"Stop This Train" by John Mayer
No I'm not color blind
I know the world is black and white
Try to keep an open mind but...
I just can't sleep on this tonight
Stop this train I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But honestly won't someone stop this train
Don't know how else to say it, don't want to see my parents go
One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own
Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't but honestly won't someone stop this train
So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game to find away to say that life has just begun
Had a talk with my old man
Said help me understand
He said turn 68, you'll renegotiate
Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
Don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly we'll never stop this train
See once in a while when it's good
It'll feel like it should
And they're all still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
'til you cry when you're driving away in the dark.
Singing stop this train I want to get off and go home again
I can't take this speed it's moving in
I know I can't
Cause now I see I'll never stop this train
Analysis:
This song is intended to let the audience know that even though life is hard, it is all worth it in the end. It is meant to sympathize and empathize with the audience. It shows that life will always be difficult, but that somehow the difficulties of life are what make it worthwhile.
One tool used in this song is an extended metaphor. The entire song compares life to being like a train ride that just keeps getting faster and faster. The appeal here is with ethos because it successfully empathizes with the listener. It shows the audience that the speaker understands that life is hard and that it just keeps getting harder. The speaker builds ethos because they are willing to sympathize with their audience. Thus, the audience is able to feel a connection with the speaker and is more willing to listen.
Another tool is the use of imagery in the lines “Stop this train- I want to get off and go home again- I can’t take the speed it’s moving in”. This really creates a mental image of what is happening in the metaphor. The imagery creates another appeal to ethos because it shows that the speaker is willing to empathize with the audience. It’s like saying “Yes, I know life is hard, but its okay”.
3 comments:
Kristi this song truly epitomizes the human life. Some times its rough and sometimes its not. But whatever it is, it keeps going faster and faster. I love moral such as this. We need to know that when things get tough, it's worth it in the end.
I love it when people portray adult emotions in the words of a little child. "Stop this train, I want to get off" sounds like something a scared kid would say - but obviously it has reference to a more grown-up world.
The use of the train metaphor can reach anyone that listens to the song. The feeling of life speeding up and not being able to slow it down can definately be frustrating but the artist finally recognizes at the end of the song that it will be okay. I think it is the same way with the listener. At one point, you just have to realize that life is good, no matter what is going on or how fast it seems to be flying by.
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