ANALYSIS OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE IN SONG LYRICS FROM #3 ALBUM BY THE SCRIPT
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ANALYSIS OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE IN SONG LYRICS FROM #3
ALBUM BY THE SCRIPT
By
GEDE OKA ARIMBAWA SETIAWAN
FACULTY OF LETTERS UDAYANA UNIVERSITY
Abstrak
Studi ini berjudul “The Analysis of Figurative Language in Song Lyrics From #3 Album By The Script”. Data dari studi ini diambil dari lima lagu yang berasal dari Album ke 3 grup band The Script yang berjudul #3. Studi ini membahas dan menganalisis bahasa figurative yang terdapat pada lagu-lagu tersebut dan juga hubungan antara bahasa tersebut dengan tema dari setiap lagu. Lagu-lagu tersebut dipilih karena mereka merupakan lagu-lagu tersukses di dalam album. Lagu-lagu tersebut adalah Six Degrees of Separation, Hall of Fame, If You Could See Me Now, Glowing and Millionaires. Ada dua teori yang digunakan dalam studi ini, teori bahasa figurative pleh Larson (1998) dan juga teori tema oleh Sybille (1985). Ditemukan 6 jenis bahasa figuratif di dalam 5 lagu yang telah di analisis, mereka adalah metonimi, sinekdok, idiom, hiperbola, metapora dan simile dan ke enam bahasa figurative tersebut menekankan tema dari setiap lagu, dengan kata lain, bahasa figurative memberikan kekuatan pada tema.
Kata kunci: bahasa figuratif, tema, lirik
Figurative is sometimes called metaphorical languages or simply metaphor because its Greek ancestor metapherein means to carry meaning beyond its literal meaning. Knickerbocker & Reninger state that the definition figurative language “figurative language is sometimes called metaphorical languages or simply metaphor”. It has basic function of carrying meaning from the literal to figurative level.
This study focused on analyzing figurative language used in song lyrics from the third studio album of The Script; an Irish rock band entitled #3. The album was released in Ireland on 7 September 2012, in the United Kingdom on 10 September and in the United States on 9 October. Figurative language was chosen
because it is one of the interesting things that by knowing the figure of speech and explores the deepest meaning in it, the reader or listener would clearly understand what actually the writer wants to show by using those figures of speech.
Based on the background as stated above, the problems of research could be formulated as follows:
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1. What are the types of figurative language that occur in the lyrics of The Script’s songs?
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2. What is the theme of each song and its relation with the figurative language?
In relation to the problems mentioned above, the specific aims of this study are described as follows:
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1. To analyze the type of figurative language used in the lyrics of The Script’s songs.
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2. To analyze what the theme of the songs and its relation with the figurative language.
The research method used in writing this paper was classified into three parts:
The data of this study were taken from five songs of the third studio album released by Irish rock band trio, The Script entitled #3. They are Six Degrees of Separation, Hall of Fame, If You Could See Me Now, Glowing and Millionaires.
The data were collected by library research method using note taking and documentation methods. The first thing that was done was reading the source and understanding each lyric in the song. Next was making a list of lyric that consists of figurative language. Then attention was given to the theme of the song, then find out the relation between it and the figurative language.
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4.3 Method and Technique of Analyzing Data
The data were descriptively and qualitatively analyzed based on the theory of figurative language proposed by Larson (1998). The first thing that was done after collecting the lyrics was classifying and identifying the types of figurative language used in those lyrics. After that analyzing the theme of each song and matching the relation between it and the figurative language.
Based on purposes of the study, the analysis was divided into two; the first one was kinds of figurative language which were used in the song lyrics by The Script, and the second one was the theme of each song and its relation with figurative language in the lyrics.
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5.1 The Analysis of Figurative Language in Song Lyrics from #3 Album by The Script
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1. Metonymy
You could get the gold
Breaking all the records that thought never could be broke (Hall of Fame)
Metonymy substitutes one word with another word which is closely associated. The lyric ‘you could get the gold’ was indicated as metonymy because the word ‘gold’ was closely associated with happiness. Gold is a chemical element; it is a yellow precious metal for making coins or jewelry. ‘Gold’ in the lyric referred to happiness. The writer wanted to emphasize the meaning of the happiness by using the other word which was closely associated. Gold and happiness are widely associated, gold was like a precious thing, and so was the happiness. When we had gold in this lyric it was happiness we would be able to do everything. We would have power and enthusiastic to break the boundary; did something that people thought we could not do.
Take that rage, put it on a page
Take that page to the stage (If You Could See Me Now)
The lyric ‘Take that rage, put in on a page’ indicated synecdoche as there was word ‘page’. It stood for the whole part of an object. Page is one
side or both sides of a sheet of paper in a book; it is a part of a book or the other written form of literature; it substituted for book. The lyric used a part of an object to represent the whole object; page for book. It described that we could transform our anger, confusion, anxiety and rage into a written form that we put on a book. We could make a song, poem, or drama made from those feelings. And after the feelings were formed in a written form we could directly play it, take it to the stage of our life. The writer wanted to emphasize that there were a lot of ways to express our negative feelings; we did not have to release them by anarchic behavior.
