For my rhetorical analysis I chose to do the song “Bad Blood”
by Taylor Swift and then the cover by Ryan Adam. I have heard this song
multiple times on the radio or someone playing it aloud, but I never took the
time to think of what it was about. When I hear a song I normally just listen
to the tune and base off if I like it or not off of that. After listening to
both of these music videos, it is hard to believe that they are the same song. Taylor
Swift’s version is very up beat and she seems like she wants revenge. She does
not necessarily seem sad about the break up or whatever event that occurred,
but more of a hatred. Ryan Adam’s cover on the other hand, is a slower song. From
the tone of the song, he does not seem like he hates the person the song is
directed towards; he seems upset about the event.
The overall
message of both songs is very clear indicating that a boyfriend/girlfriend or
someone close to them caused problems and left them. Some lyrics that occur
several times throughout the song is “Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood you
know it used to be mad love so take a look what you’ve done.” This is saying
that someone who was once on good terms with someone is no longer a part of
their life. In Taylor’s song, she seemed very intense about it. In the cover by
Ryan, it was the complete opposite. The music in each adds a different effect
on the message being conveyed. Along with that, the music adds drama into the
song. It’s crazy that from just listening to a song you are capable of picking
out the feelings the singer is feeling and describing. Another line in the song
is “Oh, it’s so sad to think about the good times you and I.” In Taylor’s song,
her voice calms down for this line, but she’s saying it in a sarcastic way that
she doesn’t actually care after all the anger in her voice that she just let
out. Ryan is much more soft spoken while still trying to get the same message
across. Overall, both versions of the song are talking about a relationship with
no hope.
For the
audience, most of Taylor Swift’s biggest fans are younger in age. They are in
their teenage years, but the crowd grows with her. Since most of her songs are
about boys, breakups, and relationships, the younger crowd relates to her more.
From hearing my parents and adults talk about her music, they all have the same
thoughts on her music being that all her songs are about the same thing. Ryan
Adam’s version of the song could have more of an older crowd to listen to it. With
the tone and rhythm of the song, it is more laid back. Adults are more likely
to relate to his feelings about a breakup since relationships tend to be more
serious the older people get. Both versions of the song appealed to pathos by
saying how they were feeling about the situation. With the message for both
song being very similar, they got the point across effectively while going
about it a little differently.
I agree with you, there is such a difference between the two songs, and the message is different also with the music that makes the lyrics sound different even though they are the same. I also agree that the general message is about a breakup and that there is no hope for that relationship, but Taylor Swift is more angry vengeful while Ryan Adams is more sad and depressed.
ReplyDeleteI thought the difference was very apparent from the start. They both sounded so sad but Taylor Swift was a lot more intense, indicating she was also mad and wanted to let it out through this song. I didn't hear that from Ryan Adam. The lyrics were attacking someone but he wasn't.
ReplyDeleteI as well did Bad Blood, and I have to agree with you. Between the two songs, there is different message that each of the artists gives off! Looking at the different tones of how they sang the song can send off a different message to the audience listening
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