I Need Help Finding Powerful Songs!

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InternetAuthor

InternetAuthor

I write.
Mar 3, 2008
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I need some help from all you music lovers.

Here’s the deal:

I’m a teacher (because I actually love it, mind you) and to keep my 7th and 8th grade students interested in learning skills like inference and supporting text evidence, I use song lyrics. We listen to the songs and read the lyrics to see what the story is all about. We’re looking for the hidden messages and all the things you have to deduce by using the symbolism and such rather than just being told what’s what.

Example: Ruby by Kenny Rogers (Paralyzed Vietnam vet left alone and dying in bed by his cheating whore of a wife) or Independence Day by Martina McBride. (Abused woman burning the house down around her drunken husband)

I’ve got plenty of others lined up, but my criteria for powerful lyrics first and foremost means that many of my songs are folk or country. My boys especially are ready for some intense rock. I have a few classical rock (We’re Not Going to Take It for author’s purpose and voice in writing, and The Cat’s in the Cradle for pure inference and moral), but I need some others.

What good rock songs are out there with lyrics that require you infer the true meaning of the story or message? I need the lyrics to tell the story – not the video or harmony. :)

Remember, I’m teaching 7th and 8th graders, so I need songs that have NO profanity and only edgy, not risqué concepts. No smacking my bitch up or pimps and hos, if you will – although I do use Fancy by Reba for a bit of pure inference.

Here are few others I plan on using to get the creative juices flowing. Thanks in advance for your help in brainstorming some more.

Traveling Solider by the Dixie Chicks
The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia by Reba
Ode to Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry
The Gambler by Kenny Rogers
Ruby by Kenny Rogers
Independence Day by Martina McBride
Skin (Sara Beth) by Rascal Flatts (The saddest song in Country Music)
He Stopped Loving Her Today by George Jones
We’re Not Going to Take It by Twisted Sister
The Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin
Concrete Angel by Martina
The Wall by Pink Floyd
Fancy by Reba
 


Try some metallica.

"One" is good --> veteran lying as a veggie in a hospital bed, as well as "master of puppets" --> drug addiction

You are oh so wrong if you think lyrics are only powerful in folk or country. Granted, you are not gonna find a lot of good lyrics in pop, but rock and metal have very, very good lyrics.

Why not let your students bring some of their favs?

::emp::
 
Stagnant - by Dev

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQhyjHAAc48"]YouTube - Into the Wild Devin Townsend music video[/ame]


only 1 cuss word in this one, otherwise a good one for the kids ;)
 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XvVJBbQFEc"]Busta Rhymes - Gimme Some More[/ame]
 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkITsv3Nk6M"]The Shins - Phantom Limb[/ame] The Shins - Phantom Limb

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVnRzEjpUmE"]YouTube - MGMT - Time To Pretend[/ame] MGMT - Time to Pretend

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5olLPmjVV24"]YouTube - Work - Jimmy Eat World (With Lyrics)[/ame] Jimmy Eat World - Work

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsOculxtdX8"]YouTube - Live - Lightning Crashes[/ame] Live - Lightning Crashes

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-mxBDuRaZ8"]YouTube - Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye[/ame] Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI_sv5uswoY"]YouTube - Pink Floyd On The Turning Away[/ame] Pink Floyd - On The Turning Away


I'm really not sure which of these have hidden meanings but there is some potential in at least some of them.
 
InternetAuthor said:
We’re looking for the hidden messages and all the things you have to deduce by using the symbolism and such rather than just being told what’s what.

What good rock songs are out there with lyrics that require you infer the true meaning of the story or message? I need the lyrics to tell the story – not the video or harmony. :)
Click to expand...


For this, imagery and hidden meaning in lyrics, it's best to dig back to the masters:

Beatles - Psychedelic years
Bob Dylan
Jimi Hendrix
Led Zeppelin etc.......

on that note...

