theme revealed from metaphor in michael bublÉ’s call …

THEME REVEALED FROM METAPHOR IN MICHAEL

BUBLÉ’S CALL ME IRRESPONSIBLE ALBUM

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

BERNADETTA ASTRID WIDYASARI

Student Number: 174214027

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2021

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ii



AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By


Student Number: 174214027

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2021


iii

A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

THEME REVEALED FROM METAPHOR IN

MICHAEL BUBLÉ’S CALL ME IRRESPONSIBLE ALBUM

By


174214027

Approved by

Arina Isti’anah, S.Pd., M.Hum. July 7, 2021

Advisor

Simon Arsa Manggala, S.S., M.Hum. July 7, 2021

Co-Advisor


A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

THEME REVEALED FROM METAPHOR IN

MICHAEL BUBLÉ’S CALL ME IRRESPONSIBLE ALBUM

By


174214027

Defended before the Board of Examiners

On July 26, 2021

And Declared Acceptable

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

NAME SIGNATURE

Chairperson : Arina Isti’anah, S.Pd., M.Hum. _______________

Secretary : Simon Arsa Manggala, S.S., M.Hum. _______________

Member 1 : Anindita Dewangga Puri, S.S., M.A. _______________

Member 2 : Arina Isti’anah, S.Pd., M.Hum. _______________

Member 3 : Simon Arsa Manggala, S.S., M.Hum. _______________

Yogyakarta, July 30, 2021

Faculty of Letters

Sanata Dharma University

Dean

Dr. Tatang Iskarna

iv


v

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been

previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that,

to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material

previous writtern by any other person except where due reference is made in the

text of the undergraduate thesis.

July 6, 2021

Bernadetta Astrid Widyasari


vi

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH

UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma

Nama : Bernadetta Astrid Widyasari

Nomor Mahasiswa : 174214027

Dengan pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberiksn kepada Perpustakaan

Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul



beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan

kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,

mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan

data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau

media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya

maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya

sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal 6 Juli 2021

Yang menyatakan,



vii

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am

your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you

with my righteous right hand.

~ Isaiah 41:10 ~


viii

For my beloved parents,

And my lunatic friends,

Thank you for all the support and love

For this sluggish and lifeless Astrid


ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to God for His

precious blessing in giving me health, capability, and strength so that the research

paper can be done on time. He gives me His grace more than I deserve. He always

be my guidence even when I am complaining about His plan especially in the

process of making this research paper.

My gratitude goes to my thesis advisor, Arina Isti’anah, S.Pd., M.Hum.,

for the support and encouragement throught out the entire process of compiling

this research paper as well as my thesis co-advisor, Simon Arsa Manggala, S.S.,

M.Hum., for the helpful advices in completing this research paper.

Thirdly, I would also express my gratitude for my family, especially my

mom, who have supported me directly through their prayer and have fulfilled

everything from the begining to end. I am also thankful to my brother, who from

the beginning could give a supportive sentence "Ayo putus asa, jangan

semangat!".

Last but not least, I would also thank to my friends of Apa itu Belajar?,

Gadis Jawa, Anak Presiden, and Gossip Girls grup, Bapak Rio, kak Yustina Rosa,

and my beloved Crocodylus Blangus, as known as Hieronimus Fredy Morgan, for

the love, advice, support, and also some insults.



x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................... ii

APPROVAL PAGE ......................................................................................... iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE .................................................................................... iv

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY .................................................................. v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH .. vi

MOTTO PAGE ............................................................................................... vii

DEDICATION PAGE .................................................................................... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................. ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................... x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................... xii

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................... xiii

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... xiv

ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................... xv

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 1

A. Background of the study ............................................................................. 1

B. Problem Formulation .................................................................................. 6

C. Objectives of the Study ............................................................................... 6

D. Definition of Terms .................................................................................... 7

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE.................................................. 9

A. Review of Related Studies .......................................................................... 9

B. Review of Related Theories ...................................................................... 11

1. Semantics ............................................................................................ 12

2. Figurative Language ............................................................................ 14

3. Metaphor ............................................................................................. 14

4. Theory of Theme ................................................................................. 17

C. Theoretical Framework ............................................................................. 18

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 21

A. Object of the Study ................................................................................... 21

B. Approach of the Study .............................................................................. 22

C. Method of the Study ................................................................................. 23

1. Data Collection .................................................................................... 23


xi

2. Data Analysis ...................................................................................... 24

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .......................................... 26

A. Types of Metaphorical Expressions and Semantic Features are Used in

Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible Album ......................................... 26

1. Dead Metaphor .................................................................................... 27

2. Stock or Standard Metaphor ................................................................. 42

3. Original Metaphor ............................................................................... 47

B. Theme Revealed from Metaphors and Semantic Features in the Album Call

Me Irresponsible ....................................................................................... 49

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...................................................................... 55

REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 57

APPENDICES .................................................................................................. 60

Appendix: The classifications of the metaphoric expression ........................... 60


xii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

OALD : Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary


xiii

LIST OF TABLES

No. Table Page

1. Table 1. Example of the Analysis of Metaphor 24

2. Table 2. Types of Metaphor in Call Me Irresponsible Album 26

3. Table 3. Dead Metaphor 27

4. Table 4. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re falling

star”

28

5. Table 5. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re the

getaway car”

29

6. Table 6. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re the line

in the sand”

30

7. Table 7. Analysis of Metaphorical expression “You’re the

swimming pool on an August day”

32

8. Table 8. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re a

wishing well”

33


mystery”

34

10. Table 10. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re from

outer space”

35

11. Table 11. Analysis Metaphorical Expression “The road is warm

now”

36

12. Table 12. Analysis Metaphorical Expression “Some people get

their kicks, stompin’ on a dream”

37

13. Table 13. Analysis Metaphorical Expression “I’ve got the world

on a string”

41

14. Table 14. Stock or Standard Metaphor 42


carousel”

43

16. Table 16. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re every

line”

44

17. Table 17. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re every

word”

45

18. Table 18. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression "You're every

song"

46

19. Table 19. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression "I'm sitting on a

rainbow"

47

20. Table 20. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression "Out of the tree

of life, I just picked me a plum"

48


xiv

ABSTRACT

WIDYASARI, BERNADETTA ASTRID. (2021). Theme Revealed from

Metaphor in Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible Album. Yogyakarta:

Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

Song lyric is a literary work which uses figurative languages in expressing

the song writers’ feeling and emotion. Each song writer uses either similar or

different figurative languages. This research discusses about one of figurative

languages which is metaphor in Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible album.

This research aims to determine the use of metaphorical expressions in

Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible album by identifying the literal and

metaphorical meaning. Afterward, those metaphorical expressions are classified

into six types of metaphor. The purpose of this research is also to declare the

theme depicted from the expressions used in the songs so that it can be seen if the

album refers to a particular theme or not.

Semantic approach is used to find the use of literal and metaphorical

meanings from song lyrics, thereby facilitating the analysis process. Theory of

metaphor is also applied since this research is about metaphor and to classify each

metaphorical expression into dead, stock, recent, adapted, cliché, and original

metaphor. The researcher depicted the theme by conceiving semantic features

drawn from literal meaning of each metaphorical expression.

As a result, there are twenty-three metaphorical expressions from five

songs in one album with seventeen dead metaphors, five stock or standard

metaphors, and one original metaphor. From the classification of the metaphor

types, the dead metaphor reaches the highest number. This indicates that the

metaphors are easy to understand because it relates to human activities, such as

place, time, and universal terms, reflected in the meaning of the dead metaphor

itself. The theme revealed from the use of metaphors is “Best Part of Life”.

Keywords: song lyrics, theme, metaphor


xv

ABSTRAK

WIDYASARI, BERNADETTA ASTRID. (2021). Theme Revealed from

Metaphor in Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible Album. Yogyakarta:

Program Studi Sastra Inggris Sastra, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Lirik lagu adalah karya sastra yang menggunakan bahasa kiasan dalam

mengungkapkan perasaan dan emosi pencipta lagu. Setiap penulis lagu sering kali

menggunakan bahasa kiasan yang berbeda. Penelitian ini membahas tentang salah

satu bahasa kiasan yang merupakan metafora dalam album Call Me Irresponsible

Michael Bublé.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui penggunaan ungkapan metafora

dalam album Call Me Irresponsible dari Michael Bublé dengan mengidentifikasi

makna harfiah dan kiasannya. Selanjutnya, ungkapan metafora tersebut

diklasifikasikan menjadi enam jenis metafora. Tujuan dari penelitian ini juga

untuk mengungkapkan tema yang tergambar dari ungkapan metafora yang

digunakan dalam lagu, sehingga dapat diketahui jika dalam satu album tersebut

merujuk pada satu tema tertentu atau tidak.

Teori semantik digunakan untuk menemukan penggunaan makna harfiah

dan kiasan dari lirik lagu, sehingga memudahkan proses analisis. Teori metafora

juga diterapkan karena penelitian ini adalah tentang metafora dan

mengklasifikasikan setiap ungkapan metafora ke dalam metafora mati, stok, baru,

adaptasi, klise, dan asli. Peneliti menggambarkan tema dengan memahami ciri-ciri

semantik yang diambil dari makna harfiah dan kiasan dari setiap ungkapan

metafora.