You hit the drink, you take a toke,
Watch the past go up in smoke. (Six Degrees of Separation)
Idioms are expression of least two words which can not be understood literally and which function as a unit semantically. ‘Go up in smoke’ was idioms; it is formed by ‘go up’ and ‘smoke’. Literally smoke is the grey, white or black gas that is produced but something burning. But the idiom ‘Go up in smoke’ means to be completely burnt. The lyric ‘Watch the past go up in smoke’ presented that someone tried to forget his past. It could be because his past failed completely. He just wanted to burn his past into ashes and erase of the memories about it from his mind so that he could start something new.
No I’m never givin’ up ‘til my heart stops beatin’
Never lettin’ go ‘til my lungs stop breathing’ (Glowing)
Hyperbole is a literary device that causes ideas to seem more extreme, and their proponents more radical, than they actually are. The idea of death was made to become more extreme. ‘Until my heart stops beating’ and ‘until my lungs stop breathing’ were hyperbole. They were exaggeration ideas of death. The writer used hyperbole to emphasize the effort of ‘I’ to never let his girl go. In the reality, it is almost impossible for someone to try
so that hard until he dies. Someone never do those things. But with hyperbole everything is possible.
Because the man wasn’t good, he was great
He’d say “Music was the home for your pain” (If You Could See Me Now)
‘Music was the home for your pain’ was classified as metaphor as there was a comparison between two thing that compared implicitly by omitting word ‘like’ or ‘as’. The lyric compared music and home. Home is a place where someone is able to live in. The comparison to a home was being made to emphasize that music was a really warm thing that you could have. It was a home for your pain, the place where you could express your pain while the other place did not want to keep your pain. ‘Music was the home for your pain’ was metaphor that had meaning that you would be able to heal your pain with music as it was a home, a very comfortable place, you could be everything in your own house, you could wear anything in your house, and you could do everything there. If you felt some pain just listened to music or tried to make some music so your pain should be decreasing even it would be gone.
I carry your shoes and I give you my coat
We’re walking these streets like they’re paved with gold (Millionaires)
The lyric ‘We’re walking these streets like they’re paved with gold’ was indicated as simile because there was word ‘like’ which had function to compare ‘We’re walking these streets’ and ‘they’re paved with gold’ although they were actually different things. The comparison was explicit and it was common method to describe the way someone walked in the golden streets. The writer wanted to describe that someone who walked in golden streets was a very happy person. It portrayed that someone who run a life without any problem was very happy and enjoyable. Walk in the lyric referred to life and golden streets referred to the path of life that had no problem.
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5.2 The Analysis of Theme of Each Song and Its Relation with the Figurative Languages
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1. The Theme of Hall of Fame
The theme of Hall of Fame song lyric is fame, growth, and happiness. Hall of Fame is one of the song titles by The Script which shows how to reach and grow your dreams and making an impact on the world. Hall of Fame has the magic sentences in which the lyrics really hit the hearts of the listeners. Metonymy supported the theme as a brief explanation about fame, growth and happiness. There were also hyperbole and synecdoche which supported the theme of this song.
The theme of this song is desperation and separation. This lyric showed a brief explanation about someone who was on average approximately six steps away from other person. It explained a stressful feeling of someone when he or she got bad feeling. Idioms supported the theme desperation and separation.
The theme of this song was disappearance, sadness and miss. Briefly, this song talked about the death of vocalist Danny O'Donoghue's father and both of Mark Sheehan's parents. There were two synecdoches that found which supported the theme and also two methapors which found in this song.
The theme of this lyric is love. Glowing is a love song that is different than The Script’s usual song. This song is about someone who is so dear that special to you. Someone who puts a smile to your face, someone who could make you glow with that wonderful feeling. Idiom supported the theme as it gave a brief explanation. Hyperbole also supported the theme that caused the idea seemed more extreme. There was also simile which contained words related to the theme.
The last song is Millionaires. It is about not having money – it’s about the time you spend with people that makes you rich, rich as a person. Therefore, the theme of this song is freedom and happiness. In Millionaires song lyrics was found metonymy that supported the lyric.
Based on the analysis that has been done, there were several conclusions that could be drawn. From the five song lyrics that have been analyzed, there were found six types of figurative languages; metonymy, synecdoche, idioms, hyperbole, metaphor, and simile.
The first song which entitled Hall Of Fame were about fame, growth, and happiness. The second song lyric’s Six Degrees Of Separation’s theme were desperation and separation. The next song If You Could See Me Now showed disappearance, sadness, and miss as the theme. Then, the fourth theme of the song entitled Glowing was love. The last song was Millionaires. This song was great song in which contained many ways to make ourselves became happy. Therefore, the theme of this song was freedom and happiness. Word choice was the most important thing in which the writer wanted the message of the song could be transferred to the hearer totally.
Homby, A.S.2000. Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Six Edition. London: Oxford University Press.
Larson, Mildred L. 1998. Meaning-based Translation: A Guide To CrossLanguage Equivalence. United States of America: University Press of America.
Manca, Stefania & Manuela Delfino. Learners’ Representation of their Affective Domain through Figurative Language in a Web-Based Learning Environment. Distance Education. Melbourne: May 2007. Vol.28, Iss.1; pg.25,19pp.
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