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A double entendre is a figure of
speech in which a spoken phrase is
devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is
straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué,
inappropriate, or ironic.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a
double entendre as especially being used to "convey an indelicate
meaning". It is often used to express potentially offensive opinions
without the risks of explicitly doing so. A double entendre may exploit puns to convey the second
meaning, but puns are more often used in sentences that do not have a second
meaning. Double entendres tend to rely more on multiple meanings of words, or
different interpretations of the same primary meaning; they often exploit ambiguity
and may be used to introduce it deliberately in a text.
For active listening, please locate the lyrics to:
“Mary Jane’s Last
Dance” by Tom Petty
1. In the Petty song, "Mary Jane" serves as a double entendre. Describe both feasible interpretations of this term and include specific language from the song that is suggestive of these respective interpretations. Why do you think Petty utilized this double entendre? (one paragraph)
Allegory is a figurative
mode of representation
conveying a meaning other than the literal. Allegory teaches a lesson through symbolism.
Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or
symbolic representation. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric,
but an allegory does not have to be expressed in language:
it may be addressed to the eye, and is often found in realistic painting,
sculpture
or some other form of mimetic, or representative art. Simply put, an allegory is a
device that can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, or in
visual form, such as in painting or sculpture. As a literary device, an
allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. As an artistic
device, an allegory is a visual symbolic representation. An example of a simple
visual allegory is the image of the grim reaper. Viewers understand that the
image of the grim reaper is a symbolic representation of death. Nevertheless,
images and fictions with several possible interpretations are not allegories in
the true sense. Furthermore, not every fiction with general application is an
allegory.
For active listening, please locate the lyrics to:
"Animal Planet" by The GZA (Genius)
"The Trees" by Rush
"Right in Two" by Tool
2. For each allegory, construct a breakdown (a short paragraph) that includes: a) the identification of the literal/superficial framework, b) the identification of the figurative (allegorical) framework, and c) the effect or message that this allegorical scenario conveys (the "why").
3. Peruse your peers' blogs. Post the name of your nominee for this week's "Blog of the Week."
4. If you haven't yet posted your binary thesis, please do so.
23 comments:
In the song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, Tom Petty uses a double entendre to describe the use of marijuana through lines such as “one more time to kill the pain” and “she grew up tall and she grew up right”, and hid the meaning with lyrics that make the song appear to be about a girl by referring to marijuana as “Mary Jane” and with lines such as “Last dance with Mary Jane” and “She moved down here at the age of eighteen”.
The song “Animal Planet” by The GZA is an allegory for life in the city as a drug dealer and gang member. The GZA does this by using animals to represent humans, such as bluebirds for police and rats for people that sell others out to the police. The song itself without thinking about it could simply be describing an actual jungle and how the animals in that jungle live. This allegory is done to add a certain depth to the song and make the listener more interested in it.
The the “The Trees”, by Rush uses allegory to represent the oppression of communist nations. The Maples, the people of the nation, “want more sunlight” which can be seen as freedoms, whereas the Oaks, the government, “ignore their pleas”, which can be taken quite literally. The song itself without looking into it could simply mean that oak trees grow taller than maple and those maple trees don’t get as much sunlight because of it. This allegory conveys the message that communist governments use lies and wonder why the people “can’t be happy in their shade”.
Tool’s song “Right in Two” uses allegory to describe the conflict between man in what can only be global conquest. The song however, simply sounds like monkeys that can’t get along and are always fighting. Tool uses lyrics such as “ Monkey killing monkey killing monkey over pieces of ground” to describe how man has been in conflict with each other over territory disputes and how “they’re bound to divide it right in two”.
The song “mary jane’s last dance” by Tom Petty can be a double entendre. It can be a reference to Marijuana or a girl. In the first line he says “She grew up in an Indiana town” it can actually mean a girl who grew up in Indiana or can be talking about growing marijuana. He also says “last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain” and people use marijuana to kill pain. He could also be talking about dancing with a girl named Mary Jane. The song can be taken literally or used as a metaphor for marijuana. He used this double entendre so many people can relate to it, whether it was the literal meaning or if it’s looked at as a reference to marijuana. -jess boyer
Sean Bostrom
April 1, 2014
Period F
Double Entendre in Songs
Tom Petty’s song “Mary Jane” is counted as a double entendre. Mary Jane could either be a girl who he likes or it could be the drug marijuana. Lines such as “She grew up in an Indiana town” could be taken as a girl would was raised up somewhere in Indiana or it could be taken as a plant that has grown and blossomed. Another line that displays the double entendre for example would be “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain” shows that one last dance could be with a women or he has a lot of pain and majority of people who use drugs use them to not feel pain anymore. I think Tom Petty used a double entendre for this particular song to show that no matter where you are from or where you go you are most likely to come in contact in marijuana at some point.
Another song that contains a double entendre is GZA’s “Animal Planet”. GZA use’s different types of animals to show the listener all the different kinds of people that make up the world. For example lines such as “The rat squeals” and Now you’re neck deep in a bunch of loan sharks” relates to humans because people who tell on others who have usually committed a crime are known as rats and loan sharks are people who others borrow money from and if you don’t pay them back a certain amount at a certain time they will find you and most likely hurt you till the point of death. I believe GZA used a double entendre in this specific song to display the world we live in and all the corrupt people that make it up.
