Pop Culture Mud, Week #5
If you like pop culture and songs, you are going to enjoy today’s writing prompt and love the theme for June (hint). Songs are poetry verses that are embellished by interesting vocals and music. Songs in their original form (poetry) are lines of simple words and phrases that are strung together to create distinct meanings. Most often, it becomes a deep study trying to figure out what songs mean. Your job is to research five inspirational songs of your choice and write about their meanings.
Creative Idea Gal’s Thoughts
Country singer Brad Paisley released his album Mud on the Tires in 2003. Brad promoted Mud on the Tires through his Mud and Suds tour and even played a special charity concert dubbed Mud in the Valley in his hometown in West Virginia.
Cute mud references aside, the album Mud on the Tires yielded several popular hits including Celebrity and Little Moments. The title track, Mud on the Tires, is about the purchase of a new Chevrolet truck and the excitement of breaking it in and getting mud on its tires. Or is it? Music aficionados interpret the song differently, suggesting it is about sexual experiences.
Irrespective of your musical tastes, you’ll often find that the songs you like are loaded with meaning. Many times, the songs will reek of sexual innuendos, double entendres, or off-color jokes. There will also be songs that are filled with hope, inspiration, and life lessons. That is our focus right now. Songs like Lady Gaga’s Born this Way, Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful, or Katy Perry’s Fireworks are filled with inspirational messages that are good for everyone. Can you think of five other songs that have inspirational messages?
Creative Brainstorming Tips
Creative brainstorming goes haywire when faced with meanings of songs. Go with whatever direction you choose!
I often think of song interpretation as the true Rorschach test that reveals more about a person than the song itself. And that is okay! Singers and songwriters don’t always reveal their true intentions with their songs.
Helpful Resources
“SongMeanings is a community of thousands of music lovers who contribute lyrics, discuss interpretations, and connect over songs and artists they love!” – SongMeanings
This is quite an interesting find. Getting to the meanings of songs often involves “translations” and “interpretations.” Never would have thought of describing it that way!
“I’ve done a few very difficult song translations (my deloused album interpretation comes to mind), and I’ve learned some different techniques for getting through to the root meaning of a song.” – Andrew Muller for the Real Musician
Writing Prompt 062
Prompt: Write about the meaning of five inspirational songs
- Step 1: Brad Paisley’s song Mud on the Tires may or may not be filled with suggestive lyrics. There are many songs that steer away from double meanings and focus on positive messages. Do basic research.
- Step 2: Pop culture has a large assortment of songs that include positive messages. Check with popular artists of the day and see what they have to offer. You will be surprised!
- Step 3: Write about the meaning of five inspirational songs. The songs don’t necessarily have to be religious in nature, but they should be inspirational and able to appeal to a wide population. Any genre of music is fine, so long as the essence is inspiration. (Your interpretation of what is inspirational is fine!)
Please be sure to leave comments about this writing prompt. We want to hear from you!
About the Author
Amanda M. Socci, J.D., is a freelance writer with 14 years of experience writing professionally. Socci currently cuts her blogging chops on her personal portfolio blog, the Creative Idea Gal blog, and on an online news site, Mount Vernon Patch. Inspired by Nina Amir’s Write Nonfiction in November writing challenge, she created a unique 10-month training program for Writenonfictionnow.com and Writenonfictioninnovember.com blog visitors.
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