Style/Tone "Save the Country"

The tone created in "Save the Country", can be taken as both negative and positive. Her word choice allows you to infer her feelings toward the subject. The negative tone portrayed by Laura Nyro in the song is frustration or aggravation. Her frustration is expressed with phrases like "I can't study war no more" and "I got fury in my soul". Stating that she's fed up and tired. The positive tone portrayed in the song is encouragement or hope. Her use of the phrase "We can build the dream, I know", shows her optimism toward the future. Within the different lyrics, Laura Nyro's tone switches and displays the anger she has toward the situation and the positive outcomes she hopes to see. Her attitude towards the subject is made evident with her versatile word choice.

Tone and Style Where is the Love?

Tone is how the author wants you to feel about the subject. In my opinion, the song “Where Is The Love?” by the Black Eye Peas has two different tones. During the verses, the artists are rapping about the problems facing the U.S. and the world, and the negative effects they have on people. They sound angry while doing this, giving the song a deeper and coarser tone. Meanwhile, during the chorus the song a more harmonious tone. The artists are preaching for love and harmony in the world. I believe that the Black Eye Peas want the audience to have a moment of reflection and try to make this place a better world to live in.

Ethos: "Save the Country"

In my opinion, it seems like it would be really difficult for an artist to establish ethos within an song. Often, the artist only gains credibility after he/she has a few songs that are already well-known and liked. By the time Laura Nyro released "Save the Country" in 1969, she was already a popular artist of her time. Many of her songs were being played on the radio and being covered by famous artists like Peter, Paul, and Mary when "Save the Country" was released, so many people knew that her music was fresh and worth listening to. In her song, Nyro is able to demonstrate ethos by establishing common ground with her audience. She states that she "can't study war no more" and begs society to "save the people, save the children, (and) save the country." Assumably, her audience agrees with her values and beliefs that the people of the country need to take action in order for reform to occur and war to end.  By protesting against something that her audience also views negatively, she automatically gains credibility in their eyes. Furthermore, Nyro puts her own emotion into the song when she declares she has "fury in (her) soul" and its "gonna take (her) to the glory goal." By revealing her own rage and frustration about the situation, she is able to establish believability. If Nyro is personally frustrated by society and its issues, she has reason to be singing about the topic. She must know what is going on around her and have grounds to be so infuriated.

Ethos: "Where Is The Love?"

A song almost never uses the rhetorical appeal of ethos. However, I saw an example of ethos in "Where Is The Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas. In my opinion, the only ethos used by the Black Eyed Peas was used in an extremely clever way. The Black Eyed Peas are known for being a mainstream hip-hop and dance group. They have extrinsic ethos of being known as a popular, catchy, hit-song creating group. In the making of "Where Is The Love?", they did once again create another catchy hit-song. However, it seems as if though the Black Eyed Peas used their credibility and celebrity status to their advantage, they used their song to protest the situations in the world. They knew that if they created a catchy song, it would play on the radio often, no matter what the meaning or message of the song was.They used that knowledge to their advantage, they decided to make a song that would not only be popular, but have a good message as well. As the song played on the radio and more and more people listened to it, the message eventually spread, not only within the United States, but in the whole world. The Black Eyed Peas were known globally, and their message spread like wildfire in the form of a song.

Logos Save the Country

A songwriter almost never uses numerical statistics or facts to persuade the audience. But in the song “Save The Country”, Laura Nyro uses religious values create rhetoric. In my opinion, the catholic audience will agree with the points made in the song. In the verses, Nyro tells people to come to the “Glory River” to be saved and to wash away the devil. According to the catholic religion, a person must be baptized to be saved from the original sin and the devil. I believe that Laura Nyro is using the devil as a representation of all of the malicious problems during the 1960s. Through these religious metaphors the artists is telling the audience that we (the people of the U.S.) have to change in order to save the country. Only then will we be able to build the dream society described by Laura Nyro. 

Pathos: "Where is the Love?"

In my opinion, pathos is the most effective rhetorical appeal used by the BEP in “Where is the Love?” The BEP use pathos because appeals to emotion are often very successful in conveying messages and convincing listeners. The powerful lyrics of the song force the audience to take a step back and actually comprehend all of the problems that society is facing. The multiple references to children such as "children hurt can you hear them crying?" and "chemical gases filling the lungs of little ones" attract empathy from the listeners. By bringing children into the picture, the audience is compelled to feel sad and sorry because things always seem worse when they are happening to young people. Kids have so much ahead of them to look forward to, so when their lives are ruined by something early on, it seems like much more of a tragedy than if its happening to adults. The many issues in the world that are mentioned throughout the song such as terrorism, racism, selfishness, war, etc make the audience realize how many problems exist in the world. The great amount of troubles in the world all listed one after the other, truly speak to listeners, actualizing the extent of the problem in the world. While the verses inform listeners as to what is occurring, the chorus of the song serves as a plea to all those causing chaos to stop making problems and also as a cry to God for help. The tone of the song shifts from angry and powerful in the verses to soft and heavenly in the chorus. This change in the tone activates a different part of the mind, appealing to the more thoughtful and reflective side of brain rather than the enraged and and frightened side. The pleading for God's help touches the spiritual side of the audience; The BEP feel that they and all of the world need to turn to God in order to change the present  dire situation. The song concludes by repeating that we only have "one world" that has something wrong with it that needs to be fixed. This repetition emphasizes the alarming urgency of the situation, begging the audience to make an effort in assisting to change the world.

-Gabi Yaffee

Pathos "Save the Country"

The pathos demonstrated in "Save the Country", is shown within the lyrics chosen by Laura Nyro. She used words like devil, fury, and war to stress the negativity in which she wished to overcome. Emotions like anger or frustration can be taken from the use of these words. Laura Nyro also used phrases like "save the children", "build the dream", and "save the country" to influence her audience to make and fight for change. These phrases provoke emotions of motivation and devotion. The audience could be motivated to make a change and devoted to building the dream. Nyro's use of both negative and positive words allow the audience to feel infuriated with war in society, but encouraged to do something about it. Her use of pathos successfully sends her message across, while connecting emotionally with the audience.