Poem in the Song

You think it horrible that lust and rage Should dance attention upon my old age; They were not such a plague when I was young; What else have I to spur me into song? -William Butler Yeats

I thought I would mix things up a little for this post and talk about a poetic work that might not be considered poetry to some people. A song is as much a poem as any work of any great poet. In fact, several poems have been put to song, several from the poet Emily Dickinson. Now I am not talking of a song that was originally a known poet’s work but I thought I would show you followers the poetry hidden in pop songs that we all hear on the radio. I woke up this morning with this concept in my head and suddenly I knew what song I was going to choose to talk about. It is a song that I am not 100% familiar with but I have heard and has peaked my interest, "Sober" by Pink. When you look at the lyrics of this song it shows something more than a catchy tune. The lyrics begin with describing types of girls that differ from the speaker and then talks about why the speaker refused to be those types of girls. At the beginning of the song the speaker is obviously under the influence of alcohol and for some time. It seems to keep the speaker satisfied with extreme ignorance that makes you think that the speaker was actually the types of girls she described while she was drunk and now that she has reached the level of complete ignorance in her drunken state she has found peace. Each stanza of the song shows more of the depression and desperate actions of the speaker when under the influence of alcohol and yet the chorus reveals that there is still hope in her sobriety. The chorus of the song shows repetition that has an important meaning which in this case is the true peace that comes from sobriety. Besides the chorus and the stanzas the speaker is actually confronted with this overwhelming desire and need to feel the high that comes with her drunken state and her desperate beliefs that her drunken state is the safest for herself. This song describes a struggle that has become issue for so many people in the world today. Abuse of alcohol and drugs seems to be a phenomenon that has hit hard in many cities and has taken the lives of a vast group of people all searching for an outlet from their inner pain. “Sober” overall is a song and poem that describes the troubles and difficulties on the road to sobriety but overall I believe it has an uplifting, empowering meaning that will hopefully find its way into the hearts of people who are suffering and need saving from not only their inner pain but addiction to alcohol or drugs. http://www.metrolyrics.com/sober-lyrics-pink.html