The Poetry of Music - Finding the Metaphorical Meaning

The "Fast Car" assignment went pretty well. Most people seem to understand where they needed to go and what they needed to do. This assignment kicks it up a notch. This time students, working alone or with one other person, are to select a song and analyze it. I am suggesting that "Hotel California" and "Desperado" both by The Eagles will work. "Fire Coming Out of a Monkey's Head" is also an excellent choice. Students may also ask for another song to be considered. Here's what I'm looking for in the lyrics:
* Is the topic appropriate for school/youth?
* Does it contain figurative language(similes, metaphors, etc.) that will help the student understand how diction can craft a tone or create an emotional reaction?
* Does the song have a message for more than one audience?

If so, here's what the kids are to look for and address:

Speaker
- What do you know about the speaker?
- What is the speaker's attitude towards the topic?
* How do you know that? Can you support it with examples of figurative language and diction from the text?

Audience
- Who is the primary intended audience for the song?
* How do you know that? What in the text leads you to believe that?
* How does the diction support your idea?
- Who is the second intended audience for the song?
* How do you know that? What in the text leads you to believe that?
* How does the diction support your idea?
Mesage
- What are the messages that the song writer is sending?
- How do the messages differ for the different audience?
- How do you know that?

Effectiveness:
- What is the overall quality of the song? Is it effective? It is thought-provoking?
- How? Why? What's the response?

So, what do you do once you figured this out? I'd like you to write a paragraph or two that addresses the points listed above. Here's the basic format. Feel free to make it yours as long as all of the elements are present:

P - Point: Open the statement by telling us a bit about the song (title, artist)and what it is about, on the surface. Then delve into the meat of what you want to say.
E1 - Evidence:
Primary Audience - What is it about? What can you pull (and quote) from the
text to defend/explain your thinking?
A1 - Analysis:
Primary Audience - What about the message? What is it? What does the author
want you to do/change/be concerning this message?
E2 - Evidence:
Secondary Audience - What is it about? What can you pull (and quote) from the
text to defend/explain your thinking? How effective is it?
A2 - Analysis:
Secondary Audience - What about the message? What is it? What does the author
want you to do/change/be concerning this message? How does it differ from
the other message? How effective is it?
Concluding Remarks - This is the "So What" part where you tie it together and leave your reader with our final remarks. Make it powerful!