Sebagai hasilnya, ada dua puluh tiga ungkapan metafora dari lima lagu

dalam satu album dengan tujuh belas metafora mati, lima metafora standar, dan

satu metafora asli. Dari klasifikasi jenis metafora, metafora mati mencapai angka

tertinggi. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa ungkapan metafora yang digunakan mudah

dipahami karena berkaitan dengan aktivitas manusia, seperti tempat, waktu, dan

istilah universal yang tercermin dalam makna metafora mati itu sendiri. Tema

yang terungkap dari penggunaan metafora adalah “Bagian Terbaik dalam Hidup”.

Kata kunci : lirik lagu, tema, metafora.


1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the study

In daily life, there are many ways to deliver thought about something to

other people. One of ways of revealing ideas is by using figurative language.

Figurative language is a language expression whose meaning is different from its

literal one. According to Perrine, figurative expression is an expression that

cannot be taken literally (Perrine, 1969, p.65). It means that figurative language is

one of language aspects which is stated in a different way than its usual way and it

can be found in written and spoken expression. Locke in Goatly’s also states that

figurative language is an application of words that allows us to interpose one idea

with other ideas (1997, p.1). There are some types of figurative language such as

metaphor, hyperbole, affiliation, metonymy, personification, simile, synecdoche,

litotes, paradox, etc.

Metaphor is one of figurative language types. According to Lakoff and

Johnson, metaphor is the device that people like the most in expressing poetic

imagination and creating extraordinary languages rather than ordinary use (1980,

p.72). Not only to express the poetic imagination of the perception or language of

each individual, but metaphor also has other functions. Newmark distinguishes the

functions of metaphors into two, which are cognitive function and aesthetic

function (p.104). Newmark also distinguishes six types of metaphors which are


2

dead metaphor, cliché metaphor, stock metaphor, adapted metaphor, recent

metaphor, original metaphor (p.106-113). Metaphor is usually used in many

literary works such as poems, fables, legends, and also song lyrics or music. One

simple example is "Hope is the thing with feathers, / That perches in the soul,” by

Emily Dickinson with “hope” as the figurative expression which is classified into

metaphor.

Music, in Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary, is “a sound arranged in a

way that is pleasant to listen” or “art of writing or playing music” (2008, p. 289).

People typically listen to music throughout their activities, such as when they are

studying, taking a bath, waiting for something, and even as their lullaby. Music

can represent their feeling and emotion and that is one of reasons why people like

to listen to music. Music consists of several elements such as pitch, rhythm,

melody, tone, and song lyric. As the language of emotions, music is probably a

bridge to the way of human feeling and thinking (Korsakova-Kreyn, 2010, p.3)

which is generally expressed through the lyrics of the song.

The use of song lyrics is for creating an atmosphere in the song and to

convey and express the message of the song itself. The lyrics which contain poetic

words can affect the imagination of the listeners about the story behind the song.

The lyrics of the song can also indicate people's expressions, feeling, experiences,

and thought. Through the lyrics, the listeners more easily comprehend the

message that the songwriter wants to convey.

In writing a song, songwriters usually explore ideas or get inspired by

issues that have occurred around them or from events they experience in their


3

lives, for example issues about love, family, economy, and politics that they have

experienced before (Laratsemi, 2020, p.1). As explained above, there must be a

message in a song through the lyrics. The message represents the theme of the

song. The theme reveals the messages that are carried out by the song lyrics itself.

This research will focus on the use of metaphor in the song lyrics that

revealing the theme of Michael Bublé’s album Call Me Irresponsible and each

song. The writer chose Call Me Irresponsible album to analyze because if

compared with the other albums, the songs in this album contain more metaphors

which can provide strong evidence in the analysis. Michael Bublé is a classic jazz

singer from Canada who cites Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald

as his main influences (biography.com. 2019). When Michael Bublé was 17, he

took part in a talent show named the British Columbia Youth Talent Search and

won the competition, which launched his name career. He started with his first

album “First Dance” in 1995. The ups and downs in the music world he has been

through, from singing the songs of his own to the old songs he popularized back

in. After his long journey as a musician, he already has twenty-two albums. Some

of his albums have reached number one on the US Billboard 200, Canadian

Albums Chart, and other music awards.

Michael Bublé is a jazz singer who is famous not only because of his

unique voice which can hypnotize his fans but also his talent in creating beautiful

song with its good melodies and attractive lyrics. Michael Bublé is one of singers

who like to use metaphorical expression in his song. The use of metaphor in the

lyric is for aesthetic purposes to produce a lovely song that is pleasurable to be


4

heard. The interpretation of metaphor is also helpful for the listeners to conceive

the information and details in the songs. Some of the lyrics, however, use

uncommon or unique metaphor words, which is a metaphor that is not often used

in a song lyric. One of Michael Bublé’s songs which contains metaphoric

expression is “Everything” from Call Me Irresponsible album:

‘You're a mystery’

‘you're from outer space’

The quoted lines above contain extension meaning. In other words, those

two lines can be expanded either literally or metaphorically. In addition to what

has been specified, lexically the lines consist of words which mostly refer to

metaphorical meanings. Those lines have certain meanings that cannot be defined

literally. It is shown in the word "mystery" which refers to the girl because for the

writer, the girl is difficult to understand and unpredictable. The two lines above

carry a message that supports the revealing theme of the song Everything.

Metaphors is a part of figurative language that compare one thing is

another thing with similar meaning. In the other side, metaphor define the

expansion meaning besides the lexical meaning. Lexical meaning is the smallest

sense or meaning of a word or lexeme as it appears in a dictionary or the true

meaning of the word. This supported by the statement from Harimurti (1982) that

lexical meaning is the meaning of the word when the word is seen in isolation,

either in form or shape lexeme affixes whose meaning more or less fixed, as can

be read in a particular language dictionary (p. 103). Lexical meaning is important

to find the metaphorical meaning. In linguistic studies, there is a study of lexical


5

meaning, named lexical semantics. Lexical semantics is the study of word

meaning. Lexical semantics is associated with inherent aspects of word meaning

and the semantic relations between words, along with how syntactic structure is

related to the words meaning (Stringer, 2019). The main problems are the

complexity of natural meanings and their contextual variability lexical semantics

(Cruse, 2001).

This study is aims to analyze the types of metaphor used in the song and

how the use of metaphor and sematic features can reveal the theme of the album.

The writer discusses and examines the theme of the song as well as one album as

a whole because the writer wants to learn whether there is a relationship between

one song and another song in the same album. With the theme, it can be seen

whether there is an alignment in the same category or not. The concept which is

used in this study is lexical-semantic. The data of this research are taken from the

lyrics of the song. The writer chooses Michael Bublé’s song to be the research

data because the song lyrics used in the songs contain various metaphors that can

carry the messages of the songs.

Some previous studies discuss the phenomena related to the theme or

focus on the metaphor used in some literary works. Isti’anah (2019) analyzed the

choice of theme in the headlines as it is the departing message of the headlines in

South-East Asian Newspaper Headlines on Rohingya Issue. Nasrul (2018)

analyzed the functions of the metaphor used in the lyrics of Rayola’s song. Then,

Darmayanti (2018) analyzed the metaphor of the characters in The Old Man and


6

The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Metaphor has been widely used as a research

discussion because it has its uniqueness in conveying a message in words.

B. Problem Formulation

In the purpose of analyzing the metaphoric expression and to reveal the

theme in Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible album, the writer has formulated

two problem formulations in this research. The questions are as follow:

1. What types of metaphorical expressions and semantic features are used in

Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible album?

2. What theme is revealed from the metaphors and the semantic features in

the album Call Me Irresponsible ?

C. Objectives of the Study

There are two objectives of the study. The first is to discover the

metaphorical expressions in Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible album and

interpret the meaning of each metaphorical expression. After knowing the

meaning of the metaphor, the metaphor will be categorized into each type. In

other words, the meaning of each metaphorical expression will elaborate the types

of metaphors found in the song lyrics.

The second objective is to discover the theme of the song which is

depicted in the metaphor used in the lyrics of the song. The interpretation of the

metaphors that have been done can assist to understand what themes are contained

in the songs. The meaning of the metaphorical expression is influenced by the

classification of the metaphor, for example one of metaphorical expressions is the

line “You're falling star”. In lexical meaning, it means the celestial body which is


7

a very beautiful rare luck symbol, but in metaphorical meaning, it describes a

beautiful and rare special human whose presence is as a lucky.

D. Definition of Terms

The meaning of several terms is to avoid misunderstanding of each term.

The writer uses some explanations from some experts. This study is focused on

the theme of the songs that is revealed from the use of metaphors in the song

lyrics. As explained before, the object of the study is analyzing the song lyrics

which contain metaphors. By analyzing the metaphoric expressions, it will help

revealing the theme of the album as well.

Metaphor is the device that people like the most in expressing poetic

imagination and creating extraordinary languages rather than ordinary use

(Lakoff, Johnson. p.72). Metaphor is one of figurative expressions which uses

different word to describe something similar to the context. Metaphor makes the

meaning of the first word similar to the second word and vice versa.

Song lyric is the composition of words, sentences, or phrases that are

used as lyrics and are related to one another with instrumental aspect as the

complement (Jackson and Prins, 2014, p.1). The lyrics in poetry and song are

different. The difference is in the way the lyrics are delivered. In song, the lyrics

are sung while the poetry is read. Klarer (2004) stated that poetry is closely related

to the term lyric (p. 26). Etymologically, poetry and lyrics are derived from Greek

musical instrument Lyra (lyre or harp) and thus indicate the origins of the

connection between poetry and lyrics in the field of music.


