Rhetorical Analysis Thought Piece

     In day-to-day life, it’s interesting how we’re always looking for deeper meanings in everything that we observe. In fact, I believe it’s a good thing that we as human beings do this, or else we’d just believe everything that is presented to us. In a way, it’s natural for anyone to make an argument out of a seemingly simple statement that we observe. For example, I listen to music every time I take a study break. Usually, I listen to new music, like pop, dance, and hip hop songs. A few years ago, I watched the music video for Katy Perry’s hit single “The One that got Away”, and I couldn’t help but explore the story and meanings embedded within the visuals and audio of the video.

     Many of the lyrics hold deeper meanings and references to past events, people, and places that add to the song’s emotional appeal. Katy sings “I was Jane and you were my Johnny Cash”, harking back to when Jane Morgan wrote “A girl named Johnny Cash” in response to Johnny Cash’s song “A boy named Sue” and how the two singers collaborated and made each other more successful in the mid 1950’s. This demonstrates Katy Perry’s logical appeal in “The One that got Away”, showing how her past boyfriend made her a better woman. Perry also sings, “I found you downtown, singing the blues”, referencing the song “Singing the Blues” that was released in 1956 and sung by Melvin Endsley. This also brings the listener back to the 1950’s and early 1960’s, when the plot of the music video takes place. Many of Perry’s music references act as a way to appeal to the emotions of listeners, which is a good tactic considering “The One that got Away” is a song about a love story. Lastly, the music video portrays the moment that Katy Perry’s boyfriend left her by showing a first generation Ford Mustang falling off the side of a cliff and Katy falling to her knees in a closet where she had been crying. This act of falling shows how a rewarding relationship can make someone feel high on love and happiness, and how it can come crashing down in the instant that the relationship goes downhill. The video ends with the song “You are my Sunshine” and an older Katy Perry looking over a cliff where her past boyfriend died in a car crash. This scene allows the video to gain emotional appeal, as it reminds viewers of past moments that they wish they could’ve changed or that they wish had happened differently. The song “You are my Sunshine” ends abruptly, explaining how good things can end in an instant and leaving the viewer to think about how they should live their life in the now.

     When I first looked up the lyrics to Katy Perry’s song “The One that got Away”, I didn’t think that I was using rhetorical analysis. I was just curious and wanted to know the deeper meanings behind the song and behind the images portrayed in the music video. I came to the conclusion that whether you know it or not, you are constantly using rhetorical analysis to form opinions and conclusions in day-to-day life. We constantly seek understanding from the things we observe, and by looking for deeper meanings through the use of context and evidence, we can make better sense of what we see and hear everyday.