Deixis in Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” and “Checkmate” Song Lyrics
on
Journal of Arts and Humanities
p-ISSN: 2528-5076, e-ISSN: 2302-920X
Terakreditasi Sinta-3, SK No: 105/E/KPT/2022
Vol 27.4. Nopember 2023: 379-391
Deixis in Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” and “Checkmate” Song Lyrics
Ni Nyoman Tri Gitayani, Ni Luh Sutjiati Beratha, Sang Ayu Isnu Maharani Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
Correspondence email: [email protected], [email protected],
Article Info
Submitted: 3rd May 2023
Revised: 22nd June 2023
Accepted: 27th August 2023
Publish: 30th November 2023
Keywords: context of the situation; deixis; reference meaning; song lyrics
Corresponding Author:
Ni Nyoman Tri Gitayani
Email:
DOI:
Abstract
In conducting communication, deixis becomes a significant concern for people in improving their understanding of utterance usage. By learning deixis well, listeners can avoid misinterpretation in understanding the context of utterances, one of them while listening to the songs. Based on this phenomenon, this article aimed at identifying the types of deixis and analyzing the reference meaning of deixis used in Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” and “Checkmate” song lyrics. This article dealt with the qualitative method, while the documentation method was applied in collecting the data. The collected data were analyzed based on the deixis theory proposed by Cruse and the context of the situation developed by Holmes. The results showed the use of all types of deixis, namely the person, spatial, temporal, social, and discourse deixis. These types of deixis had reference meanings in pointing to participants involved in the songs, the location of participants, the time reference, the social relationship among the participants, and the prior or future discourse elements found in Conan Gray’s song lyrics.
INTRODUCTION
The deictic expressions or known as deixis is related to the domain of study in pragmatics which covers the meaning as communicated by the speakers to the listeners. The variety of deictic expression usage focuses on understanding pronouns, place, time, and even the context of the utterance used by the speakers. In addition, Levinson (1983) stated that “Deixis concerns how languages encode or grammaticalize features of the context of utterance or speech event” (p.54), so it is important in understanding the components of who,
what, where, when, why, and how related to the context of the speech while studying deixis. By understanding deixis well, it can minimize misunderstandings between the speakers and listeners, also avoid repeating monotonous expressions while conducting communication.
Nowadays, the phenomenon of using deixis is essential to be understood by a lot of people, especially for music lovers who listen to the song and do not understand the context of its song lyrics (Nisa et al., 2020). According to Sahusilawane et al. (2023), the listeners will be motivated to find the context and
meaning that wants to be conveyed by the songwriters also singers in order to fully understand the song itself. By understanding the deixis usage in music, especially in song lyrics, this causes the communication between the singers and listeners runs properly without misinterpretation. It can be said that deixis helps the listeners enjoy hearing the song by explaining and describing the reference meaning and function of the song lyrics itself.
The research related to the deixis in song lyrics becomes interesting and important to be conducted. It is because deixis deals with the particular role in the coordination of cognitive representation, especially as the communicative procedure in which the addressees' attention is focused by the speaker through the means of verbal expressions (Yerznkyan, 2009). One of those verbal expressions can be seen in the form of singing the song lyrics. Additionally, Nisa et al., (2020) provided logical reasons for the importance of understanding deixis in song lyrics. Since the context of deixis applied in song lyrics is implicitly interpreted, the listeners need to render a deep understanding rather than the deixis applied in reading text, which usually states the context of utterances explicitly. Moreover, song is a medium of communication that can be enjoyed by everyone and transmits information easily. When something is known and reaches the public widely, it can usually be learned more comfortably and contextually (Andini et al., 2023). Thus, the understanding of deixis in song lyrics becomes more potential to be studied at this time, especially for those who prefer the audio ability in conducting communication.
Concerning the use of deixis found in song lyrics, this article focused on Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” and “Checkmate” song lyrics, which
were part of "Kid Krow" Album and released on March 20th, 2020 as the data source. These songs are fascinating to be an object of this article since Conan Gray produced and wrote his song lyrics by himself and by looking at the phenomenon of coming-of-age experienced by today's youth, especially about love and personal life. Those are explored widely since people in the coming-of-age prefer to point out the object by giving a varied and precise verbal response, which is in line with the use of deixis in song lyrics (Esseili, 2008). Therefore, this article aims at identifying the types of deixis and analyzing the reference meaning of deixis used in those song lyrics.
