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Kelly Tipton

English Composition 1201

Dr. Adrienne Cassel

17 October 2017

Stand, the Lonely

A heart made of stone callous and bone /Fracture and tear it out to let it go. These two

lines open the song by Nine Lashes in the video for their song Anthem of the Lonely with

strong and empowering words. The video and song let the audience know that no matter their

struggle or hard time and changes in their lives, that they do not go through it alone. The band

effectively uses ethos and pathos by using an unexpected video of themselves in it to create that

sense of understanding between the band and audience. The song came into existence through

inspiration from the personal life struggles of the band members and how they got through them

because they realized they had people to rely on (people with relatable experiences, friends,

family, God the band has a Christian rock genre) in their struggles as the video shows them

going through torture but never giving in and the use meaningful lyrics and other symbolism in

the video.

Nine Lashes holds the genre of a Christian Rock/ alternative metal band and originally

formed in 2006, then debuted with their first album Escape in 2009. The band later signed with

Tooth and Nail Records thanks to the help of Trevor McNevan, leader singer of Thousand Foot

Krutch, another Christian rock/ alternative band. After signing up with Tooth and Nail Records,

the band released their second album: World We View in 2012, which holds the song many can

stand to Anthem of the Lonely (Tooth and Nail Records).

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Listening to the song, it could hold several meanings, like heartbreak, depression, or

major changes in someones life. All these revolve around the same theme: someone going

through hard times and feels alone in it all. The band effectively establishes ethos in several

ways in the music video for the song and reveals the meaning and inspiration behind the song in

an explanation video. In the face of doubt and many other negative emotions, stand back up and

face it, even if it seems like you are the only one, seems like the message lead singer Jeremy

Dunn sends in a video explanation of the song Anthem of the Lonely (TNNbecRadio). Dunn

grew up without a father in his life, but eventually met him through mutual friends. He went

through a sudden change in his life from this, and made a difficult choice as he chose forgiveness

over hatred (Tooth and Nail Records). The band establishes their credibility not only by sharing

that the song inspiration came from the personal struggles of the band members, and how they

felt alone until they found God, but also from the unexpected video.

In the video, it depicts the members of the band going through a torture interrogation

each individually as the scene flips from this to the band playing in a dark and desolate concrete

room. Even though they face torture, and are told by their captors to give in, and it will all end,

the band stays strong and eventually help arrives. While this representation of the video has

surprising and unexpected components, it serves its purpose and has great effectiveness. It shows

that the members know the feeling and have walked that same road. In contrast to the song, the

message the video sends becomes clear. With just the lyrics, the song at first seems to hold the

theme of heartbreak and depression. The video outright shows the band members going through

torture, a metaphor for the struggle many face, but stay strong, and hold on until a helicopter

whirrs in the background and Dunn smirks, indicating their help has arrived. The video clears up

the meaning of the lyrics, and shows in an unexpected way that people do not stand as alone as
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they may think. It helps create this sense of understanding between the band and the audience

that the song along alone fails to create, and shows something the song does not say outright

stay strong, because you have someone there for you, even if you cannot see it. Ethos becomes

established with these feelings that not only the audience may have experienced but the band

themselves.

This not only creates ethos though, as it establishes pathos this way as well. It shows the

band going through a struggle and hard times playing on the emotions of the audience who

have likely gone through hard times or may currently face them. The video continues its message

though, with the symbolic use of a lightbulb that Jeremy Dunn sings into as it flashes between

him holding a lightbulb and a hanging microphone. The use of the light in the dark and desolate

concrete room becomes almost a literal light in the dark. The light symbolizes those around

you who can relate to you, or those by your side, such as family, friends, and others who know

the struggle. Or perhaps, as a Christian rock band, it symbolizes them finding God, and knowing

you have someone there no matter what. It creates the emotion connection needed for an appeal

like this to work, and does it well.

The actual song also uses pathos to appeal to the audience just as the video does. This

song reaches out to anyone going through difficult times and reassures them, and empowers

them, not just through the video, but also through the lyrics and the music that goes with it. The

lyrics of Anthem of the Lonely become poetic and hold so much meaning behind them, such

as; A heart made of stone callous and bone /Fracture and tear it out to let it go. According to

Dunn in the explanation video, they are taking their calloused heart and throwing it away, and

they are replacing it with a heart from God. This, in a sense, means to take that heart hardened

by cruel words and negative emotions, and as the song says, let it go. Though, perhaps the most
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effective and powerful lines in the song that tie it all together end up as; I'll stand, the lonely

/Stand, the lonely. This allows the band to directly relate themselves with their audience as the

only use of I in the song. This also allows the speaker, which in this case the speaker becomes

the band or Dunn himself, to put themselves in the crowd and say, I am with you, as some,

when they hear these lyrics, may get an image of many people standing up among the masses,

and suddenly the song title makes sense; an anthem for the lonely.

However, strong the lyrics need music to match to form the whole song. The music that

goes with it empowers the lyrics, and gives them a different meaning. The lyrics have the

potential to sound differently depending on the several ways one may read them; slow and sad,

or fast and strong. In contrast to this first glance of the lyrics, the music has loud and heavy

qualities with the guitars and drums, and advances the meaning of the lyrics further. The song

has a fast pace, but it also fades at points. It has strength, but it also has intentional slow spots

that indicate the struggle but picks back up to show that they have not given up yet. The music

helps convey that message of stay strong and you do not stand against it all alone, and helps

tell the story through its rhythm.

Jeremy Dunn and his fellow band members of Nine Lashes create an empowering anthem

for those who have struggled and felt alone, and who may currently face that struggle. They

create an understanding between the band and audience with the song and video, even if the

video represents it in an unexpected way, and show their support. They reassure that no matter

how alone you feel, that you always have someone there for you, people like friends, family,

others who have walked that same road or even God, you do not need to feel alone. So, with

heads held high, always stand back up, and never give in, no matter your demons.
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Works Cited

Nail, Tooth &. Nine Lashes. Tooth & Nail Records,

www.toothandnail.com/artists/301/Nine_Lashes/bio/.

Nine Lashes. Anthem of the Lonely. World We View, Tooth and Nail Records, 2012, Youtube,

youtu.be/kgS1zjvCPF4.

Nine Lashes. Nine Lashes Anthem of the Lonely Song Explanation. TNNbecRadio, 2011,

Youtube, youtu.be/vxhqXRa-Lpo.