Here's Stairway to Heaven - Foo Fighters Style

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z6oS1S_0zk"]YouTube - Foo Fighters - Stairway to heaven (led zeppelin cover)[/ame]
 
Last edited:
[ame=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=5X6AhUV-fw4&feature=PlayList&p=4E20CCFCF9561F6D&index=29&playnext=9&playnext_from=PL]YouTube - (hed) pe - "children"[/ame]
 
muse - butterflies and hurricanes
gary jules - mad world
massive attack - risington
massive attack - sly
 
If you were my 7th grade teacher and you showed me some in flames you're status would instantly be elevated to coolest teacher ever. They don't swear, except for 1 song in their last album I believe.. Their lyrics are very vague and you'll be able to discern any meaning you wish from them.

[ame="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=DAAXK3Mzm2k"]YouTube - IN FLAMES - The Quiet Place[/ame]

Lyrics to The Quiet Place :
Spinning further, deeper
I know you're out to try me
I'm not in this to be a slave
Push the dirt
Make me feel
Locate what swallows life
Night bird you build my world

...and then I close my eyes

Judge me now
Used to be afraid to let it show
Bow down
I'm in a much better place now
Everything's in place
So much brighter from today
A king in my own mind

Drown the monster
Make all bad dreams go away
Whatever it takes to keep your hands free
Open scars
The quiet place
All the bridges fall to the ground
And you say you sacrificed


Or... you can make those kids grow up twice as fast with some Immortal Technique
[ame="http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qggxTtnKTMo"]YouTube - Dance With The Devil - Immortal Technique[/ame]

I once knew a nigga whose real name was William
His primary concern was making a million
Being the illest hustler that the world ever seen
He used to fuck moviestars and sniff coke in his dreams
A corrupted young mind, at the age of thirteen
Nigga never had a father and his mom was a fiend
She put the pipe down, but forever, yeah, she was sober
Her son's heart simultaneously grew colder
He started hanging out, selling bags in the projects
Checking the young chicks looking for hit and run prospects
He was fascinated by material objects
But he understood money never bought respect
He build a reputation cause he could hustle and steal
But got locked once and didn't hesitate to squeal
So criminals he chilled with didn't think he was real
You see, me and niggas like this have never been equal
I dont project my insecurities at other people
He fiended for props like addicts with pipes and needles
So he felt he had to proof to everyone he was evil
A feeble-minded young man with infinite potential
The product of a ghetto-bred capitalistic mental
Coincidentally dropped out of school to sell weed
Dancing with the devil, smoked until his eyes would bleed
But he was sick of selling trees and gave in to his greed

Everyone trying to be trife, never face the consequences
You probably only did a month for minor offences
Ask a nigga doing life if he had another chance
But then again there's always the wicked that knew in advance
Dance forever with the devil on a cold cell block
But that's what happens when you rape, murder and sell rock
Devils used to be gods, angels that fell from the top
There's no diversity because we're burning in the melting pot

So Billy started robbing niggas, anything he could do
He'd get his respect back in the eyes of his crew
Starting fights over little shit, up on the block
Stepped up to selling mothers and brothers the crack rock
Working overtime for making money for the crack spot
Hit the jackpot and wanted to move up to cocaine
Fulfiling the Scarface fantasy stuck in his brain
Tired of the block niggas treating him the same
He wanted to be major like the cutthroats and the thugs
But when he tried to step to them, niggas showed him no love
They told him any motherfucking coward can sell drugs
Any bitch nigga with a gun can bust slugs
Any nigga with a red shirt can front like a Blood
Even Puffy smoked a motherfucker up in a club
But only a real thug can stab someone 'til they die
Standing in front of them, staring straight into their eyes
Billy realized that these men were well guarded
And they wanted to test him, before business started
Suggested raping a bitch to proof he was cold hearted
So now he had a choice between going back to his life
Or making money with made men, up in the cife
His dreams about cars and ice, made him agree
A hardcore nigga is all he ever wanted to be
And so he met them Friday night at a quarter to three

Everyone trying to be trife, never face the consequences
You probably only did a month for minor offences
Ask a nigga doing life if he had another chance
But then again there's always the wicked that knew in advance
Dance forever with the devil on a cold cell block
But that's what happens when you rape, murder and sell rock
Devils used to be gods, angels that fell from the top
There's no diversity because we're burning in the melting pot

