So,I'm doing a speech for English, and it's worth like 20% of our final grade,and I wanna know what everyone thinks about it. It's a deconstruction of a song with a social issue, and we were meant to discuss the techniques and analyse the lyrics. So yeah. Any opinions and stuff would be greatly appreciated (:
What would you do if money was so important that you’d sleep around to get it? Sweetest Girl, by Wyclef Jean, Lil Wayne and Akon is a song about the lengths some people will go to in the desperation for money. In the introduction, it is stated that some people, would do anything just to get money, no matter how severe or dangerous the consequences may be. The repetition of the word ‘bill’ and the actions used to obtain it are repeated to show the listener that in the time of worst need, people will go to any measures to get the money they need.
In the first verse, the artists are reminiscing on how different the main character of this song used to be; ‘Never thought that she would come and work for the president, Mr. George Washington’ shows that they always believed that this girl wouldn’t have made so much of herself, yet even at the height of her career, she disrespects herself. ‘She thought he'd call’ shows that she relies on a man to give her stability in life, and when she is without him, her life is uneasy and lonely. ‘Closed legs don't get fed, go out there and make my bread’ is used to emphasize that this woman had little and because of the desperation in her life, she has to take to prostitution to support herself. ‘All he wanna know is (where my money at?)’ is a line that demonstrates the relationship of the woman and her partner. He doesn’t care how she is, or care what happens to her, so long as he gets what he wants, the money out of the deal.
The chorus, which consists of the lines ‘See I'mma tell you like you told me,Cash rules everything around me’ tells the audience that money is the main focus of so many people in today’s society, that the importance of other things, like self respect and respect for all others have lost meaning.
‘You getting' pressure from cops, you don't know not to lay low, Because 25 to life is no joke‘Pimpin' got harder cos, hoes got smarter, On the strip is something they don't wanna be a part of’ describes the fact that women are becoming able to see when it’s a good idea to give up the chase on money, seeing that sleeping around isn’t the way to go. ‘They got they finger on the trigger, hand on the nines, See everyday they feel the struggle, but staying on they grind.’ This means that they’re doing what they’re doing because they’re desperate, and even though they hate it, they will continue because they feel it is the only way to get the money to get them through the day..’ This describes the fact that they know what they’re doing is wrong, but they’re so naive to it, not understanding that it is an American law that prostitution is illegal, and the time sentence is a long time, not something to be joking about. ‘All the beautiful women getting' money, Washin' them dollar bills like laundry’ gives the impression that the women with pretty faces or good figures are selling their bodies because they enjoy it, but in reality, there is so much more in gaining the money that probably won’t even end up going to them anyway.
In verse three ‘She used to be the sweetest girl ever, Now she like sour ameretta’ is used to begin. The composer uses these words to tell the audience about how this girl, in the youth of her better days, was sweet and nice, but in the present, she is bitter because of everything she puts herself through. ‘She used to run track back in high school, Now she tricks off the track right by school’. These words are used to show that this girl got lost in her adulthood, completely losing the child within her. ‘She takes a loss cos she don't wanna see her child lose, So respect her, I'll pay up for the time used’. The composer tells us that this woman has a child, and even through the hardship, would do just about anything for them, no matter how hard it is for her, and for those reasons, we respect her, even though she doesn’t respect herself. ‘And then she runs to the pastor, And he tells her there will be a new chapter.’ She is seeking help from a trusted person, and though she feels as if she’s at a dead end, the pastor tells her to continue believing, and there will always be light at the end of the darkness.
In my opinion, this song is a song that proves the underlying pain that is in many of the women who hang around the streets at night, hoping someone will take her home so she can make some money, ensuring she’ll be able to feed the child that she has to take care of alone because it’s father decided one day that he didn’t like it anymore.
The techniques used paint a picture of despair and hardship. Through large usage of alliteration, rhyme and repetition of the audience is able to feel the characters pain from the violence in their environment.
In conclusion, ‘Sweetest Girl’ is a strong song, that gives off emotional messages, even if it’s social message is slightly underlying.
So any constructive criticism? I think I need to finish a bit stronger, but t all depends on how I read it. So far it's 4:20.
On other subjects; I have some more questions.
1. When was your last speech? What was it on?
2. What time is it where you are?
3. Have you ever seen the movie 'Wild Child'?
4. Harry Potter or Twilight? (I must say,I've always been a Harry Potter girl. Long live Lord Voldemort!)
5. Whens your birthday?
Lots of Lust,
millyMOCKTAILS_
- Moons awake now,eyes wide open.
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