Songs to Choose From:

“A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke

“So Much Things to Say” by Bob Marley or Lauryn Hill
“Redemption Song” by Bob Marley
“Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer
“Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springteen
“Changes” by Tupac
“Mad World” Tears for Fears
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears
“War” by Edwin Star
“Get Up, Stand Up” ny Bob Marley
“What the World Needs Now is Love” Jackie DeShannon

OR CHOOSE Your Own Song with a message

Vocabulary: For each word, find the part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) and
the definition.

1. relevant
2. Chorus
3. Stereotype
4. Tolerance
5. lyrics
6. metaphor
7. genre

Song Analysis Directions: Choose a song and read the lyrics. If possible, listen to an online
recording. Answer the questions below.

1. Identify the song title, the singer, songwriter, and the year that the song was released.

2. What do you think the song is about?

3. What emotional response does the song evoke for you?

4. Write a few sentences that describe the song’s message.

5. Conduct research to learn the actual message/meaning behind the song and why it
was written. (There are several online sites you could use such as www.wikipedia.org,
www.songfacts.com, and www.lyric interpretations.com).
Summarize what you learn.

6. Do you believe the message of the song is relevant today? If so, is it relevant in your
school, your community, the nation, the world, or all of them? If not, why not?

7. What words, lines or phrases in the song do you personally relate to? Copy and paste
your favorite lines from the song and explain why they speak to you.