The Dance-Garth Brooks

“The Dance”

“The Dance”, is written by Tony Arata and performed by Garth Brooks, together they create a strong argument for a way to view life. The argument is to enjoy your life and not to worry about the pain that may be caused in the end. An example of ethos, is Garth Brooks performing this piece. He is a credible singer and liked by many. When you first here the lyrics to “The Dance”, most think of a sad love song but it has a deeper meaning after the lyrics are analyzed. The argument being made is to live life as it comes and not to worry about what could happen. In the song the chorus is “I'm glad I didn't know the way it all would end, the way it all would go. Our lives, are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain, but I'da had to miss, the dance.” I analyzed this, as he is glad he didn't know how bad the things in his life would end because of all the great things he experienced along the way and would have missed out on if he didn't take the 'chance'. This can be considered a form of pathos because everyone can relate to a situation where a happy moment or time of their lives ended painfully. This could be the death of a loved one, an end to a relationship or friendship or even a tragic event. Listening to the lyrics of this song can touch the hearts of anyone who has experienced pain.
The term 'the dance', means more than just a dance. It is also a metaphor for happiness and joy, a good time in your life. For example, “I could have missed the pain, but I'da had to miss the dance.” Another way that could be interpreted is “I could have missed the pain, but I'da had to miss the good times.” Another word used for a deeper meaning, is the word 'king'. “Wasn't I a king? But if I'd only known, how the king would fall. Hey who's to say, you know I might have changed it all.” When you think of the word king, powerful and strong are some words that come to mind. The image of a king 'falling' in the emotional sense is a powerful image and shows that anyone, even someone strong and mighty can fall.
In the beginning of the song when it says, “For a moment, all the world was right” this is used to support the argument that it may have only be a moment, but in that moment everything in a sense was perfect. The organization of the lyrics text, or the syntax is an important strategy for the writers argument. The lyrics are organized in a manner that describes the good parts of his experience and only makes a brief reference to the way it ended. This helps the argument that the good times are more important than the bad.
The video for “The Dance” is incredible. Without seeing the video it is hard to comprehend the meaning behind the argument. The video begins with a message from Garth Brooks saying that the song “is about life, or the loss of those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for a dream that they believed in”. That statement really sets the tone for the song. It automatically gets your mind set on that view of the song and you no longer see the love gone wrong song but the song about life. He also mentions those who are seen in the video such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, John Wayne, Keith Whitley, and those involved in the Apollo 13. Throughout the video there are actual video clips of those people mentioned, showing how happy they were. Regardless of the way their lives were ended they still had an impact on others lives and enjoyed the journey that led up to their deaths. Visually seeing those people while hearing the words of the song is very empowering. If the song itself does not convince the listener of this view, the video will. At the end of the video and the song, Garth Brooks states, “If for some reason I was to leave this world unexpectedly I hope they play “The Dance” for me. Yea, I could have missed the pain but I'da had to miss the the dance and I wouldn't miss this for the world.” Concluding the video with this statement is a good rhetorical strategy to use ethos and pathos. The ethos is that this shows that Garth Brooks and those people seen in the video believe in living your life that way and pathos is used by all the tragic ending to those lives.
While looking at the other videos on YouTube, I came across another video that was made by Tyler Cook. This video gets the same message across and makes the same argument. It uses a more recent tragedy that hits home to many Americans, September 11. The editing effects used from the actual footage of the horrific day on September 11, and can get to the hearts of everyone.

Link to Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0-laiA7gI

Link to 9/11 Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLggpi0DI34

Link to Lyrics
http://artists.letssingit.com/garth-brooks-lyrics-the-dance-9676l8c