"Wrong Way" by Sublime

Joe Garcia

English 102

Rhetorical Analysis

Don’t Live The “Wrong Way”

Rhetoric, as defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, is “the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion. Persuasion is constantly used in everyday situations. Whether it is a television commercial, a political figure’s speech or even a normal conversation, rhetoric has proven to be an inevitable part of life. When it comes to the relationship between music and rhetoric, the song “Wrong Way” by the band Sublime can be a perfect example of how rhetorical strategies lead to effective persuasion. “Wrong Way” successfully persuades the audience that life should not be lived the wrong way and points out that there are people in society that have extremely rough lives because of their wrong way of life. The lyrics used effectively address the argument and affect the audience by producing emotional visuals.

The main argument of the song is about the story of a girl who came from a rather unconventional family who constantly takes advantage of her and forces her into a harmful way of life. The main character of the song, who meets the girl, points out that she is living life the wrong way and tries to save her from destroying herself. However, the main character also admits that he, at one point in time, had harmed the girl and regrets taking that action, yet states “but I am only a man” as a way of condoning his actions toward the girl. Pathos seems to be the main rhetorical strategy used throughout the lyrics. The most effective use of pathos in the lyrics seems to be in the second verse that states:

“The only family that she's ever had
Is her seven horny brothers and a drunk-ass dad
He needed money so he put her on the street
Everything was going fine until the day she met me”

While explaining her situation, the lyrics paint an emotional picture of a girl with a broken home that is seemingly about to get away from the hardships of living with her family. The song repeats the lyrics, “Big salty tears running down to her chin, and it ruins up her makeup, I never wanted.” An emotional tone is very clear as the lyrics state that the girl is in so much pain dealing with this wrong way of life that she is crying out to the other character who is upset because he never wanted the girl to be in such a state of disarray.

Ethos is used in the lyrics as well; however, it is not used as much as pathos. In our society, prostitution is considered illegal and immoral, especially when a father puts his own daughter in that situation for self gain. As a citizen and a fellow human being, the main character in the song explains the father’s actions as the wrong way, and has the authority to say so because he is viewing the girls life from an outside point of view and notices that her life does not form the stereotypical view of a decent life in the society and standards that both characters are supposed to abide by.

The strategies used in the song are effective in explaining that no one should live a wrong way, but the main character seems to contradict his own opinion by treating the girl in a harmful way. It is clear that the main character in the song shows remorse for his actions, but because of the hypocrisy, a question can be posed asking whether or not her life is actually the wrong way since he himself was dragged into the wrong way at one point in a seemingly natural way.

Another question can be asked to the main character in the song regarding his right to say whether or not her life is really the wrong way. Throughout the world there are many different cultures, each with different standards and morals. The girl’s life may be considered normal or acceptable in a certain society, but since the girl was forced into this wrong way of life, the argument concerning what is considered the wrong way of life can lean towards supporting the main character’s perspective because the main character supports the girls own choice as to how she wants to live her life.

The rhetoric used in the music video reflects nearly every aspect of pathos in the song’s lyrics. Many emotional visuals, such as the girl crying or the father shown to be intoxicated and going off in a tantrum, are used to emphasize the horrible situation the girl gets stuck in. When the main character meets the girl in despair, the tone of the video changes, emotional images such as smiles, laughter, and brighter colors are used to express the girl’s happiness when she is with the main character. When the song is coming to an end and the main character realizes that he has wronged her himself, the colors turn very abstract and the camera angles used can symbolize chaos and distraction.

The music video also seems to explain the family of the girl more vividly than the lyrics. Throughout the song, the family is mentioned only once, yet throughout the video the family is constantly showing up adding more understanding and support to the girl’s wrong way of life. The lyrics of the video, on the other hand, support the music video by forewarning the audience of a conflict between the characters before the event occurred in the video adding dramatic irony.

Throughout the song, many rhetorical strategies are used to persuade the girl into believing she is living life a wrong way and should choose how she wants to live instead of listening to her family. Sublime has created a song that speaks to many people that are in tough life situations. With the use of effective rhetorical strategies the band has shown, with the use of the song’s lyrics and video, people have the right and ability to live life as he or she wants to.

Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqCOXH-nMM8

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/s/sublimelyrics/wrongwaylyrics.html