SKIN video

In this video I showed the correlation and comparison of one girls true story, Sarah Elizabeth Kennedy, and her journey through cancer and how it relates to the character Sarabeth in the song Skin

http://www.saracare.org/

Final Stanza Analysis

Its quarter to seven
That boys at the door
And her daddy ushers him in
And when he takes off his cap
They all start to cry
Cause this mornin where his hair had been
Softly she touches just skin

In this stanza I feel I need to contradict my last analysis when I said it best explains why the song is called skin. I think the  stanza above is the main stanza in explaining in why the song is called skin. This stanza tells us that her dream came true she gets to go to prom.  This stanza seems to be the climax of the song. It was what we waitin for. Sarabeth's fear of losing her hair is what the song revolves around. This is the moment that makes her worry about her hair disappear. 

This stanza builds up suspense as it says " it's quarter to seven, that boys at the door" It makes us think what boy and why is he there? Than we come to find out that she is going to prom with a boy. This is her dream come true moment. As a listener I wanted her dream to come true, it makes a sweet ending for the song. I think any listener gets this same emotion. The audience feels so sympathetic for her that they want her dream to come true. This is what makes this song heartwarming, is that one boy had the courage to shave his head for her and take her to prom. It is a nice love story. 

 It takes a song that at first that is so sad and gives it a happy ending. It is bitter sweet, Sarabeth at this points realizes that if you lose your hair it's ok you are still beautiful. The boy shows her this in shaving his head. It make her feel good that someone likes her so much they were willing to shave their head for her.

 This song sends a strong message for cancer survivors, those suffering from cancer, and those who know a loved one going through cancer. It is specifically directed towards girls who are young and have cancer. Although it sends a message to all of society.  It gives  a message that you should appreciate the small things in life because you never know what can happen. Things like going to prom and your first love. It makes you realize how one persons action can make someone feel happy and take their worries away. 

And they go dancin
Around and around without any cares
And her very first true love is holding her close
And for a moment she isn't scared. 

The last and final stanza is the same as the chorus except for the last line. It says " and for the moment she isn't scared". This tells me that her dream came true and  took her away from all her worries in life at the moment. This all happened because of one boy. He was willing to take her to prom and love her the way she deserved. he even shaved his head to show her he cares. He also did it to make her feel comfortable so she isn't the only one with a bald head. This is a happy ending story. 

This song carries a lot of emotions: sympathy, sadness, and joy. I like the ending and feel it was the way it need to end. It still keeps you questioning though if Sarabeth got through the cancer, or if she started dating the boy who took her to prom. 

My final argument is that maybe this song was written because of  the songwriters own experience with losing someone to cancer, or knowing a loved one going through cancer. The writer took things that appeal to a lot of people such as young love, tragedy that has a happy ending, and a realistic story people can relate to.

Sixth Stanza Analysis

For, just this morning right there on her pillow
Was the cruelest of any surprise
And she cried when she gathered it all in her hands
The proof that she couldn't deny

I think this stanza  mostly reflects why the song is called skin. This whole stanza is about  Sarabeth's biggest fear in going through cancer: losing her hair. This is why I believe the song is called skin, to put emphasis on the fact the only thing she'll have on her head is "skin". All people will see when they look at her is the lack of hair on her head, only bearing skin. This may make her feel abnormal in the view of others and this may be why she fears it so much. This shows in the line "was the cruelest of any surprise" This tells me this is one of the worst things for cancer patients is losing their hair. I think especially for girls it is hard because it shows their beauty and feminism.  

I think at this point it became real for her that she has cancer.  This is stated in the line, "The proof that she couldn't deny". This proves that until this moment she was still doubting that cancer would affect her or that i was really happening to her. With this moment she couldn't deny what was in front of her eyes. 

My girlfriend who lost her hair told me that was the hardest part for her. She was afraid she wouldn't be pretty anymore and that her boyfriend wouldn't love her anymore. There is a lot of emotion that comes with losing your hair  from what I have observed from my friend. She told me that it is hard losing your hair because it is the point you realize how rough cancer is on your body and the devastation that come with it.