Rush’s song “The Trees” use’s nature to represent a double entendre in this song. This song in my opinion is about equal rights between blacks and whites. Through lines such as “But oaks can’t help their feelings, if they like the way they’re made, and they wonder why the maples, can’t be happy in their shade” is basically saying that the blacks are proud to be who they are and won’t let the whites turn them into something they’re not so they do not want to live or be around the same area as them. Another line for example is “And they grab up all the light” shows that the whites believe that have all the power over the blacks and they basically control them in a way but the blacks just want more sunlight, they want their rights so everyone can be equals.
The last song of the day that contains a double entendre is the band Tool’s song “Right in Two”. This song talks about crime and how people are figuratively act like animals. Lines that support this idea are “Fight over the clouds, over wind, over sky” is saying that people will kill one another over the littlest things just because they can, and “Angels on the sideline again, wondering when this tug of war will end” is saying that those who have past and are in heaven are wondering when will the crime and violence will end because it is get worse and worse as the days go by. Tool also is trying to say that why were people given free will because all they are doing is abusing it and using it for bad and not good.
Meagan Graham
4/1/14
The Tom Petty song Marry Jane’s Last Dance is an allegory. When interpreting it could be said that the song is simply about a girl Petty loves and their last summer dance “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain”. Or it could be said that Petty is referring to marijuana this could be taken from the song because of the line “one more time to kill the pain” assuming that Petty was saying that he was enjoying his last days of summer smoking to escape the boring town he was in. Petty states that after going to a hotel with Marry Jane he “I woke up alone” we could say that marry had left or that Marry Jane was marijuana and he woke up no longer high “It was too cold to cry when I woke up alone.”
Animal planet by The Gza is literally talking about animals in the jungle and their behaviors. If we look at the song figuratively it could be said that their referring to human life in the city and the way so more shady or criminal like people act. “It’s like a jungle sometimes.” From this it could be said that it’s not an actual jungle because it’s like a jungle. They made the song an allegory to reference to the people of the city without calling them by the names used in conversation to have the story told in a more polite way so that it can’t be as understood without really listening.
The Trees by Rush is a song about maple and oak trees. Or the song could be about the oaks over shadowing the maple trees “They say the oaks are just too lofty And they grab up all the light” the oak trees are the upper class, wealthy people who have money and oppress the maple. The maples “So the maples formed a union” and they evened the field with those who held the power because of their wealth. Some sort of government was formed and the people were even “By hatchet, axe and saw”. The effect of the song is using trees to talk about a historical event in simpler terms.
Right in two by Tool is about monkeys on earth that can talk and have thumbs. Figuratively the song is about the evolution of people. The song writer is impressed with how people act though they were given a great gift of evolution. They kill each other and spend their time doing bad things. The reason the song is written this way is because it’s obviously what they’re talking about without saying the human race precisely.
Meagan Graham
Feasible interpretations of Tom Petty’s, Last dance with Mary Jane, follows a young woman by the name of Mary Jane, who “grew up in an Indiana town, [and] had a good lookin’ mom, who never was around”, and tells of the speakers observed admiration and adoration for her and her simple lifestyle. However, the song could very well be interpreted otherwise, as Petty sings, “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain”. Being that “Mary Jane” is a well-known slang term for the drug marijuana, and is used recreationally for pain relief. Petty may have used this double entendre to subtly, but recognizably voice his supportive opinions of both free and recreational marijuana use, while refraining from blunt controversy.
In a literal sense of framework, Animal Planet, by the GZA, Depicts different animal species in the jungle, and their roles and contributing actions (“The polar bear feasts on the blubber of seals”). However, an eye-opening allegory is present. Each given animal and role presented is a valuable piece of figurative language, aiding the allegorical vision. Groups in human society, arguably from an inner-city speaker’s point of view, that include the “rat”, “pickpocket”, “sharks”, and numerous others are portrayed within the animalistic personas. (“The rat squeals”/”the vultures pick the pocket of whatever remains”/”neck deep in debt with a bunch of loan sharks”). These depicted roles embody perceived roles in human societies, and convey the animal in all of us.
In a literal sense of framework, Trees, by Rush, shows a small altercation and disagreement between two kinds of tree in a forest (“There is unrest in the forest/there is trouble with the trees”). Allegorical representation of the trees argues a much deeper explanation. The lyrics, “So the maples formed a union/”, and “For they passed a noble law/And the trees, are all kept equal/” arguably, but justifiably allude to the civil rights movement in America, addressing African American segregation and discrimination. This allegory was used to subtly but concisely tell the problematic journey of the civil rights movement, while avoiding a bluntly opinion based statement.
Tool’s, Right in two, shares the unsettling viewpoints from angels over inhumane monkeys. Thanks to allegorical perspectives, the actual language tells of a misanthropic view from a celestial audience. From an evolutionary perspective, the human race has not evolved at all, for we are still “monkeys”, and disappoint our predecessors. This allegory is effective in its use for it is seemingly insignificant at first glance, but offers much insight upon rediscovery.