METHOD AND THEORY
In this research, Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” and “Checkmate” song lyrics were retrieved as the data sources. These songs were selected since they are related to the personal issues of Generation Z, which are presented in a creative way, either said directly or unsaid. Additionally, they also contain varied examples of the types of deixis with different meanings related to Conan Gray’s perspective in positioning listeners as the main character of his songs. These song lyrics were found on online websites like Genius and Musixmatch application. In collecting the data, the documentation method was used, which was done by using the listening, reading, and taking note techniques in collecting information related to the use of deixis in Conan Gray’s song lyrics.
After collecting the data, the next step was continued by analyzing them. Data analysis deals with the process of cleaning, transforming, and modeling data in order to get more information related to the collected data (Islam, 2020). The qualitative method was used to analyze those data. It is in line with the
function of this method that transforms raw data by searching, assessing, recognizing, and describing them to interpret and provide implicit meanings (Ngulube, 2015). In this research, the qualitative method was used to analyze and explain the data related to the use of deixis by using words and sentences. According to Creswell (2018), the qualitative method deals with text data, unique steps in analyzing data, also draws on various designs (p.254).
Lastly, the data were presented using formal and informal methods. According to Sudaryanto (1993:145), the formal method deals with signs, symbols, numbers, and tables. Meanwhile, the informal method is related to ordinary words and sentence usage in presenting the data. In this article, the formal method belonged to the use of tables in showing each type of deixis found in an orderly way. Moreover, the informal method was done by describing the type of deixis found in Conan Gray’s song lyrics and their reference meaning to provide further information.
Literature Review
In supporting the credibility of this research, several studies had been used as references in relation to the use of deixis. Kusumadewi & Anggraeni (2020) were written an article entitled “An Analysis of Deixis in Pamungkas' "One Only" Song Lyrics.” This article tried to analyze the kind of deixis in the Pamungkas’ song and find out the major type of the existing deixis. It presented each function of the deixis usage by using the deixis theory purposed by Cruse (2000), the same as the current article. However, it did not clearly state the way of collecting the data and the reference of deixis used in that article.
Mahasuari et al., (2022) were written an article with the relevant topic entitled “Deixis Found in Joe Biden’s Inauguration Speech” This article tried to
identify the kind and functions of deixis that were used by Joe Biden in his inauguration speech by using the theory from Levinson (1983). From the article, it was found all types of deixis occurred in Joe Biden’s inauguration speech with different functions from each other. The similarity between this article and the current ones could be seen since both of them studied the type of deixis and the way of analyzing it. However, the difference could be seen in the data source and the way how the current article presents the analysis. The current article had the potential bias in the data sources selection and subjective interpretation of deixis used in analyzing song lyrics.
In addition, an article written by Rokhmah (2022) was also relevant to the current article. The article entitled “A Deixis Analysis of Song Lyrics in Jeremy Zucker’s “You Were Good to Me” and “Comethru” also identified the types of deixis found in two song lyrics of Jeremy Zucker. This article only discussed three of the five types of deixis conducted by Levinson (1983), namely the person deixis, spatial deixis, and temporal deixis. Since it only discussed the use of three types of deixis, the use of whole deixis found in those songs had not been fully explored. However, this article clearly showed the way of presenting data found in each of Jeremy Zucker’s song lyrics that gave the contribution to the current article.
Deixis
Deixis deals with the situation of the utterance by pointing to certain objects in the relation between the speaker and listeners, even to the world around them. Cruse (2006) stated that deixis is designating the referring expression by using the speaker as a reference point to indicate a certain location and dimension in the utterances (p.44). Moreover, Yule (1996) stated that deixis becomes a
technical term for one of the most fundamental matters in utterances (p.9). It is concerned with the ways wherein the language encodes its functions primarily based on the context of the utterance.
Since many words cannot be interpreted without understanding the context of the utterance, the use of deixis gives clear clarification in helping people to know the context of the speaker, location, time, and even the circumstances of the utterance. By knowing the context of the utterances, people can find out what is the function and meaning of the particular words or phrases in those utterances. Thus, it can be said that the deixis belongs to the study related to the relationship between the speakers and listeners in pointing at an object according to the context of communication. For example:
-
[1] Can you pass me that newspaper?
The location of the newspaper in the above question is typically relatively distant from the speaker that can be seen from the use of word that in pointing the item. However, it can show a different meaning once the speaker receives the newspaper (Cruse, 2006:44).
