Kasi Alexander

Professor Blouch

Composition II

16 February, 2020

7 Years

“I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure 'Cause I know the smallest voices, they can

make it major”. In the first song, the original version, these lyrics are meant to sound angry and

upset with the way things are. These small voices he is talking about are those who don’t really

know him and still proceed to judge him. In the second song, these lyrics give off more of a sad

vibe. These small voices that she talks about make her feel bad for the way she is just because

people don’t get her because they know nothing about her other than the fact that she covers

songs.

In the first video, the story that is being told in this music video is the story of Lukas

Graham’s life. The main character is Lukas Graham himself along with others that also had a

rough childhood. The main claim of this video is to not judge a book by its cover. This story

makes the viewer think about getting to know someone before you start to judge them. The

reason for the claim isn’t clear but he may be making this video because he’s tired of seeing

people judge each other or himself before they get to know them. The video doesn’t really

provide much evidence other than him showing run down cities and kids or adults that had or

have a rough childhood or life. This video uses pathos by showing videos and clips of children
who live in a rough town and tells the story of the rough childhood that he had to experience.

This video was made for the audience that have also experienced situations similar to the ones he

sings about as well as those who have had it even worse and have had to deal with everyone

judging a book by its cover.

In the second video, the same story is being told but in a more acoustic and sad way. The

main character in this video is Bely Basarte. The main claim of the video is to not judge a book

by its cover just like the first video. The video makes the viewer think about what they say or

think about someone until they get to know them. The video doesn’t provide a reason for the

claim other than this is an issue that we can easily take care of if we just learn how to care about

those who are around us even if we don’t know them. The video does not provide any evidence.

The video uses pathos to appeal to its audience, the lyrics tell us the story of the rough life that

was experienced by the writer of the song and she uses shots of not abandoned but empty places

along with shots of her singing alone. The audience I think the artist is trying to appeal to most

are females that have gone through the same or similar events and have experienced being

judged due to the way they look or actions they take part in.

The relationship between these two videos are very different in the genre aspect but as far

as the claim, both videos show and support the same claim very well. The claims for each video

are the same but they are shown in different ways, in the first video everything was black and

white and he would take shots of burning books as well as children who live in rough

neighborhoods. However, in the second video there is always full color and she is always by

herself making the claim fit to those who also feel as if they are completely alone. The first video
gets the message across the best because it's the original writer and he puts all of his emotions

into that video in order to appeal to his audience. The two versions appeal to slightly different

audiences just depending on the genre the people listen to as well as the gende, the first one

appeals to those who like sad songs that have a hint of anger in it rather than the second one

appeals to more females or those who like the upbeat sad songs. The purpose of each video is the

same, to get people to think before they speak and not judge a book by its cover. These artists

made different versions of the song to appeal to more audience and get the message across more

efficiently.

Works Cited

Basarte, Bely. Lukas Graham- 7 Years- Cover by Bely Basarte. 26 February 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CDgMQ5lInM. Accessed 10 February 2020.

Graham, Lukas. Lukas Graham- 7 Years[Official Music Video]. 15 December, 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHCob76kigA. Accessed 10 February 2020.