Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
Looks like I can't embed the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hu1hMINA7k
It's not my favorite song, but what's interesting is that it uses something we talked about in class: the idea of being able to redo things in the past. The first time I watched the music video, it was somewhat off-putting because it's not at all what I imagined the song to be like, especially with the album cover. I guess they were going for a punk/alternative rock image at the time. Although I could tell what they were starting to hint at midway, it didn't occur to me what was going on until the end, which was a very nice twist.
_______________________________
Lyrics:
There's a place off Ocean Avenue
Where I used to sit and talk with you
We were both 16 and it felt so right
Sleeping all day, staying up all night
Staying up all night
There's a place on the corner of Cherry Street
We would walk on the beach in our bare feet
We were both 18 and it felt so right
Sleeping all day, staying up all night
Staying up all night
If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away
There's a piece of you that's here with me
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by
I can make believe that you're here tonight
That you're here tonight
If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away
I remember the look in your eyes
When I told you that this was goodbye
You were begging me not tonight
Not here, not now
We're looking up at the same night sky
And keep pretending the sun will not rise
Be together for one more night
Somewhere, somehow
If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away
_______________________________
What's interesting is how the stories don't seem to be related in the beginning. The lyrics sound like they're talking about someone who is reminiscing about his friend or lover. With the video, the person seems to be either running somewhere or chasing something. He's tackled, and afterwards you see two men barring a car and replacing the license plate, which implies he's being taken somewhere. As this happens, he sings about finding someone and escaping the town. If you're like me, you probably won't see how the song and the video are related yet, or that he's being chased. Later, the same scene in the beginning repeats, but instead he avoids all the obstacles only to get hit by the car as the chorus repeats again. The final scene happens, and you suddenly see everything. He's being chased, but he manages to be in the right place at the right time, stop the car, and leave.
As it happens, the song and the video are very similar in terms of their story. To me, the song was about someone who misses a friend or lover and dreams of leaving everything behind with that certain person. The idea that it's a lover, or at least a very important friend, is expanded upon as the song mentions intimate moments that the two shared and how they didn't want to split. The song repeats the message until the end.
The video was about someone who is being pursued for something a woman he was with now has. The woman has left him, and he chases her down. As this happens, he is interrupted by various obstacles that lead to bad ends. He then repeats the same scene, except with the knowledge from the last event, and eventually is able to get in the car with the woman and leave the city.
I've already mentioned their differences, but the reason they're similar is because both have the idea of the person needing to find someone important to him [his relation to the woman in the video is unknown, so she could possibly be very intimate with him, or he could just need her to escape] and wanting to escape their situation. The ideas presented in the lyrics are hinted at in the video as the lyrics play, but it's something that I didn't catch until I rewatched it. To me, it was a very interesting story and a good spin on a typical presentation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hu1hMINA7k
It's not my favorite song, but what's interesting is that it uses something we talked about in class: the idea of being able to redo things in the past. The first time I watched the music video, it was somewhat off-putting because it's not at all what I imagined the song to be like, especially with the album cover. I guess they were going for a punk/alternative rock image at the time. Although I could tell what they were starting to hint at midway, it didn't occur to me what was going on until the end, which was a very nice twist.
_______________________________
Lyrics:
There's a place off Ocean Avenue
Where I used to sit and talk with you
We were both 16 and it felt so right
Sleeping all day, staying up all night
Staying up all night
There's a place on the corner of Cherry Street
We would walk on the beach in our bare feet
We were both 18 and it felt so right
Sleeping all day, staying up all night
Staying up all night
If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away
There's a piece of you that's here with me
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by
I can make believe that you're here tonight
That you're here tonight
If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away
I remember the look in your eyes
When I told you that this was goodbye
You were begging me not tonight
Not here, not now
We're looking up at the same night sky
And keep pretending the sun will not rise
Be together for one more night
Somewhere, somehow
If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away
_______________________________
What's interesting is how the stories don't seem to be related in the beginning. The lyrics sound like they're talking about someone who is reminiscing about his friend or lover. With the video, the person seems to be either running somewhere or chasing something. He's tackled, and afterwards you see two men barring a car and replacing the license plate, which implies he's being taken somewhere. As this happens, he sings about finding someone and escaping the town. If you're like me, you probably won't see how the song and the video are related yet, or that he's being chased. Later, the same scene in the beginning repeats, but instead he avoids all the obstacles only to get hit by the car as the chorus repeats again. The final scene happens, and you suddenly see everything. He's being chased, but he manages to be in the right place at the right time, stop the car, and leave.
As it happens, the song and the video are very similar in terms of their story. To me, the song was about someone who misses a friend or lover and dreams of leaving everything behind with that certain person. The idea that it's a lover, or at least a very important friend, is expanded upon as the song mentions intimate moments that the two shared and how they didn't want to split. The song repeats the message until the end.
The video was about someone who is being pursued for something a woman he was with now has. The woman has left him, and he chases her down. As this happens, he is interrupted by various obstacles that lead to bad ends. He then repeats the same scene, except with the knowledge from the last event, and eventually is able to get in the car with the woman and leave the city.
I've already mentioned their differences, but the reason they're similar is because both have the idea of the person needing to find someone important to him [his relation to the woman in the video is unknown, so she could possibly be very intimate with him, or he could just need her to escape] and wanting to escape their situation. The ideas presented in the lyrics are hinted at in the video as the lyrics play, but it's something that I didn't catch until I rewatched it. To me, it was a very interesting story and a good spin on a typical presentation.
Comments