Needle in the Hay Song Analysis Essay Example

Needle in the Hay Song Analysis Paper â€Å"Needle in the Hay† by Elliott Smith Your hand on his arm The haystack charm Around your neck Strung out and thin Calling some friend Trying to cash some check Hes acting dumb Thats what youve come To expect (Chorus) Needle in the hay Needle in the hay Needle in the hay Needle in the hay Hes wearing your clothes Head down to toes A reaction to you You say you know what he did But you idiot kid You dont have a clue Sometimes they just Get caught in the eye Youre pulling him through *Chorus* Now on the bus Nearly touching This dirty retreat Falling out 6th and Powell A dead sweat in my teeth Going to walk, walk, walk Four more blocks Plus the one in my brain Down downstairs To the man Hes going to make it all ok I cant beat myself I cant beat myself And I dont want to talk Im taking the cure So I can be quiet Whenever I want So leave me alone You ought to be proud That Im getting good marks *Chorus 2x* In health class, we just finished a unit on drugs and addictions. We learned about the different classifications of drugs, their effects, and symptoms of addiction. Our current assignment is to analyze a song that describes the negative effects of drugs, and share our personal reaction to it. We will write a custom essay sample on Needle in the Hay Song Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Needle in the Hay Song Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Needle in the Hay Song Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The song I chose is â€Å"Needle in the Hay† by Elliott Smith. This song can be interpreted in many different ways, but it’s almost always recognized as being about drugs, specifically heroin. Though Smith only became addicted to heroin in his later life, he writes about drugs, alcohol, and addiction in many of his songs, from his first album on. â€Å"Needle in the Hay† seems to be about a girl who is addicted to heroin, and is in a relationship with a guy who is beginning to use heroin himself. I chose this song because it’s beautifully written, and uses many interesting metaphors to help tell the story. The first line in the song is â€Å"Your hand on his arm, the haystack charm around your neck. † I think this is saying that she is beginning to become a bigger part of his life, but she is bringing her addiction into it also. â€Å"Strung out and thin, calling some friend, trying to cash some check. † The girl is thin from heroin use, as the drug causes loss of appetite, which leads to weight loss. She is stressed from not having the drug, so she calls a friend, hoping she can buy more. â€Å"He’s acting dumb, that’s what you’ve come to expect. † Her boyfriend knows what is going on with her, but he plays dumb and doesn’t acknowledge it. She knows that he knows, but doesn’t say anything. The song then goes to the chorus, which just repeats â€Å"Needle in the hay†, referring to the hidden, unspoken addiction(s) in the relationship. The next verse begins with â€Å"He’s wearing your clothes, head down to toes, a reaction to you. † I don’t think that he is literally wearing her clothes; I think it is a metaphor meaning that ever since he’s been with her, he’s becoming just like her, especially after acquiring the addiction. â€Å"You say you know what he did, but you idiot kid, you don’t have a clue. The girl thinks that she knows the guy so well, but she does not realize the severity of the situation, or the fact that she has brought this on him. â€Å"Sometimes they just get caught in the eye, you’re pulling him through. † Sometimes people just get caught up in bad things, and she’s only worsening his problem. In the third verse, the point of view seems to shift from third person into the girl’s eyes. â€Å"Now on the bus, nearly touching this dirty retreat. † The girl is going to get drugs, and she’s almost there. She knows what she’s doing is wrong, but by now it almost feels like a comfort, or an old friend. Falling out, 6th and Powell, a dead sweat in my teeth. † She’s now walking to the place where she’s going to get her drugs. The â€Å"dead sweat in my teeth† part is a bit hard to understand but I have a few ideas. It may just be symbolizing her craving, her need for the drug. It may be referring to the actual condition of her teeth, as heroin can cause teeth rotting and gum disease. Or, it could be a combination of both. â€Å"Going to walk walk walk, four more blocks, plus the one in my brain. Down, downstairs, to the man, he’s going to make it all okay. † Her addiction is so serious that she is willing to walk blocks and blocks to get to th e drug. She feels that once she gets it from the dealer, she will feel better and everything will be okay. She is dependant on the drug. â€Å"I can’t beat myself, I can’t beat myself, and I don’t want to talk. I’m taking the cure, so I can be quiet whenever I want. † She has gotten to the point where she no longer has faith in herself, and she needs the drug to feel okay. She’s so focused on the drug and feeling better that she’s becoming withdrawn and shutting the rest of the world out. She’s using heroin to ease her pain; she thinks that it will make things easier. â€Å"So leave me alone, you ought to be proud that I’m getting good marks. She wants everyone to leave her alone. She wants to keep her problem a secret, so she tries to hide it by doing well in other aspects of life, perhaps school or work. I think that this song’s view of addiction and the problems that come with it is simply brilliant. It shows the depen dency on the drug, the user’s personal feelings and hopes for what the drug will do, and the way drug addiction can affect relationships. What I learned in health class helped greatly with this project. I have loved this song for a long time, and getting this in-depth look at it by doing the analysis has only made me love and appreciate it more.

Sample Essay on Intellectual Property

Sample Essay on Intellectual PropertyIf you're looking for a sample essay on intellectual property then you need to read this article right now. I'll give you the exact details on how to write a sample essay on intellectual property so that you can prepare yourself for your upcoming thesis defense. A good essay can mean the difference between passing and failing, so I highly recommend that you take the time to look at this sample essay for your thesis writing.When I was going through my thesis, I realized that I would be doing a lot of research about the topic, so I needed to make sure that I made an interesting fact. I also needed to show my respect towards intellectual property, because the entire concept of this topic revolves around it. If I didn't do this, I would get all sorts of excuses from my professor, which would make it very difficult for me to pass my course.In order to find the perfect sample essay, I went to a website called opentext.com. I was able to look through a v ariety of samples on their sample essay section, and all of them seemed to be complete and professional. I thought that these samples were good enough, so I decided to use them as a basis for my essay.Writing a thesis is serious business, so you want to make sure that you take every step possible to ensure that you create a quality essay. I had one assignment that I needed to write, and that was my thesis. This was an extremely important task, and I didn't want to let it go until it was complete. That's why I took a look at the sample essay for a thesis on intellectual property and decided to copy it exactly.When I was writing my thesis, I wanted to make sure that I included as much information as possible. I figured that if I could do that, then I would be much more likely to pass my course. Because of this, I included references throughout my paper. I researched intellectual property, as well as videos, software, and other such products.I also included a detailed listing of the pr oducts that I was studying, so that I could make sure that I included everything in my final draft. I wanted to make sure that I did the best job possible, and I wanted to show my class that I could do it. This is the only way that they will learn about intellectual property, and they can make sure that they understand the subject well.If you're looking for a sample essay on intellectual property, then I would strongly recommend that you check out the samples that I used. It's going to help you immensely with your thesis writing. Make sure that you put in the same amount of effort that I did. Don't take any shortcuts, because these essays are not written for beginners, but for advanced students.It's also important that you read up on the concepts of intellectual property, so that you understand what it is. This is going to help you with your future projects, so make sure that you read up on this topic and understand it thoroughly.