Discussion on Drug Addiction and Recovery in Popular Culture Through Music Lyrics - Paper Example

Drugs and substance abuse is a social problem in our society today. There are numerous social, economic and health problems associated with alcohol, narcotic and other substance abuse. Apart from it being a social problem by itself, it also leads to other ones like abuse, crime, violence and drugged driving. Many that have gone down this path have had so much to lose including their lives (The Recovery Village, 2016). However, some have overcome the problem through drug recovery and rehabilitation. Natural drug recovery occurs due to personal decisions to stop and dont involve support or treatment. The other rescue is through social support and intervention. Rehabilitation uses medical techniques to reduce dependence on drugs while giving a social support touch.

Addiction has been a problem facing many best selling musicians. It was a patterned fabric for some of them that the pain and emotion expressed in their music. There are therefore countless songs about addiction, but this paper will focus on the ones that speak of consciousness of the problems and the recovery process.

Its Been Awhile by StaindIts Been Awhile is a song produces in 2001 by Staind band for the album Break the Cycle. The genre of the song is post-grunge and is directed to everyone who lost something because of addiction (Lewis et al., 2001). The song is by a band of four males. The tone is sad and takes a slow tempo (track 1).

The themes that the song is centered are addiction, recovery, and love. The narrator is calling back an old love that he hurt in his previous addicted life. The approach the song takes is to reveal the effects the drugs had on him. The narrator had messed up things in his life due to drug addiction to the extent that he lost his love and even the desire for himself (Lewis et al., 2001). However, He has taken the recovery road and now could hold his head up high and stand again. The language uses direct as he uses the word addicted to explaining his condition and direct statements to tell how he had messed things up (track 1)

Young Homie by Chris Rene

Young homie was debut song sang and written by Chris Rene on the Album Im Right Here. The genre of the song falls in Rap, R&B, and hip-hop. It is addressed to the young generation to know that life is too short with addiction (Rene et al., 2012). The singer is a young male to fit in with his audience. The tone is funky and takes a fast tempo (track 1)

The themes the song revolves around are alcohol addiction and peace. The narrator speaks about a problem that he had that had cause fears into his life. It was alcohol addiction. The remedy to the concern he had was leaving the alcohol. The song is a success story of a recovery of nine months from the drugs. The narrator uses the depiction of a sober life to represent turning of the negativity to positivity, getting along with people and maintaining peace (Rene et al., 2012). Addiction, on the other hand, is seen to cause fear, fights, and destruction. The recipe is used metaphorically to represent the drug recovery process. The vernaculars used in the song are Hennessey to signify alcohol, homie for the youth and trip in to illustrate fear (Rene et al., 2012).

Amazing by Aerosmith

Amazing is a song by the band Aerosmith of blues and rock genre produced in 1993. It is a single in the album Get a Grip and was sung b-side Gotta Love it. It addressed all audiences and was sung by a band of 5 (Tyler & Supa, 1993). It takes a fast tempo and takes a joyful tone. (track 1).

The themes in the song are drugs, pain, and recovery. The drug addiction in the song is explained to have caused pain and almost insanity to the singer. It had caused him to lose the grip of life, and he tried living a lie. Moreover, the narrator found the recovery process hard using the statement I thought I could leave but couldnt get out the door (Tyler & Supa, 1993). The process was progressive until finally, he made it out and found freedom from the pain and desperation. The imagery appears when he tells the crawling before learning to walk to describe the recovery. Seeing the light is also used to designate the recovery (Tyler & Supa, 1993).

Sober by Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson sang Sober in her album In December produced in 2000. The genre of the song is alternative rock, pop, and rock. It takes a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute and makes a nostalgic tone. There is no specific audience for the song; it targets everyone who relates to the idea of an addiction in their life (Clarkson et al., 2007). The song uses a female singer and offers a female perspective on addiction recovery (track 2).

