Rhetorical analysis of Alicias Keys song If I Ain't Got You - Essay Example

Rhetorical analysis of Alicia’s Key’s song "If I Ain't Got You" I. Introduction The lyrics and music video of Alicia’s Key’s song "If I Ain't Got You" is an award winning and moving song that effectively used the rhetorical devices of pathos, logos and ethos to make it appealing to its listeners and viewers. The three rhetorical device of pathos, logos and ethos complemented each other to create a music that is not only romantically pleasing to hear but also one that makes sense in conveying its message. The rhetorical devices complemented with each other by conveying the message of love (pathos) in a rational way (logos) and rendered by a Grammy- Award winning artist Alicia Keys. II. Analysis and meaning of lyrics The lyrics of song are almost told in complete sentences and they are told in figures of speeches to better narrate what the artist wanted to tell in the song. In the first paragraph it read as; Some people live for the fortune Some people live just for the fame Some people live for the power, yeah Some people live just to play the game Some people think that the physical things Define what's within And I've been there before But that life's a bore So full of the superficial This meant that people are now getting materialistic and vain that they only live for fortune, fame, power, game and physical things. The artist had been there and realized that these are empty endeavors because what matter is how beautiful the person is inside. In the second paragraph, it read; Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all If it ain't you baby If I ain't got you baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything But everything means nothing If I ain't got you, Yeah This means that the artist only wanted the person that she love because it is all that really matters in this world. The diamond rings is only symbolic of the superficiality that the song already detest that it really meant nothing. In the third paragraph which read; Some people search for a fountain That promises forever young Some people need three dozen roses And that's the only way to prove you love them Hand me the world on a silver platter And what good would it be With no one to share  With no one who truly cares for me  Alicia Keys only meant beauty as a vain basis for love when she wrote about the fountain that promises forever young. The roses and the silver platter are only a way to impress her but it is meaningless when it cannot be shared with the person she loves. III. Analysis of the music video The music video is the visual narrative of the song. In the opening scene of the video, there were men carrying a big piano which seems to have been bought by Alicia Keys fiancé (while alternating with her playing the piano). The choice of piano and not other material things is symbolic that what matters most are what is inside which in this case, music and love as represented by the piano. Of course she was delighted when she saw it and they kissed manifesting their love for each other. It can be observed that the apartment was empty except for the piano which figuratively explains that material things were not that important as told in the lyrics. Scenes displaying money and diamonds in a drawer were shown later inside a regular clothing drawer against the background “so full of superficial”. The succeeding scenes showed alternate of Alicia Keys singing and the lovers expressing their love for each other and how happy they are being together. It also showed the struggle of couples in the scene in the kitchen where they eventually argued with the man leaving. As a result, each of them ended up alone with her standing on the side of the street being alone suggesting the title of the song “I aint got you”. IV. Rhetorical analysis The song of Alicia Keys entitled "If I Ain't Got You" must first be understood that it is a love song though rendered in the genre of Rhythm and Blues or R&B which is Alicia Key’s forte. Being a love song, it is a given that the song is very touching and emotional and therefore have the general theme of pathos or general appeal. Pathos is a rhetorical device that appeals to the emotion of the audience to persuade them to agree with the author’s point of view. In this case, the music is based on emotion or highly emotional and romantic to make it pleasing to the audience and make them feel and understand what the composer (Alicia Keys) felt when she wrote the music. This is very obvious with the title of the song which is "If I Ain't Got You" which already suggests romantic attachment to a person. The narrative of the lyrics were littered emotional appeal or pathos such as in the chorus that said “But I don't want/nothing at all/If it ain't you baby/If I ain't got you baby” especially in the outro or ending part of the music that narrated “If I ain't got you with me baby/So nothing in this whole wide world / don't mean a thing / If I ain't got you with me baby”. The music video even complemented this when the woman appeared to be upset and hurt her lover was leaving and this was played against the background outro which tells how hurt she was when her love left because he is everything to her. There were also portions in the music video where it highlighted the romantic part of the lyrics such as the scene where the two of them (Alicia Keys and his lover) kissed in an empty apartment against the background lyrics of “everything meant nothing if I aint got you baby”. This scene in the video complemented the lyrics by making a visual emphasis that the composer can be happy without any material things in the world as long as she has the love of the man that she loves. The song “If I A’int Got You” of Alicia Keys may be romantic in nature but it does mean that its lyrics did not make any sense in conveying its feelings of love. If we are going to remove the romantic and touching melody and just focus on the lyrics and what they mean, the lyrics seemed to use logos or the use of reason to make the argument of the composition credible to the audience and therefore, convince them about the point of view of the composer. Of course the general theme of the music is pathos or romance but instead of talking about the clouds and the heavens, the composer instead used reason to narrate how important the person to her. Her rejection of material things as the basis of love also made sense because in essence, love does not equate itself to “cash and diamonds” as the song would say. We can observe the rational approach at the opening paragraph where Alicia Keys seems to provide a backgrounder of her argument by saying; Some people live for the fortune Some people live just for the fame Some people live for the power, yeah Some people live just to play the game Some people think that the physical things Define what's within And I've been there before But that life's a bore So full of the superficial This is done before manifesting her longing for the person making it more valid and complemented the pathos before mentioning the emotional statements such as “ I don't want nothing at all/If it ain't you baby” because it has basis and not just some irrational manifestation of love and attachment. The rational approach (logos) of manifesting love and attachment to a person by the composer became more credible and convincing especially with the ethos of Alicia Keys. Ethos is the use of expertise, technical or moral ascendancy to make one’s point of view more credible and persuasive. In this case, the ethos of Alicia Keys are her awards and nominations. She has countless awards and nominations from reputable award giving bodies ranging from Grammy to BET. The awards and nomination that Alicia Keys received includes being “Best R&B Female Artist at the BET Awards; Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "My Boo", Best R&B Song for "You Don't Know My Name" and Best R&B Album for The Diary of Alicia Keys at the Grammy Awards” (Wikipedia.org nd) making her very credible and complemented the logos (reasonable approach) to make the pathos (emotional appeal) more persuasive . V. Conclusion The song “I aint got you” by Alicia Keys illustrates that the rhetorical devices of pathos, logos and ethos can go together in making a song appealing even if the theme of the music is a love song which seems to be an exclusive domain of the pathos. Other rhetorical devices such as logos can in fact complement the romantic theme of the song to make it more credible and therefore more appealing to the audience. It also helped that the artist of the song is award winning that made the song not only pleasing to hear but also sensible. The music video also helped to emphasize the message of the song and made it more entertaining to the audience. Works Cited "Alicia Keys - If I Ain't Got You." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. "List of Awards and Nominations Received by Alicia Keys." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. Read More