-Alison Denekamp
Ryan Landry
Portraying allegory and double entendre in the song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, Tom Petty creates a multi-meaning song that can be interpreted in many ways. As Tom Petty uses “Mary Jane” to give the listener the idea that Mary Jane is a girl that he loves. However when he speaks about Mary Jane in the song, he also gives the listener the idea that Mary Jane is the drug “Marijuana” and not a girl he loves. Saying things such as “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain”, makes the listener imply that he is referring to the drug “Marijuana” which is often times used to reduce stress and kill pain. Though Tom Petty does hint that he is referring to the drug, he also says “She grew up in Indiana town”. This is when the listener is forced to rethink the original intent of this song and think about what he is actually singing about in the song.
Using allegory throughout the song “Animal Planet”, GZA raps about “Rat’s squealing” and “Bluebirds arresting the parrots that love to talk”. He uses animals as a reference to humans and talks about how “Rat’s” are people who snitch and get hurt for ratting others out. Also talking about “Bluebirds arresting parrots who love to talk” meaning that police arrest those who love talking bad about them. Using these metaphors and allegory throughout the song, GZA gives the listener a thought provoking multi-meaningful song. GZA uses animals to refer to what actually happens to humans in everyday life and gives another example by saying “Shouldn’t gamble with a Cheetah and not expect to get beat”. Implying that if you gamble with a hustler, you can’t expect to win. This song is describing how humans act like animals and how people will get treated like an animal if they act like one.
Sending a strong message by using allegory in the song “The Trees” by Rush; There is a powerful message throughout the song. By saying “There is trouble in the forest” and how the oaks are demanding “Equal rights” is having the listener think about the actual meaning of the song. This song is reflecting how the world today solves their problems. It’s explaining how people cut each other down to make themselves feel more powerful. The “trouble in the forest” is the trouble actually referring to the trouble that humans are going through today in the modern world.
Using allegory throughout the song “Right in Two” by Tool, gives a strong meaning overall to the song. Referencing the “garden” in the song, is actually describing how we cut things down and destroy them to make ourselves happy and feel stronger. People feel as though the only way to boost their “ego” and become more popular and happy is too be mean and hurt others. Saying “Father blessed them all with reason” is implying that God made everyone different and unique. However, people that want to be “popular” make fun of others differences and don’t understand everyone is different and special in their own way.
The term Mary Jane could be a double entendre. Mary Jane could be a woman “Oh my, my, oh hell yes, you got to put on that party dress.” However Mary Jane could also be a reference to marijuana. Marijuana is said to make people feel better “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain” they’re not necessarily dancing but smoking. This allows more people to relate to the song. People in love can find parts of their life relatable while people who like to do drugs may also find much of it relatable.
“Animal Planet” by The Genius GZA is an allegory. On the surface it is about animals and the jungle, “The pack of wolves be scheming on a bunch of gazelles”. Under the surface of “The Jungle” is the description of a lower class city troubled with drugs. The allegory shows the animal like behaviors of different parts of the drug ruled society.
“The Tree” by Rush is an allegory for the rich and the poor. On the surface it is a forest of trees struggling to make peace but in reality it’s about the struggle of society. The Maple trees are the poor people who “want more sunlight” aka money. The Oak trees are the rich people who “soak up all of the sunlight” which means they get more money and the maple trees are jealous. The hatchet in the song that keeps the trees “equal” meaning the government cuts everyone down regardless of wealth.
The song “Right in Two” is an allegory. It talks about “monkeys killing monkeys killing monkeys over pieces of the ground” when he is really referring to human beings and their barbaric ways of talking over things. Instead of sharing one good thing humans need to have two separate lesser things.
1.In the song "Mary Jane" by Tom Petty and the heartbreakers, "Mary Jane" serves as a double entendre for a girl named "Mary Jane" and the drug marijuana.The song states,"She grew up in an Indiana town...But she grew up tall and she grew up right," which could mean either a girl literally growing up, or a marijuana plant growing. The line, "Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain" leans more towards the speaker using drugs to "kill the pain" that he/she is feeling, as opposed to a girl, although the meaning is still arguable. When the speaker states, "She's standin' in her underwear Lookin' down from a hotel room Nightfall will be comin' soon...You got to put on that party dress It was too cold to cry when I woke up alone..." Which could either be an actual girl with the evidence, " She's standing in her underwear," and " put on that pretty dress", or the drug, " It was too cold to cry when I woke up alone..." The double entendre appears to be talking about either a girl, or marijuana. I think Petty uses this technique to make the meaning of the song more subtle.
2.C.) In the song " Animal Planet," GZA uses allegory to mask the less appealing meaning of the song.A.)The superficial meaning is about animals where as the literal meaning is comparing people's behavior to that of animals. B.) The superficial meaning is about animals in the wild as the song states, "The rat squeals..." which actually is referring to a person who is "snitching" or telling the police about a crime that has occurred. The literal meaning of the song is about people; more evidence to prove this is where the song states, " Welcome to the jungle where cats love to scratch." which actually is referring to people "stabbing others in the back" or betraying them.
The song “Mary Jane’s last dance” by Tom Petty has to do with a girl he likes and she likes him, due to the fact that “She said, ‘I dig you baby, but I got to keep movin’ on keep movin on’”. So he wrote this song because he wants to hang out with her and dance with her again to “kill the pain”.
“It was too cold to cry when I woke up alone” shows in “Mary Jane’s last dance” that it could in fact be about drug use. Because of how “She's standin' in her underwear. Lookin' down from a hotel room” but then it goes onto how he wakes up alone. And when the song talks about getting rid of pain, drugs do that to people.
