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Miranda Hodson
Professor Reynolds
English 1201-508
February 13 2022

Your Song

In today's world, if you mention the name Elton John to almost anybody they
immediately recognize the subject of the sentence. He was a singer that quickly gained
popularity throughout the world; however, most would not recognize his first hit. Entitled,
“Your Song” and, published in 1970, it was his introduction into popularity. Over
thirty-years later, a man by the name of Ewan McGregor performed his own cover of the
song. While not nearly as wide-spread, Ewan has proved himself to be a great artist.
His understanding of Elton’s “Your Song” helped pave the way to his modern career. All
songs that have covers will have differences, sometimes many, others few, regardless
of the amount a cover is always done by other artists. Both songs have the same
message but are delivered in different ways. "Your song" by Elton John and the remix
by Ewan Mcgregor share the same lyrics; however, Elton's version seems to be more of
a sad song compared to Ewan's version. More similarly, both videos seem to appeal to
the audiences’ emotions, or pathos.

As one of the most celebrated ballads of all time, Elton John’s “Your Song” is a
beautifully slow and geniusly written masterpiece. Released in 1970, with the album title
of Elton John, it tells the story of a man who desperately wants to give the love of his life
all he can, but all he can give is his song, saying “My gift is my song, and this one's for
you”. More than that, it is a love song, but not quite in the traditional sense. Instead of
describing aspects of the person like many other love songs, it simply says how much
he wants to give to them. The lyrics seem to portray the story of a person who
desperately wants to share their feelings but doesn’t know how. The lyrics even
acquaint the audience with this information as the second line Elton sings is “I’m not one
of those who can easily hide”. Giving the audience this information early on establishes
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that the person this song speaks in the position of does want to tell his significant other
just how much he cares for them. The rhythm never picks up in the song which is why it
exemplifies a sadder song. In the video, Elton is looking straight into the camera the
whole time with little movement. He looks so unhappy when he is singing. It seems like
the song is an apology for his loved one and he wants them to know how much they
mean to him. His facial expressions portray a feeling of regret and sorrow. For example,
in the video he looks at the ground and shakes his head when saying, “I’d buy a big
house where we both could live”. These actions give his audience an idea that he once
had this thought in mind but he knows it will never happen.

Ewan McGregor’s cover has the same lyrics; however, it rearranges the
positioning and lining of the lyrics to better portray his interpretation of the song. Stanza
breaks happen more frequently, most likely intended to give emphasis on the previous
and following line. Additionally, Ewan’s cover repeats the final chorus one last time,
most likely used due to the musical stylings of the time his cover was released, which
was in 2001. Ewan’s interpretation of the song was more cheerful. Even if the lyrics
were the same, the video and rhythm were not. After the 2nd verse, the speed of the
song picks up a little bit and Ewan starts to sing louder. In the video, Ewan is singing to
a girl in what looks like a suite in Paris. After Ewan says, “Yours are the sweetest eyes
I've ever seen”, they ‘fly’ off to the top of a building while it is raining. This scenery
creates a romantic atmosphere. For example, in movies passionate scenes either occur
in the rain or in Paris. What better way to show how intimate the song is by using
scenery that portrays it. Throughout the whole video Ewan and his significant other are
smiling. Ewan portrays the song as being fortunate for getting the girl of his dreams.

Rhetorical appeals play a big role towards the audience. Depending on what
rhetorical appeal is used determines the audience being addressed. Both versions of
the song appeal to pathos, or emotions. Because Elton’s version represents a loved one
that has left, the audience is teens and younger adults who are just figuring out how to
love. When you’re this age, some people go through breakup through breakup to find
the right person. So, by Elton expressing his sorrows in the video teens and young
adults who are heartbroken can most definitely relate to this song. Meanwhile, Ewans’
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version appeals to an audience who have found their true love which could range from
teens to grandparents. Not only does Ewans’ version convey a romantic scene, but it
also displays the happiness that he feels when he is with his significant other. Because
both versions generate either a positive or negative emotion, pathos is the rhetorical
appeal used.

Elton and Ewan’s version of the song, “Your Song”, was very well done. Both the
lyrics and the video showed how each artist interpreted the song similarly and
differently. Elton expresses feelings of regret and misery opposed to Ewan’s feelings of
gratefulness and joy. Furthermore, both versions use the rhetorical appeal of pathos by
portraying those feelings into the music video. Not only were both versions great songs,
they created a message that impacted their audience.

Works Cited

John, Elton. “Your Song.” Youtube, 13 Feb. 2022,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrznwpD-2tk.

McGregor, Ewan. “Your Song.” Youtube, 13 Feb. 2022,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68uvEHRLpcs.