"Tim McGraw" analysis

This song is a story about a girl remembering a summer romance.  She recalls that she was sad when it was over, but that the memories she has of their time together are fond ones.  She hopes that when this boy thinks of the country artist Tim McGraw, the boy will also think of the speaker, their relationship, and their happy moments.  The simile found in this song is from the chorus, and is thus repeated several times.  The speaker relates a memory of the time when she and her ex-boyfriend danced to a Tim McGraw song “all night long,/The moon like a spotlight on the lake.”  This comparison characterizes how magical her memories of their relationship are.  It also demonstrates how most summer flings end, with those involved remembering sweet moments and idealizing those moments in their memories.

"Thinking of You" Analysis

The speaker is reminiscing and grieving over a lost love.  She spends her time with a new man, but she does not feel nearly as much for him as she did for her old lover.  Every time she is with her current boyfriend, all she can think about is how she wishes he was her old love.  The similes in this song demonstrate how happy her lost love made her.  She compares the way he made her feel to “an apple hanging from a tree,” “an Indian summer in the middle of winter,” and “a hard candy with a surprise center.”  These phrases make comparisons between the speaker's feelings for her lost love and life's sweet little moments, emphasizing that the relationship between the two felt just like a wonderful surprise.

“Tim McGraw” by Taylor Swift (simile)

You said the way my blue eyes shined,
“Put those Georgia stars to shame that night”
I said, "That's a lie"
Just a boy in a Chevy truck,
That had a tendency of gettin' stuck,
On back roads at night
An' I was right there beside him all summer long
An' then the time we woke up to find that summer'd gone

CHORUS:
But when you think, “Tim McGraw,”
I hope you think my favorite song
The one we danced to all night long,
The moon like a spotlight on the lake
When you think happiness,
I hope you think "That little black dress"
Think of my head on your chest,
An' my old faded blue jeans
When you think “Tim McGraw,”
I hope you think of me

September saw a month of tears,
An' thankin' G-d that you weren't here,
To see me like that
But in a box beneath my bed,
Is a letter that you never read,
From three summers back
It's hard not to find it all a little bittersweet,
An' lookin' back on all of that, it's nice to believe

CHORUS

And I'm back for the first time since then
I'm standin' on your street,
An' there's a letter left on your doorstep,
An' the first thing that you'll read

Is, "When you think ‘Tim McGraw,’
I hope you think my favorite song"
Some day you'll turn your radio on,
I hope it takes you back to that place
When you think happiness,
I hope you think, "That little black dress"
Think of my head on your chest,
An' my old faded blue jeans
When you think “Tim McGraw,”
I hope you think of me
Oh, think of me,
Mmmm

You said the way my blue eyes shined,
“Put those Georgia stars to shame that night”
I said, "That's a lie"

"Thinking of You" by Katy Perry (simile)

Comparisons are easily done
Once you've had a taste of perfection
Like an apple hanging from a tree
I picked the ripest one
I still got the seed

You said move on
Where do I go
I guess second best
Is all I will know

CHORUS:
'Cause when I'm with him
I am thinking of you
Thinking of you
What you would do if
You were the one
Who was spending the night
Oh I wish that I
Was looking into your eyes

You're like an Indian summer
In the middle of winter
Like a hard candy
With a surprise center
How do I get better
Once I've had the best
You said there's
Tons of fish in the water
So the waters I will test

He kissed my lips
I taste your mouth
He pulled me in I was disgusted with myself

CHORUS

You're the best
And yes I do regret
How I could let myself
Let you go
Now the lesson's learned
I touched it, I was burned
Oh I think you should know

CHORUS

Looking into your eyes
Looking into your eyes
Oh won't you walk through
And bust in the door
And take me away
Oh, no more mistakes
'Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay, stay...

