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Jaynise Porter

Professor Clark

English 223

June 28th , 2020

Song Thesis Assignment: Listen

The song “Listen” was written for the Dreamgirls movie in 2006. The song was also

chosen as the lead single in the Dreamgirls soundtrack. The song was performed by Beyoncé

Knowles, the American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyonce plays the role of Deena Jones

in the movie. The lyrics in the song were to share what Deena Jones experienced while being in

her relationship. The lyrics in the song are characterized as intense and Beyoncé is able to add

her strong and emotional vocals that allows the audience to connect to the song.

The song “Listen” is a beautiful but sad song. The song tells a story of a woman who has

been repressed and along the way has lost herself. This woman has been under the direction of

her husband for sometime now. She’s begging for him to listen to the pain in her heart through

her voice. She wants to fulfill her dreams and not the dreams of her husband. In the first verse

of the song she immediately asks for her husband to listen to her, she sings:

Listen to the song here in my heart

A melody I start, but can’t complete

Listen to the sound from deep within

It’s only beginning to find release

It’s clear that she is hurt and she just wants for him to listen. The song does a great job of

expressing the emotions. As the song plays you hear the tempo begins at a slow pace. The tone
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of Beyonce voice begins soft as she moves from the pre-chorus to the chorus you begin to hear

voice become more intense, which demonstrates the level of emotion within the song.

The second verse of this song I believe is the turning point, she sings , “ There was

someone here inside, someone I thought had died, so long ago”. She simply admits she

recognizes the disappearance of who she once was but will no longer be accepting of the

person who she has become . She simply states this in the bridge when she says, “ I don’t know

where I belong, but I’ll be moving on, If you don’t, if you won’t”. She has come to the point if

her husband won’t consider he dreams and her life that she will have to go to what is in the

best interest fro happiness and well being.

After analyzing the song I believe the song thesis is very clear that one should not live

their life under the control of anyone, we are all our own person, we all have our own voice, we

all have our own dreams, and we shouldn’t let any deter us from reaching our dreams. The

song serves as a inspiration to many women around the world. The display Beyoncé’s vocals

and tone allows us to hear the emotion in the song. Overall this song is a beautiful and I believe

will be one of those songs that will always be listened to.

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Works Cited

“Beyoncé – Listen.” Genius, 5 Dec. 2006, genius.com/Beyonce-listen-lyrics.

“Listen (Beyoncé Song).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 May 2020,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listen_%28Beyonc%C3%A9_song%29.