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.

Logos: "Where Is The Love?"

Logos is the use of statistics, quotes, facts, images, reasons, and values in an attempt to persuade. In the song "Where Is The Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas, the artist never gives a statistic with numbers, but instead just describes the things that are actually going on in the United States. They talk about the corrupt CIA, the Bloods, the Crips, and the Ku Klux Klan. Due to the text being a song, there are no actual images, but I believe that the song creates images in the listener's mind as he or she is listening to it. In the lyrics, the Black Eyed Peas say "People killin', people dyin', children hurt and you hear them cryin', can you practice what you preach and turn the other cheek?" I believe that this lyric creates the image of children crying, people killing others, and also the image of what is wanted, peace. The Black Eyed Peas also once again refer to something that actually happened when they say "Nations droppin' bombs, chemical gasses fillin' the lungs of little ones", even though there is not an actual statistic of how many young children were effected by bombs, they still refer to the event happening. In a way, you could see the song as a cause-an-effect statement. Because there is no peace in the world, people are dying, countries are at war, and young, innocent children are losing their lives. Even though it is impossible to tell what will happen in the world if "the love" was more prevalent, it seems as if the Black Eyed Peas definitely believe that things would be different if they did not have to ask the question of "Where Is The Love?".

- Young Park

Rhetorical Situation: "Save the Country"

"Save the Country", released in 1969 by Laura Nyro, is one of many works well known and credited by other artists of her time period. Laura Nyro, was an american singer and songwriter that was active between the years of 1966 through 1997. At the time the song was released, the nation was dealing with issues concerning the Vietnam War and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In this song, Laura Nyro addressed the need for change. The dream of the nation and its people, was much more important than focusing on war. During the period in which the song was released, movements concerning anti-war and the hippie movement were popular. Society, along with Laura Nyro, wanted to see the nation come together and save the country in which they believed. Through her lyrics, Laura Nyro hoped to influence her fellow Americans to save one another, and ultimately the U.S., with love and patriotism from a period that was so negative. Like many other artists, she was hoping to make way for a new movement of change.

Audience Analysis (Save The Country)

During the 1960s they were protesting racism and the Vietnam War. “Save The Country” was targeted to those who were against the war. The lyrics are catchy and appeal to those who listen to popular music. Nyro intended to incite her audience and unite them against the Vietnam War with her patriotic lyrics. The audience of “Save the Country,” mostly anti-war hippies, will connect with the song’s lyrics and message because of their ideals. The song “Save The Country” by Laura Nyro was released in 1969. The 1960s was a time of social reform and change. Many artists shared their opinions through their works, including song lyrics. The hippie movement was in full swing in 1969.

Rhetorical Situtation: "Where is the Love?"

Released in June 2003, “Where is the Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas (BEP) is the first single in their album Elephunk. The BEP is an American hip hop group founded in Los Angeles in 1995 made up of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and singer Fergie. Their album Elephunk brought them their widespread fame, and their major hit "Where is the Love?" topped the charts in 13 countries. At the time of its release, the United States was going through a troublesome period. The song addresses various issues that were prevalent in the era such as terrorism, discrimination, war, selfishness, drugs, and propaganda. Additionally, at the time, the media was portraying a lot information that was not necessarily true, which was causing society to be misinformed. Some examples of key events that influenced the song were the 9/11 bombings and the USA invasion of Iraq. BEP hoped to bring attention to these problems in order to influence the people of the time to recognize the issues and realize that change needs to occur.   

Audience Analysis: "Where Is The Love?"

I believe that the target audience of this song is everybody in the United States, regardless of age, gender, class, or ethnicity. The Black Eyed Peas want the people of the United States to be aware of everything that is going on in the country. The artist understands that the listeners of the song will probably know that there are problems outside of the United States, and that the United States is trying to assist in those problems, but believes that the listeners are not completely aware of all the issues that are actually within the United States. They refer to some of the issues in the United States as CIA being corrupt, the bloods, crips, and the Ku Klux Klan as well. This song was played on mainstream radio for many years, so it was listened to by many people, of all demographic characteristics. The audience most likely wants the best conditions for the United States, just as the artist does, whether it be through solving gang violence, fighting discrimination, or solving war conflicts, which are all discussed in the song. The song not only aims to send a message to normal citizens of the country, but also the government. This song was released the same year the war against Iraq started, 2003, and a lyric in the song says "Nations droppin bombs/Chemical gasses fillin lungs of little ones/With ongoin sufferin, as the youth die young", the Black Eyed Peas are subtly protesting the war in my opinion. The Black Eyed Peas are hoping that their song makes a difference in the country, and they hope that the people will become aware of all the crises that exist in their country. The artist very strongly wants the people in the world to become more peaceful and more loving to one another, which will lead to less conflicts and wars. The audience, before listening to the song, is most likely unaware of the situations that the Black Eyed Peas talk about, but will remember the message of the song due to its catchy tune and repetitive chorus.

- Young Park

Black Eyed Peas Concert in South Africa before World Cup

Source 2

Save the Country by Laura Nyro

Source 1

 Where is the Love? By The Black Eyed Peas