Oh good god! I hate rap, but in the song “Animal planet” by GZA it talks about the world of the jungle and all the animals in it. So we’re “welcome to the Jungle where the cat loves to scratch” which cats do love to scratch everything. Which is why they fit right well in this. And how “the rat squeals” is about how a rat squeals, it does when it’s scared or is about to die something. So welcome to the jungle.
“The rat squeals” Can also be a meaning to how people ‘rat’ out others in this society. And how the jungle could be the city in which these ‘gangs wars’ are taking place. “The bluebirds arrest parrots that love to talk” could be talking about how the police arrest the ones who stand up for what they believe in. “While the black widow laid a web for the bachelor” can mean how the wife is about to kill the husband. Yeah, messed up.
“The Trees” by Rush, well, as much as I like them, this song was weird. It’s about trees, trees! Who makes a song about trees? “For the maples want more sunlight, and the oaks ignore their pleas” this could be talking about how oaks can’t move away from the sunlight and how they grow where the most sunlight is. Or how, maple trees make syrup, so they beg for help when people come to turn them into maple syrup.
Or this song could be talking about how the maples are the working middle class and the oaks are the higher class. “And the creatures all have fled, as the maples scream 'Oppression!'” So now the maples (middle class) want more money, which is sunlight. But the oaks just “wonder why the maples can't be happy in their shade” So they don’t even realize that they might be ruining the middle classes lives. And after the maples apparently made a union they rose up and demanded equal rights. Because “the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe and saw.”
Yeah Tool! “Right in two” could be the fight over land, “fight over the clouds, over wind, over sky. Fight over life, over blood, over prayer, overhead and light”. This shows how people will and can fight for whatever they want. “Angels on the sideline again wondering when this tug of war will end.” This also shows how the angels are trying to get a grip on what’s happening to their world. Because this is human nature.
“Why did Father give these humans free will? Now they're all confused.” This is about how God is trying to figure out what happened, or maybe the angels. Because of how they watch “monkey killing monkey killing monkey over pieces of the ground.” This shows how the humans, or monkeys are killing each other, for pieces of land, or ground, or an object of value. “They forge a blade, and where there's one they're bound to divide it, right in two.” This is about how humans divide the world in half for sides. Why? Because war is coming. Because God gave us free will and we will use our gifts.
In Petty’s song “Mary janes last dance”, he uses double entendre to explain two different people in one song. The song has two meanings to it, one meaning is that it could be about a girl that he likes and wants to be with, “honey put on that party dress”. But the other meaning could be that it’s a reference to a drug, “she grew up in an Indiana town”. The song can have different meanings to the listener and it can vary from person to person. Petty used the double entendre because it gave the song a different meaning and gave it something that people wouldn’t see right away. People would just think that the song was about someone that he liked and wanted to be with.
In GZA’s song “Animal planet, he uses allegory to explain what the jungle and animals mean to him. The song has different meanings to it. The song has many words that give it a specific meaning to it. The artist uses different animals to show the people of the world. Each animal represents another person that has a meaning to them. The song explains these with different animals that are both strong and wise in some way. This made it so that the listener could get a good understanding of what the songs message was and what it meant to the artist.
In Rush’s song “the Tree’s”, the artist uses allegory to explain what he sees when he looks outside at the forest. The song also is using this reference to make it feel like it could be towards people as well. The song talks about how “the tree’s demanded equal rights”, meaning that the tree’s came and stood up for what they believe in.
In Tool’s song “right in two”, the artist uses allegory to explain how one thing can be divided into two. Some things can have more than one meaning so they can be divided into more than one thing. For example, “And where there’s one they’re bound to divide it, right in two”, this means that there was one thing that was divided into two. The song has a different meaning to it than one would think when first just looking at it. The song actually has a good message to it.
By employing a double entendre in “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, Tom Petty intertwines his admiration for a young girl called Mary Jane while utilizing her name as code for marijuana. On the surface, the name Mary Jane appears to be one of a young girl who “moved down,” to a small town in Indiana “at the age of eighteen”. Petty describes Mary Jane’s carefree attitude she enjoys dancing in the summer and once could be found “standin' in her underwear lookin' down from a hotel room”. However, the name Mary Jane may be interpreted as a lesser known reference to the drug marijuana. Petty describes the way he dances with Mary Jane as just “one more time to kill the pain”. Marijuana is known to drown people out their surroundings in order for them to feel less. Although it first seems as though the two adolescents were at a hotel earlier that night, Petty “woke up alone”, suggesting there was no one ever there to accompany him besides his marijuana. Tom Petty utilizes a double entendre, the name Mary Jane, to associate that the pain of being without the one he adores may be masked by the effects of marijuana.
Utilizing an animalistic allegory in “Animal Planet”, GZA describes the struggles of a human living in the rush of the city. The superficial subject of the song appears to be about a multitude of animals and their life in the wilderness, including their daily routines and constant battles. Beneath the literal meaning, it is apparent that the song is about a human’s life in the city and that the real world’s struggles are comparable to “the jungle sometimes”. The allegoric scenario created by GZA portrays that living in the city is a strenuous lifestyle, which correlates to an animal’s struggle living every day in the jungle.
