Music Anthology Role Play

You know when your sitting there listening to a really great song and once its over you think ' wow ,that hit a spot'? Well thats exactly how I felt about Lady Antebellum's 'Compass'.

This song delivers an empowering message to its listeners which is to just allow yourself to settle into what you do best, to believe in yourself and let things take there natural course. Overall, it creates an atmosphere of joy and encouragement, whilst at the same time sending out a positive message to those who need it. In life we come to face numerous obstacles that leave us both stressed and provoke conflict within ourselves. The lyrics assure the audience ( people who doubt themselves and their decisions, who feel like they have no one to lean on for support) that they must muster all of their power within themselves and believe that they should let their hearts be their compasses when they are lost and to “follow it wherever it may go”.

The songs message is enhanced with the assistance of rhetorical devices, one of them being didactic narration. The song lyrics come across in a didactic narration, it is presented in this fashion in order for the listeners to take away the message of the song, as explained above. Whilst also provoking a feeling of reassurance from them, to inform them that they will never be alone as stated in the song “Cause no matter what, you'll never be alone”. Metaphors are used twice throughout the song, the first one “So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when your lost” meaning that if you follow your compass then you will constantly be happy as you are doing what you are meant to be doing. It is directly followed by the lyrics “And you should follow it wherever it may go” indicating that by following wherever your heart leads you, even if things are going south you should slow down and “walk instead of run”. By walking instead of running you are more likely to ease into your current situation, as opposed to rushing around and chasing after things because some people try so hard and end up empty handed.

Lady Antebellum has formed their entire song into an extended metaphor, which is letting your heart guide you. The song lyrics are broken down into components that when read separately a certain message rises to the surface, but once all the puzzle pieces are put together the true and final meaning is exposed. In conclusion it is through these lyrics that Lady Antebellum chooses to display a message they want to share with the rest of the world, one that could potentially assist others to cope with their daily lives along with all the things and occur in them.

Music video link :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiG-4-V7Xd0