Fifth stanza analysis

Sarabeth is scared to death
As she sits holding her mom
Cause it would be a mistake
For someone to take
A girl with no hair to the prom

The first lien of this stanza is a line that is repeated in the song. This is putting emphasis on the fact that she is very scared and doesn't know what to expect from the chemo treatment and dealing with cancer. The second line says she sit holding her mom, but why not her dad? I think it is because she may have a closer relationship with her mom. Or maybe it is just the fact that women are more emotional and she feels her mom can comfort her better. Also maybe her dad wasn't there at this time. I wonder if this takes place right after she receives the news and having no hair and going to prom is the first thing she worries about. Or is this  after Sarabeth is already into chemotherapy and she is thinking about prom because it is coming up.

  The last three lines contradict some of the things i  said about her dream. In this stanza we find out shes dreaming about dancing because shes afraid no one will  want to take her to prom since she will have no hair.  She thinks her beauty will be gone when she loses her hair. I think her biggest concern in this song is losing her hair. This may relate back to why  the song is called skin. 

Analyzing this stanza tells me that maybe she wasn't literally dreaming of this. She was just reflecting about it in her mind. She wasn't actually in the sleepign state of dreaming she was just thinkign about it inher head as a dream.  It seems to me her worst fear is losing her hair there is a lot of emphasis on it throughout the song. Also she fears she will miss out on everything she would be doing is she didn't get cancer. Things a normal girl teenager would do like go to prom and have a boyfriend.

Chorus Analysis

Sarabeth closes her eyes
And she dreams she's dancing
Around and around without any cares
And her very first love is holding her close
And the soft wind is blowing her hair

This stanza is about a dream Sarabeth had or is having. This  dream could be right after the news or a couple weeks into treatment we do not know. This may be her way of escaping her fear, and pain. The question is why is she dreaming about dancing of all things? Is this because she feels free when she dances. Maybe her passion is dancing and she can't do it anymore because of her cancer.  Maybe the only time she feels peaceful and carefree is when she is dancing. These could all be reasons for why she dreams of dancing.  

I believe dreaming of better days like this dream is her way to clear her head from all the things in her life right now like the cancer. Maybe she has never danced before with a boy and dreams of this day but is now afraid it will never happen because of the cancer. The line "And her very first true love is holding her close"  this says she has never been in love and dreams of the day. She dreams of the day she can dance with him with no worries just happiness. 

The last line is referring to her hair blowing is telling me that she may have already lost her hair from treatment and can't wait to have it back. This seems to be her ultimate dream her happy place in her life which isn't the greatest right now. Maybe all the drugs she is receiving from chemo treatments are triggering a bunch of different dreams and this is just one of them. Or maybe this is a re-occuring dream that she uses to stay emotionally positive. I am wondering if this dream comes true, later on in the song we will find out. 

Third stanza analysis

Six chances in ten it won't come back again
With the therapy were gonna try
It's just been approved
It's the strongest there is
I think we caught it in time

The first line says "six chances in ten it won't come back again" The first thing in my mind is what won't come back again? This still implies that she has  cancer  which can be curable but has its chances. This sounds like the doctor or nurse is saying this to Sarabeth. Like this is still part of the news she was receiving. This whole stanza seems to be the doctors voice, telling her what to expect with cancer and to encourage her that there are good chances of her beating the cancer. The doctor is being encouraging giving her some good news along with the bad news he gave her in the prior stanza. 

I still believe the prior stanza the doctor was first telling her the news that she has cancer. They say the therapy is the strongest there is. This is very vague they don't say what kind of treatment but if you look back to he prior stanza it says the treatment is chemotherapy.  Than the doctor or nurse says "I think we caught it in time." This can evoke both fear and happpiness. This is because it is a good thing they caught it in time, but they said they "think" instead of they "did" catch it in time. This can be scary that they aren't sure because than it worsens her situtation.

