At the Upper School, students spend their free time with earbuds in, listening to the songs that get them through the day. But what is the meaning behind our favorite song lyrics? In a callback to one of The Vanguard’s most popular KIC’s (see Volume 52, Issue 2: “Knights in Conversation: English teachers analyze song lyrics”), we asked three new English teachers, Talayah Hudson, Taneem Husain, and Sam Crihfield to rate viral summer songs and provide their analysis on the deeper meaning behind the lyrics.
Ms. Hudson: I’d give it a 3 out of 10. It’s a very diaristic song which doesn’t push the envelope in any way. It’s very much, “I love this boy, and we were in a car, and we were driving, and you have a new girl, but I just want her to know that I loved you first.”
Dr. Husain: I feel like it’s very teenagery. But since she’s a 25-year-old adult, I’d give it a 3 out of 10. It seems like she is pandering to a certain type of audience, which is 16-year-old girls.
Mr. Crihfield: It does seem like a “Driver’s License” rip-off. I’d give it a 5 out of 10. I liked the fact that she used the word wistfully, although it’s pretty awkward the way she used it.
Ms. Hudson: I would also give this an 8. makes me feel very fond toward it. I think the imagery makes me remember my own college town. The lyric “I wave goodbye to the end of beginning” feels terribly corny, but if you view university as the beginning of your life, graduating and leaving that town does feel like the end of the beginning.Of course, my college town wasn’t Chicago, but the fondness that he has for Chicago makes me have fondness for my own college town.
Dr. Husain: I think it’s not bad. I would give this a B. The repetition is not doing it for me. It seems a little bit lazy. It also reeks of poetry that I wrote in college, which means that there is a lot of imagery, but there’s nothing behind it.
Mr. Crihfield: I did find the stage directions hilarious. Other than that, it doesn’t do it for me.I’d give it a 3 out of 10.
Ms. Hudson: I would give it a 6 or 7. I really like the extended metaphor of the apple. I also like how it goes into Charli’s established shtick of a girl who likes fast cars—vroom vroom.
Dr. Husain: I’d give this a 9 out of 10. It’s good. I think the extended metaphor is very impressive. I love taking a trope and spinning it on
its head to try to make it something relatable. I think she takes the apple imagery in a variety of different ways, and that is really impressive.
Mr. Crihfield: I also like it. I think it’s silly in the right ways. I’ll give it an 8 out of 10.
Mr. Crihfield: It’s the best kind of storytelling in a song. It’s a 10 out of 10.
How would you describe your music taste?
Ms. Hudson: I pretty much listen to everything that’s not country or metal. I’ll give anything a chance.
Dr. Husain: I’d say the same thing. I like listening to most things. I do love country, though. I like things that I can sing along to.
Mr. Crihfield: I like jazz, some folk, and rock. I like anything that is sung by songwriters and not ChatGPT. The Katy Perry AI song was so bad.
Are you drawn to music with specific lyrics or themes?
Ms. Hudson: Not really. I think you can like “brainless pop,” but I also think you can like songs with a particular, often poignant, meaning, like Dave’s “Black.”
Dr. Husain: I think songs play different roles in different times in life, and sometimes it’s helpful to feel like a song is relatable, even though some of the emotional input is cliché.
Mr. Crihfield: I like songs that have imagery in them, especially if they have some sort of story or arc. Those are often my favorite songs.
Do you ever analyze song lyrics?
Ms. Hudson: Yes and no. I’m never looking for the lyrics to have a deeper meaning, but I’m always looking for cool things that artists do, especially rappers. I find it incredibly cool when artists play with wordplay. Something fascinating about music is how topical it can be and how knowledge of current happenings or pop culture can add a whole new layer of meaning to songs.
Dr. Husain: Sometimes I will pay attention to the lyrics if the wordplay is particularly poignant or funny, like Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed.” I think most often I do overanalyze things, but I think a lot of it is what kinds of messages are we receiving, what are we learning about class and other things.
Mr. Crihfield: I often find that I get the lyrics wrong or I make them up, so I don’t think I overanalyze lyrics.