Analysis of "Goodbye" by Miley Cyrus

 Miley Ray Cyrus, born Destiny Hope Cyrus, took the entertainment world by stormwhen she was just thirteen-years-old.  In 2006, following a long casting process, Cyrus was cast as the star of Disney’s new television show, Hannah Montana,about a regular teenage girl who lives a double life as a famous pop star.  The series premiered with what, at the time, was a record of 5.4 million viewers.  This was only the beginning of what Cyrus would achieve as she continued her blink-of-an-eye rise in fame in both the television and music worlds.  Initially only performing and releasing albums as her fictional alter-ego, Cyrus got a chance to break away and record as herself, first accompanied by a Hannah Montana disc, then finally on a solo record.  Cyrus amassed young fans worldwide and became a popular topic for the media.  Her song, “Goodbye,” which she co-wrote, uses several poetic devices to convey sadness, longing, and hope.
The emotionally-loaded lyrics of “Goodbye” tell the story of a girl who is longing for the past.  She is speaking to a boy who is no longer in her life as she is reminiscing on their relationship and her “memories come back to life.”  She wakes up every day and all she can think about is what she misses about her ex-boyfriend.  She remembers every bittersweet detail, “those simple things” that made her love him.  She misses the way things used to be and wishes she could forget “saying goodbye,” implying that she regrets their break-up.  Amazingly, while she is caught up in longing and remembering, her cell phone rings and it is the boy she has been thinking about.  He is having the exact same memories and regrets.  The majority of the song is full of yearning and sadness, but the ending holds hope and the possibility of reconciliation and happiness.
Cyrus’s “Goodbye” features several poetic devices, which contribute to the song’s themes.  In the first verse, personification is used in the line, “memories come back to life.”  Because the listener understands that memories are not actually alive, it is clear that the speaker means that she was suppressing these thoughts and now the memories are more vivid than ever.  The next poetic device is employed in the chorus.  “I remember when we kissed/I still feel it on my lips” is an example of hyperbole.  The speaker cannot literally still feel the kiss on her lips, but the memory lingers so strongly that it is as if she can.  The chorus also contains synecdoche.  In the phrase, “[t]he memory I wannaforget/Is goodbye,” ‘goodbye’ is referring to the entire break-up.  Thus, part of the scenario is representing the whole.  The second verse features imagery in the line, “through my tears, I sang along.”  This phrase calls to mind a very clear image of a girl crying and singing and also evokes the emotion of empathy.  Imagery is also demonstrated in the chorus when the speaker says, “you danced with me/With no music playing.”  This line also conveys a very specific image of a young couple dancing to nothing, which the listener is meant to see as sweet.  The many poetic devices throughout the song evoke emotion, allow the listener to identify with the speaker, and contribute to the overall themes.
The song “Goodbye” is full of longing.  Its use of poetic devices, especially personification and hyperbole, amplifies both the speaker’s feelings of loss and sadness, and the listener’s experience.  The song itself completely exemplifies how a teenage girl feels when she is rethinking an unsettling separation.  Providing the pop genre with a quintessential break-up song, Miley Cyrus shows that she can do more than Hannah Montana’s feel-good dance tunes.

"Goodbye" by Miley Cyrus

“Goodbye” by Miley Cyrus

I can honestly say you've been on my mind
Since I woke up today, up today
I look at your photograph all the time
These memories come back to life
And I don't mind

CHORUS:
I remember when we kissed
I still feel it on my lips
The time that you danced with me
With no music playing
But I remember those simple things
I remember 'til I cry
But the one thing I wish I'd forget
The memory I wanna forget
Is goodbye

I woke up this morning and played are song
And throwing my tears, I sang along
I picked up the phone and then put it down
'Cause I know I'm wasting my time
And I don't mind

CHORUS

Suddenly my cell phone's blowing up
With your ringtone
I hesitate but answer it anyway
You sound so alone
And I'm surprised to hear you say

You remember when we kissed
You still feel it on your lips
The time that you danced with me
With no music playing
You remember the simple things
We talked 'til we cried
You said that your biggest regret
The one thing you wish I'd forget
Is saying goodbye, saying goodbye
Ooh, goodbye

"The Way I Loved You" Analysis

The speaker is in a new relationship with a textbook-perfect boyfriend, but she cannot stop thinking about and longing for an old love.  This current boy takes her on dates and hangs out with her parents, but all the while, she is wishing for her ex-boyfriend.  She says he “got away by some mistake,” and even though this new boyfriend is wonderful, she doesn't feel as strongly and passionately as she did for her former flame.  She would rather have the pain of fighting with someone because she loves too hard than settle for a pleasant guy that doesn't excite her and make her heart feel alive.  The music is calm and steady when the lyrics are referring to the current boyfriend, and becomes faster and exciting when the speaker is reminiscing.  This song includes imagery and metaphor, and conveys the themes of love, longing, heartbreak, and dissatisfaction.

"The Way I Loved You" by Taylor Swift (narrative)

He is sensible and so incredible

And all my single friends are jealous

He says everything I need to hear and it's like

I couldn't ask for anything better

He opens up my door and I get into his car

And he says you look beautiful tonight

And I feel perfectly fine

CHORUS:

But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain

And it's 2 a.m. and I'm cursing your name

You're so in love that you act insane

And that's the way I loved you

Breakin' down and coming undone

It's a roller coaster kinda rush

And I never knew I could feel that much

And that's the way I loved you

He respects my space

And never makes me wait

And he calls exactly when he says he will

He's close to my mother

Talks business with my father

He's charming and endearing

And I'm comfortable

CHORUS

He can't see the smile I'm faking

And my heart's not breaking

'Cause I'm not feeling anything at all

And you were wild and crazy

Just so frustrating, intoxicating,

Complicated, got away by some mistake and now

CHORUS

And that's the way I loved you oh, oh

Never knew I could feel that much

And that's the way I loved you