Traverso 1 Siena Traverso Eric Morel ENG 121D: Weather and Social Issues 1 October 2014 A Woman’s Scorn Little Big Town is a country music group who has been together since 1998. They struggled for a long time to make it onto the country music scene, until 2006 when their song “Boondocks” became widely popular. Since then, they have been on tour with some of the top names in the business, and have become a well-respected name in country. Their hit song “Tornado” was released in October of 2012. It topped Billboard’s Hot 100 list at fifty-one and Billboard’s Hot Country Songs at number six. Tornado is the title of their fifth album, and the song “Tornado” was the second single to be released from that album. It became an instant success with the public, and, in general, was favorably reviewed by critics. Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:14 PM The general message of “Tornado” is that of a scorned lover who is prepared to get Comment [1]: 1 Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:14 PM revenge on her cheating partner. The tone of the song is very dark and spiteful. In the song, the Comment [2]: 2 tornado (a metaphor for the scorned woman) directly addresses her lover. The direct address Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:15 PM starts in the first line of stanza one when the woman says, “Thought you’d change the weather.” Comment [3]: 3 This direct address heightens the bitter and attacking tone of the song. Next the “tornado” says, “Start a little storm/Make a little rain/But I’m gonna do one better hide the sun until you pray.” Here the woman is preparing to turn the cheating man’s world upside down in the same way that he has ruined hers. The chorus is the third stanza, and is repeated three times throughout the Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:15 PM song. The chorus creates imagery of an actual tornado with lines such as, “I’m gonna lift this Comment [4]: 4 house, spin it all around.” Stanza five again directly attacks the former lover with the accusations Traverso 2 of “Thought you’d take a swing/Try another girl, try another night.” This clearly outlines the fact that the man cheated. Reminders of an actual tornado’s strong winds are elicited with the “ooos” and “mmms” that break up the repetition of the chorus. The final stanza builds up to the end of the song with lyrics such as, “The winds are getting stronger” and “you ain’t got much longer.” The song ends on a note of suspense with the lyrics “I’m coming after you.” As mentioned before, the main metaphor of this song is that of the tornado symbolizing a scorned woman. The tornado, and by association the woman, is characterized as being unpredictable and chaotic. The second line of the second stanza demonstrates the Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:15 PM unpredictability of the natural world when the woman says, “I’m gonna leave you guessin how Comment [5]: 5 this funnel is gonna hit.” Unpredictability is a characteristic of nature that shows up frequently in literature and music. A tornado especially has a connotation of being wild and volatile, with people having only a few minutes to find shelter. This matches well with the idea of the woman being wild and uncontrollable in her rage. Her rage is even characterized as strong enough to “rip off” a roof. The first sign of vulnerability from the woman comes in line three of stanza five. “But it’s the pain that brings my force of nature back to life/I’m a tornado more disturbed than an F5.” Here she divulges that her lover caused her enough pain to make her rage like a tornado. He Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:15 PM has brought out this powerful beast or “force of nature” in her. Additionally, she uses the word Comment [6]: 6 “disturbed.” This could mean that when the tornado comes it will “disturb” the land around it Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:16 PM like an F5 does when it flies by. In this way both a tornado and a scorned woman can be a threat Comment [7]: 7 to those around them. On a deeper level, this shows how disturbed or upset she is by his cheating and the end of their relationship. The song fades with a haunting whisper of the chorus, reminiscent of the destruction that is left after a tornado. Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:16 PM Comment [8]: 8 Traverso 3 The lyrics seem to be fairly original. I can’t think of any other songs that compare a tornado to a scorned lover, though reporter Kevin John Coyne criticized the song for having imagery “lifted right out of Wizard of Oz.” I, however, think the tornado imagery successfully Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:16 PM conveys the strong emotions that come with a break up and the subsequent desire for revenge. Comment [9]: 9 An interesting connection to other country music in 2012 is Carrie Underwood’s song “Blown Away,” which was released in July of 2012. Similar to Little Big Town’s “Tornado,” “Blown Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:16 PM Away” is also the second single and title song of Underwood’s fourth album. Critics enjoyed Comment [10]: 10 “Blown Away,” and it became extremely popular among fans. It is interesting that these two songs both personifying tornados came out within four months of each other, even though their content isn’t strikingly similar. Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:17 PM I find this song to be very catchy! I like the imagery of a scorned woman being compared Comment [11]: 11 to a tornado. I think it is powerful, and, if nothing else, can help you get over a cheating lover. Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:17 PM Sometimes country can get a bad reputation of having plain, one-dimensional lyrics. While there Comment [12]: 12 Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:17 PM are definitely songs that live up to that stereotype, I think “Tornado” shows that country can have Comment [13]: 13 innovative and meaningful lyrics as well. I would encourage music lovers (and people in general) to listen to all kinds of music, and to not limit themselves by stereotyping certain genres of music. There is so much wonderful music to be heard and so many different meanings to be found that it would be a shame to myopically limit oneself to a certain genre. Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:17 PM Comment [14]: 14 Siena ! 11/30/2014 5:17 PM Comment [15]: 15 .