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Madison Terry

English Composition II

Dean Leonard

20 February 2022

Rhetorical Analysis

"Summertime, and the livin's easy" are the popular lyrics of Sublime and Lana Del Rey in

their versions of the song "Doin' Time." The original version of "Doin' Time" was released by

Sublime in 1997, Lana Del Rey released the new version in 2019. The Sublime music video is a

summer-based party song. The video includes blurred clips of the band performing at Venice

Beach. Lana Del Rey's version is laid-back, the video starts by showing Lana roaming around

Los Angeles, but most of the music video is set in a 1950's drive-in movie theater. Both songs

deal with the singer's significant other cheating and how they feel trapped in prison due to their

unfaithful partner, but the music styles are different, and the new version is aimed at a younger

audience. The song became widely popular because of its catchy tune and meaningful lyrics.

The song was originally released by the American ska punk band Sublime in 1997.

Sublime is a band from Long Beach, California. They performed a wide range of genres,

including hip hop, punk rock, and reggae. The general genre of Sublime is reggae or alternative.

The music video begins with a clip of women at the beach. The music video also has clips of the

band performing on stage, with blurred images and videos of people enjoying the summer at

Venice Beach shown throughout their performance. All of the clips help portray the carelessness

and fun of the summertime. The main claim of the song is about the singer's cheating girlfriend

and how her cheating ways drive him crazy make him feel like he is trapped. The name of the

song is "Doin' Time" because the his partner's infidelity makes him feel like he is trapped in
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prison. Since Sublime rose to fame in the mid-'90s, most listeners are older. The original version

of the song "Doin' Time" is a summer-party song, so the audience is people that enjoy upbeat

music or music from the 90s.

Lana Del Rey's rendition of the Sublime's 1997 hit song "Doin' Time" was released in

2019, quickly becoming very popular. The music video begins with clips of Lana as a giant,

roaming around the streets of Los Angeles. In the video, when Lana reaches the beach, the

screen pans out to show that giant Lana is part of a drive-in movie. The video then transitions to

a 1950's style drive-in movie, and it tells the story of a girl whose boyfriend left for another girl

at the drive-in. Life-sized Lana steps out of the movie screen to terrorize the boyfriend. The main

claim of the video is about Lana being left by her boyfriend, and his faithfulness makes her feel

like she is in prison. Both of the music videos have the same theme. Unlike the video by

Sublime, Lana's video is not reckless; it is calmer and laid back. The piano in the background

and the background vocals make the song sound more peaceful compared to the original. Most of

Lana Del Rey's songs are generally considered alternative pop or indie pop, and most of her

listeners are young adults. Most of her listeners are also female. The target audience could also

be anyone that would like a more laid-back version of the song.

In both music videos, the main claim was that the singer is in love with a partner who's

cheating ways are driving them crazy. Therefore they feel stuck in prison because of their

partners' unfaithful ways. Both music videos use pathos to appeal to the audience. The song is

about love and heartbreak; the videos appeal to the audience's emotions because love and

heartbreak are relatable topics.

In conclusion, Sublime and Lana Del Rey's music videos for "Doin' Time" were different

but maintained the same theme. Even though the central claims for both versions were the same,
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the videos appealed to different audiences and had different music styles. The music video by

Sublime showed clips of carefree people enjoying the summer at Venice Beach. The music video

by Lana Del Rey was set at a 1950s style drive-in theater, and it was calm. Both songs deal with

the singer's partner cheating and feeling trapped in prison due to their unfaithful partner. The

audiences of the different versions are very different. The audience for Sublime's version is

anyone who enjoys upbeat music from the 1990s. Young adults who want calm music are the

target audience for Lana Del Rey's version. Both versions appealed to pathos because many

people can relate to heartbreak and love. Both of the music videos depict the themes of love and

heartbreak.
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Works Cited

Del Rey, Lana. “Doin’ Time.” Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qolmz4FlnZ0.

Accessed 20 Feb. 2022.

Sublime. “Doin’ Time.” Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yT8RsCarJA. Accessed

20 Feb. 2022.