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
5 comments:
i dont like how the lyrics say "mother and dad." why doesnt it say mother and father?
Do you think the girl in the song is self conscious about her appearances and that is why the song is called skin??
If the nurse is about to tell her bad news then why does it say the "nurse with the smile stands at the door?"
I like how you reference bone marrow and different cancers because it isnt actually stated in the song what she has, they just kindof assume we know.
Like whitenack, I'd really like to hear you eventually talk about why it's called "skin"
This was really nice BTW.
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