Brianne Keller
Bloomsburg University
Choose an Artifact The artifact I choose to study is the song performed by Train, called Drops of Jupiter. This song has a long list of metaphors, both straight forward and hidden within the context. There are many interpretations to the lyrics, but nevertheless, the metaphors remain. Therefore, Metaphor Criticism is the criticism I choose to analyze this artifact.
Some background on the song and band; Train was a small-town band, originally forming in San Francisco, California in 1994. They didn’t make a full band and go on tour until 1997. They are now a Grammy-award winning group, who have had three albums in the Top Ten, with four songs in the Top Twenty Hits! The band worked hard to get where they are, and it all started getting better in 2001. This is when Drops of Jupiter, the album, was released. In March, the song was a hit. By June, the song was now a RIAA- certified platinum. Then continued for 53 weeks in the Top 100! It won a Best Rock Song Grammy for Train, as well as a Best Arrangement Grammy for Paul Buckmaster (Train (band) autobiography). Buckmaster is a cello artist who has done arrangements for Elton John, David Bowie, and The Rolling Stones (Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) by Train).
Justifying Your Selection This song may have been in the early 2000’s, but to this day Drops of Jupiter is still on the radio and recognized by most ages. This was again seen on the UK Top singles chart in April 2012 after a performance on The Voice by Phil Poole (Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) by Train).As mentioned before, it earned the band some Grammys along with a major portion of their popularity.
There are multiple meanings to the metaphors in this song. Some define the lyrics as a way to describe a happy friendship that gets blown off for a love relationship with someone else. Others define it as a girl who keeps looking for love in the wrong places. Another
References: Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) by Train Songfacts. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1392 Parts of a metaphor. (2015). Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.changingminds.org/techniques/language/metaphor/metaphor_parts.htm Stanton, E. (2012). Metaphor Criticism. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://elissastanton.seufolios.org/metaphor-criticism/ Train (band) biography, 1998, 2001, drops of jupiter, 2003, my private nation, 2006. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://www.shawstar.com/music/train_(band).htm Train - Drops Of Jupiter Lyrics | SongMeanings. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2015, from http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/7932/