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Joshua Strong

Professor: James Johnson

English 1201.505

6 June 2021

Rhetorical Appeals, Homesick by Kane Brown

The Country Music artist Kane Brown came out with the original music video

“Homesick” in September of 2018 and an alternate music video of September 2019. The Music

videos for the song “Homesick” are different but both create a deeper meaning by first

initializing a positive connection with the viewers. Brown achieves this through a series of

statements and situations that are commonly found to be heartfelt and having the ability to

induce happiness. These lyrical statements include: “Dancing in the kitchen”, “You’re singing

my favorite songs”, “Swinging on the front porch just laughing at the dogs” (Brown). By singing

this series of situations commonly portrayed as happy moments in life, Kane achieves an

immediate connection with viewers through emotion. Even though, “Homesick” has the same

lyrics and instrumentals in both music videos the intended audience is substantially different.

Kane Brown does this by using highly emotional situations, relatability, and visual specification

to reach out to those he’s directing his message. Through a visual aide, one can identify the first

of the videos to be mainly directed at those who serve in the United States Military and the

second being directed mainly for the public and those in the music industry; each video allowing

itself to appeal to different audiences in various ways.

Each music video portrays different stories that are still relevant and parallel to the song

lyrics. The first music video, published in September of 2018 targets those with a military

background. The music video is filmed in a hanger in front of a large helicopter along with
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individuals from the national guard. The video compiles a series of short clips portraying soldiers

coming back from deployment and being welcomed by their loved ones. So as to illustrate the

love that the soldier would have yearned for while away from home. Thus, being a literal

embodiment of the title of “Homesick”.

The second music video published in September of 2019, isn’t filmed in a specific place,

but a series of locations exemplifying Kane Brown’s journey on the road. The various locations

showed in the music video also include the small moments one would characterize as precious

snippets of time important to Kane Brown. This music video takes a more heartfelt approach

where one can sympathize with the title of “Homesick”. The is demonstrated when he says,” If

home is where the heart is then I’m homesick for you”. Thus, exemplifying a more abstract and

emotional approach to the title of “Homesick”.

Despite the major differences between each video, both music videos embody extremely

similar themes and claims. Both music videos claiming the importance of loved ones, the little

moments in life, and spending time with those we cherish. Even though the claim is the same for

both, each music video takes a different approach at best substantiating these claims. For

example, the first music video published in 2018, uses the visual aide of the soldiers personal

experiences to directly show the ones they care for, the moments they make with them, and their

significance. This can also be seen in Brown’s other lyrics that express, “All those little moments

are every reason why I’m homesick, this feeling that I’m feeling, no it don’t quit” (Brown). Most

importantly, Browns words demonstrate the heartfelt emotions that come with the action of

returning home. Conversely, the second music video published in 2019 exemplifies this same

claim but approaches it in a way of a personal journey and the concept that home is less of a

literal place. This too can be seen when Kane says, “if home is where the hart is, I’m homesick
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for you.”(Brown) This portrays how one can be “home” with the people one loves while not

literally being home.

One can reach an audience through three distinct forms. These being: pathos, ethos, and

logos. First, pathos is the use of emotion to convince one of something. Second, ethos is the use

of credibility to convince one of something. Third, logos is the use of logical reasoning to

convince one of something. Kane Brown uses both pathos and ethos of the rhetorical appeals to

spread his message in the song, “Homesick”. For example, Kane Brown uses his position in the

music industry to better reach out to the intended audience, an example of ethos.

Pathos is the main strategy used by Brown to spread his message in both music videos. In

the music video published in 2018 one can visually see the emotions of each family and the

returning soldier, which causes one to reciprocate those feelings while thinking of similar

experiences they have had. Another way it affects the viewers emotions is through the respect

they might feel for the country (U.S), causing one to actively interpret the message in

“Homesick” once again. Another example of this is when the song states commonly experienced

situations to better relate to the viewers as seen above. Because of the dedication at the beginning

of the music video and the short clips of the returning soldiers throughout the video, one can

clearly see the intended audience is the U.S Military portrayed to pay homage and to make the

public aware of how much a soldier sacrifices. The Second video published in 2019, embodies

the message of being “homesick” in a simpler way using pathos. In this way, Brown uses lyrics

and visual clips that most people can relate to emotionally. For example, it can be seen

throughout the video that he is on tour, literally away from home but with those he loves

expressing his own feelings of being homesick.

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The music videos for “Homesick” by Kane Brown published in both September 2018 and

2019 seem to exemplify the importance of the people in our lives and the moments we share with

them. Brown best exemplifies his intended message through emotion, allowing the audience to

sympathize with his lyrics and what can be visualized through his words.
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Works Cited

Brown, Kane, director. Kane Brown – “Homesick (Alternate Official Video)”. YouTube, 25 Sept.

2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjWwtEtZock.

Brown, Kane, director. Kane Brown – “Homesick (Official Video)”. YouTube, 20 Sept. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukHikH_10CA.