8

Theme is the main idea of a text that serves as the root of the story, but it

cannot be equated and is not the core of the whole story (Barnet, Burto, and Cain,

2008, p.103). According to Wiehardt (2018, para.1), in compiling a literary work,

the theme has a role as the core of the thoughts or ideas developed in the story.

Literary themes can be the source of the story or the subject of the story itself. The

theme is required to guide the focus of the story. In songs, themes have the same

role as other literary works. The theme is used to represent the song and the

relationship between music, lyrics, and the message of the whole song.


9

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter consists of three parts. Firstly, review of related studies

containing the researcher's review of other studies conducted on similar or related

topics. Secondly, a review of related theories that are relevant to the theories used

in this study. The third one is the theoretical framework which contains the role of

the theories used as a means of identifying the data and solving the problems.

A. Review of Related Studies

There are three theses and two journal articles which have related topic to

this research, though some of the related studies the objects are different. The first

study is a thesis written by Sylvia (2015) entitled “Metaphorical Meaning of

Coldplay’s Song Lyrics”. The study discusses the metaphorical meaning of

Coldplay’s song lyrics based on Mildred L. Larson. She examines 15 different

Coldplay songs which are divided into 19 parts of lyrics to analyze the metaphors

and classifies the metaphors into the characteristics. This research differs to

Sylvia's study because of the similarity in the objectives and the object which is

song lyrics. In the analysis part, the study results that there are two classifications

of metaphor, which are 5 dead metaphors in idioms form and 14 live metaphors in

free metaphoric expression form.

The second study is a thesis written by Soraya (2019) entitled “The

Metaphorical Meaning of Maroon 5’s Selected Song Lyrics”. Soraya’s thesis


10

discusses the metaphorical meanings of Maroon5’s selected song lyrics. This

thesis observes 9 song titles, consisting of 21 song lines analyzed based on Peter

Newmark (1988) to divide types of metaphor in the lyrics. The difference between

both studies lies in the object and the problem formulation. Soraya's study

discusses the types and meanings of the metaphorical expression, while this

research discusses how metaphor is used in the song and what theme is revealed

from the metaphor. The result of the study indicates that there are two dead

metaphors in total, eight standard metaphors, and eleven original metaphors.

The third study is a thesis entitled “Theme Reflected from Metaphors in

Avril Lavigne’s Song from Sk8er Boi”, written by Laratsemi (2020). As the

result, Avril Lavigne's song conceives 19 metaphors of 16 metaphorical

expressions. The credible theme that can be depicted from the shared concepts of

the metaphorical expression is “what goes around comes around”. The object in

Laratsemi’s study is different from this study. Laratsemi's study uses one of the

Avril Lavigne songs, while this research uses five songs in one album of Michael

Bublé.

The fourth study is a journal article from Afriani (2014) entitled “An

Analysis on Figurative Language in Michael Jackson’s Song Lyric Heal the

World”. The journal article discusses the figurative language discovered from one

of Michael Jackson's song lyrics, Heal the World. It is also examined the meaning

of figurative languages such as metaphor, personification, synecdoche, and

antithesis in the song lyrics. From the result of Afriani’s study, it can be noticed

that this research uses many kinds of figurative language. Nevertheless, this


11

research only uses one of figurative language, metaphor, as the focus of

discussion.

The last study is a journal article written by Nasrul (2018) entitled

“Functions of Metaphor in the Lyrics of Rayola’s Song”. This journal article aims

to show the functions of metaphor use in Rayola’s song lyrics. In his study, Nasrul

uses a qualitative method to analyze the data. The relation between Nasrul's and

this study is in the object of the study that both use song lyrics and discuss

metaphor. The result reveals that there are seven functions of metaphor found in

the lyrics of the song which are to concrete human experience, to create

imagination, to give aesthetic effects, to soften the language, to attract attention, to

beautify the tone, and to be pleasant to listen to.

From the related studies above, there are some differences between this

study and the previous studies in terms of data and topics of discussion. However,

there are similarities between this study and the previous studies, which are about

figurative language and literary works. This study develops other research because

it discusses a new topic that has rarely or never been discussed before, which is

about the types of metaphors and themes revealed from the metaphor used in the

song, so it can reveal the theme of the album Call Me Irresponsible by Michael

Bublé using related theories.

B. Review of Related Theories

This part presents theories from experts in order to conduct this study.

These theories are chosen to analyze the data and strengthen the research result.


12

Three theories which are semantics as the approach, followed by theories of

figurative language and metaphor are applied.

1. Semantics

Semantics is the study of word and sentence meanings. According to

Palmer, semantics is the scientific work of language and including the linguistics

part (1981, p. 5). Palmer states semantics is the scientific term used for the study

that refers to the meaning of language. Meaning is also known as the definition of

words but not as simple as it says in the dictionary because there are many aspects

of language that cover the meaning of words such as morphology, phonology, and

syntax. Semantics focuses on how morpheme, phrases, and sentences can create

meaning and is divided into several subfields which are lexical semantics and

semantics properties.

The reader and hearer are expected to comprehend the context of the text

or conversation, written or spoken, to achieve the same understanding in

comprehending the meaning of phrases, sentences, or words. Each word has

several worth features that are applied as a means of providing messages, details,

or information about the word. The message or information carried by the word

which gives clues is named as semantic property (Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams,

2011, p. 175). Semantic properties work by depicting and describing specific

features of a word to explicate its meaning. Semantic properties and semantic

features are similar. This supported by Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams “But it is

also possible to look for a more basic set of semantic features or properties that


13

are part of word meanings and that reflect our knowledge about what words

mean” (2011, p.158).

In indicating semantic features, the symbols used are + and - symbols.

The examples of semantic features in some words, as follow:

Plane Wagon Canoe

+engine -engine -engine

+moveable +moveable +moveable

+wheels +wheels -wheels

+transportation +transportation +transportation

The list above denotes that plane, canoe, and wagon have similar properties which

are transportation and moveable. However, wagon and canoe do not have engines

and canoe does not have wheels.

As already mentioned before, the meaning of words basically aims to

make the speaker and the listener understand the context of the conversation or

discussion better so that the speaker and the listener can achieve the same

understanding. In the use of language, both spoken and written, it is very complex

that some words do not have the meaning they intend in literal. One word may

contain several meanings or in other words, there are literal meaning and

transferred meaning.

Based on Palmer (1981) transferred meaning indicates the meaning of a

word by transferring the word into another idea or concept (p.103). Transferred

meaning aims to illustrate another definition of a word. It is because some phrases

or words cannot be straightly understood. As one example, the phrase “Hit the


14

sack” would have literal and transferred meaning. The literal meaning of this

phrase means to hit a sack or a big pouch. The word “sack” in this idiom is

employed to depict a bed or mattress used to sleep. “Hit the sack” aims to ask or

order someone to go to bed or sleep immediately. Both transferred and literal

meanings have an important role in explaining and defining the meaning of the

idea in a word.

2. Figurative Language

Figurative language is a language which has another meaning besides of

its literal meaning. Figurative language uses an ordinary sentence to refer to

something without directly pointing it. Perrine (1969) states that “Figurative

language is a language that uses figurative language or language that cannot be

interpreted literally. In general, figurative language is another way of saying

something but by using other words or in an unusual way.” (p. 65). Based on

Abrams (1999) figurative language is a stark departure from what language users

understand as the standard meaning of words, or standard sequences of words, in

order to achieve some special meanings or effects (p. 96). Figurative language is

often used because it provides many alternative and effective meanings of saying

what people mean than an ordinary statement.

3. Metaphor

Lakoff and Johnson (1980) state metaphor is the device that people like

the most in expressing poetic imagination and creating extraordinary languages

rather than ordinary use (p.72). Metaphor is one of figures of speech applied to

compare between two things that are not alike but do have something in common.


15

Metaphors are figures of speech that directly consult with one thing by

mentioning another. It aims to supply clarity or identify hidden similarities

between two ideas.

Based on Newmark (1988), the functions of metaphors are cognitive

function and aesthetic function (p.104). The cognitive function is the ability of

metaphors to describe concrete and abstract concepts to express thoughts clearly

and characterize the quality of objects. The aesthetic function of using metaphors

refers to the ability of metaphors to give aesthetic impact and beauty effect to

literary works and their readers.

Newmark distinguishes six types of metaphors. Those are stock

metaphor, cliché metaphor, original metaphor, dead metaphor, recent metaphor,

and adapted metaphor (Newmark, 1988. p.106-113).

a. Dead Metaphor

Dead metaphors are metaphors in which a person is barely aware of the

image, often associated with universal terms of space and time, the main parts of

the body, general ecological features, and the main activities of humans (p. 106).

