As a writing piece to closely read and analyze, I used "Take A Walk" by Passion Pit. Its upbeat, electro sound makes the song lively and exciting. The first time I heard the song I was instantly intrigued by the lyrics. They were much different than other pop songs that were popular at the time. I listened to the song a couple more times, and never really looked into them after that. That is until we were assigned to pick our own writing pieces to discuss and analyze. I knew that I wanted to use a song. I looked at the lyrics to "Take A Walk"and decided to use it. I was able to look more closely at the text and soon discovered there was so much more than to what meets the eye. When first looking at the lyrics I noticed it was about a man going through issues dealing with immigration. But after reading it through and looking intently at each verse and chorus, I found that it was about immigration, but it was mainly about a corrupt society and remembering and holding onto who you truly are and your roots.
The beginning of the song (the first verse to the first chorus) is about how the character moves to New York as an immigrant. He is poor and selling flowers outside Penn Station as a job. Even though life is hard, his love for the city makes up for the struggles he's going through. He then brings his wife to New York, and soon after he also brings his extended family, but once they get to America they then all move away from him and his life of poverty. To cope with his sadness, he takes a walk. In this situation I think in a time of hurt and crisis he takes a walk to clear his mind and try to get his life back in order so that his family can reunite once again.
The second part of the song (after the first chorus to the end of the second chorus) is about how the man finally gets a job and has kids "I watch my little children, play some board game in the kitchen". Although he has what he wanted (money and family) life has become dull and boring, due to his corporate job "My wife won't ask me questions, there's not so much to ask". He starts to reconcile to the picture perfect American life of board games in the kitchen, but really it's only damaging his relationships with his wife and family. When his mother-in-law moves in with him, it just adds more pressure to him. He has to handle his job, his family issues and now he has another person living with him. He hopes and prays that his innocent children won't have to go through the pressure or "strife" that his life has become. Finally he looses his job, and he is forced to face the reality that this is not the life he can, or ever will, live. He takes a walk to clear his head and bring him back to his roots, because throughout his quest to achieve the American dream, he loses his past and where he came from.
At the end (after chorus #2 to the end of chorus #3) he is begging for his old life back, because realizes that a behind that vision of a white picket fence, the perfect American lifestyle is corrupt. Because he transformed his whole life goals into being successful, when he looses his job, he is afraid that his family will leave him forever because he couldn't achieve it. He realizes that what he had before was what true life should look like, and he begs his wife for it back. He learns not to get caught up in the future, and to appreciate the little things in life, like nature. He discovers this through taking a walk.
Overall this song has a lot more going on than what meets the eye. I think it's about life can't ever be perfect, and there will always be conflict. I think it's also about how we live in a materialistic society, and how sometimes we need look up from our twitters and instagrams, and appreciate the world around us.
Link to the lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/passionpit/takeawalk.html
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