Draft

 INTRODUCTION
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins professionally known as Adele. Adele is a British singer – songwriter currently aged 23. She has written two albums, which have nationally been number one hits. Her music talks about heartthrob and relationships break ups. This has such a connection to our emotions in those circumstances. The connection has been put in place not only through the music but also through the lyrics. 

METHODOLOGY

The basic idea behind this investigation is to look into and explore the power language holds on us humans emotional. What words/phrases/tones/genres capture certain emotions?

This has been narrowed down to one Artist, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins professionally known as Adele. Adele is a British singer – songwriter currently aged 23. She has written two albums, which have nationally been number one hits. Her music talks about heartthrob and relationships and has such a connection to our emotions in those circumstances. The connection has been put in place not only through the music but also through the lyrics. Admittedly the most important part of the song, her honesty and realism is extremely complimentary to her work. Relative feelings and situations allow others to relate with their own personal experience, allowing them also to gain something from the song.

I have chosen the songs, ‘Someone like you’ and ‘Rolling in the deep’ as I have found them both to be the most emotional and relative, they also have been her greatest successes.

I plan to gather information from different age groups, different personal and different classes to give an over idea of the impact these songs pursue. This information will be collected in different ways such as playing the song to the person and then asking them how it made them feel, then asking them to comment on certain aspects. Or I will play certain verses of the song and then ask the person to narrow down what each line means and then what it means to them.

I hope to gain a good knowledge of the meaning of this song after research from the artists view and also from those around me.

My main factors are to gain comments/understanding on not only the emotional reference but also on the structure and tone of the song. These will all tie in together eventually. As the emotional side of things is also extremely relevant to the tone, as it also comes under the mood portrayed.  The structure is still important by not as important as it is mainly looking how the lyrics have been placed and to see if the story that is being told through song has come across in the way in which it was meant to.

INVESTIGATION
The most important part of any song is honesty and realism.  Using features of everyday speech changes the register from a ‘hypercorrect style’ to an informal style that clearly contains more reference and examples of modern spoken English. For example, instead of

‘I heard that you’re settled down

That you found a girl and you’re married now’

Adele could have written in a more formal register.

‘I heard that you are settled down

That you have found a girl and you are married now'

This is extremely complimentary to any musical work. Relative feelings and situations allow others to relate with their own personal experience, allowing them also to gain something from the song. I am going to investigate the power language has in regards to its impact towards our emotions looking at lyrics of Adele’s songs. I have chosen two songs to investigate which is ‘Someone like you’ and ‘Rolling in the deep’ both by the artist Adele.

To start, I analyzed the song ‘Someone like you’. First pointers would be each verse has been written telling a story. They follow on after one another.  Each line rhymes with the next. For example,

‘We were born and raised in a summer haze

Bound by the surprise of our glory days’

These prosodic features allow the lyrics to flow and make them significantly memorable. The song is about letting go of your loved one. Although it is slightly forced as the person involved has moved on therefore compelling the other to move on despite their feelings. For example,

‘I had hoped you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded

That for me it isn’t over’

All of the situations that are expressed in these lyrics are very stereotypical break up circumstances allowing the audience to connect easily with their own personal experiences. However to a certain extent it is not so stereotypical due to the passion one shows by returning to their lover despite the rejection. This shows the power and impact that love has had on Adele.This makes the language very interactional. The lyrics have been written using spoken discourse. For example, this is shown with words used such as ‘Aint’ which is non-standard English. Adele has a very broad east London accent. However you would not know this through her singing. It is only of knowledge to us when she is interviewed. Every artist needs to uphold a certain idiolect and image to promote their music. Thus meaning Adele uses mostly formal English in her lyrics to portray the socialect that is expected of someone with such quality. The distinctive grammar and vocabulary which is associated with Adele’s regional use of language is hidden. For example the way she would pronounce certain words in speech, she would pronounce them different in song.

Contractions which are shortened versions of speech. Spoken language.