Kelly Clarkson takes an approach of explaining the struggle after a recovery from addiction. The themes in the song are fear and redemption. The persona has had three months of being sober although she is having concerns about if she let go completely. She left the evil influences and people of the past addiction and took the good ones to the new life (Clarkson et al., 2007). However, she holds on to the thought that at the end of it all she will find a path to self-realization. Flowers have been used metaphorically to represent the people that influenced her recovery while the evil influence is described by the weeds (Clarkson et al., 2007).

Just as I amby Brantley Gilbert

Just as I am was released in 2014 by Brantley Gilberts in the studio album Just As I am. The genre of the music is country and rock. The song is sung by a male singer and addresses alcohol addicts and the religious people (Gilbert, 2014). It takes a slow tempo, and the tone is melancholic (track 1)

The themes in the song are alcohol addiction and redemption. Gilberts uses a religious approach towards addiction recovery. Having being burdened by the troubles of alcohol, broken hearts, caused war and shed blood, the narrator seeks help from God (Gilbert, 2014). He takes himself to church with the alcohol to pray for the lord to help him leave the addiction. The narrator uses My friend metaphorically to signify how fond he was of liquor (Gilbert, 2014). Further, he quotes the bible verses Come just as you are to signify the divine intervention he needed in his life (track 1).

Popular Articles

Flourish Anyway (2017) speaks of the struggles faced by a friend who was an addict. She reached rock bottom before having to seek a recovery process to stop the drug menace. Further, Flourish gives instances in music lyrics that the same example of her friend has been replicated (Anyway, 2017). The recovery Village Express how drug addiction affects musicians of the popular culture (2016). Therefore most of them after the recovery, give their stories through their music (The Recovery Village, 2016).

Peer Reviewed Article

The article expresses the use of media to addresses the effects of alcohol on the behavior of the youth and adolescents. It gives a literature review of the methods that create alcohol literacy and the impact they have (Hindmarsh et al., 2015). The central research question is the effect of media literacy in creating and solving the addiction. In as much as there is information that influences the use of drugs in the media, media is also the channel where recovery information is spread. Ten interventions are made to regulate and help the press in solving addiction Hindmarsh et al., 2015).

Conclusion

All the five songs take different perspectives in explaining the recovery process. However, they all show how the past struggle with addiction was a source of conflict, fear, and despair. Having hit rock bottom, the narrators find their way back to the light. The music promotes the recovery process giving it credit for changing lives. Drug addiction is serious Problem facing many in the society. Therefore, it speaks well of how the popular culture is helping in the fight against drug addiction. References

Anyway, F., (2017) Songs about Addiction, Dependency, Getting Sober, and Recovery. Retrieved from https://spinditty.com/playlists/Songs-About-Addiction-Dependency-Getting-Sober-and-Recovery.

Clarkson, K., Eubanks, A., Messer, J., & McEntire, M., (2007). Sober[Recorded by Kelly Clarkson]. On My December[CD].RCA 19 S

Gilbert, B. (2014). Just as I Am. On Just as I Am [CD]. Valory Music group

Hindmarsh, C. S., Jones, S. C., & Kervin, L. (2015). Effectiveness of alcohol media literacy programmes: a systematic literature review. Health education research, 30(3), 449-465.Lewis, A., Mushok, M., April, J., & Wysocki, J. (2001). Its Been Awhile [Recorded by Staind]. On Break the Cycle [CD]. Elektra

Rene, C., Rene, G., Rene, G.,Rotem, J., James, M., Pistilli, G., & Murphy, W (2012). Young Homie [Recorded by Chris Rene]. On Im Right Here [digital download]. Epic Records Japan

The recovery Village (2016) Recovery Playlist: 10 Songs About Addiction And Sobriety Retrieved from https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/recovery-blog/songs-addiction-recovery.

Tyler S. & Supa, R. (1993). Amazing [Recorded by Aerosmith]. On Get a Grip [CD].UMG; Geffen.