Rush employs a natural allegory in their song “The Trees” to convey the unfair battle between social classes. On the surface the song suggests to be about an oak and maple tree disagreeing on who gets more land area. The oak trees “grab up all the lights and they wonder why the maples can’t be happy in their shade”. This precisely mirrors a battle between two separate groups of people. The ideal of the dominant figure ruling over the weaker group is applicable to the whites versus the colored, the whites versus the Indians, even the rich versus the poor. The higher group feels as though they are totally powered and have no problem denying the lower group of their basic rights. The message of this allegory is functional as it is extremely flexible to a wide variety of scenarios, making the song relatable to any listener.
Applying an allegory to their song “Right In Two”, Tool creates a hidden message underneath the surface of the lyrics, which appear to make religious allusions. Plainly, the song deals with “angels on the sideline” watching over the foolish “talking monkeys”. When the subject of the song is looked at in depth, the song’s clear meaning reveals itself. The monkeys the angels and the Father are watching over are humans making doltish, narcissistic decisions, loosening their relationship with God. By employing this allegory, Rush displays how human’s are portrayed as just crude animals and that their relationship with the higher powers are being cut “right in two”.
MARY JANE'S LAST DANCE:
In Tom Petty’s song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, the name Mary Jane serves as a double entendre. The song tells a story about a girl, Mary Jane, but there is an ironic meaning to the song. The practical interpretation of the term is that Tom Petty was referring to the drug marijuana, as “Mary Jane” is slang for pot. It is subtly made known with lyrics like “I was introduced and we both started groovin’” and “one more time to kill the pain”. Still, Mary Jane could be a girl, because Petty describes her as “eighteen” and from “an Indiana town”. I think Petty uses this double entendre to allow listeners to interpret it as an intimate relationship between a man and a woman, or a man and a drug.
ANIMAL PLANET:
The rap hit “Animal Planet” by The GZA has an allegorical purpose. The song teaches a lesson through symbolism by using animals as an allegory for “the streets”. All animals that are used in the song are similar to people in real life. For example, the owls represent private eyes and the lone sharks represent loan sharks. GZA uses these extended metaphors to portray how the world is “like a jungle sometimes”.
THE TREES:
“The Trees”, a song by the band Rush, is about an “unrest in the forest”. That allegorical unrest represents a dispute between two territories, the Maples and the Oaks. The song is figuratively about trees, but can be interpreted as a literal conflict between Canadians and Americans, since the Maple tree can be symbolic of Canada and they see the Oaks (the Americans) as “lofty” and think that they “grab up all the light”. This prevents the Maples from getting the light that they believe they deserve. Rush’s overdramatic representation of the "trouble with the trees" provides the song with many interpretations.
RIGHT IN TWO:
Utilizing heavenly allegories in "Right In Two", the band Tool uses the personas of angels, monkeys, and a "father" to question the choices that humans make. The angels, who are "on the sidelines" watching the humans, are puzzled by the humans and compare them to "talking monkeys". The angels are confused as to why humans fight over things like life, blood, prayer, and each other and always want more. The song's celestial allusions portray the human's separation from religion, and their "misguided" survival.
Throughout the song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” Tom Petty displays the stanzas to serve as a double entendre conveying a goodbye love song and a deeper meaning of a drug reference. As many may know ‘Mary Jane’ can also be represented not only as a girl but as the pain killer marijuana. Tom Petty signifies his song through the deeper meaning of drugs and having the urge to smoke marijuana to get rid of the pain of leaving the lovely girl. Mary Jane is used as a pain killer of dancing with the girl one last time before summer ends.00
One of many GZA songs “Animal Planet,” GZA displays his message through an extended metaphor relating humanity to characteristics of animals. GZA conveys his thought of living in the jungle pertaining to owls and seeing everything around them from the top of the tree with large eyes. Although GZA uses the jungle to the reflection of a society occupied with humans, police drive through town catching the criminals in crime making police the eye of town such as owls. The literal side of the allegory relates to the jungle with each animal with a different purpose and job. The giraffes for instance portray as a look out with their long necks for the other animals helping their group do their “crime.” The superficial framework of this work deals with the society concerning with the humans dealing with police men and jail.
A classic track from Rush “The Trees” tells a story of the conflict between oaks and maples that ends in parity by destruction. The clash of the oaks and maples represents the two different societies in our time today. This song has joined together to show to fight between whites and blacks. White, pertaining to oak, has more power and more privilege than the blacks. As the maples were upset because they don’t have the rights they think they deserve, they “demanded equal rights.” Maple and oak, black and white, are shown as a conflicting war pertaining to the forest that loses from axe and saws.
Tool displays his meaning of “Right in Two” with the allegory of God giving the humanity a life they can choose, although they use it for war and self-destruction rather than peace. Tool references “silly monkeys” killing others for the good of themselves. Tool uses this allusion in place of humanity and their irrational ways of covenant. As some humans would rather use the time being and take the situation into a war, the “angels on the sidelines” show the good conscious trying to understand how they got into a disastrous place from a tiny discrepancy.