Types of Deixis
According to Cruse (2000), there are five types of deixis that can be studied pragmatically. It includes person deixis, spatial deixis, temporal deixis, social deixis, and discourse deixis.
-
a. Person Deixis
Person deixis is the type of deixis that indicates the existence of a person who is involved in the utterance. According to Cruse (2000), he stated that, “The person deixis involves the speaker (known as the first person), the addressee (known as the second person), and other significant participants in the speech situation, neither speaker nor hearer (known as the third person)” (p.319). Generally, the person deixis can
have singular and plural forms related to the existence of the first, second, and third person. The examples of person deixis can be seen as follows.
-
[2] a. I like swimming.
-
b. All of you pass the exam.
-
c. They like the desserts so much.
-
b. Spatial Deixis
Spatial deixis expresses the location between the speaker and the hearer. “Spatial deixis manifests itself principally in the form of locative adverbs, such as here and there, and demonstratives/ determiners, such as this and that” (Cruse, 2000, p.320).
Generally, the spatial deixis is labeled as the proximal and distal term. The proximal term refers to the place relatively close to the speaker, while the distal term tries to refer to the place that relatively distant from the speaker. The examples of spatial deixis can be seen as follows.
-
[3] a. I’ll pick you there.
b.That school is further away than this one.
-
c. Temporal Deixis
According to Cruse (2000), temporal deixis denotes intervals on the time axis that usually uses the moment of utterance as a reference point (p.321). Generally, the time axis is classified into three major divisions, they are (i) before the moment of utterance happened; (ii) at the time of utterance; and (iii) after the time of utterance. The temporal deixis tries to show the timing of an event related to the time of speaking, such as yesterday, today, now, tomorrow, next week, etc. The examples of temporal deixis can be seen as follows.
-
[4] a. I bike my bicycle now.
-
b. I’ll bike my bicycle tomorrow.
-
d. Social Deixis
Cruse (2006) stated that the social deixis indicates the position of the
referent on the scale of social status and intimacy relative to the speaker (p.166). The social deixis indicates the social or interpersonal relationship between the speaker and addressee(s) in a certain context of utterance. An example of social deixis can be seen in the sentence, “Let’s hang out together, pals.” This social deictic expression refers to the social relation regarding the friendship between the speaker and his friends.
-
e. Discourse Deixis
Discourse deixis is the minor subtype in deixis that is made to discourse items that occur, either before or after the current time of speaking (Cruse, 2006, p.51). In discourse deixis, the existence of this refers to something which is still to come, and the word that refers to a previously occurring item. In addition, the expressions such as therefore, however, on the other hand, etc. are sometimes included as the part of discourse deictics since they relate the portions of earlier to later discourse. The examples of discourse deixis can be seen as follows.
-
[5 ] a. That was the best story I’ve heard for a long time, wait till you hear this…
-
b. Therefore, it’s hard to make a temple in one night.
Context of the Situation
In conducting communication, it is significant to pay attention to the context of the situation since it has a close relation to determining the meaning of utterances properly. Context of the situation is part of the extralinguistic study that points out the environment in which the utterances take place (Halliday and Hasan, 1976:18). In this research, the theory of context of the situation developed by Holmes (2013) was applied in getting a depth understanding. It becomes a significant factor that implies some common knowledge between the
speaker and listener that is shared in the present communication (Minakova & Gural, 2015). The context of the situation in terms of social factors makes it easier to discuss the particular object in increasing the better understanding while conducting communication. It is supported by Firth as cited by Eggins (2004), who claimed that by understanding the context of the situation properly, people can predict what language will be used (p.89). In addition, Holmes (2013) defined several features that influence people’s awareness which, is indicated in the form of linguistic choices (p.9). Those features include the participants (the parties involved and their relationship), setting (the location where the utterance happened), topic (what is being talked about), and function (the purpose why the participants are speaking).
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Types of Deixis Found in Conan Gray’s Song Lyrics
This research found the use of all types of deixis used in Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” and “Checkmate” song lyrics. It belonged to the five types of deixis, namely the person deixis, spatial deixis, temporal deixis, social deixis, and discourse deixis. The detailed analysis of deixis found in Conan Gray’s song lyrics is presented as follows.
