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"After the Ball" by: Charles K. Harris (week 2)

This song was really interesting to me. It told a story from beginning to end. It was all about an Uncle that lives alone and was asked by a child why he was single and did not have a family. He continued to tell the child that he used to be in love and then he went to a ball with her. During the ball, he goes to get a drink to bring back to her, and when he gets back she is dancing and kissing another man. Then comes in the title of the song; after the ball, he loses his sweetheart and his heart is broken.

While listening to this song, I thought about my childhood. The song made me think of Cinderella at first but as the song went on I felt sad and disappointed. I wanted it to end in "happily ever after" but only ended with the man not getting a princess. This song makes me feel discouraged because he is explaining that love is not really real and that everything can change so fast. The music and the lyrics really connect because the sounds made me feel like I was in a ballroom watching a couple dance. 

This song surprised me with how dark it was considering that every other older song I have listened to seemed to be happy and bright. I liked the melody because I don't like songs with a hard beat or loud music. Since I like country music, this melody was really nice because it was soft with still a little bit of a beat. My favorite part of the song was at the beginning when he was explaining what his sweetheart looked like, but on the flip side, my least favorite part was when he came back and saw her kissing another guy. 

I think this song fits into the identity theme of the class because the guy is trying to figure out who he is and trying to find out how to love again after what happened. The guy wants to know what he did wrong to lose her, but he can’t do anything about it, therefore he can only reflect on himself and what he can do next time to keep the girl.

Comments

  1. Garrett HepworthJanuary 19, 2020 at 10:20 PM

    Not gonna lie this post hit hard. I mean when you talked about how you really wanted the song to have a happily ever after I felt that. I felt like this song might have introduced people to the idea that they could listen to music that wasn't about happily ever afters, because in reality life isn't like that. I feel like the whole song is a critic of love and what it truly means to love someone. To define love after breaking up is hard, and the artist delves deeper into that.

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  2. Jaden AhQuinJanuary 20, 2020 at 6:37 PM

    Paige, i really liked your take and depiction of the song. as i was reading your post it allowed me to really reflect on some of my own personal thoughts and feelings. I too really enjoyed the melody and the tone and rhythm of the song. the lyrics i didn't entirely care for as i too longed for the happier of endings. but, all in all your thoughts and ideas about the song were well portrayed, and just like you were able to present such a powerful idea, the song did that as well.

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