There are two songs here that I am going to look at. Both of them have lyrics that talk of a difficult challenge, but music that is happy and uplifting.
And that is 'Make Your Own Kind of Music', written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and sung by Cass Elliot, and 'Believe', the Cher hit, which was written by numerous writers.
Both of these songs talk of serious things, very important things, which are important to achieve, and both songs have lyrics that talk of the difficulties of achieving this.
But both have happy, uplifting music, which adds extra layers of meaning.
As the words are recognizing the difficulty of finding life after love, or of doing your own thing, the happy, uplifting music is saying, yes, it is difficult, but you can make it! You can do this!
'Make your own kind of Music' talks of the importance of doing your own thing, and not just giving into the blind crowd. And as the lyrics recognize that 'just to do your thing is the hardest thing to do', a huge happy swell climaxing on the following words, 'but you've got to (climax:) Make Your Own kind of Music', tells you that you can do it and that it will be so worth it when you do!
Similarly, Cher's hit 'Believe' asks: 'Do you believe in Life after Love?' and then recognizes the difficulty of finding life after the loss of love: 'I feel something inside myself saying I really don't think I'm strong enough', but with a happy, driving melody and beat that encourages you to keep going and to try to be happy anyway, for that is how you find life after losing love: by facing the difficulties and trying to be happy anyway, keeping going anyway, not stopping, and trying to be happy anyway!
And in this song, the driving disco beat becomes an insistent, encouraging cry to keep going and to not give up, turning the driving disco beat itself into a philosophical statement!
In both of these songs, the happy uplifting music in the face of lyrics recognizing the difficulties adds a huge extra layer of meaning, showing us that despite the difficulties, that we can do it anyway, and that when we do it will be so worth it!
This is my analysis of this part of these two songs!
Keep your head up! You'll make it!
God loves you!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson