When analyzing Johnson's song, it is obvious that his song is dealing with truth, but I could not figure out exactly what he was trying to be truthful about, and with further research I was able to get a better idea on what he was trying to say. In order to get some more information, I continued to to do research, but not just on the single song, but the entire album, "To the Sea." Basically, I had to retrace my footsteps and try a different path of getting more in depth with the song. It did not take long until I had actually found an interview Johnson did with MTV explaining to them what the album was about. In the interview, Johnson explained how the album represents "a father trying lead his son to the sea... and to go beneath the surface and find yourself"(Viacom). This brought up a lot of different questions for instance, what in the world does this even mean? However, this is exactly what I needed. I needed something that would force me to go deeper into the meaning of the song. I started asking myself questions like, "Okay, how can the meaning of the album in general be integrated into "Anything but the Truth"?"
I tended to use the So What method from the analytical toolkit from Writing Analytically regularly when I got to this point (Rosenwasser and Stephen 23-53). I found that it really helped me dig deeper to find different points and possible arguments. Another tool form the analytical toolkit that I used was to look at how Johnson is trying to get his point across to the public. In other words, I knew by now that Johnson seems to be talking to his son about the world and his purpose there, but there seems to be a pattern of how he is talking to his son that lead me to see Johnson's environmentalist views.
Throughout the song, as Johnson talks to his son, he refers to nature in many different places. With the finding of this pattern, I started to ask myself so what again. This inspired me to find more information about Johnson's views on the environment to see if I could make a better connection with his song. I found that Johnson definitely has a passion for the environment. From recording in a 100 percent solar powered studio, to giving all of his tour profits to environmental and educational facilities, it is evident that Johnson has a deep passion for the environment (Rhapsody Reviews). Moreover, before Johnson started working the album, the devastating BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill had occurred, and while on tour Johnson visited many of places on the gulf that had been affected by the oil spill (Spinner). This furthermore seemed to give the song a stronger influence of the environment which helped me to revise my thesis into what it ended up being that Johnson seems to be making a larger point on how people are using the environment.
As the evidence from my research became clearer, so did my paper. Again I referred to the Analytical Toolkit to help me use my evidence to help my claims plausible (Rosenwasser and Stephen 165-191). Overall, I thought final paper made a valid argument and my ideas were explained thoroughly. I honestly at first had no idea what it was that I was going to write about. I chose to write about "Anything but the Truth" because it is one of my favorite songs by one my favorite artist, and I just love music. It intrigues me how talented music artists are with their words and how they can express something so uniquely that you can not just listen to a song one time and interpret it. I knew that this song had a lot of meaning behind it, but I did not realize how in depth I could go into something that I truly enjoy.
Furthermore, I did not realize how much this song could actually relate with myself. Now, when I listen to "Anything but the Truth", I can just imagine Johnson with his son on the beach by the sea talking to his son about the world and its many meanings. It reminds me a lot of childhood with my father and how he has help mold me into the young man that I am today, and how my father has in a way, let me out from under his wing and has given me the initiate to find out what the world is for myself.
As for the environmentalist views that are hinted at through the song, it gives me one, a new respect for type of person that Johnson is and two, an inspiration for the environment. Now I am not saying that I am going to become Captain Planet and try to save the world on my own, but I am saying that with the research and analysis that I have done on Johnson's song, it gives me more respect for the people that are trying to do something for the environment that we live in today because just as I said in my final paper, the world and environment are constantly changing. And for the people that are working to make the environment better for us in a world where views of things can be altered in a matter of hours, my hat goes off to them.
Sources:
Luerssen, John.
Spinner.com. AOL Inc. 4 May 2012. Web. 8 May 2012.
Montgomery, James.
Viacom International. 3 March 2010. Web. 30 April 2012
Rhapsody Reviews. All
Music Guide, Rhapsody International, Inc. 21 May 2010. Web.
30
April 2012.
Rosenwasser, David and Jill Stephen. Writing Analytically Sixth Edition. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. Print.