The tone of this whole stanza is hope. Hope that things will go well for her. This is coming from the doctor encouraging her that she has hope. Another thing to look at is is if the doctor is just talking to sarabeth at this point or only her parents. I believe he is addressing both Sarabeth and her parents giving them both some positive information on top of the bad news that she has cancer.

why is it called skin?

A few people have been asking why do I think the song is called skin? 

 I feel the song is called skin because it goes along with my other analyses of the song that it is about cancer. Cancer is treated with chemotherapy.  When you go through chemo treatment it kills  all the cells in your body and is very rough on you. Becasue of this you lose all your hair on your body, eyelashes, eyebrows, arm hair and all. This may hint at that Sarabeth's appearance consists of only skin. This is what she fears most about going through treatment for cancer. This may be saying she is self conscious of her appearance. And thinks she isn't attractive anymore without hair. 

My friend going through Leukemia  just went through her first treatment of chemo and it was very hard on her to lose her hair. She was afraid it was the only thing that made her still look attractive and beautiful. The one thing left making her appear feminine. She was even afraid her boyfriend wouldn't be attracted to her anymore. Losing her hair was the thing that has bothered her most through this whole  thing. I truly think this relates to  to the song title. The fact the song is called skin can tell us it is a big part of going through cancer, is you lose all your hair and only bear skin on your body. This may even mean that Sarabeth will look different and fears this, that she won't be normal anymore. This is just one of the things she will lose or miss out on on  through cancer.

 I think this title is strong and greatly relates to the song. Later in the song there are more context clues that i will discuss further on why the song is called "skin". It gives more lyrics to explain my points. I will come back to this well brought up point later on in my analysis.

Second Stanza Analysis

Sarabeth is scared to death
Cause the doctor just told her the news
Between the red cells and white
Something's not right
But we're gonna take care of you

This first line is reinstating that Sarabeth is scared to death as it did in the first stanza. This is focusing in on Sarabeth's emotion and fear. In the first lien she is scared to hear the news in his lien she is scared because of the news she received from the doctor. The song doesn't say what kind of doctor this is. If it is a specialized doctor or a regular doctor. Because of this, it doesn't give us much information on what the news may be towards. We know that the news wasn't good because she is scared now, but what is the news? The next two lines say "Between the red cells and white something's not right." This suggests something is wrong with the functioning of her red and white blood cells.  I still take this as that she has cancer because all cancers begin in cells, which make up blood and other tissues. 

Why do i think the type of cancer is leukemia? I believe it is Leukemia because leukemia is cancer that begins in blood cells."In people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells. The abnormal cells are leukemia cells. At first, leukemia cells function almost normally. In time, they may crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. This makes it hard for blood to do its work." This makes sense that is leukemia because the song says her white and red blood cells aren't working properly.

The last line says we're gonna take care of you. This is very vague, who is "we're" is it her mom and dad saying this? Or is it her doctor and nurses saying this. I think the song is talking about all of them taking care of her. The Song saying "we're" may be hinting that Sarabeth needs both her parents for support and the doctor and nurses for medical attention and to fight the cancer. She needs both for emotional support and doctors who will physically make her better.

Analysis of First Stanza of Skin

Sarabeth  is scared to death

To hear what the doctor will say

She Hasn't been well 

Since the day that she fell

And the bruise it just won't go away

So she sits and she waits with her mother and dad

And flips through an old magazine

Til the nurse with the smile stands at the door

And says will you please come with me

The first stanza of the song starts out with a girl, "Sarabeth", being scared to death to hear what the doctor will say." This implies that something is wrong with her and she is waiting on good or bad news towards her heath from a doctor. We do not know what kind of doctor or where she is. She could be in the hospital or nay kind of doctors office. The nurse, doctor and the family waiting for news tells us that it may not be good news. 

