Song Analysis

Hey Rosetta! - There's An Arc

Written by:  Tim Baker

don’t you swing, like a child,
in a tree, on a tire, in 85?
there’s an arc that your feet will ride
on the way between hate and that sunday fire

you look so serious
oh, you look so serious
the night is serving us
but you look so serious

and this could be our reward
this could be it

this simple friday night
when you’re loosening your tie
but there’s a tightness in your eyes

you look so serious
why do you look so serious?
the night is serving us
and we’re deserving it

and this could be our reward
this could be it
(this could be all we’re owed)
(all we’re owed, all we’re getting)

cause if we swing like a child
then we’re always colliding this time of night
but our arcs – they could align
(we could align! we could align!)
and over gravity comes this kicking child
this kicking child

(Lyrics taken from Album Cover)

     This song, written by Tim Baker, shows many elements of poetic form, including stanza organization, rhythm, rhyme, and poetic syntax. This song is organized mostly into stanzas of four lines. However, there are two stanzas, "this could be our reward, this could be it", which are only two lines long. The logical reasoning for making these stanzas shorter than the rest is to place more meaning on the content of those lines. As well as stanza organization, rhythm is also seen in the lyrics. Although the rhythm is not uniform throughout the full song, there are examples within individual stanzas. For example, in the first stanza, each line has a pattern similar to two feet with an "unstressed, stressed, unstressed" meter. This type of metrical foot, known as "amphibrach", is often used with playful intent and therefore gives the stanza a playful rhythm, which corresponds well with the lyrics "don't you swing, like a child?". Much like rhythm, the rhyme scheme in this song is not well established. The writer uses similar sounding words at the end of lines, which can be taken as rhymes depending on pronunciation, such as the rhyming of night, tie and eyes. This type of rhyming, nonetheless, is effective in creating interest and flow throughout the song. Finally, poetic syntax is demonstrated in several ways in the lyrics. Commas and dashes are used to show breaks in lines, such as in the line "but our arcs - they could align". The more interesting example, however, is the use of no capital letters throughout the song. It is possible that this is done by the writer to accomplish equality through all the lyrics, as apposed to capitalizing some words which would make them seem more important or make them stand out. 

     Much like many poems, the writer takes on a persona in this song. It is suggested from the lyrics that the speaker is a woman speaking to a man. This can be said because of the line "when you're loosening your tie", as ties are traditionally worn by men. This speaker takes on a tone of optimism, which can be seen in the lines "why do you look so serious? the night is serving us, and we're deserving it". It appears she is trying to change the man's outlook on life into a happier one. The writer also uses poetic language, such as repetition, assonance, paradox and personification. Repetition is demonstrated through he lines "you look so serious" and "this could be our reward". These are repeated often in the song and are both correlated. They place emphasis on the idea that the reward from life could be the simple things, and if we are always serious then we will never get the chance to enjoy them. Assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds that are not followed by identical consonant sounds, can be seen in the line "on the way between hate and that sunday fire". The words "way" "hate" and "sunday" all contain the same "a" vowel sound. A paradox can be seen in the lines "when you're loosening your tie but there's a tightness in your eyes." Although loose and tight are both opposites, this line makes a lot of sense and suggests that even when work is finished, it is hard to relax and take your mind off things. Finally, personification is used by the writer in the line "the night is serving us". The night cannot really serve people, however it is effective in giving the idea that the night, or nature in general, is a gift in life and something for us to enjoy.

     Not only is this song a good example of a poem expressed through song, but it is also very rich in ideas and provokes thought in the audience. To me, this song talks about how society is too caught up on certain aspects, such as work and education, and does not put enough focus on enjoying the time we have on earth. Many people work hard throughout their whole life, expecting that it will all pay off in the end, but realize, when it's too late, that they were always too busy to enjoy the real gifts of life. The title, "There's An Arc", is perhaps suggesting that we all have our own arcs, or rainbows, throughout or lives that we need to enjoy. When we are children, we enjoy everything, as suggested in the first stanza, but as we grow older we become more and more serious and forget to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. The last stanza, I believe, is suggesting that if the speaker and the addressee's "arcs could align", meaning that they could enjoy each other, and perhaps even start a family, suggested by "kicking child". This song is truly well written in all aspects of poetry and song and I enjoy it very much for these reasons.

- M. Power