Adele uses many phrases which soften or weaken the force such as ‘maybe’. Lexical Cohesion is used greatly in all songs to repeat the most important lines.

To further my investigation I have looked at some of the topics discussed by Robin LAKOFF.

She says that women do not express their feelings and emotions to extent of bringing across their point of view. However Adele is somewhat different and does the complete opposite. Adele is extremely forceful of her emotions and uses rage and powerful words to describe them. This is more a feature of male speech, suggesting her power in society is significant allowing her to have a voice.

Someone like you, is not as aggressive therefore linking more to Lakoff’s theory although she still does express her feelings…. Written by Lakoff in the 70s.

In the past 35years or so there has been a massive difference in the power women have in our society. For example, women have to be referred with the same title in their profession as a male would be. Actor for male, actress for female. Where as now it is politically correct to title them both actors and is frowned upon if women are differentiated due to their gender. These change may reflect that the difference in language have more to do with power than they do with gender, as Deborah Cameron suggests in ‘the myth of mars and venus’. Deborah written to date.

Theorys discussed.

• How language reveals, embodies and sustains attitudes to gender.
• How language users speak or write in (different and distinctive) ways that reflect their sex.
• education or social conditioning can influence gender attitudes in speaking and writing (for example, to make speech more or less politically correct), but  there are objective differences between the language of men and that of women (considered in the mass), and no education or social conditioning can wholly erase these differences.

PEE.

               Another point which I have picked up on is the use of the word ‘IT’. Adele uses this word on numerous occasions but does not specify what ‘IT’ means. ‘IT’ being a pronoun manages to expand some of the possible meanings of the line.

One of the more common representations would be to link it to the word ‘Love’. However the ambiguity of the word allows a wider number of people to have their own understanding of the lyric. Repetition makes the word underlined and therefore makes it stand out showing its significance, even though that it could be argued that its actual meaning is left unidentified.

 ‘Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead’ this line is exceedingly formidable.  It is constantly repeated throughout the song due to it being in the chorus but the line is repeated in the chorus indicating its importance. This line itself is powerful as there is a statement being made. It is an opinion expressed by Adele illuminating that sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t and you’ll suffer. The opinion of an artist is especially influential to fans. This is an impeccable example of how powerful language can be when spoken/written from someone so influential and prominent to others on such a copious scale. 

.....

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins professionally known as Adele. Adele is a British singer – songwriter           currently aged 23. She has written two albums, which have nationally been number one hits. Her music talks about heartthrob and relationships break ups. This has such a connection to our emotions in those circumstances. The connection has been put in place not only through the music but also through the lyrics. The most important part of any song is honesty and realism.  Using features of everyday speech changes the register from a ‘hypercorrect style’ to an informal style that clearly contains more reference and examples of modern spoken English. For example, instead of

‘I heard that you’re settled down

That you found a girl and you’re married now’

Adele could have written in a more formal register.

‘I heard that you are settled down

That you have found a girl and you are married now’

This is extremely complimentary to any musical work. Relative feelings and situations allow others to relate with their own personal experience, allowing them also to gain something from the song. I am going to investigate the power language has in regards to its impact towards our emotions looking at lyrics of Adele’s songs. I have chosen two songs to investigate which is ‘Someone like you’ and ‘Rolling in the deep’ both by the artist Adele.

To start, I analyzed the song ‘Someone like you’. First pointers would be each verse has been written telling a story. They follow on after one another.  Each line rhymes with the next. For example,

‘We were born and raised in a summer haze

Bound by the surprise of our glory days’

These prosodic features allow the lyrics to flow and make them significantly memorable. The song is about letting go of your loved one. Although it is slightly forced as the person involved has moved on therefore compelling the other to move on despite their feelings. For example,

‘I had hoped you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded

That for me it isn’t over’

