Kirsten Pollock

Ann Fillmore

English 1010

7/22/2019

Colorblind: Rhetorical analysis

The song I chose for my assignment is Colorblind by Counting Crows. Counting Crows

started out in the 90’s in San Francisco, California. It started with singer Adam Duritz and

guitarist David Bryson playing acoustic sets at local spots. Eventually the two of them formed a

band and was signed by Geffen Records. (15 Things You Never Knew About 'Counting Crows') But in

1999 they released a song that has been interpreted in many ways. It was first known from a

movie called Cruel Intentions. (Keating) I wouldn’t say the lyrics go along with the scene, but I

think the tone of Adam Duritz voice and the piano set the mood for the scene. The song itself has

a very moody tone and the lyrics feel deep even though the song is simple.

When the song starts you know it’s going to be the rhetorical pathos with how the

instruments start out, which is a piano playing on a lower tone. Once the lyrics come in, they are

sung in a softer voice and the words are spoken clearly for you to hear the emotion behind the

song. When you read the lyrics, it hits you right in the heart and fills you with emotion like this

verse “I am covered in skin, No one gets to come in, pull me out from inside, I am folded and

unfolded and unfolding.” (Counting Crows – Colorblind) Right in this verse he arouses your

emotions and makes you think first that no one is getting passed the walls he has up, but right

after he lets the walls down and allows his emotions to unravel. This song makes the listener
reflect on how they feel and how if we share our feelings that we can overcome our fear that no

one is listening but it’s possible that someone feels the same way as you.

One of the first things I noticed in the lyrics is that he repeats the words “Pull me out

from inside, I am ready” (Counting Crows – Colorblind) he is using the rhetorical anaphora. He

repeats those word to put an emphasis on how he is feeling throughout the song. When he repeats

the words “I am ready” you get this feeling that he is ready to overcome something that he is

struggling with but the moment it’s about to happen he doesn’t want to be vulnerable and goes

back to keeping his walls up, which I also think relates to a lot of people who have a difficult

time being open. The same lyrics Duritz uses can also be considered hyperbole because he

captures how someone feels in these moments and we build up exaggerated thoughts that keep us

from being vulnerable.

After, you have heard him sing “I am ready” he always ends with “I am fine”

(Counting Crows – Colorblind) to keep people thinking that he is okay. This is him using hyperbole

because he is exaggerating that he is ready to be vulnerable but changes his mind by saying “I

am fine,” which is an example of metanoia. One moment he is making a statement that he is

ready but decides after that he is not fine being vulnerable and retracts his statement. He does this

throughout the song trying to convince you he is fine but, he is scared. People can relate to this

situation, but I feel he drives the situation using an exaggerated emotion and then taking back

what he says quickly.

At one point the song goes dark with him singing “I am covered in skin. No one gets to

come in,” (Counting Crows – Colorblind) and to me its him shutting down completely. He is feeling

like he needs to guard himself that way no one can hurt him. But it turns around when he says “I

am folded, and unfolded, and unfolding. I am,” (Counting Crows – Colorblind) it’s the only time
where I feel that he had to break down his walls and had to come to terms with his struggles. He

ends the lyrics with “I am” which makes you feel it’s his apology for not addressing his

struggles. It’s his first time being vulnerable throughout the song, and I think it’s the strongest

words in the song.

This song uses three strong rhetorical devices throughout the whole song. One he uses

often is anaphora by repeating the same phrase throughout the song. The other one he uses is

hyperbole when he exaggerates how he is ready to be vulnerable, but he is not ready to be

vulnerable with anyone. What I do enjoy most about this song is listening to lyrics tell a story

about struggling to be open and then turning around and showing that these problems we have

can get better, but you must be open and vulnerable.

The song may be short, but I think it tells an important story. Some would say it’s about

struggling to be open; others would say it’s a start of a relationship. I think it’s a song for anyone

who has ever had a hard time being vulnerable.

Colorblind
By: Counting Crows
I am colorblind
Coffee black and egg white
Pull me out from inside
I am ready, I am ready, I am ready,
I am taffy stuck and tongue tied
Stutter shook and uptight
Pull me out from inside
I am ready, I am ready, I am ready,
I am fine

I am covered in skin
No one gets to come in
Pull me out from inside
I am folded and unfolded and unfolding
I am colorblind
Coffee black and egg white
Pull me out from inside
I am ready, I am ready, I am ready,
I am fine
I am fine
I am fine
(Counting Crows – Colorblind)
 Works Citated

“Counting Crows – Colorblind.” Genius, 31 Oct. 1999, genius.com/Counting-crows-colorblind-

lyrics.

“15 Things You Never Knew About 'Counting Crows'.” ArticlesVally, 11 June 2018,
articlesvally.com/worldwide/counting-crows-facts.

Keating, Shannon. “It's Been 20 Years Since ‘Cruel Intentions," And There's Never Been
Another Movie Quite Like It.” BuzzFeed News, BuzzFeed News, 24 Mar. 2019,
www.buzzfeednews.com/article/shannonkeating/cruel-intentions-20th-anniversary-1999-
sarah-michelle.