Table 1. Person Deixis Found in Conan
Gray’s Song Lyrics
|
No. |
Song |
Person Deixis | ||
|
1st |
2nd |
3rd | ||
|
1. |
Wish You Were Sober |
I, me, my, we |
You, your |
Her |
|
2. |
Checkmate |
I, me, my, mine |
You, your |
Them |
Person deixis refers to the type of deixis that shows the person who is involved in an utterance. There are three kinds of person deixis, including first-person deixis, second-person deixis, and third-person deixis (Cruse, 2000, p.319). Based on the above table, it can be seen that three types of person deixis occurred in both Conan Gray’s songs. There were five deictic expressions used as the first-person deixis, which belonged to the expression I, me, my, mine, and we. Then, there were two deictic expressions used as the second person deixis, namely the deictic expression you and your. Moreover, the third-person deixis was also used in the terms of two deictic expressions, namely her and them.
Table 2. Spatial Deixis Found in Conan Gray’s Song Lyrics
No. Song Spatial Deixis
Proximal Distal
Term Term
-
1. Wish You Here, this -
Were Sober
-
2. Checkmate - -
The concept of spatial deixis is relevant to indicate the location where the utterance happened. According to Cruse (2000, p.320), generally, this type of deixis can be classified into the proximal term to indicate the place that is relatively close to the speaker, and the distal term to indicate the place that is relatively distant from the speaker. From the above table, it can be seen that the use of spatial deixis is only found in the “Wish You Were Sober” song in the form of the proximal term. There were two deictic expressions used in that song, which belonged to the deictic expression here and this.
The temporal deixis refers to the timing of an event relative to the time of speaking (Cruse, 2006, p.179). Generally, this type of deixis can be classified into three major divisions, including before the moment of utterance happened, at the
time of utterance, and after the time of utterance.
|
Table 3. Temporal Deixis Found in Conan Gray’s Song Lyrics | ||
|
No. |
Song |
Temporal Deixis |
|
1. |
Wish You Were Sober |
Now |
|
2. |
Checkmate |
At night, now, then |
The table 3 shows the use of temporal deixis in both of Conan Gray’s songs. There were three deictic expressions that were indicated as the temporal deixis. The “Wish You Were Sober” song only used one deictic expression, namely now. Meanwhile, the “Checkmate” song used three deictic expressions, namely at night, now, and then.
Table 4. Social Deixis Found in Conan Gray’s Song Lyrics
No. Song Social Deixis
-
1. Wish You -
Were Sober
-
2. Checkmate Buttercup, baby
The social deixis functions to show the position of the referent in terms of social relationship and intimacy relative between the speaker and the addressee (Cruse, 2006, p.166). Based on the above table, the use of social deixis is only found in Conan Gray’s “Checkmate” song. There were two deictic expressions that referred to the social deixis. Those expressions belonged to the expression buttercup and baby.
Table 5. Discourse Deixis Found in Conan Gray’s Song Lyrics
|
No. |
Song |
Discourse Deixis |
|
1. |
Wish You Were Sober |
But, this |
|
2. |
Checkmate |
But, so, this |
Discourse deixis is one of the types of deixis that functions to point to the prior or future discourse elements in
utterances (Cruse, 2000, p.323). Its deictic expressions emphasize and contribute to the coherence of relations in discourse. From the above table, it can be seen that both songs used few discourse deictic expressions since there was only three varied discourse deixis found in them. The “Wish You Were Sober” song used two deictic expressions, which belonged to but and this. Moreover, in the “Checkmate” song, there were three deictic expressions used in the form of but, so, and this.
Reference Meaning of Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” Song Lyrics
Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” song tells about Conan Gray’s frustration in having a crush on a girl who never confessed her feelings unless she were black-out drunk, especially while attending a party. From the above tables, the use of deixis found in this song can be seen in the form of person deixis, spatial deixis, temporal deixis, and discourse deixis. The further explanation about the reference meaning of each type of deixis found in this song can be seen as follows.
-
a. Person Deixis
According to Table 6, the use of person deixis found in the “Wish You Were Sober” song belongs to the first-person deixis, second-person deixis, and third-person deixis.
Based on the table, the first-person deixis refers to the use of deictic expressions I, me, my as the singular form, and we as the plural form. The use of first singular person deixis indicates Conan Gray as the speaker point of this song. Regarding the context of the song lyric, the deictic expression I functions as the subject pronoun, which shows Conan Gray’s perspective in hoping his crush being sober while confessing her feeling. In addition, the expression me functions as the object pronoun, which is used to
indicate Conan Gray, especially as the speaker point, who felt disturbed by the music around him.
