262018- 1 page single spaced due in 6 hours

Finding Communication Concepts in Musical Lyrics

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Introduction

Music has from time in memorial had a huge influence socially on the society as well as even with individuals. Music and its respective lyrics always have a keen concentration on matters to deal with interpersonal perception which is the process of trying to get meaning from experiences we gain from things, people and even our relationships (Walther, 1996). These communication concepts as relates to musical lyrics have been discussed below.

The song that is being analyzed is “something inside so strong” by Kenny Rogers. Some of the concepts quite evident from the song are interpretation which is generally the act of assigning meaning to information. The information in this case ought to be selected for the particular purpose and should also be well organized. Attribution refers to explanation offered for a behavior that has been observed. It seeks to have a clear understanding on the source of these behavior. On the other hand, egocentrism indicates the act of holding still to ones perspective without accepting other people’s opinions. This is usually disadvantageous since it inhibits our ability to accurately perceive other people (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2006).

For interpretation, the songs seems to be majoring so much on strength. Here, the singer is passing the message that no matter how many stumbling blocks are there, he still has the strength to go past them and still come out stronger than before. Another way that the song can be interpreted is on the inspiration that it brings forth. Here, the listeners are inspired that no matter how difficult situations seem to be, they should trust that they will still come out strong.

Attribution as a concept here can be relayed from the behavior relayed by the artist on the zeal to press forward regardless of the circumstance. This indicates that indeed, the artist has a strong driving force and he is not a quitter. This is shown whereby he insists that even though he is wronged, and the more he is pushed away and even what he is saying not paid attention to, he will still come back. Here attribution helps in understanding the reason why the author is so zealous about pressing forward. Part of the answer for this that can be found in the song is on the fact that he believes he is better and also the fact that he is determined to get what is right and just.

There is also egocentrism that can be noted from the tone of the song. This is whereby he insists that he still has his pride intact and as such insists that they are good enough and even further states that they are going to do it anyway. He alleges that unlike what the motivation behind the song on the fact that “they” are not good enough, what they know is that they are better and therefore, are going to do it anyway. That is without any input of the conveyer of the message a classic example of egocentrism.

In conclusion, just like other works of art, Kenny Rogers in the lyrics of his song seems to have effectively incorporated interpersonal perception. Among other aspects, it is evident that interpretation, attribution and egocentrism are well ingrained in the lyrics of the song. This therefore shows that it is an important aspect of communication studies that should be holistically embraced.

References

Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2006). Message in a ballad: The role of music preferences in interpersonal perception. Psychological science, 17(3), 236-242.

Walther, J. B. (1996). Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication research, 23(1), 3-43.

Corrections

1. In each paragraph you have explained the concepts include evidence in the form of actual lines from the song in quotation. This is from paragraph 2 to the last paragraph.

2. Remove the intext citations you have put for other sources, they are not required in this paper. Plus also remove the above references.

Appendix: Lyrics

LYRICS FOR KENNY ROGERS SOMETHING INSIDE SO STRONG

The higher you build your barrier The taller I become The farther you take my rights away The faster I will run You can deny me You can decide to turn your face away No matter 'cause there's,

Something inside so strong I know that I can make it Though you're doing me wrong so wrong You thought that my pride was gone, oh no There's something inside so strong Something inside so strong. The more you refuse to hear my voice  The louder I will sing You hide behind Walls of Jericho  Your lies will come tumbling Deny my place and time You squander wealth that's mine My light will shine So brightly it will blind you Because there's, Something inside so strong I know that I can make it Though you're doing me wrong so wrong You thought that my pride was gone, oh no There's something inside so strong Something inside so strong. Brothers and sisters When they insist we're just not good enough Well we know better Just look 'em in the eye and say We're gonna do it anyway. We're gonna do it anyway. We're gonna do it anyway.

I know that I can make it Though you're doing me wrong so wrong You thought that my pride was gone, oh no There's something inside so strong. There's something inside so strong. There's something inside so strong.