
Oh, I'm keeping my attention to you.
Lately you've been trying to ignore,
My presence of a lover in disguise.

A broken glass,
A broken heart on fire.
Oh, but someday you'll be better off with me.

Will you stay for a while just to see?
Will you stop and think of me?
Will you believe me when I say I've been trying to be better then I was?
Will you stay for a while just to hear, this song I wrote just for you and me?
and I'm hoping that'll remind you of the time we spent all alone.

You kept me awake with you hands to my neck.
I'm catching my breathe just to show you i care.
I've waited for days with you're smile still in tact,
because your teeth shine right through me.

We'll sing woah.
With your hands on my neck.

You kept me awake with you hands to my neck.
I'm catching my breathe just to show you I care.
I've waited for days with you're smile still in tact,
because your teeth shine right through me.

Will stay for a while just to see?
Will you stop and think of me?
Will you believe me when I say I've been trying to be better then I was?