Song

For my analysis of a song, I chose to examine the song “Umbrella” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z.  The lyrics to this song can be found at http://www.metrolyrics.com/umbrella-lyrics-rihanna.html.  I have listened to this song more times than I can count and know most of the words, but I have never really thought about the meaning of these words.  The song begins with a verse rapped by Jay-Z, which seems to be about the economy.  After looking this up, I found out that “Dow Jones” has to do with the stock market and shows how well or how poorly it is doing.  Jay-Z refers to the “coming down with the Dow Jones” so in my opinion he is talking about a financial disaster or crash in the stock market.  His verse is about how he still survives and is not affected by this problem in the economy because he flies “higher than the weather.”  This meaning is shown through a metaphor when he says “no clouds in my storm” explaining how there are no problems in his life.  Jay-Z also uses rhyme in the line “I hydroplane into fame” to create a more positive tone showing how he slides into success even with problems going on around him.  With Jay-Z as the speaker, I think the purpose of this verse is to show that he is part of a special group of people who are above the economic problems facing most other people. 

Throughout the rest of the song, Rihanna is the speaker, but watching the video shows that she plays two characters in a sense, with one that seems to represent a darker side.  The two characters go back and forth almost like the song is a conversation between them.   The darker figure seems to be telling Rihanna that she will need the protection of this dark side when she is no longer popular, famous, and rich.   The major technique used all throughout the song is a metaphor of an umbrella.  An umbrella is used to protect a person from the rain, so in this song the umbrella is used to represent protection.  The lyrics say “now that it’s raining more than ever, know that we’ll still have each other, you can stand under my umbrella…”  The purpose of this repeated in the chorus is to say that even while there are more problems than usual facing them, the two lovers or friends will still be able to rely on each other, and the one friend or lover is offering protection to the other during all of this. Consonance  is also shown in this song when Rihanna says you're part of my entity, here for infinity. This helps created rhythm in the song. Personification is another technique used when Rihanna says “when the world has dealt it’s cards.”  The world is given the human quality of being able to deal cards, which really refers to what happens in the world.  She is saying now that we see the circumstances we are faced with, we can get through it together if it is tough.  Finally, symbolism is used as a technique in this song with rain being a symbol for the things that happen in life.  These techniques are used to make the song have catchy lyrics and rhythm while still having a deeper meaning when analyzed.