Newmark explains that dead metaphors can turn to be livened up, sometimes into

metonyms, by conversion to phrase-words. Several examples of dead metaphors

are in the expression of “the ball is in your court” and “life is not a bed of roses”.

b. Stock Metaphor

A stock or standard metaphor is a well-established metaphor which in an

informal context uses an efficient and concise method to cover physical and

mental situations and states both referential and pragmatical (p. 108). Stock


16

metaphor is sometimes difficult to understand because the metaphor can be

outdated or be used only in a certain social class or age. It can only be translated

exactly if the image is transferred within a correspondingly acceptable and

established collocation. The examples of stock metaphors are the first is “frailty

thy name is woman”, second is “brevity is the soul of wit”, and the third is “she is

all states and all princesses”.

c. Cliché Metaphor

Cliché metaphor is a metaphor that might temporarily usefulness longer

be used as a substitute for clear thinking and pure, often emotionally, but it does

not correspond to the facts (p.107). A cliché metaphor is an idea, expression, or

component of a work of art in a literary work that has been overused to the point

of losing its original meaning and effect, sometimes even being irritating. The

cliché metaphor lies between the dead metaphor and the stock metaphor. Dead

and Cliché have one difference in that cliches are still in existence almost losing

their figurative effect whereas dead metaphors are words that have lost their

figurative quality. There are some examples of Cliché metaphors, such as “kill

two birds with one stone”, “hit the nail on the head”, and “a jewel in the crown”.

d. Adapted Metaphor

Adapted metaphor is the author's metaphorical occasionalism. Based on

Newmark (1988), the adapted metaphor must be translated with a metaphor which

is equivalent to the word adaptation itself (p. 111), especially its use in the text as

sacred as said by Reagan in his speech, because translated literally, the words will

not be clear to others who are listeners or even it is not clear to those who are


17

speakers or translators in other languages. An example of an adapted metaphor is

“carrying coals to Newcastle”.

e. Recent Metaphor

Recent metaphor is a metaphorical neologism. It is often 'anonymously'

coined and highly spread in the original language (p. 111). This metaphor refers to

the changing times, namely when a thing or thing was not created in ancient times

and people did not know it or even knew it, but because of the changing times,

new things were discovered and created so that people at that time knew about it.

Some of the examples of recent metaphors are “E-book” or electronic books,

“blogs” or web blogs, and “cryptocurrency”.

f. Original Metaphor

Original metaphor is a metaphor that comes or is even quoted from the

author's own source language. Basically, this metaphor must be translated literally

in writing on text that is expressive and authoritative, whether it is cultural,

universal, or obscurely subjective (p. 112). Original metaphor is known as the

meanings are taken from the author’s source language and translated literally.

There is one example of expressions included in the original metaphor which is

“heard melodies are sweets while those unheard are more sweeter”.

4. Theory of Theme

Theme is an important aspect of a literary work. Theme can be defined as

the topic, subject of talk, or the main idea of the works. This statement is

strengthened by Barnet, Burto, and Cain (2018), The theme is a main idea in a text

that serves as the root of the story, but the theme is not equivalent or is not the


18

core of the whole story (p.103). Wiehardt (2018) also states that in works of

fiction, theme is the major ideas that are explored in the story so that it becomes a

complete and complete story. In literary work, what happens in the story is the

plot, but what it adds up is the theme (Burto, Barnet, and Cain, 2018, p.103). It

means that the function of a theme is to guide the flow of the story and gives the

readers and hearers better understanding of the story. The theme provides and

describes an understanding of the meaning of the story itself because the theme is

“a conception of human experience suggested by the concrete details” (Burto,

Barnet, and Cain, 2018, p.1594).

This research analyzed the theme of each song, so the theme of the album

could be depicted. The theme can be drawn from the song lyrics written by the

songwriter. In analyzing the theme, it does not only guess the concept or idea, but

also observe the factors of the song lyrics, such as the story reflected in the song,

the point of view applied in the song, and the meaning of the language or known

as figurative language which has literal and non-literal meaning.

The figurative language written in the song lyrics describes certain

meanings, which later the entire meaning of the song might be easily recognized

by readers and listeners. From the meaning of the song that has been obtained, the

theme can be described. One of the figurative languages analyzed in this research

is metaphor.

C. Theoretical Framework

Since this research concerns with the use of metaphor in song lyrics,

which contain the interpretation of literal and transferred meaning, semantic


19

approach is necessary for this research. Theory of semantic is applied in this

research to help the researcher understands of the object meaning of this research

which is metaphorical expression in a song. Semantic theory is also used in

analyzing the semantic features of the metaphor found in the lyrics.

Metaphor theory is needed to determine the metaphorical expression

found in the lyric of the song and to derive the metaphorical meaning of each

metaphor. Both theories, semantics and metaphor, are applied to examine the

literal and metaphorical meaning of each expression. The metaphorical

expressions in the entire song that have been analyzed will identify the theme

revealed in the song. The semantic and metaphor theories are applied to identify

the meaning of the metaphor and the semantic features depict from the

metaphorical expression. Semantic features also support and assist in interpreting

the theme.

The theory of theme is utilized to analyze the theme revealed from each

song, so the album theme can also be shown. The theme theory in this study is

employed as a basis for understanding the theme in a song. This theory also helps

the understanding of how the theme affects the use of language, the story in the

song, and even the melody and rhythm used in the song.

The three theories, which are semantics, metaphor, and theme, used in

this research, have their own important roles in answering the problem. The first

and second theory which are semantics and metaphor are to answer the first

research problem which is what types of metaphors are used in Michael Bublé’s

Call Me Irresponsible album. The second theory which is theory of theme is


20

applied to answer the second research problem in this research. By the theories

used in this research, all the research questions in this study can be answered.


CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the analytical process method of the object of the

study which consists of three parts. Firstly, the object of the study which explains

the general idea about the work and what data is going to be analyzed. The second

one is the approaches that are used in this research which contain the reason why

the approaches are applied. Lastly, method of the study presents how to collect

and analyzed the data.

A. Object of the Study

This part presents the description of the object of the study which

includes the data that are going to be analyzed and the linguistic element used to

support the data. The main topic of this research is the metaphor used in the song

lyrics which have a contribution in revealing the theme of the song. This research

uses an album by the famous pop-jazz singer who comes from Canada, Michael

Bublé. The album entitled Call Me Irresponsible consists of 13 singles, but this

research only analyzes 5 singles, which are Everything, Coming Home Baby,

That’s Life, The Best Is Yet to Come, and I’ve Got the World on a String to be the

research data. Some of the songs included in this album are his own compositions.

These five songs were chosen because these songs have more metaphors in their

lyrics than the other songs in the album. In addition, the five songs have never

been used as objects of previous research, especially those discussing the album's

theme from the metaphors used in song lyrics.


asus

Typewritten text

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This research analyzes the word and sentence meaning. It is focused on

how a word or a sentence has different meanings. The five songs in the Call Me

Irresponsible album contain twenty three metaphorical expressions. In writing

songs, Bublé is often inspired by true stories, whether it is his personal stories or

the stories of the people around him. Known as a jazz singer, Bublé presents the

rhythm, immersive music, and the words in the song's lyrics very beautiful,

honest, and pure. Not only the use of pure and honest words but he also frequently

inserts metaphors into the lyrics in some of his songs. With the use of metaphors,

listeners can have an understanding, perspective, and imagination in interpreting

the story of the song.

B. Approach of the Study

This research uses semantics as the approach. Semantics is chosen to

determine the theme of the song through the metaphorical expression mentioned

in the lyrics. According to Palmer, semantics is the scientific study of language

and part of linguistics which focuses on the meaning of the words, phrases, and

sentences (1981, p.1). Semantics approach is applied since this research focuses

on language meaning and it is used also to determine the literal and transferred

meaning of the expression found in the song. After knowing the literal and

transferred meanings, the meaning of the song can be interpreted. As a final result,

the theme of the song can be defined from the interpretation of the meaning of the

song and also the theme revealed from each song used to depict the album theme.


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C. Method of the Study

This part is divided into two sections to established this research in order

to achieve a better analysis process. The two methods of the study were described

as follow:

1. Data Collection

In collecting the data, the writer used subjective sampling or known as

purposive sampling method. Creswell (2014) mentioned that purposive sampling

is the purposeful option of several sites or participants which could help the

researcher acknowledge the problem of the research (p. 239). First is observing

the lyrics in order to find the metaphorical expressions. To determine the

metaphorical expressions, the writer separates the expression of the metaphor

from other English words by looking at the use of the expression in the lyrics of

the song. From these steps, five songs have been collected as a result. After

separating the expressions, they were put into a table in order to help the writer in

analyzing the data. In the result, 23 metaphorical expressions found in five songs.

This research analyzed the five songs in the album Call Me Irresponsible

by Michael Bublé. The five songs were chosen because it has many metaphors in

the lyrics than the other songs on the same album. With the various types of

metaphors, the researcher could find the meaning and the theme of the song. The

lyrics were acquired from the website which contains many song lyrics,

genius.com. This website is feasible and reliable because in the process of

publication, this website collaborates directly with singers, artists, musicians, and

songwriters in presenting the lyrics of every song.


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2. Data Analysis

In analyzing the data, four steps were required. After collecting the data

in the previous section, firstly, all metaphors were classified into six types

according to the theory used, which is the theory from Newmark (1981),

supported by metaphorical meaning found in each metaphor expression. The

writer classified the types of metaphor based on the contextual meaning of the

metaphorical expression. One of the example of metaphorical expression that

included in dead metaphor, which is “You’re the getaway car”.

After the types were determined, the writer defining the literal meaning

of the metaphors that was found this research used the Oxford Advanced Learner's

Dictionary 9th Edition as a reference. The interpretation of metaphorical meaning

is assisted by using the knowledge, understanding, and analysis of metaphorical

words from the writer's interpretation. It also depends on the context of

metaphorical expressions. The literal and metaphorical meanings that have been

illustrated are then elaborated to obtain the semantic features depicted from the

two meanings. The semantic features of each expression is to obtain the theme of

each song. Semantic approach was used in describing metaphorical expressions

which later could produce literal and metaphorical meanings. The example of the

analysis is as follow:

Table 1. Example of the Analysis of Metaphor

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Type of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re the

getaway car

A place that is

suitable for a

holiday or vacation

A girl who can

help him gain

freedom

Dead [+freedom]


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In the example, this expression has the metaphor “getaway car”.

