Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” differs substantially
from Ryan Adam’s cover as their tone, and purpose contrast each other in many
ways. The main message that Taylor Swift is trying to communicate is about a
relationship that has gone wrong. On the other hand, Ryan Adam seems to try to
communicate how the relationship is wounded and focuses on the love they used
to share.
The overall tone differs as Taylor
Swift’s version seems to focus on the future and take on a revengeful and
bitter tone while Ryan Adam focuses on the hurt past and takes on a somber and
regretful tone. This is extremely evident in the chorus as she is almost
yelling the lyrics in a very fierce and irritated manner. While Ryan Adams sings,
“Now we got problems, And I don’t think we can solve them” in an upset and disappointed
tone. Their different tones make one song seems completely unrelated to the
other despite the same lyrics. Taylor Swift’s purpose of bad blood is to comment
on a feuded relationship filled with vengeance that has no return. Ryan Adam
does not seem to take that approach as he seems to take the lyric “You know it
used to be mad love” to heart as his purpose is to comment on a hurt
relationship that used to filled with love and may have potential to prosper
once again. Taylor Swift sings this lyric in more of a satirical and loose
manner as she does value the past relationship she had anymore. Their different
purposes in singing these lyrics makes their meanings contrast significantly.
Although Ryan Adams and Taylor
Swift portray the purpose and tone of the song “Bad Blood” differently, they
both manage to get their point across effectively. Taylor Swift portrays her
message confidently through a forceful and angry tone to show how the relationship
is ruined. Ryan Adams portrays his message of the broken relationship through a
slower and less aggressive manner to show how the relationship has ended.
I like your idea that each song conveys a different message even though the words are the same in both of them. Each message you thought of, an ended relationship and one that could be mended, is spot on.
ReplyDeleteI like how you find two different meanings to the same song, because of how they differentiate in tone. In the last paragraph, I like how you say that Taylor Swift sings about how the relationship is ruined, but Ryan Adam simply implies it is over, that is a very insightful look into the song and its cover.
ReplyDeleteI agree that in a rhetorical sense, they both seem to get their point across. When analyzing the songs, it seems they both effectively send a message. Although, when compared, these messages are very different.
ReplyDeleteWith the stated purposes of the songs, do you think that the original meaning of the song is lost in the translation to the cover? Is this a bad thing, if so? I like how you pinpointed examples of how the interpretations of the song are different.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emmeline. I think much of the original message is lost in Adam's version of the song. Taylor seems spiteful, while Adams sounds reminiscent. He sings about an ex, while Taylor doesn't seem to make the main character of the song seem like an ex.
ReplyDelete