The song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers contains an example of double entendre for Mary Jane that can be interpreted as either a girl or drugs. At first glance, most would think the song is about a confident, independent girl Petty might have once known. Lines such as “she grew up in an Indiana town” and “well, she moved down here at the age of eighteen” would give the impression of a basic description of Mary Jane. However, those lines could also be interpreted to fit the motif of drugs. “Mary Jane” can also be a euphemism for Marijuana. In the first line of the song, “grew up” can be an example of a pun. Marijuana is a plant and so therefore, like a person, it also grows. Marijuana is also known to be used to forget about problems or take away pain, so the line, “one more time to kill the pain” supports the interpretation that the song is about drugs. Tom Petty might have used this double entendre to show the attraction and enticement of drugs, displaying the similarity between the appeal of Marijuana and the allure of women.
“Animal Planet” by GZA serves as an allegory due to the two distinct interpretations of the song that are possible. The literal meaning of the song would be animals of the jungle. Numerous descriptions of animals are displayed throughout the song, such as “the polar bear feasts on the blubber of seals”. However, many lines from the song have hidden figurative meanings that contribute to an overall theme of the urban life of humans. The line, “you see the chimps they grow hemps they hustle and sling in trees” can be interpreted as the business and distribution of drugs, for hemp is similar to Marijuana. Also, “you're neck deep in debt with a bunch of loan sharks” can refer to those in the business of money laundering and loaning, often they are given the slang name of “loan sharks”. The hidden meaning portrays an accurate parallel between characteristics of both animals and humans.
The literal interpretation of the song “Trees” by Rush is that it is a song about trees. The song talks about a fight between maples and oaks, how the maples feel “oppressed” by the oak trees. The figurative meaning of the song is that the trees are symbolic of humans. The oak trees represent those who feel they should be in charge and that maples should be happy with their standings in society. The maples are those who feel oppressed, those that feel they are not receiving equal treatment. By forming a union and passing a law, the maples hope to obtain equality. The conflict between the trees is analogous to tensions between different social or political groups in society today.
Tool uses both an allegory and religious allusions to portray a deeper meaning in the song “Right in Two”. The straight-forward, literal interpretation would be that the song is about a group of angels watching as monkeys fight and kill one another. However, these monkeys can represent something entirely different that savage primates. Tool refers to mankind and our inability to coexist peacefully. The song gives numerous examples of things the “monkeys” fight over, displaying how there is always something causing conflict among people regardless of all the good things we should be thankful for. Tool utilizes this allegory to portray how greed and feelings of superiority has turned the human race into no better than a bunch of wild apes.
In Tom Petty’s, “Last Dance With Mary Jane”, has a double entendre between a girl he loves and a drug he loves. The line “Well, she moved down here at the age of 18” shows that a girl he loves had moved there when she was old enough to live on her own since she didn’t have much of a family life and the line “Last dance with Mary Jane…”, shows that he wanted one last dance with her because she had passed away. While the line “… one more time to kill the pain”, shows that he uses the drug to feel better and ease the pain of his life and the line “But she grew up tall and she grew up right” refers to the way the hemp grows.
“Animal Planet”, by GZA, is an allegory between the human “jungle” in the world and the real jungle in the forests. In the line “The rat that sequels” that describes a person snitching on another person while the line “Shouldn’t gamble with a cheetah and not expect to get beat” shows how people who take money from others and don’t pay it back will be treated harshly. Alternatively, the line “Whose roar is loud enough to take the stripes from a zebra” shows how cheetahs go after zebras because they’re faster than zebras and that they’re taking the life away from the zebra by taking their stripes.
The song, “The trees”, by Rush shows allegory between war and trees. Such as in the line, “and the maples scream ‘oppression’” shows the war of oppression in different countries. The line, “So the maples formed a union”, to show how unions are build in our world in past times and current times. Alternatively, “The maples want more sunlight”, shows that in a forest trees strive for more sunlight to be able to grow and prosper.
In Tool’s, “Right in Two”, shows allegory between humans killing versus monkeys killing. For instance, the quote, “Silly monkeys give them thumbs, they forge a blade”, shows that it’s about humans because of the thumb reference. Also the quote, “Don't these talking monkeys know that Eden has enough to go around?” describes humans because we’re so selfish with parts of the earth that we want to possess everything. On the flip side, the quote, “and beat their brother down” describes how monkeys are very competitive in the wild even with their siblings.
In the song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” Tom Petty utilizes a double entendre. In the literal interpretation, the song is about a young girl who fled her home in Indiana where she “grew up tall” and allegedly “blew the boys away.” The speaker meets this woman as implied in the song and they enjoy each other’s company. Toward the end of the song, the speaker expresses sorrow at the fact that he “can’t stay long” and is leaving, describing his fleeting relationship with this woman. In the figurative meaning of the song, it can be interpreted that Mary Jane is not a person but marijuana, as it is a common term given to the drug. As stated in the song, the speaker has one last “dance” (smoke) with “Mary Jane” (marijuana) to “kill the pain.” I think that Tom Petty utilized this double entendre because it may be extracted from his own experience, and how he used marijuana to forget and “ease the pain” of the sorrow he felt when the girl he loved left him.
The track “Animal Planet” by GZA/Genius is an allegory that describes the life of a possible gang member who observes the framework of society. This is done by comparing the lives and roles of jungle animals to the actions done by humans in an urban, mob society. On the surface, “Animal Planet” can be seen as a song describing what commonly happens in wildlife. A closer look can reveal that each action done by the aforementioned animals serves as parallel for what is done by members of a structured human civilization. “You see the chimps they grow hemps they hustle and sling in trees / Elephants for security that move tons of leaves / The bluebirds arrest parrots that love to talk…” The “chimps” that “grow hemp” are the drug suppliers/dealers, and the “bluebirds” that “arrest parrots” are policemen that detain citizens who reveal information. This allegory is used to convey real-life scenarios as observed by the speaker/GZA and provide a deeper meaning for the listener.