Table 6. First-Person Deixis in the “Wish You Were Sober” Song
|
Song Lyric |
Deictic Expression |
Reference |
|
I |
Conan Gray | |
|
Me |
Conan Gray | |
|
“Don't take a hit, don't kiss my lips” |
My |
Conan Gray |
|
“This party's |
We |
Conan Gray |
|
shit, wish we could dip” |
and his crush | |
|
You |
Conan | |
|
Gray’s | ||
|
crush | ||
|
Your |
Conan Gray’s crush | |
|
“Trade |
Her |
Another |
|
drinks, but |
girl in the | |
|
you don't even know her” |
party |
The expression my functions as the possessive adjective pronoun that has the reference meaning to indicate Conan Gray’s ownership, in this case is his lips, who positioned himself as the speaker point while talking to his crush as the addressee. Moreover, the expression we belongs to the first plural person deixis, which functions as the subject pronoun that refers to Conan Gray and his crush as the speaker point who wished could leave the party as soon as possible.
The second-person deixis found in the Conan Gray’s song referred to the use of deictic expressions you and your in the singular form. Based on the context of the song lyric, the deictic expression
you functions as the subject pronoun. It has the reference meaning to indicate Conan Gray’s crush as the addressee who tried to kiss him while she was not sober. In line with that expression, the word your also refers to Conan Gray's crush as the addressee of the speaker's utterance. It functions as the possessive pronoun that has the reference meaning to show the ownership of the door owned by Conan Gray's crush where the kissing scene between Conan and his crush happened.
Moreover, the third-person deixis was also found in the “Wish You Were Sober” song in the term of deictic expression her. This expression has the referent to indicate another woman who was involved in the party. It belongs to the third singular person deixis, which functions as the object pronoun. Based on the context of the song, the above lyric shows a situation where Conan Gray’s crush tried to socialize with another woman whom she did not know by being humble and offering her a drink at the party.
-
b. Spatial Deixis
The use of spatial deixis in Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” song was found twice. Detailed information related to the deictic expressions and their reference meaning in that song can be seen below.
Table 7. Spatial Deixis in the “Wish You
Were Sober” Song
|
Song Lyric |
Deictic Expression |
Reference |
|
“Go anywhere but here” |
Here |
The location near to Conan Gray |
|
“This party's shit, wish we could dip” |
This |
The current location of Conan Gray |
From this table, the spatial deixis is found in the form of deictic expressions here and this. Based on its context, the
deictic expression here belongs to the proximal term, which represents the current location where Conan Gray is while attending the party and feeling too lazy to go around that place. Additionally, the deictic expression this also belongs to the spatial deixis, especially in the form of proximal term. Based on the context of the lyric, Conan Gray tried to show his current location by using the word this, which represented an emphasis on the party he was attending. Both of these expressions can be categorized as part of the proximal term since these show the location while the utterance happened that was relatively close to Conan Gray.
-
c. Temporal Deixis
The use of temporal deixis in the “Wish You Were Sober” Song was only found once in the form of deictic expression now. The detailed explanation of the temporal deixis found in this song and its reference meaning can be seen below.
Table 8. Temporal Deixis in the “Wish You
Were Sober” Song
|
Song Lyric |
Deictic Expression |
Reference |
|
“I'ma crawl out the window now” |
Now |
The present time |
Based on the context of the song lyric, the deictic expression now is said by Conan Gray and can be categorized as part of temporal deixis since it shows the time axis while the utterance happened. It has the reference meaning to indicate the time signal, especially the present time of speaking when Conan Gray felt uncomfortable with the situation of the party and tried to escape from that place.
-
d. Discourse Deixis
The discourse deixis used in the Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober”
song and their reference meaning can be seen as presented below.
Table 9. Discourse Deixis in the “Wish You
Were Sober” Song
|
Song Lyric |
Deictic Expression |
Reference |
|
“Nineteen, |
But |
The resists |
|
but you act |
of the prior | |
|
twenty-five |
lyric | |
|
now” | ||
|
This |
A | |
|
forthcoming | ||
|
portion of | ||
|
the lyric |
Based on the above table, the discourse deixis is found in the term of deictic expressions but and this. The deictic expression but refers to the discourse deixis with the referent as a component of meaning that resists the prior discourse. It indicates the situation when Conan Gray tried to wake his crush up so she stopped behaving like an adult and acted normally like a 19-year-old teenager. Moreover, in the second lyric, the deictic expression this is indicated as the discourse deixis which refers to a forthcoming portion of the discourse. It reflects the unexpected situation experienced by Conan Gray, which is still to happen and really bothers him during the party until the end.