According to Oxford Learner’s Advanced Dictionary, getaway car is a place that

is suitable for a holiday or vacation. The metaphorical meaning from this

expressions is define as a situation that the “you” which refers to a girl is the one

who can get the boy out of his trouble. The girl can support and even help to get a

freedom from his problem or a fatique in his life.

After defining the literal and metaphorical meaning, the metaphor was

classified into its types based on the theory of types of metaphor, whether it is

dead, stock or standard, cliché, recent, adapted, or original metaphor. From the

literal and metaphorical meaning, the metaphor “getaway car” is included in dead

metaphor because “getaway car” is a metaphor which refers to place and time, and

this is in accordance with the meaning of the dead metaphor itself.

The next step is determining the appropriate semantic features as a result

of the elaboration of the literal and metaphorical meaning. For this metaphor, the

semantic features is [+freedom]. Other metaphorical expressions that have been

found would also be analyzed to get the meaning of each song and the whole

album.

Lastly, in answering the second research problem which is revealing the

theme, all of the metaphorical expressions that have been analyzed and depicted

were combined into a story to make the understanding of the song clearer. The

writer then elaborating the semantic features found in each song with the theme

obtained in each song to achieve one big theme of the album. Each song had its

own theme which later would be combined and concluded into one main theme.


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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter discusses how metaphors are used in Michael Bublé’s Call

Me Irresponsible album and what theme is revealed in the album Call Me

Irresponsible. There are several theories that would apply on the reviews of

metaphorical expressions to achieve the theme of each song and the whole album.

A. Types of Metaphorical Expressions and Semantic Features are Used in

Michael Bublé’s Call Me Irresponsible Album

This sub-chapter presents the metaphorical expressions found in five

songs, which are Everything, The Best Is Yet to Come, That’s Life, I’ve Got the

World on a String, and Coming Home Baby on the album Call Me Irresponsible

by Michael Bublé. There are 23 metaphorical expressions. The table shows the

types of metaphor found in five songs on the album Call Me Irresponsible by

Michael Bublé.

Table 2. Types of Metaphor in Call Me Irresponsible Album

No. Types of Metaphor Frequency

1. Dead 17

2. Stock 5

3. Cliché 0

4. Adapted 0

5. Recent 0

6. Original 1

Total 23


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The table above shows there are 17 dead metaphors, 5 stock metaphors, and

1 original metaphor. From the 23 metaphorical expressions found in the song,

none included in the cliché, recent, and adapted metaphor. Each metaphor is

analyzed based on the type of metaphor and is described in several sub-chapters.

1. Dead Metaphor

As seen in the Table 1, there are eleven metaphorical expressions belongs

to dead metaphor. The expressions are as follows:

Table 3. Dead Metaphor

As mentioned before, there are sixteen metaphorical expressions in this

dead type. One of the metaphorical expressions have six metaphors in it. The

metaphorical expressions in the table are examined further in the next discussion.

No. Metaphorical Expression Title of the Song

1. You’re a falling star Everything

2. You’re getaway car Everything

3. You're the line in the sand, when I

go too far

Everything

4. You're the swimming pool on an

August day

Everything

5. you're a wishing well Everything

6. You're a mystery Everything

7. You're from outer space Everything

8. The road is warm now Comin’ Home Baby

9. Some people get their kicks That’s Life

10. I've got the world on a string I’ve Got the Worl on a String

11. I've been a puppet, a pauper, a

pirate, a poet, a pawn & a king

That’s Life


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a. You’re a falling star

“Falling star”, according to OALD, is defined as “shooting star” (2015,

p.540). In other words, falling star is a meteor or a rock from space that produces

a bright light as it travels through the earth's atmosphere. The literal meaning of

falling star means a piece of rock or metal that burns very brightly when it enters

the earth's atmosphere from space which is very rarely happened. Falling star has

a bright light and this relates to the metaphorical meaning of “falling star” itself.

The lyrics “You’re falling star” contains the metaphoric expression “falling

star” used to describe a human. It happens because this metaphorical expression

describes the subject, “you”. By using the phrase “falling star”, the song writer

wants to emphasize that “you” is a beautiful and rare type of human which is a

girl whose arrival can light up the songwriter's life. Like a falling star that

illuminates the dark night sky, so the girl is likened to a light that shines in the life

of the songwriter. She is a girl who can make the song writer’s life brighter than

before. The literal meaning and metaphorical meaning share the same semantic

feature which is [+shine]. The expression you’re a falling star shows that it is

classified into dead metaphor because falling star is related with a place, which is

space. This expression also shows an image, in which the shining star is the image

of the girl he loved.

Table 4. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re falling star”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You're a

falling star

meteor from space

produces a bright

light travels

A girl whose

presence is

considered

Dead [+shine]


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through the earth's

atmosphere

special

b. You’re the getaway car

According to OALD, the word “getaway” means an escape from a difficult

situation, especially after committing a crime (2015, p. 639). Getaway car itself

has its own meaning which is a short holiday or vacation; a place that is suitable

for a holiday or vacation (2015, p. 639). In this metaphorical expression, it depicts

a situation that the “you” which refers to a girl is the one who can get the boy out

of his trouble. The girl can support and even help to get a freedom from his

problem. She can be a means to take a break from his business and fatigue of his

daily life. The expression shows the semantic feature which is [+freedom].

Since the meaning of dead metaphor is something that refers to a place,

time, and image, the metaphor "you're the getaway car" is a type of dead

metaphor. This is based on the lexical meaning of "getaway car".

Table 5. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re the getaway car”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You're the

getaway car

A place that is

suitable for a

holiday or

vacation

A girl who can

help him gain

freedom

Dead [+freedom]

c. You're the line in the sand, when I go too far

This metaphorical expression contains only one metaphor. This expression

is also supported by additional phrase at the end of the sentence. This


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metaphorical expression indicates that there is a girl who can do something good

for a boy, which is the song writer. The metaphor in this line of the lyrics is “line

in the sand” which according to OALD, line is defined as “long thin mark on a

surface” or “long thin mark on the ground to show the limit or border of

something” (2015, p. 879). From the definition, it can be concluded that line is

related to the boundaries of something, whether it is place, activity, word,

behavior, ego, even rules. It shows that line can control things.

The concept of line is the tool, and the idea of ‘you’, which is the girl in the

song is the topic. This is reinforced by the following sentence in the lyrics, "when

I go too far". This expression shows that the girl is the one who keeps the boy

from transgressing the appropriate boundaries. This girl is the one who reminds

him of the boundaries or limits of him so that he can still be a good person. The

metaphorical and literal meanings from this metaphor share the same concept of

semantic feature which is [+barrier]. The metaphor expression “line in the sand”

is commonly related to a beach because sand is part of a beach and every beach

definitely have sand. This metaphor is classified into dead metaphor since this

expression is related a place.

Table 6. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re the line in the sand”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You're the line in

the sand, when I

go too far

Long thin

mark on a

surface

A girl who can

control the

song writer

Dead [+barrier]


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d. You're the swimming pool on an August day

Swimming pool, based on OALD, is defined as an area of water that has

been created for people to swim in (2015, p. 1531). Swimming pool can help not

only physical but also mental health or psychological well-being in people, but

with special treatment. In terms of physical health, when people swim in

swimming pool, they can stretch muscles and build strength. Besides, swimming

pool is appropriate for people with injuries, arthritis, disabilities, and other

conditions. According to healthline.com, in terms of mental health, swimming

pool is defined as a mean to help improve mood and help to manage stress (2017).

The swimming pool can be a place to refresh the body that feels tired after a day.

This relates to the metaphorical meaning of "swimming pool" in this expression.

In the lyrics, the meaning of the metaphorical expression “swimming pool”

means something that can make someone’s soul, body, and mind calmer, relaxed,

and comfortable. Relax and comfort in the song lyrics are supported by the lyric

"on an August day" because the month of August is included in summer,

especially in Europe which has four seasons a year. The word “you” refers to a

girl whom the boy loves. Summer is the season where the sun shines longer. This

shows when the writer is having problems or obstacles or is not in a good mood,

the girl can calm him down and make him more relaxed in facing the next days.

From knowing the lexical meaning and the true meaning of the line, it shows its

semantic features which is [+ refreshing]. The girl is a refresher for the boy mood

and mind after a tiring day and she is the one who gives him relief from his

discomfort and problem. “Swimming pool” is metaphor that classified into dead


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metaphor since this expression is related a place and time, which is swimming

pool and summer day.

Table 7. Analysis of Metaphorical expression “You’re the swimming pool on

an August day”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re the

swimming

pool on an

August day

Area of water

that has been

created for

people to swim

in

A girl who can

be a refresher

for the song

writer

Dead [+refreshing]

e. You're a wishing well

The word “wish”, according to OALD, is “want something to happen or be

true even though it is unlikely or impossible (2015, p.1727). The expression

“wishing well” is a wish or hope for good things that happen in life. The word

“you” in the expression refers to the girl, and “wishing well” also talks about the

girl. The metaphorical expression wants to convey the message that the girl is a

hope, and the girl can make the boy feel filled with hope, so the boy can have a

better future. The girl is someone the songwriter hopes for in his future.

