Inferences in Songs

Inferences in songs Some things I tell my students before doing this activity: Writers do not always give readers the way a character feels outright. Instead, writers will include small details and clues about how a character acts and readers must use these details/clues to make inferences about the character’s emotions. When you infer, you use observations, prior knowledge and experiences, and details and clues you have gathered from the text to make connections and come up with ideas. We don’t make inference just in literature; we make inferences in our daily life. If your boyfriend or girlfriend suddenly starts avoiding you and stops answering your calls, you can infer you are about to break up. You almost don’t need them to tell you they are breaking up with you because you have starting making inferences based on the clues they are leaving you. We also need to make inferences in songs. Song artists tend to leave some things to the imagination/inference. This is for several reasons: in order to fit an entire story into approximately 3 minutes, to be able to rhyme and insert figurative language, and so the listener can picture themselves in the song/situations. Today we are going to listen to a few songs and make some inferences about what the artists are NOT saying, but are instead inferring. I Knew you Were Trouble: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0DfyAIkGw0 The Man Who Never Lied: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxTWC8Vp_WA Beneath Your Beautiful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6R4yjgjMwI Cry Me a River: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNb84KNYlc0 Mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi5F3PGd1WU One of Those Days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BPcq80pa5k When I was Your Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apSySRoMB3M Best thing (I never had): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BovRkO-VYuE ***Note: I am using the clean version of the Beyonce song because the original contains a few curse words Make an inference about what this song is about Why would the artist choose to start her song based only on the title: with the line, “Once upon a time”? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ “I Knew you Were Trouble” –Taylor Swift ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Once upon a time a few mistakes ago What do these lines mean? I was in your sights, you got me alone ________________________________________________ You found me, you found me, you found me ________________________________________________ I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that ________________________________________________ And when I fell hard you took a step back ________________________________________________ Without me, without me, without me ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ And he's long gone when he's next to me What does this line mean? And I realize the blame is on me ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in ________________________________________________ So shame on me now Flew me to places I'd never been ________________________________________________ 'Til you put me down, oh ________________________________________________ I knew you were trouble when you walked in Explain the chorus of this song as if you were So shame on me now talking to your best friend. Flew me to places I'd never been ________________________________________________ Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground ________________________________________________ Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble ________________________________________________ Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ No apologies, he'll never see you cry ________________________________________________ Pretend he doesn't know that he's the reason why ________________________________________________ You're drowning, you're drowning, you're drowning ________________________________________________ Now I heard you moved on from whispers on the street ________________________________________________ A new notch in your belt is all I'll ever be ________________________________________________ And now I see, now I see, now I see ________________________________________________ How did this relationship end? He was long gone when he met me And I realize the joke is on me, yeah! ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ And the saddest fear comes creeping in ________________________________________________ That you never loved me or her, or anyone, or anything, ________________________________________________ yeah ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ I knew you were trouble when you walked in ________________________________________________ So shame on me now How do you know this? Flew me to places I'd never been ________________________________________________ 'Til you put me down, oh ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Make an inference about what this song is about based only on the title: How do the people in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard feel? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ "The Man Who Never Lied" – Maroon Five ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In the middle of Hollywood Boulevard ________________________________________________ Screaming at each other, screaming at each other What do you think the man lied about? Like oh oh oh, can't take it anymore oh oh oh ________________________________________________ Like a tragedy, like a dark comedy ________________________________________________ Laughing at each other, laughing at each other, like oh ________________________________________________ It isn't funny anymore, oh oh ________________________________________________ I was the man who never lied ________________________________________________ Never lied until today ________________________________________________ But I just couldn't break your heart How did his heart get broken? Like you did mine yesterday ________________________________________________ I was the man who never lied, oh oh oh ________________________________________________ I was the man who never lied, oh oh oh, yeah ________________________________________________ _______________________________ _________________ Sometimes honesty is the worst policy ________________________________________________ Happy ever after, happy ever after Why is the man choosing to lie? Let it go, oh oh, you never need to know, oh oh ________________________________________________ I don't wanna be picking up all of these tiny little pieces, ________________________________________________ tiny little pieces ________________________________________________ Of your heart. Won't do it anymore. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ I was the... yeah, yeah, oh, oh ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In the middle of hollywood boulevard ________________________________________________ What am I doing in hollywood boulevard? ________________________________________________ In the middle of hollywood boulevard ________________________________________________ Screaming at each other, screaming ________________________________________________ How do you think this relationship will end? I was the man who never lied ________________________________________________ Never lied until today ____________________________________ ____________ But I just couldn't break your heart ________________________________________________ Like you did mine yesterday ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Why do you think this? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ___________________________________ _____________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Make an inference about what this song is about based only on the title: Make some inferences about how the girl the artist is singing about looks physically. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________ "Beneath Your Beautiful" ________________________________________________ (feat. Emeli Sandé) ________________________________________________ How does the girl feel emotionally? You tell all the boys "No" Makes you feel good, yeah. ________________________________________________

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