They drove around the projects slow while it was raining
Smoking blunts, drinking and joking for entertainment
Until they saw a woman on the street walking alone
Three in the morning, coming back from work on her way home
And so they quietly got out the car and followed her
Walking through the projects, the darkness swallowed her
They wrapped her shirt around her head and knocked her onto the floor
"This is it, kid, now you got your chance to be raw"
So Billy yoked her up and grapped the chick by the hair
And dragged her into a lobby that had nobody there
She struggled hard but they forced her to go up the stairs
They got to the roof and then held her down on the ground
Screaming, "Shut the fuck up and stop moving around!"
The shirt covered her face, but she screamed and clawed
So Billy stomped on the bitch until he broken her jaw
The dirty bastards knew exactly what they were doing
They kicked her until they cracked her ribs and she stopped moving
Blood leaking through the cloth, she cried silently
And then they all proceeded to rape her violently
Billy was made to go first, but each of them took a turn
Ripping her up, and choking her until her throat burned
A broken jaw mumbled for God but they weren't concerned
When they were done and she was lying bloody, broken and bruised
One of them niggas pulled out a brand new twenty-two
They told him that she was a witness of what she'd gone through
And if he killed her he was guaranteed a spot in the crew
He thought about it for a minute, she was practically dead
And so he leaned over and put the gun right to her head

I'm falling and I can't turn back
I'm falling and I can't turn back

Right before he pulled the trigger and ended her life
He thought about the cocaine with the platinum and ice
And he felt strong standing along with his new brothers
Cocked the Gat to her head, and pulled back the shirt cover
But what he saw made him start to cringe and stutter
Cause he was staring into the eyes of his own mother
She looked back at him and cried, cause he had forsaken her
She cried more painfully, than when they were raping her
His whole world stopped, he couldn't even contemplate
His corruption had succesfully changed his fate
And he remembered how his mom used to come home late
Working hard for nothing, cause now what was he worth
He turned away from the woman that had once given him birth
And crying out to the sky cause he was lonely and scared
But only the devil responded, cause God wasn't there
And right then he knew what it was to be empty and cold
And so he jumped off the roof and died with no soul
They say death takes you to a better place but I doubt it
After that they killed his mother, and never spoke about it
And listen cause the story that I'm telling is true
Cause I was there with Billy Jacobs and I raped his mom too
And now the devil follows me everywhere that I go
In fact I'm sure he's standing among one of you at my shows
And every street cypher listening to little thugs flow
He could be standing right next to you, and you wouldn't know
The devil grows inside the hearts of the selfish and wicked
White, brown, yellow and black, color is not restricted
You have a self destructive destiny when you're inflicted
And you'll be one of God's children that fell from the top
There's no diversity because we're burning in the melting pot
So when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never
Because the dance with the devil might last you forever
 
SniperRyan said:
Tom Sawyer - Rush Lyrics Exposition
No Woman No Cry - the original or the Fugees version would be best Lyrics Exposition
Daughter - Pearl Jam Lyrics Exposition

And who could forget your favorite and mine:

Benny Lava

Tell the kids to explain that!
Click to expand...

Course add this on :P

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOgALTFzFbQ]YouTube - May He Poop? (an Indian music video translation)[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLpROhIg9eA"]YouTube - Indian Nipple Song[/ame]
 
How about this for the ultimate message to give to kids ...

Don't be a fucking sheep

For your consideration, I give you 311 - Reconsider Everything

A few random samples of the lyrics

311 said:
What if the truth is that there is no truth
The only thing I can prove is there is no proof
Don’t be so sure that your source is correct
People believed it before, before they had checked

How many times can they tell you
Til you just give them their way
How many times can sell you
Til you let them have their say

Never deny your own instinct
Reconsider Everything
Click to expand...

Odd for me to chime in on "powerful lyrics" since I totally ignore the lyrics 99.9% of the time. Music, to me, is about how the bass and drums groove ... Reconsider Everything fits that mold perfectly. The kids will digg it as the band is still popular & it will definitely a break from the steady diet of country music you've been giving them.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c1ZVT9An7U&feature=related]YouTube - 311 - Reconsider Everything[/ame]
 
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