The listener may assume a number of reasons of  why she is in the hospital. Some may assume she is pregnant and there might be something wrong with her pregnancy. Others may assume she has a blood clotting disorder because it talks about a bruise that wont go away. It is hard for the listener to truly know what is wrong  unless they hear the rest of the song. I believe it is cancer the song is referring to in this first stanza.. Many listeners may not assume this from context unless they know something about cancer. It is obvious that the girl isn't well becasue it is cleary stated, but why do I assume that it is cancer? 

 I assume this song right away is about cancer, because it points to a form of cancer called leukemia. This is shown in the second through fourth line where it states that "she hasn't been well since the day that she fell and the bruise it just won't go away" There are many forms of cancer but one of the prominent signs of Leukemia  is bruising that won't heal because your white blood cells aren't functioning. Also injuries that won't heal. "leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells"( Wikipedia). I  know this because one of my best friends were just diagnosed with leukemia a month ago.  Leukemia is implied but we do not find out later in the song if it is leukemia. 

The format of the first stanza is that of an introduction. It introduces the setting of the song, either a hospital or doctor's office. This stanza also introduces the focus of the song;  a health problem with a young girl and the main character affected; Sarabeth. This stanza is set up for you to expect that the song will be about the journey the girl will go through in dealing with cancer and the emotions that follow. The tone of this first stanza is anticipation and fear. It is clearly stated in the first line that she is scared to death. Than in the last stanzas it shows her parents and her are waiting in anticipation to hear either good or bad news. If she does or doesn't have what I believe is cancer. This first stanza doesn't tell you if she has leukemia for sure but hints at it. The nurse walking in with a smile on her face,  makes the listener think it is  good news the nurse will be presenting to Sarabeth. We will not find out until the second stanza whether she has cancer or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukemia

Purpose of Blog

This blog is a student run project to delve into "Skin" written by Doug Johnson and Joe Henry and sung by  Rascal Flatts.  The posts that follow will contain a textual and contextual analysis of the lyrics, the writer’s word choice, how the music emphasizes certain lyrics, and how those lyrics function in the world.  

I am particularly interested in seeing what responses, memories and feelings these lyrics evoke in myself as I continue to peel back the layers of meaning.  And less interested in interviews given by the artist on the lyrics, although I may include some of those later on in my project.

Later, this blog will also feature an analysis of the official music video associated with the song.

SKIN LYRICS

SKIN LYRICS

Artist: Rascal Flatts

Songwriters: DougJohnson and Joe Henry 

Sarabeth is scared to death
To hear what the doctor will say
She hasn't been well
Since the day that she fell
And the bruise, it just won't go away
So she sits and she waits with her mother and dad
Flips through an old magazine
Till the nurse with a smile
Stands at the door
And says will you please come with me

Sarabeth is scared to death
Cause the doctor just told her the news
Between the red cells and white
Something's not right
But we're gonna take care of you

Six chances in ten it won't come back again
With the therapy were gonna try
It's just been approved
It's the strongest there is
I think we caught it in time

Sarabeth closes her eyes
And she dreams she's dancing
Around and around without any cares
And her very first love is holding her close
And the soft wind is blowing her hair

Sarabeth is scared to death
As she sits holding her mom
Cause it would be a mistake
For someone to take
A girl with no hair to the prom

For, just this morning right there on her pillow
Was the cruelest of any surprise
And she cried when she gathered it all in her hands
The proof that she couldn't deny

Sarabeth closes her eyes
And she dreams she's dancing
Around and around without any cares
And her very first love was holding her close
And the soft wind is blowing her hair

Its quarter to seven
That boys at the door
And her daddy ushers him in
And when he takes off his cap
They all start to cry
Cause this mornin where his hair had been
Softly she touches just skin

And they go dancin
Around and around without any cares
And her very first true love is holding her close
And for a moment she isn't scared

http://www.elyrics.net/read/r/rascal-flatts-lyrics/skin-lyrics.html