Avery Centers

ENG 1201-503

Professor Echols

1 May 2022

Rhetorical Analysis

Have you ever listened to the same song but realized you can interpret it from many different

viewpoints? Well, this can be a common occurrence. Many times songs are written where you

can take events in your life and interpret them in different ways through a song. This is the case

with the song “Zombie” originally produced by the band The Cranberries and remade by The

Bad Wolves. For example, the lyric “And the violence, caused such silence” represents the

violence taking place during this time period, causing silence within the people. There was so

much discrimination and poverty and not much care from the government, a very corrupt society

at the time. This explains the main claim of the two music videos. The idea that the government

wasn’t a huge help to the people so poverty and discrimination within the society only got worse.

This song ties back to the main idea and exemplifies a call for help from the people.

Even though the song tells the story, it’s always important to have the reader be able to

understand the context of why and where this song was developed. Originally the lead singer

Dolores O'riordan from The Cranberries was supposed to record her solo for one of the band's

songs and it happened to be that very day that she suddenly passed away. In her memory, The

Bad Wolves, another band, decided to remake a version of “Zombie” in their own music video to
pay tribute to the singer and have all proceeds collected from the music video go to her three

children. This remake of the music video for “Zombie” portrays the idea that racial issues and

government corruption were rampant which brought lots of struggles, death, and poverty.

The song “Zombie” was originally written by The Cranberries in tribute to the deaths of

Jonathan Ball and Tim Perry, both very young children. These two young children were

suddenly and with great sadness killed in the IRA Bombing in England. ( Krol 2020) This was

the original idea for the song “Zombie.” The idea of a Zombie which most know is a sign of a

dead person or demon representation.

The Bad Wolves cover is more contemporary and The Cranberries version is more pop culture

and moves slower telling a story but then speeds up during specific times the song is showing us

something. The differences in the two music videos really show us that a song can be interpreted

from many viewpoints. The Bad Wolves, showed a black room with a lady dancing while gold

paint dripped down her, there was a band in the back, representing the conflict at the time.

The Cranberries' version is a representation of the time period with the music video being in

black and white to represent the issues of inequality between blacks and whites. There were men

at war and kids and families dying or being tortured through extreme poverty and discrimination.

The government was very unhelpful and corrupt which added to the chaos.

Relating to the rhetorical appeals regarding these two versions of the same song, The Bad

Wolves version appealed to an audience experiencing depression or sadness, anyone dealing

with poverty and with issues of discrimination, or even just simply the grief of losing a loved
one. In the version by The Cranberries, the audience is likely those who are in a battle with

discrimination and poverty and even those who are dealing with a corrupt government in which

they get little to no care or protection. Both versions are similar in that they appeal to Pathos

emotion; they want the audience to feel emotions when watching the black and white visuals and

watching people go through war and suffering. They both tell us their reasoning behind why

they use those specific visuals and production. They tell us about the poverty, discrimination,

and corruption within the government during the specific time period. They both reveal the

emotions regarding death and inequality.

In conclusion, rhetorical appeals often tell us even more about the background of a song and why

it was chosen to be written and styled in such a specific way. We learn the backgrounds of those

artists' lives and how they take what has happened to them and portray it through a song and

music videos. We learn the reasoning behind each version and the meaning of the song

interpreted in multiple ways. This helps us better understand the meaning of the original song.

Overall the main claim, that there was great poverty, discrimination, and war within the corrupt

government and that the people suffered greatly, stays the same and is something we can infer

throughout each music video. This claim was represented by the word “Zombie ''and felt by the

audience with sad visuals.

 Works Cited:

Bad Wolves - Zombie (Official Video) - Youtube. www.youtube.com/watch?

v=9XaS93WMRQQ. Accessed 20 February.

non, et al. “The Cranberries Say Us Band's Cover of 'Zombie' Was Released Too Soon after

Dolores O'Riordan's Death.” NME, 30 Jan. 2020, www.nme.com/news/music/the-

cranberries-say-us-bands-cover-of-zombie-was-released-too-soon-after-dolores-

oriordans-death-2603366. Accessed 20 February.

The Cranberries - Zombie (Official Music Video) - Youtube. www.youtube.com/watch?

v=6Ejga4kJUts. Accessed 20 February.