All of the situations that are expressed in these lyrics are very stereotypical break up circumstances allowing the audience to connect easily with their own personal experiences. However to a certain extent it is not so stereotypical due to the passion one shows by returning to their lover despite the rejection. This shows the power and impact that love has had on Adele.This makes the language very interactional. The lyrics have been written using spoken discourse. For example, this is shown with words used such as ‘Aint’ which is non-standard English. Adele has a very broad east London accent. However you would not know this through her singing. It is only of knowledge to us when she is interviewed. Every artist needs to uphold a certain idiolect and image to promote their music. Thus meaning Adele uses mostly formal English in her lyrics to portray the socialect that is expected of someone with such quality. The distinctive grammar and vocabulary which is associated with Adele’s regional use of language is hidden. For example the way she would pronounce certain words in speech, she would pronounce them different in song.

Contractions which are shortened versions of speech. Spoken language.

Adele uses many phrases which soften or weaken the force such as ‘maybe’. Lexical Cohesion is used greatly in all songs to repeat the most important lines.

To further my investigation I have looked at some of the topics discussed by Robin LAKOFF.

She says that women do not express their feelings and emotions to extent of bringing across their point of view. However Adele is somewhat different and does the complete opposite. Adele is extremely forceful of her emotions and uses rage and powerful words to describe them. This is more a feature of male speech, suggesting her power in society is significant allowing her to have a voice.

Someone like you, is not as aggressive therefore linking more to Lakoff’s theory although she still does express her feelings…. Written by Lakoff in the 70s.

In the past 35years or so there has been a massive difference in the power women have in our society. For example, women have to be referred with the same title in their profession as a male would be. Actor for male, actress for female. Where as now it is politically correct to title them both actors and is frowned upon if women are differentiated due to their gender. These change may reflect that the difference in language have more to do with power than they do with gender, as Deborah Cameron suggests in ‘the myth of mars and venus’. Deborah written to date.

Theorys discussed.

• How language reveals, embodies and sustains attitudes to gender.
• How language users speak or write in (different and distinctive) ways that reflect their sex.
• education or social conditioning can influence gender attitudes in speaking and writing (for example, to make speech more or less politically correct), but  there are objective differences between the language of men and that of women (considered in the mass), and no education or social conditioning can wholly erase these differences.

PEE.

               Another point which I have picked up on is the use of the word ‘IT’. Adele uses this word on numerous occasions but does not specify what ‘IT’ means. ‘IT’ being a pronoun manages to expand some of the possible meanings of the line.

One of the more common representations would be to link it to the word ‘Love’. However the ambiguity of the word allows a wider number of people to have their own understanding of the lyric. Repetition makes the word underlined and therefore makes it stand out showing its significance, even though that it could be argued that its actual meaning is left unidentified.

 ‘Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead’ this line is exceedingly formidable.  It is constantly repeated throughout the song due to it being in the chorus but the line is repeated in the chorus indicating its importance. This line itself is powerful as there is a statement being made. It is an opinion expressed by Adele illuminating that sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t and you’ll suffer. The opinion of an artist is especially influential to fans. This is an impeccable example of how powerful language can be when spoken/written from someone so influential and prominent to others on such a copious scale. 

Jennifer Coates theory look at...

Less literature.. more language...

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins professionally known as Adele. Adele is a British singer – songwriter currently aged 23. She has written two albums, which have nationally been number one hits. Her music talks about heartthrob and relationships break ups. This has such a connection to our emotions in those circumstances. The connection has been put in place not only through the music but also through the lyrics. The most important part of the song, her honesty and realism is extremely complimentary to her work. Relative feelings and situations allow others to relate with their own personal experience, allowing them also to gain something from the song. I am going to investigate the power language has in regards to its impact towards our emotions looking at lyrics of Adele’s songs. I have chosen two songs to investigate which is ‘Someone like you’ and ‘Rolling in the deep’ both by the artist Adele.