Reference Meaning of Conan Gray’s “Checkmate” Song Lyrics
The “Checkmate” song by Conan Gray explains his scheme in getting revenge on his girlfriend, who was just cheating with another guy behind him. Based on the previous tables, the use of deixis found in this song can be seen in the form of person deixis, temporal deixis, social deixis, and discourse deixis. The detailed explanation of the reference meaning of each type of deixis found in this song can be seen as follows.
-
a. Person Deixis
According to Table 1., the use of person deixis found in the Conan Gray’s “Checkmate” song belongs to the first-person deixis, second-person deixis, and third-person deixis.
Table 10. Person Deixis in the “Checkmate” Song
|
Song Lyric |
Deictic Expression |
Reference |
|
“Cause I've gotten tired of the games that you play” |
I |
Conan Gray |
|
“Telling me truths that you know all are lies” |
Me |
Conan Gray |
|
“Just like you did to my heart” |
My |
Conan Gray |
|
“Flirtin' with |
Mine |
Conan Gray |
|
them but telling me you're mine” |
Them |
Other men |
|
“You think you're funny, right?” |
You |
Conan Gray’s girlfriend |
|
“And max your credit cards” |
Your |
Conan Gray’s girlfriend |
Based on the table, the first-person deixis refers to the use of deictic expressions I, me, my, and mine as the singular form. The use of first singular person deixis indicates Conan Gray as the speaker point of this “Checkmate” song. Regarding the context of the song lyric, the deictic expression I functions as the subject pronoun, which indicates Conan Gray who felt tired of his girlfriend’s affair behind him. Then, the deictic expression me is used to indicate Conan Gray as the object pronoun. Based on the context of the song, it refers to Conan Gray’s perspective who knew that
his lover always lied to him. The deictic expression my functions as the possessive adjective pronoun that has the reference meaning to Conan Gray’s ownership, in this case is his heart, who positioned himself as the speaker point while talking to his girlfriend as the addressee. Moreover, the deictic expression mine also belongs to the first singular person deixis. It functions as the possessive pronoun that has the reference meaning to indicate Conan Gray who put emphasis on his possession, in this context is his girlfriend who belonged with him.
The second-person deixis was also found in the “Checkmate” song in the term of deictic expressions you and your. Both of these expressions belong to the singular form. Based on the context of the song lyric, the deictic expression you functions as the subject pronoun. It has the reference meaning to Conan Gray’s girlfriend as the addressee who went too far with his situation. Conan Gray as the speaker satirized his girlfriend, who thought all things she had done seemed cool and fun to others. In line with that expression, the word your also refers to Conan Gray’s girlfriend as the addressee of the speaker's utterance. It functions as the possessive pronoun that has the reference meaning to the ownership of the credit card owned by Conan Gray’s girlfriend where he tried to deplete the money in it.
Moreover, the third-person deixis was found in the “Checkmate” song in the term of deictic expression them. This expression has the referent to indicate other men who were seduced by Conan Gray’s girlfriend. It belongs to the third plural person deixis, which functions as the object pronoun. Based on the context of the song, the above lyric shows the condition of Conan Gray, who felt annoyed by his girlfriend. Even though his girlfriend always told people that
Conan Gray was her lover, she still approached and flirted with other men.
-
b. Temporal Deixis
The use of temporal deixis in Conan Gray’s “Checkmate” song was found in the three terms. Detailed information related to those deictic expressions and their reference meaning in that song can be seen below.
Table 11. Temporal Deixis in the “Checkmate” Song
|
Song Lyric |
Deictic Expression |
Reference |
|
At night |
The current time while Conan Gray was speaking | |
|
“Now I'm gonna ruin your life” |
Now |
The present time |
|
“When you tell .me you love ime then you throw me away” |
Then |
After the time of utterance |
In the table 11, the temporal deixis can be found in the form of deictic expressions at night, now, and then. The deictic expression at night has the reference meaning to denote the time axis between Conan Gray and his girlfriend, especially by showing the adverb of time at night as the current time while they were speaking. Afterward, based on the above data, the deictic expression now was said by Conan Gray and can be categorized as part of temporal deixis. It has the reference meaning to indicate the time signal, especially the present time of speaking when Conan had planned to ruin his girlfriend’s life after playing with their relationship. Moreover, the deictic expression then is used in the above lyric to indicate the situation experienced by Conan Gray after the time of speaking,
especially the way Conan’s girlfriend dumped him after saying that she loved him.