The explanation above shows two semantic features which are shown from

the use of one metaphorical expression. The sematic features that can be seen

from the lyric meaning of the song are [+future] and [+hope], but one of them are

more dominant which is [+future] because [+hope] is certain about something that

has not happened or that will happen in the future. Since the expression “wishing

well” of this metaphor is related to an image of the future of the writer and a girl,


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this metaphor is categorized as dead metaphor. Moreover, wishing well is also

related to time because it refers to the future.

Table 8. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re a wishing well”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re a

wishing well

want something

good to happen

or well for

wishing

A girl who can

given hope for

a better future

Dead [+future]

f. You're a mystery

Based on OALD, the word “mystery” is something that is difficult to

understand or explain (2015, p.992). In other words, mystery is something that is

not understood or beyond understanding. A mystery is very difficult to solve

because of many riddles in it, like putting together a puzzle but not knowing what

pictures to put together. It could be likened to, one of the pieces of the puzzle we

put together is missing, even though it is the most important part. In this world,

there are so many unsolved mysteries. This could be due to unclear codes or

instructions.

It is similar to the expression "mystery" in the song that refers to the girl in

the song. The expression has a message that regardless of the girl’s wonderful

qualities, the boy admits that he does not fully understand her because the girl

intrigues the writer and captivates his attention all the more. This gives the song

writer some difficulties in understanding his girl. From the explanation before, the

metaphor raises semantic features which is [+riddle]. Since the expression

“mystery” in this line is related to an image of a girl referring to a female code


34

that is sometimes difficult to understand, this metaphor is categorized as dead

metaphor.

Table 9. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re a mystery”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re a

mystery

Something that

is difficult to

understand or

explain

A girl who is

not easy to

understand

Dead [+riddle]

g. You're from outer space

“Outer” is defined by OALD as “furthest from the inside or center of

something” (2015, p. 1059). The meaning of “outer space” is “on the out-side of

the space” (2015, p. 1059). Outer space is also interpreted as space immediately

outside the earth's atmosphere. Outer space is a vast expanse that is outside Earth

and among other celestial bodies. If there is an object from the outer space

entering the earth’s atmosphere, people who live on Earth will consider it as

strange object.

From the line “you’re from outer space”, it can be seen that “you” refers to

the girl, and "outer space" is described as the life of the writer, where he is as the

earth. This girl was a stranger for the boy before. This girl is likened as a new

person in the life of the songwriter. Everything from the outside, at first will

always be foreign because it comes from outside of ourselves or even in life. The

semantic features that can be seen from the expression found in the song is

[+strange]. Therefore, metaphor “outer space” is categorized as dead metaphor

because it is related to an image of earth and place that is outside the earth.


35

Table 10. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re from outer space”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re from

outer space

on the out-

side of the

space

stranger who

came into

someone's life.

Dead [+strange]

h. The road is warm now

This expression has two metaphorical expressions which are “road” and

“warm”. According to OALD, road is a hard surface built for vehicles to travel on

(2015, p.1299). In everyday life, a road is a long path consisting of turns, inclines,

even descents, with conditions that are not always smooth, for example, such as

roads that are hollow, rocky, or have many bumps. From the definition, it can be

interpreted that the path is something related to the goal. A road is a route that

connects two or more places.

"Road", in a metaphorical expression in the lyrics leads to life. The word

“road” denotes the life journey the singer has gone through until she returns home

to meet her lover. This can also be seen from the context of the song "Comin'

Home Baby" itself. Since the singer and her lover will meet, she feels that her life

will be better and happier than before. The happiness and better life that the singer

feels are reflected in the word "warm" in the lyrics of this metaphorical

expression. In OALD the word "warm" means a fairly high temperature in a way

that is pleasant" or "showing enthusiasm and/or affection" (2015, 1694). Life in

the seconds when the songwriter will come home is the part that makes him

happy, the situation becomes easier for him to go through and live. The semantic

feature has the same concept, which is [+life]. The word “warm” in this


36

expression shows a concept of semantic feature which is [+happiness]. Thus,

metaphors include as a dead metaphor because "road" and “warm” is related to the

term place, time, and an image of one's life.

Table 11. Analysis Metaphorical Expression “The road is warm now”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

The road is

warm now

hard surface

built for vehicles

to travel on

a life journey Dead [+life]

The road is

warm now

showing

enthusiasm

and/or affection

A happy

feeling and

better life

Dead [+happiness]

i. Some people get their kicks

“Kick” is defined in OALD as “to hit somebody or something with your

foot” or “to succeed or win in an impressive way” (2015, p. 832). The word

“kick” in everyday life refers to the activity of a person using and utilizing his

feet. Based on experiential understanding, “get a kick” is to do something

especially something bad but it would give a feeling of excitement.

In the metaphorical expression, the song writer describes that there are many

people around you who already have achievements or who have just achieved

their achievements by destroying other people's dreams. This explanation is

supported by the line “stompin 'on your dream” which comes after the metaphor's

expression. Some people in this world love when their rivals are crushed. The

author wants to convey the message that one of human nature is when others fail,

it assures them that they are not so bad. Besides, the line also tells us that we all


37

have problems in life. From the achievement they get, they can show to people

around them that they are better.

Both lexical meaning and metaphorical meaning depict a semantic feature

[+achievement]. The metaphor “get their kicks” stands as human activities in the

expression. Therefore, this metaphor is categorized as a dead metaphor.

Table 12. Analysis Metaphorical Expression “Some people get their kicks,

stompin’ on a dream”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

Some people get

their kicks,

stompin’ on a

dream

to succeed

or win in an

impressive

way

the acievement

that can hurt

people around

Dead [+achievement]

j. I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn, and a king

As seen above, there are six metaphors contained in this metaphorical

expression. Each metaphor will be discussed one by one after this. This

metaphorical expression describes some stages of the author's life journey. It can

be seen from the use of metaphor “puppet” to “king”.

The first metaphor in this metaphorical expression is puppet which in

OALD defined as “a model of a person or an animal that can be made to move,

for example by pulling the strings attached to parts of its body or by putting your

hand inside it” or “a person or group whose actions are controlled by another”

(2015, p.1208). From the definition, it shows the condition of the metaphorical

expression “I've been a puppet” that being a puppet is always controlled by

someone who has more power and authority. The songwriter describes himself as


38

a puppet without the power and strength to even do something. The songwriter

also wants to emphasize that his life was once miserable. He experienced the

lowest level of life where he could not do anything, where everything he did was

controlled by other people. He was not free to do what he wanted. In other words,

he should follow what others ordered to him because he did not have any power.

He is governed by someone more powerful who can control everything in his life.

Being someone's puppet reflects the dependence of the songwriter to stay alive.

This is one of the lowest stages of his life.

The second metaphor is pauper. The word “pauper” in OALD means “a

very poor person” (2015, p.1094) or in other words pauper is someone who has no

money and he or she relies on others for supporting his or her live. The difference

between puppet and pauper lies in who they depend on. Puppet and pauper are

still closely related to the stages of one's life. Being a pauper means that he is not

controlled or maintained by anyone, he has his own power, and he is free to do

anything but has limitations in fulfilling his life's needs.

The next metaphor in this metaphorical expression is pirate. According to

OALD, the word “pirate” means “a person on a ship who attacks other ships at the

sea in order to steal from them” (2015, p.1128). This metaphor describes a

condition in which the song writer commits a crime. Pirate can be categorized as a

job, but it is illegal. It is said to be illegal because pirates work by piracy, robbery,

or other violent crime, usually with the aim of stealing cargo and other valuables.

The song writer has improved by having a job and power over what he does but it


39

is still in negative way. However, he slowly shows a change from having nothing

to this point, to become someone who has authority and is able to support himself.

The fourth metaphor is “poet” which in OALD define as “a person who

writes poems” (2015, p.1146). A poet has his own features and image in society at

that time. This feature can be seen from the point of view and thinking of the

poets who are slightly different from people in general. A poet is more sensitive,

senses, and knows literature which then expresses the results of their thoughts and

feelings in each verse. The metaphor of "poem" illustrates the condition of the

songwriter who is better than before. Being a poet makes him more respected and

has advantages that he can be proud of amidst the hardships of life. He has more

power and authority in his life. Poem is an art, then, from that art then gives rise of

a little freedom, at least to voice his conscience.

“Pawn” is the fifth metaphor in this metaphorical expression. OALD defines

pawn as “a chess piece of the smallest and least value” or “a person or group

whose actions are controlled by more powerful people” (2015, p.1094). Pawn can

also be interpreted as a soldier. In chess, the pawns are at the very front, forming a

defensive line to protect the king and other members of the kingdom. From the

metaphor "pawn" shows the author can also be described as a pawn in a kingdom.

Being a pawn, he already has a higher position and has greater power but with the

aim of protecting his master or someone more powerful than him. Being a pawn is

a great achievement for the songwriter. Even though he does not have full power

and is not a high position, at least he is already in a good position.


40

The last metaphor is king. The word “king” in OALD is defined as “the

male ruler of an independent state that has a royal family” (2015, p.835). King is

the highest position in the form of a government of the kingdom. A king has full

power in making rules, orders, and even punishments. From this metaphor, it is

reflected in the life of the songwriter who has reached the highest level or peak of

glory in his life. He is able to stand alone with the success he already has. The

songwriter likens that in the end he has authority over himself and even has the

power to lead and rule something.

