Philippo

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Jillian Philippo
English 1201
Mr. Leonard
1/12/22
“Your Song” Comparison Essay

“You can tell everybody this is your song” is an iconic line from the song “Your Song”

originally written by Elton John then revamped by Ewan McGregor later on. It is a known song

about love, written for another. The writers poured their hearts out to lovers, hoping they would

get adoration in return. Begging to be noticed by proclaiming “How wonderful life is while you’re

in this world”. Both versions of “Your song”, by Ewan McGregor and Elton John, share a similar

theme surrounding love because of using the same lyrics. However, the two songs take a

different approach to the feeling of love portrayed in their music video and style of song. Ewan

McGregor takes an optimistic view where he is enthralled by love for a girl while Elton John’s

version takes a melancholy view of longing for love.

This song was originally written by Elton John in 1967 composed by himself with the help

of Taupin on the lyrics, like many of his other songs. There was never a particular significant

other that this song was written for. However, it does describe very innocent and new love. At

the time Elton John could have only been about 18 when the song was being created. At this

age, love can seem extremely naive at times, but it is all you hope for. In Ewan McGregor’s

version of “Your Song”, he was acting in the musical film Moulin Rouge! published in 2001. It is

a love story between a younger man that meets a woman in Pairs. He falls deeply in love, but

like any good love story, she is already promised to another man. The musical focuses on the

two meeting up secretly and falling deeper into the abyss of love.

Elton John’s version does not portray the most typical initial thought on love that most

people have. He uses a more melancholy approach that gives the feeling of longing for a type of

love that is out of reach. The very first clue letting the audience know that he feels alone is the

black and white filter over the music video. When one feels lonely, it is known that the world
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seems bland, almost like everything has lost color and joy. The next thing you see in the

background is where the video is filmed. He looks to be in a random place that does not seem

very fitting for a music video. This background could be speaking towards his feeling of being

lost when it comes to love as he would be at 18. Finally, the last thing noticed is a small prop he

uses; a microphone. This is representative of Elton John trying to reach out for love. The video

makes the loss and longing Elton John is feeling evident, however, the song exemplifies the

melancholy tone. The lyrics seem to be praising love with the iconic piano in the background

uplifting love. Knowing how pleasant love is from the song with the sad queues is the epitome of

melancholy.

The music video for the song Ewan McGregor is in brings new life to this song. It is

obvious that this song is all about the reckless love that our main character has for his muse.

One big hint towards this is the setting of the song, it is based in the city of Paris. It is known

that Paris is a city of love where everything seems to be more magical. Love finds the most

unsuspecting victims in Paris. The video of this song is very representative of the whole plot of

the musical. They first start off separate but our main character never lets his love out of his

eyes. As he is singing you can feel the craving he has for her. Ewan would do anything for this

girl. Later on, he picks up an umbrella and holds it over them in a cloudy room. This nails in the

fact he would protect her from everything, even the weather, so he could have her. Finally, they

end up together dancing very close. It completes the love story between the two of them. The

video shows how happy love can make two people. Not only does the video bring out the joy in

the song but also the upbeat pop/ folk genre the song is written in. It makes the whole video

joyous, proving that love is amazing.

There is one main rhetorical device used to make the two songs give off their distinct

emotions. Ethos is used to get the audience to feel these emotions. This is done by

manipulating the audience’s feelings and the things we associate with specific emotions. Elton

John uses things like the lost background, lack of color, and more to make the audience feel
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lonely. Then as he is singing it feels as if he is reaching out for the love he desires. This

connects with many heartbroken people, especially many teenagers, trying to maneuver

through the difficult waters of love. The McGregor version plays with our emotions in a whole

different way. We connect Paris and all of the lights with romance just like we do with a puppy

and joy. Then his sights are locked in of his love so we can view the passion. Our emotions see

the wonders of love and are uplifted with the happy ending story during the song. His audience

is not as apparent because love and music are for everyone, however, it is for a more mature

audience because of the scandalous love the two have for each other.

The two different versions of the song “Your Song” use the same lyrics but are totally

different in their views on love. Elton John is all about the naive lust for love while Ewan

McGregor is hopelessly in love with a girl. The videos use our emotions to play with to make us

feel these distinct emotions. Together they cover the whole spectrum of emotions relating to

love.
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Works Cited

Baz Luhrmann, director. Moulin Rouge! YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=68uvEHRLpcs.

Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

John, Elton. “Your Song”. YouTube. 1967. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrznwpD-2tk

Luhrmann, Baz. “Ewan McGregor - Your Song”. YouTube. Acted by Ewan McGregor. 8 Dec.

2003. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68uvEHRLpcs