“The Trees” by Rush is a song that uses allegory to describe a society with a defined class system, where the lower class demands more from their government. In the song, the “maples” represent the poor while the “oaks” represent the rich. As illustrated in the song, the maples demand more “sunlight” (which can represent freedom or power) from the oaks that lie above them and absorb the most of it. This means that the richer you are, the more power and freedom you have available to you. As the song progresses, the maples scream “oppression!” and demand equal rights, which eventually leads to a “noble law” being passed that makes both the oaks and maples equal by “hatchet, axe and saw” (which can be the transition of a communist government taking power and eliminating the class system). This allegory is used to draw attention to a class-based society, and how the rich have more power than those less fortunate.
The song “Right in Two” by Tool is an allegory for human nature’s unwillingness to share the world they were born in and be charitable. Tool uses the biblical entities of “the father” and “angels on the sideline” viewing “talking monkeys fighting over pieces on the ground” to portray the wrongfulness of owning land and selfishly possessing things, and how humans are willing to fight and die over that. The biblical personalization of angels and God personify what is “right” and how it should be, but the “silly monkeys” (modern humans) lack reason and understanding of the fact that they don’t need to live the way they choose to.
1. In “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Tom Petty, “Mary Jane” serves as a double entendre. Literally, Mary Jane is the name of a girl, but an alternative meaning for Mary Jane is marijuana. There is language that supports both sides. When he describes a girl, he is suggesting the literal meaning of Mary Jane as a name of the girl. When he says “one more time to kill the pain” and “when I woke up alone” he is talking about marijuana, showing how it can numb the pain he feels and signifying that it isn’t really a person.
2. The GZA’s “Animal Planet” has a literal meaning of animal interactions in the wild but in a more figurative sense, it symbolizes human life in an urban city. “It’s like the jungle sometimes” is a simile that implies the secondary meaning of how life is like the jungle. Each animal in the song and the relationships between the songs represent the parallels between animal life and human life.
3. “The Trees” by Rush tells literally about trees and how the oaks treat the maples unfairly. However, figuratively the song represents racism in human life, the oaks being white people/racists and the maples symbolizing African Americans. “The maples… demanded equal rights” shows how the blacks wanted to be treated equally. “The oaks just shake their heads” shows how they were ignored by the rest of society. “Now there’s no more oak oppression/For they passed a noble law” symbolizes the end of segregation and unfair treatment of African Americans.
4. In “Right In Two” by Tool, there is a literal meaning of angels looking upon monkeys that cannot get along and are constantly fighting. The hidden message of the song is the image of God looking down upon the human race ("the monkeys") and being disappointed at the inhumane ways of dealing with each other and arguing. The more they cut things "right in two" the more they are separating themselves from God, instead letting themselves only focus on becoming superior to the rest of the human race. It shows how superiority and power can reduce us as humans to inhumane actions, just like monkeys.
Displaying a double entendre in Tom Petty’s song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “Mary Jane” is a girl that Petty admires, while it is also another name for marijuana. Literally, Mary Jane is a young girl who, “moved down here at the age of eighteen.” Mary Jane could also be interpreted as marijuana, as Petty says “one more time to kill the pain” meaning that the marijuana will be used for pain relief. Tom Petty utilizes this double entendre to say that the girl he admires takes away his pain.
Utilizing an animal-like allegory in “Animal Planet,” GZA compares human life in the city to animals. The literal meaning of the song is about animals and their daily battles. The figurative meaning of the song is that living in a busy city is “like the jungle sometimes.” This allegory portrays that life in the city is almost like an animal’s life in the jungle.
Conveying an allegory in “The Trees,” Rush uses oaks and maples as metaphors to modern day social classes. Rush says, “For the maples want more sunlight/ And the oaks ignore their pleas” the maples represent the lower class wanting more equality while the oaks represent the upper class which denies the request. The literal meaning of the song is that the oaks take up all the light leaving nothing for the maples.
In “Right in Two,” Tool creates a religious allegory to compare humans to monkeys. The silly monkeys represent free willed humans making poor decisions when “Father blessed them all with reason. In the song, Tool describes how the “silly monkeys” are dividing their relationship with God “right in two.” Tool displays that humans who act like carefree animals are ruining their relationship with God.
In the Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s song, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Petty uses the term ‘Mary Jane’ as a double entendre. ‘Mary Jane’ can be interpreted as the name as a young girl whom the speaker may have feelings for, which is showcased by the line “I was introduced and we both started grooving.’” This could mean that the speaker has just met Mary Jane and they are dancing together. Also, Petty implies that Mary Jane can be a euphemism for marijuana, as displayed in the line, “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain.” With the usage of the lines, “kill the pain,” one might infer that Petty is using the drug to numb his feelings about something or someone.
The song, Right in Two, by Tool can be viewed as both a song about man and animal clashing, or humankind’s ability to co-exist with its surroundings in decreasing. Tool implies these themes in the lines “Monkey killing monkey over pieces of ground, silly monkey gives them thumbs.” This line shows how the skill to co-exist is declining through two monkey’s fighting over land. However, by taking a closer look, one can tell that the two monkeys that are fighting are actually man and chimps. Also, the line, “Fight over the clouds, over wind, over sky” shows how man is fighting with its surroundings.