-
c. Social Deixis
The use of social deixis in the “Checkmate” Song was found twice in the form of deictic expression buttercup and baby. The detailed explanation of the social deixis found in this song and their reference meaning can be seen below.
Table 12. Social Deixis in the “Checkmate” Song
|
Song Lyric |
Deictic Expression |
Reference |
|
Buttercup |
Refers to Conan Gray’s girlfriend uttered by Conan Gray to show the close relationship between them | |
|
“Yeah, baby, you should really run” |
Baby |
Refers to Conan Gray’s girlfriend uttered by Conan Gray to show the close relationship between them |
The deictic expression buttercup belongs to a special calling that has the reference meaning to show an intimate relationship between lovers, where Conan Gray tried to position himself as the speaker point and his girlfriend as the addressee. Based on its context, Conan realized that his girlfriend had lied by telling people she always supported him. But in reality, his girlfriend did not really do that. In addition, the deictic expression baby also refers to indicate the intimate relationship between Conan Gray and his girlfriend. Even though they were in a romantic relationship, based on the context of the song, Conan felt disgusted with his girlfriend and warned
her about the karma she would receive after doing the affair behind him.
-
d. Discourse Deixis
The discourse deixis found in the Conan Gray’s “Checkmate” song and their reference meaning can be seen as presented below.
Table 13. Discourse Deixis in the “Checkmate” Song
|
Song Lyric |
Deictic Expression |
Reference |
|
“But you aren't gonna win it, 'cause checkmate” |
But |
The resists of the prior lyric |
|
“So cry me a river 'til you drown in the lake” |
So |
The continuatio n of the prior lyric |
|
“Baby, this is getting fun” |
This |
A forthcomin g portion of the lyric |
Based on the table 13, the discourse deixis is found in the term of deictic expressions but, so, and this. The deictic expression but refers to the discourse deixis with the referent as a component of meaning that resists the prior discourse. It indicates the situation when Conan Gray’s girlfriend would not be able to play with Conan’s feelings anymore because he had prepared a wellthought-out revenge plan against her. Afterward, the deictic expression so is used in the “Checkmate” song that has the reference meaning as the continuation of the prior discourse. This expression shows the suffering that Conan Gray’s girlfriend would soon experience as a result of her mistreatment toward him. Moreover, in the last song lyric above, the deictic expression this is indicated as the discourse deixis which refers to a forthcoming portion of the discourse. It reflects something fun which is still to
come that Conan enjoyed while following his girlfriend’s betrayal.
CONSLUSIONS
The current article is set out to answer two research questions. First, all types of deixis are found in the Conan Gray’s “Wish You Were Sober” and “Checkmate” song lyrics. It can be classified into five types, namely person deixis, spatial deixis, temporal deixis, social deixis, and discourse deixis. The person deixis is divided into three parts, namely the first-person deixis (I, me, my, mine, we), second-person deixis (you, your), and third-person deixis (her, them). Spatial deixis is used in two forms (here, this), which belong to the proximal term. Temporal deixis is used in the three terms (at night, now, then). Social deixis is used in the two terms (buttercup, baby). Discourse deixis is used in the three terms (but, so, this).
Second, this article found that the first-person deixis has the reference meaning to refer to Conan Gray and reference group with him. The second-person deixis means referring to the addressee(s). The third-person deixis has the meaning to refer to the participant who does not belong in the song lyrics, neither Conan Gray nor the addressee. Thus, whenever Conan Gray says the word I, listeners can position themselves the same as his point of view, you to indicate Conan Gray’s lover, and her to indicate the third party, for example, another woman. Spatial deixis means to point out the location of the utterance, in this case, the use of expression here and this, which implied the location that is relatively close to Conan Gray. Temporal deixis means the time reference in pointing to the before, at, and after the moment of utterances. Social deixis means showing the relationship and intimacy relative between Conan Gray and the addressee. For example, the use of intimate callings, like buttercup and
baby, which is generally used by lovers. Then, discourse deixis has the meaning to refer to the prior or future discourse elements in utterances to give a detailed explanation of Conan Gray’s situation.
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