7th Blog Post
Song Chosen: Respect by Aretha Franklin
I get such an upbeat feeling from this song, the backup singers add such a fun vibe to the piece. I also think this is a great example of the R&B genre, as it rings true to the past feeling of blues, but also has a great beat. The saxophone at 1:17 is so good, I've always adored a good saxophone!
Upon lyric analysis and some research, I have found it has become sort of a women empowerment movement. In Franklin's version of the song, she explains that she believes she deserves respect from her man when he gets home. She speaks of his kisses which may imply she wants intimacy from him. The original writer of this song is Otis Redding, who basically is demanding respect when he comes home to his wife because he makes all the money. It depicts the average American household at the time under a patriarchal power. Aretha flips this to be sung from a woman's point of view, demanding respect from her man which was controversial at the time! This is why it is seen as women empowerment.
My favorite part of this song is the passion and grit in Franklin's voice, the recording quality gives it such an old time-y feel that I love as well. Her ardor really helps bring her point across of wanting respect from her man. She is not saying this quietly, she is exclaiming her opinion as a strong woman! I love her enthusiasm along with her backup singers. All over such an awesome song for its time!
That is so cool that this song was written about that, I loved how you worded this description! I have always loved being able to pick out specific instruments out of the piece, especially the saxophone! I also enjoyed hearing the recording and the old time feel, it is cool to hear this in various pieces. Great job on this description!
ReplyDeleteI agree this is a good song. I love how up beat and face passed it is. I learned about this song in my English class talking about how it was a song originally written by a man wanting respect from his wife so I thought it was also really awesome how you talked about her flipping the song demanding respect from her husband.
ReplyDeleteNice job Alexis! This song is a great one! I agree, this song is very upbeat with a good tone to it. The vocals of "Respect" are very fun as well. This song is a classic and Aretha Franklin is such an Icon. This song is a very recognizable song.
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing song! I chose to listen to it for my blog this week as well. I love Aretha Franklin's powerhouse voice in this song. My mind was blown when I found out that Aretha wasn't the original singer for this song. Her version has become a classic. I love how she changed up the lyrics and the music to fit her and the message she wanted to portray.
ReplyDeleteI chose this song for my blog too! I didn't know until recently that it was about giving respect to women. This song is amazing! I recently watched the movie respect which is about aretha franklin and it was so cool so her upbringing.
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