To start, I analyzed the song ‘Someone like you’. First pointers would be each verse has been written telling a story. They follow on after one another.  Each line rhymes with the next. These prosodic features allow the lyrics to flow and makes them significantly memorable. The song is about letting go of your loved one. Although it is slightly forced as the person involved has moved on therefore compelling the other to move on despite their feelings. All of the situations that are expressed in these lyrics are very stereotypical break up circumstances allowing the audience to connect easily with their own personal experiences. This makes the language very interactional. The lyrics have been written using spoken discourse. This is shown with words used such as ‘Aint’. Adele has a very broad east London accent. However you would not know this through her singing. It is only of knowledge to us when she is interviewed. Every artist needs to uphold a certain idiolect and image to promote their music. Thus meaning Adele uses mostly proper English in her lyrics to portray the socialect that is expected of someone with such quality. The distinctive grammar and vocabulary which is associated with Adele’s regional use of language is hidden.

Adele uses many phrases which soften or weaken the force such as ‘maybe’. Lexical Cohesion is used greatly in all songs to repeat the most important lines.

‘Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead’ this line is exceedingly formidable.  It is constantly repeated throughout the song due to it being in the chorus but the line is repeated in the chorus indicating its importance. This line itself is powerful as there is a statement being made. It is an opinion expressed by Adele illuminating that sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t and you’ll suffer. The opinion of an artist is especially influential to fans. This is an impeccable example of how powerful language can be when spoken/written from someone so influential and prominent to others on such a copious scale. 

Starting again.

FIRST 350 WORDS

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins professionally known as Adele. Adele is a British singer – songwriter           currently aged 23. She has written two albums, which have nationally been number one hits. Her music talks about heartthrob and relationships break ups. This has such a connection to our emotions in those circumstances. The connection has been put in place not only through the music but also through the lyrics. The most important part of the song, her honesty and realism is extremely complimentary to her work. Relative feelings and situations allow others to relate with their own personal experience, allowing them also to gain something from the song. I am going to investigate the power language has in regards to its impact towards our emotions looking at lyrics of Adele’s songs. I have chosen two songs to investigate which is ‘Someone like you’ and ‘Rolling in the deep’ both by the artist Adele.

‘Someone like you’ each verse has been written telling a story. They follow on after one another.  Each line rhymes with the next. This allows the lyrics to flow and also makes them significantly memorable. The song is about letting go of your loved one. Although it is slightly forced as the person involved has moved on therefore compelling the other to move on despite their feelings. All of the situations that are expressed in these lyrics are very typical break up circumstances allowing the audience to connect easily with their own personal experiences.

‘Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead’ this line is exceedingly formidable.  It is constantly repeated throughout the song due to it being in the chorus but the line is repeated in the chorus indicating its importance. This line itself is powerful as there is a statement being made. It is an opinion expressed by Adele illuminating that sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t and you’ll suffer. The opinion of an artist is especially influential to fans. This is an impeccable example of how powerful language can be when spoken/written from someone so influential and prominent to others on such a copious scale. 

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins professionally known as Adele. Adele is a British singer – songwriter currently aged 23. She has written two albums, which have nationally been number one hits. Her music talks about heartthrob and relationships and has such a connection to our emotions in those circumstances. The connection has been put in place not only through the music but also through the lyrics. Admittedly the most important part of the song, her honesty and realism is extremely complimentary to her work. Relative feelings and situations allow others to relate with their own personal experience, allowing them also to gain something from the song. I am going to investigate the power language has on impacting our emotions looking at lyrics of songs. I have chosen two songs to investigate which is ‘Someone like you’ and ‘Rolling in the deep’ both by the artist Adele.

  Firstly I looked at the song ‘Someone like you’. I asked a number of people aged between 16-25 male and female what the lyrics meant to them and whether they had an impact. In summary, the first point which seems most obvious is that the males connection to the lyrics is not as sensitive in comparison to females. Therefore having been given not much feedback I decided to change my investigation only getting information from females. This instantly made my investigation make a lot more sense and largely more productive.