From the six metaphors in the metaphorical expression above, it shows the

songwriter's life journey from the bottom to the top. This is supported by the line

"I've been up & down, over & out". These metaphorical expressions also show the

journey of his life from depending on someone, not having anything, and someone

who is underestimated, until he becomes someone who has his own power,

degree, and strength, at least for the life he has. In other words, the songwriter

wants to tell the hierarchy in society that he has been through. From the six

metaphors with the literal and metaphorical meanings of each metaphor, they

describe a concept of the same semantic features, namely [+hierarchy]. These six

metaphors are included in the type of dead metaphor because they relate to a time,

place, and imagination of the life that the author has been through. The metaphors

above are also related to the life activities of the author in achieving his success.


41

k. I've got the world on a string

OALD defines “world” as “the earth with all of its countries, people and

natural features” or in the context of a person's life can be interpreted as “a

person's environment, experiences, family and friends” (2015, p.1736). "World"

covers all aspects that exist on earth, relationships between living things, feelings

such as affection, love, perspective, and the most basic is earth as a place for

human life and existence.

From the literal meaning of the word "world", it describes a metaphorical

meaning of the word "world" which refers to the overall life of the songwriter that

he has passed during his life. From the whole sentence, this is an idiom as well as

a metaphor. In the free web dictionary by Farlex, these idioms have the meaning

of a feeling of happiness and a belief that everything will work on his favor. In

other words, he is in complete control of his own life. In other words, the word

"world" shows someone who has achieved the goals and dreams in life and shows

that he, as the singer, can exceed his limits and capacities properly as a human.

The lexical and metaphorical meanings of this expression depict a semantic

feature which is [+life]. This metaphor is classified into a dead metaphor since it

is related to the terms of place and human activities in life.

Table 13. Analysis Metaphorical Expression “I’ve got the world on a string”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

I've got the

world on a

string

A place for life or

a person’s

environment,

experiences,

family, friends

feeling of

happiness, belief

everything will

work on his

favor

Dead [+life]


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2. Stock or Standard Metaphor

Stock or standard metaphor is a metaphor which in an informal context

becomes an efficient method to cover physical and /or mental situations, both

referential and pragmatic, in other words this metaphor shows an emotion

(Newmark, 1988, p.108). From the songs analyzed, there are four metaphorical

expressions categorized into stock or standard metaphor. The metaphorical

expressions are as listed below:

Table 14. Stock or Standard Metaphor

No. Metaphorical Expression Title of the Song

1. You’re a carousel Everything

2. You're every line Everything

3. You're every word Everything

4. You're every song Everything

5. I'm sitting on a rainbow I’ve Got the World on a String

The analysis of the five expressions included in the stock or standard

metaphor above is discussed further.

a. You’re a carousel

The metaphorical expression is “You’re the carousel”. The word “carousel”,

according to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD) is a round platform

with model horses, cars, etc. that turns around and around and that children ride

on at a fairground or merry-go-round (2015, p.218). The word is derived from the

Spanish and Italian for "minor war" which were garosello and carosella, which

eventually became the French word "carousel" and are used to this day (Eschner,

2017). In real life, “carousel” is big circular machine with seats or in nowadays


43

known as merry-go-round. When people ride a merry-go-round, they can feel

happy, enjoy, and feeling entertained. The use of “carousel” is to suppose the girl

he loves because he wants to convey that she is one of the sources of his

happiness. The girl becomes the songwriter mood booster. The songwriter is

comfortable when he is with that girl and very pleasant to be around her. From the

literal meaning and metaphorical meaning, it shows that this metaphorical

expression reflects a semantic feature which is [+ entertainment].

Since the stock metaphor refers to an informal context that includes a

person's mental and physical situations, the metaphor "carousel" is categorized

into a stock or standard metaphor. Carousel relates to the physical and mental

situation of the songwriter. This is intended when the author's physical and mental

situation is tired, restless, and sad, then he comes to his girl, who can make him

feel comforted, comfortable, and smile again.

Table 15. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re a carousel”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re a

carousel

a round

platform

with model

horses, cars

The one of

the sources of

the happiness

Stock [+entertainment]

b. You're every line

The word “line” in the expression is defined as “a row of words on a page or

the empty space where they can be written” (2015, p.879). The metaphor "line"

refers to the sentence. In everyday life as human, we use language which consists

of several sentences. A line has become a part of life as a living being. A sentence


44

has one use, namely to say or convey something to others. Therefore, the word

"line" is defined to be very important and necessary, especially when someone

wants to express a feeling for the special relationship with the intended person.

The situation illustrated in this metaphor is when each "line" that refers to

the sentence the songwriter utters is about the girl. Each line in the song that he

writes tells about the girl he admires the most. This is supported by the next line

which is "you're every word". Based on the literal meaning that affects the

metaphorical meaning of "line", it can be seen if the girl is compared to "line".

The girl is described as someone who can fill the void in the songwriter's life. The

girl can be a new story line that fills the blank sheet of the songwriter with their

love story or in other words the girl is a new "filler" in the songwriter’s life. The

literal and metaphorical meanings of the metaphor “line” show the same concept

of semantic features which is [+filler]. The metaphor in this expression is

classified as a stock metaphor because the "line" shows the emotions and mental

situations of the author in writing through the song.

Table 16. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re every line”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re every

line

a row of

words on a

page or the

empty space

The girl who

fills the void of

the songwriter's

life

Stock [+filler]

c. You're every word

The metaphorical expression has a situation where the song writer sings

every single word of the song in which the words are related to the girl. According


45

to OALD, word is “a single unit of language which means something and can be

spoken or written” (2015, p.1732). As mentioned on the analysis about “line”, the

expression “word” in the line “you’re every word” supports the meaning of the

expression “line”. A line of sentences is composed of several words containing its

own meaning which then becomes a message that can be conveyed by the reader

or listener. Therefore, both expressions are related and support one another.

The "word" in the expression refers to the girl the songwriter loves. A word

is the basis of a sentence. Thus, the girl is described as a word which means she

becomes the main basis of the songwriter's love feelings. It becomes the root that

strengthens the songwriter. The girl is the foundation that has significance in the

songwriter's life. This girl is likened to some words especially the word love and

sweetness that make a feeling of joy and peace. The explanation of the two

meanings raises the concept of semantic features which is [+base]. The metaphor

"line" shows the author's emotions and mental situations. Therefore, this metaphor

is categorized as a stock metaphor.

Table 17. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re every word”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re every

word

single unit of

language which

means

something

A girl whose the

main basis of the

songwriter's love

feelings

Stock [+base]

d. You're every song

“Song” is defined by OALD as “a short piece of music with words that you

sing” or “music for singing” (2015, p.1440) which contains a story. This metaphor


46

shows a situation when the man is singing for his girl. From the definition above,

a song is a combination of music and words which are combined into harmony

and beauty. Apart from being a mood controller, expression, and emotion

modulation, songs also function as the language of love for the loved ones. Song

is used by a writer to tell a story in his or her life. In this metaphor, the song sung

is related to love.

In this expression, the song is likened to a story. The songwriter wants to

convey that the girl can be every story of the songwriter's everyday life.

Everything the songwriter owns and inspired has been made into a beautiful story

by the girl. In other words, it reveals that she is a woman who has been a good

influence on the songwriter through new stories of the things they went through

together. The metaphor shares the concept of semantic feature as [+story]. The

metaphor belongs to the stock metaphor because it has a relationship with a

person's emotions and moods.

Table 18. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression “You’re every song”

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

You’re every

song

A short piece of

music with words

that you sing

A girl who can

be every story of

every day

Stock [+story]

e. I'm sitting on a rainbow

According to OALD, rainbow is defined as “a curved band of different

colors that appears in the sky when the sun shines through rain” (2015, p. 1229).

In science, rainbow occurs due to the process of refraction of sunlight with

raindrops. This is also determined by the position of the direction of view. From


47

this refraction, the rainbow shows seven colors. This color makes the eyes even

more amazed. The explanation above shows that rainbow occurs at a certain time

and with a fairly detailed process. The appearance of a rainbow that has many

colors gives a sense of wonder and happiness for those who see it.

The metaphor of "rainbow" in this expression describes the song writer who

is feeling happiness and joy in his life. The songwriter is sitting at a happy level

after going through a long process of loving someone. “Rainbow” is like a feeling

of happiness. Therefore, "I'm sitting on a rainbow" can be defined as sitting and

having a beautiful moment of life which makes him reach the peak of happiness

and feels so much love. From the literal and metaphorical meaning, it depicts the

concept of semantic features which is [+happiness]. Since this metaphor shows

the emotion of the song writer, it can be concluded that this metaphor is included

into stock metaphor.

Table 19. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression "I'm sitting on a rainbow"

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

I’m sitting on

a rainbow

a curved band of

different colors in

the sky when the

sun shines

through rain

feeling of

happiness and

love

Stock [+happiness]

3. Original Metaphor

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the original metaphor is a

metaphor that is quoted and created by SL writer but it should be literally

translated first (Newmark, 1988, p.112). In this type of metaphor, there is only


48

one metaphorical expression, which is “Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a

plum”, on the lyrics of the song entitled The Best is yet to Come. The metaphor in

this metaphorical expression is “plum”. “Plum” in OALD is defined as "a soft

round fruit with smooth red or purple skin, sweet flesh and a large flat seed

inside" as a noun, or "considered very good and worth having" as an adjective

(2015, p. 1143). Plum is described as a fruit that is smooth, soft, sweet, and good

for consumption. Plum is also a high-priced fruit. From the above meanings, plum

becomes a noun which denotes a good thing, which should be owned and

guarded.