In their song, The Trees, Rush uses light as an allegorical outlet that implies both a literal and figurative meaning. In the line, “The maples want more sunlight,” the listener may assume that the speaker is talking about actual sunlight. But when taking a figurative approach, one can infer that the sunlight can also be seen as a replacement for equality. Also in the line, “And [the oaks] grab up all the light,” it is clearly shown that the light has a deeper meaning.
In GZA’s song, Animal Planet, he uses animals to create an allegorical universe of the rough urban life of the city. In the opening line of the song, GZA says, “Welcome to the Jungle,” but in the chorus of the song, he uses similes to convey that “it’s like a jungle” showing that he is trying to convey a deeper meaning through analogy of the jungle. Also, GZA explains the rough life of the inner city through the lines “You silly goose you know he move fast on his feet, now you're neck deep in depth with a bunch of lone sharks.” These lines show how in the city it’s easy to get scammed out of money through analogies relating to wild animals.
In their song, The Trees, Rush uses light as an allegorical outlet that implies both a literal and figurative meaning. In the line, “The maples want more sunlight,” the listener may assume that the speaker is talking about actual sunlight. But when taking a figurative approach, one can infer that the sunlight can also be seen as a replacement for equality. Also in the line, “And [the oaks] grab up all the light,” it is clearly shown that the light has a deeper meaning.
“Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by: Tom Petty
In the song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, Tom Petty uses double entendre which gives this song two possible topics that it could be interpreted as. One way is the song is about a young girl named Mary Jane and it’s just about her leaving the speaker behind because she has to “keep movin’ on”. While the other interpretation is of marijuana and how the speaker is trying to use this drug to “one more time to kill the pain“. One of the most obvious forms of double entendre in this song is when the speaker says “she grew up”, that could mean either the young girl grew up or the plants/drugs were growing.
“Animal Planet” by: GZA
The literal framework of the song is talking about animals and how they live, survive, and co-exist in their very exotic and animalistic world. But the allegory behind this song is more about humans. The jungle is representing a city and all the animals are different people. Those people seem to be in gangs, and some of them are fighting for survival while some of the others are stalking their prey. It’s also describing how all of these people interact, one example is “Those pelicans who smuggle contraband for the whale” is referring to a smuggling operation and another is “The bluebirds arrest parrots that love to talk” which is about the police arresting someone and that person is a snitch. I think the band, GZA, used allegory in their song so that the listener got to really understand that these people were more animal in certain ways than they were human. Also it makes the song a lot more interesting when all the references are form of symbolism instead of just being said out right.
"The Trees" by: Rush
The band Rush is using allegory to represent a historical event by using trees instead of people. It sounds like the song is using allegory to describe a country's people struggle for equal rights. The Maples are representing the lower class people who are being repressed and not receiving equal rights. The Oaks are representing the upper class citizens, these are the people who hold all the power in the country. They are also the ones who repressing the lower classes campaign for equal rights which is causing quite a stir. By the end of the song the people have succeeded in creating equal rights for all its citizens they describe this success by using an allegory. “And the trees are all kept equal/By hatchet,/Axe,/And saw” this quote is what really drives the point home that every person/tree is on an equal playing field and they can all be kept equal by the same tools.
“Right in Two” by: Tool
In this song Tool is talking about angels and monkeys and how they are fighting and the angels aren’t really doing anything to help stop the monkeys from fighting. They monkeys are an allegory of humans. Basically, the song is taking a religious outlook throughout the song. It talks about how the angels are watching humans muddle through their lives and not doing much to help guide them in the right direction. And all the monkeys are doing is fighting, killing, and who knows what else because there is no guidance for them. The song also mentions how god gave humans free will which hints that this is probably one of the reasons the angels, which are mentioned throughout the song, aren’t doing anything to help the humans follow the right path. The reason behind this song is to get the point across that we have to pull it together as a whole because we have “Cut and divide it all right in two” and there isn’t anyone to show us the way out right so we have to figure it out for ourselves. All the while those angels will be sitting in the clouds watching and “Wondering when this tug of war will end”.
In the song “ Mary Jane’s Last Dance” Tom Petty uses a double entendre do emphasize on how Mary Jane is an illegal drug ,on the surface it is about a girl who wants to get out of her old town and try to escape her past of being hurt but when you read between the lines this song is about marijuana or as it is called “Mary Jane” it talks about the quitting of smoking marijuana because in the song it talks about leaving the town or in this case leaving the weed behind, Tom Petty wants one last hit before leaving the town.
The song “Animal Planet” by The GZA is about life in the big city. This song makes it seem like it is about animals but in reality it is a song on how we humans all have animalistic qualities. This song reminds us of the jungle and how the food chain is the same way as life in city. Rats are like people who tells on someone. This song speaks of people who are in charge, as well as others “the vultures “who take the left overs .In the jungle just like in the city life is cold and harsh with many cruel creatures running around.
The song "The Trees" by the rush uses an allegory to show that the "Trees" want freedom and not all them have equal rights . On the surface you think this song is just about some tree's but when you read between the lines it is about getting rights and freedom.
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