  The song is about letting go of a lover and seeing them move on with out you. The lyrics go on to explain this as a story, only using key elements, which summarise the situation to make it most relative to the audience. Adele talks about dreams coming true. This particular line stands out due to everyone wanting his or her dreams to come true. The connection instantly occurs allowing the listener to engage with his or her own dreams bringing happiness to a mellow song. Adele talks about not forgetting, ‘nothing compares, no worries or cares’ and also simply put ‘don’t forget me I beg’. These parts of the song instantly allow connection with the audience. Anyone who has been in love with someone will never forget that person no matter how bitter the ending of the relationship. 

  The females that I asked agreed that this song is extremely relative and powerful as it really opens up and puts things into perspective. There hasn’t been a twist on the story to make you guess the verdict. It plainly explains who hurtful the break up was for Adele and how she suffered and still does.

The second song by Adele that I have investigated and also compared is ‘Rolling In The Deep’. This song is quite different to ‘Someone Like You’. Once again the lyrics are talking about a break up. However this time the feelings and emotions being portrayed are a lot more exaggerated and in a sense almost too honest. Although to the listener this is perfect as they would rather listen to someone they can relate to in comparison to someone who only half gets it. Instantly in the first line, ‘There’s a fire starting in my heart’ you can see the anger. She goes on to explain her realisation of the what her lover is doing, ‘Finally I can see you crystal clear’ admitting her innocence and foolishness. When asking those invloved in my investigation they explained that this song shows a very different vibe. The language used is fiery and to the point. There is nothing soft about how she is explaining her pain.  ‘The scars of your love, they leave me breathless’ this has to be one of the most powerful and emotional lines in the entire song. I especially asked those involved in my investigation what they thought about this line and what it represented to them. The feedback I got from this definitely summed up the power behind the language and the way it has been worded. Some saw deep into its representation of how the emptions have been portrayed explaining how the word scars show how deep the damage was and how thinking about the one whom you love leaves you breathless due to how powerful their feelings are towards that person. The word ‘breathless’ makes the feeling to relate to indescribable.

Methodolgy.

The basic idea behind this investigation is to look into and explore the power language holds on us humans emotional. What words/phrases/tones/genres capture certain emotions?

This has been narrowed down to one Artist, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins professionally known as Adele. Adele is a British singer – songwriter currently aged 23. She has written two albums, which have nationally been number one hits. Her music talks about heartthrob and relationships and has such a connection to our emotions in those circumstances. The connection has been put in place not only through the music but also through the lyrics. Admittedly the most important part of the song, her honesty and realism is extremely complimentary to her work. Relative feelings and situations allow others to relate with their own personal experience, allowing them also to gain something from the song.

I have chosen the songs, ‘Someone like you’ and ‘Rolling in the deep’ as I have found them both to be the most emotional and relative, they also have been her greatest successes.

I plan to gather information from different age groups, different personal and different classes to give an over idea of the impact these songs pursue. This information will be collected in different ways such as playing the song to the person and then asking them how it made them feel, then asking them to comment on certain aspects. Or I will play certain verses of the song and then ask the person to narrow down what each line means and then what it means to them.

I hope to gain a good knowledge of the meaning of this song after research from the artists view and also from those around me.

My main factors are to gain comments/understanding on not only the emotional reference but also on the structure and tone of the song. These will all tie in together eventually. As the emotional side of things is also extremely relevant to the tone, as it also comes under the mood portrayed.  The structure is still important by not as important as it is mainly looking how the lyrics have been placed and to see if the story that is being told through song has come across in the way in which it was meant to.

Introduction...

I intend on investigating the power language has when used as lyrics.  I want to explore the emotional effect it has on a person as well as how individual people absorb the meaning of the lyrics. For example, the line 'Old friend, why are you so shy?' 

This line can be interpreted in many different ways. One example, the most obvious, they could be talking about a friend who the person has not seen for a long time and then when they have met that person is very shy. Or in more depth the line could be talking about love, talking about love being the friend which used to be around, yet no longer is and acting differently...