One of the most popular songs to come out of 2010 was Cee Lo Green's "F*ck You". On the surface, it appears to be a simple song about one man who sees the love of his life around some other man. Seeing such a thing would cause any man to lash out in anger, whether it be yelling or just swearing at the two of them. However, when Cee Lo Green appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, he admitted to not have had this kind of experience. So, what is the true meaning of the song. In fact, it sounds like an anthum to the rest of the world. It's like a letter from America, telling the rest of the world that they need to calm down. The first part of the song is obviously to England. "I see you driving around town with the girl I love and I"m like f--k you!" Obviously, this is an allusion to the days before the American Revolution. The girl represents Lady Librety, which is symbolsm for freedom. The higher ups in the English Government back then kept freedom (in this case, soverinty) from the people who lived overseas. The second main verse is obviously the money problem with China. "Now I know, I had to borrow; begging, stealing, lying, cheat. Trying to keep you, trying to please you, because being in love with your ass ain't cheap." It is clear that the United States are in financial trouble with China, racking up a huge debt because of our overseas exporting. The United States needs to keep a good relationship with China, but having it does not come cheap. And this is al complete BS. What I just did is a form of rhetorical analysis, which wasn't too hard to come up with. The fact is that you can find symbolism in almost anything in the media (songs, poems, novels, etc.). Just because I can find something in a song or a book doesn't nessesarly mean that it is there. It just means that I have a rather strange way of making connections between one thing to another. Remember, just because you can find something doesn't mean that it is there. The aurthor may have made the connection by mistake or didn't intend for it to be that way. This was done just because I'm home alone and have nothing else to do. The Game.
I was starting to think you were sounding exactly like my English teachers. And overthinking it too much. After all, it's just a fun little song. You had me going there for a little bit though.
Lol, this is so true, my english teacher says that everything an author/poet/writer of something puts in is there for a reason. haha. @Hellkitten, don't get pissy at me and my epic new user title then :3
i really wonder if how you interpreted the song is how Cee Lo Green meant for it to be thought of. the fact that you can find a relation from the song that's saying that the person hates someone else to the problems in the economy in America is amazing. i say, keep using that really thoughtful brain of yours for good.
On the other hand, if someone sees something that the artist didn' t intended then it becomes his vision of the oeuvre, which isn' t any less legit than the author' s vision. In fact there is zero chance for anyone to perceive a piece of art the exact same way that the author did. Most artists know that their work belongs to them as long as they don' t show it to anyone. Once they do, it doesn' t belong to them anymore. That reminds me of the Wachowsky brothers, they said that whenever they explained exactly the way they see "The Matrix" people didn' t dare to share their own vision afterwards. That' s why they decided to never comment "The Matrix" publicly : what' s interesting to them is to see how the audience perceived it. Oh, do I need to say "Rinoa = Ultimecia" ? I myself thought it was a valid theory until a few weeks ago. Some people don' t care whether it' s canon or not : that' s the way they see FF8 and they' re fine with it.
Yeah, I know that I pretty much sounded like an English teacher on that last post. It doesn't really help that I'm going ot college to actually become an English teacher (or a Theater Arts teacher, I'm not really sure yet). I just sometimes think of stupid stuff, and I heard the song again today, and then my mind just had this really strange fart. Before I knew it, I was randomly writing wierd comaprasions that most likey don't exist in the song. With a song so straight foward as this one, it's practically impossible for any hidden messages to be found. It was all in good fun. :D
I am memorizing this and lashing it out in my English teacher's face, but not the one that makes me study Shakespeare all the time. The one who makes me read Charles Dickens and says that Louisa and Mrs Sparsit are two sides OF THE SAME PERSON! WTF?!
You know what really makes you sound like an English teacher? My sophomore English teacher ended several of his lectures in exactly the same way as you did.
I wouldn't call this a rhetorical analysis. Rhetoric has more to do with style, you only discussed the meaning behind the song. c: /ap english is killing my life
That song is soooo good! This is so true. Sometimes it seems ridiculous that people find things even in the smallest of details. Many years ago a Greek poet was called to give a lecture at UOA (university of Athens that is). At some point students had to analyze one of his poems. When they were done he stood silent for a moment and then he said that he had never really thought any of the things that the students found in his poem but he was was glad that they did xD Way to ruin an academic career.