This metaphorical expression describes the writer's condition, which is

very happy when living with the girl. The girl he sings with is personified with

plums. He had "picked" someone who is beautiful and worthy. This metaphorical

expression shows happiness because throughout his life, he just chooses someone

precious whom he believes will bring a wonderful life to him. "Plum" refers to the

girl as a worthy partner to have. The literal and metaphorical meanings of the

metaphor "plum" show one semantic feature concept, which is [+partner]. This

metaphor is included into original metaphor since the meaning of the metaphor

itself is the source language of the songwriter, namely in likening the best partner

in his life.

Table 20. Analysis of Metaphorical Expression " I just picked me a plum"

Metaphorical

Expression

Literal

Meaning

Metaphorical

Meaning

Types of

Metaphor

Semantic

Feature

Out of the tree of

life, I just picked

me a plum

Something

that very

good and

A girl who

deserves to be

owned and made

Original [+partner]


49

worth having a life partner

B. Theme Revealed from Metaphors and Semantic Features in the Album

Call Me Irresponsible

In this subchapter, metaphorical expressions in the songs are illustrated

with metaphorical meanings and semantic features to find the meaning of the

songs in the album. Once the meaning of the entire song is reflected, a theme can

be identified. On the previous subchapter, the writer discusses about the types of

metaphorical expressions. In analyzing the types, semantic features of each

metaphor are also determined since they can help the writer in determining the

types as well. However, they are not discussed deeper on the subchapter since it

will be discussed in this part as the semantic features of each metaphorical

expression decide the theme of the album that is being analyzed.

In finding out the theme, the songs containing metaphorical expressions

are analyzed by taking the theme of each song and being proven by the semantic

features obtained from the previous part. Based on the analysis on the previous

part, there are 17 semantic features in 5 songs of Call Me Irresponsible album.

These 17 semantic features are [+shine], [+freedom], [+barrier], [+refreshing],

[+future], [+riddle], [+strange], [+life], [+happiness], [+achievement],

[+hierarchy], [+entertainment], [+filler], [+story], [+happiness], [+base] and

[+partner]. Meanwhile, the songs which contain metaphorical expressions are

Everything, That’s Life, I’ve Got the World on the String, Comin Home Baby, and

The Best Is Yet to Come. The discussion of the theme of each song is as follow:


50

1. The Theme of Everything Song

In this song, there are 11 semantic features, consisting of [+shine],

[+freedom], [+barrier], [+refreshing], [+future], [+riddle], [+strange],

[+entertainment], [+filler], [+story], and [+base]. These semantic features depict a

story from the song writer about how the girl he loves is very attractive and makes

him amazed. The writer seems to describe the journey of his love from meeting,

approaching, to establishing a loving relationship with his girl. He shows how the

girl has a very good impact on his life. The whole lyrics in the song tell about the

girl, how her habits, attitudes, behavior, and even her perfection is a companion

for him. Hence, it can be depicted that the theme of the song is “All about My

Girl”.

The songwriter wants to express how lucky and grateful he is to have this

girl. As an example of one of semantic features and lines that support the

revealing of the theme which is [+ barrier]. This girl is like a barrier and reminder

for the songwriter when he goes too far. The other line which is “You’re a

wishing well” also depicts the same concept of a lover situation. "Wishing well"

can show two semantic features which are shown from the use of one

metaphorical expression. The semantic features that can be seen from the

metaphorical expression are [+ future] and [+ hope], but one of them is more

dominant which is [+ future] because [+ hope] is certain about something that has

not happened or will happen in the future. The girl is represented as a beautiful

dream that the writer hopes for and finally happens in his life.


51

2. The theme of That’s Life Song

In the second song, there are seven metaphors in two metaphorical

expressions. This song tells about the journey of his life from nothing to a person

who has authority over something. How he built his life from a weak person to

become an influential and powerful person. The whole lyrics draw a theme which

is "Struggle of Life". The songwriter wants to tell the story of his journey in

defending and struggling in life. The difficulties he faced when he did not have

anything, became a puppet or subordinate of others, became a criminal, until he

got achievements that made him a person who was respected by others.

The topic is proven by semantic features [+achievement] and [+hierarchy].

The lyrics show how life goes according to his experience. The life story he shares

through the use of the metaphor in the song provides a picture of a point in life

that makes him grateful for whatever happens in his life. Being someone who can

be accepted by society or just a decent life, for the songwriter, is a happy story.

The songwriter also wants to deliver that sometimes when we want to achieve

something, it can hurt other people by unconsciously taking their dreams. Life is

not always as beautiful and easy as imagined.

3. The Theme of I’ve Got the World on the String Song

The third song entitled I’ve Got the World on The String conceived two

metaphors in two metaphorical expressions. Through each line of the lyrics and

the use of metaphorical expressions, the songwriter describes his story at the top

of the world, giving him happiness and joy. The theme drawn from the song with

the support of metaphors and semantic features contained in it is "My Happiness


52

Is You", the happiness that comes because of the girl he has. The theme is

supported by the two semantic features, [+life] and [+happiness], that are revealed

from the metaphorical expressions in the song.

As seen in the line "I've got the world on a string" with metaphor “string”

referring to the concept of life and "I'm sitting on a rainbow" with metaphor

“rainbow” referring to happiness, it illustrates that the songwriter is fully happy.

Besides being surrounded by happiness, he is also in the state of being in love as

supported by the repetition of the line "I'm in love". Not only because he just falls

in love, but also because everything in his life is going according to his plan. The

line "life is a beautiful thing, as long as I hold the string" also supports the concept

of predetermined semantic features because the line is expressing that life feels

beautiful when "strings" or life itself is under control or capable for each

individual.

4. The theme of Comin Home Baby Song

The fourth song is Comin Home Baby. This song tells about the long

distance relationship between the songwriter and his girl, until the time when the

songwriter can return home to meet his girl. From this explanation, it can be

concluded that the theme of this song is "Missing Someone". After living apart

from his beloved one, he finally finds the time to go home. The songwriter feels

almost crazy when he is away from his girl. The longing they feel for each other

makes their love bigger than ever. The songwriter feels that his life is better and

happier when they are together.


53

This theme is proven by certain semantic features, which are [+life] and

[+happiness]. The semantic feature [+life] comes from the metaphorical meaning

"the road is warm now". The metaphor "road" refers to the songwriter’s life which

becomes more beautiful and happier when he can go home and meet his

girlfriend. Another semantic feature, which is [+happiness], is reflected from the

songwriter’s feeling on the way home to meet his girl. Since the songwriter and

his lover are about to meet, he feels that his life will be better and happier than

before, when he is away from his lover. Coming back home is likened as the best

part of his life in a long-distance relationship that the songwriter feels.

5. The Theme of The Best Is Yet to Come Song

The last song, “The Best Is Yet to Come”, discusses about the story of the

songwriter and his girl who are together and have a love relationship, but the

writer feels that he cannot give the best for his girl. He has not totally loved his

girl even though the girl feels that she has been loved whole heartedly and feels

happy with the love she feels from the songwriter during their time together. From

this explanation, it can be concluded that the theme of the entire song is "Deepest

Affection for You".

The theme that has been taken is supported by metaphorical expressions that

produce the concept of semantic features as well as several lines in the song lyrics.

The metaphorical expression is "Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum".

The word "plum" as discussed earlier reflects the best match the songwriter has in

his lifetime. With the semantic feature [+partner], it explains how the girl can

become someone who can understand and love the songwriter. Like a good,


54

sweet, and tender fruit, which the songwriter chooses from the events of his life,

right down to finding the girl and making her his best partner. From the line "You

think you've seen the sun, but you ain't seen it shine", it explains how the writer

gives an understanding to the girl that what she sees and feels is not the best, yet.

There is still something better the songwriter will do for the girl. The line "The

best is yet to come, come the day that you're mine" illustrates that the best and

happiest thing for the writer is when the girl really belongs to him completely.

Based on each explanation above, it can be seen that each song has its own

theme, but these themes are related one another. The five songs have the core

theme of the story of how the author's life journey is, how he lives his life when

he is alone, how he is trying to stay alive, when he is able to stand alone, and

when he finds a lover and the happiness of his life. Each story in the song brings

the listener to the imagination of the best parts of the writer's life. Not only the

ease and joy, but the hardships and struggles he feels in life. Every life experience

has its best part. Even in adversity, the songwriter gets life lessons that can make

him a better person. The five songs contain several metaphorical expressions and

they reflect a concept of semantic features analyzed before, which are [+shine],

[+freedom], [+barrier], [+refreshing], [+future], [+riddle], [+strange], [+life],

[+happiness], [+achievement], [+hierarchy], [+life], [+entertainment], [+filler],

[+story], [+base], and [+partner], supporting the depiction of the album theme.

The existing semantic features shows the best things that happened in the writer's

life. Therefore, it can be concluded that the theme of the album Call Me

Irresponsible is "Best Part of Life".


55

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

This chapter presents the core of the analysis results of the previous

chapter. The metaphorical expressions in the five songs are classified into six

types of metaphor, then the metaphorical meanings and semantic features found

are analyzed to reveal the theme of each song. These themes are further analyzed

and combined into one theme which covers the theme of five songs.

Answering the first research question, as mentioned in the first part of

previous chapter, there are 23 metaphorical expressions that have been found in 5

songs in Call Me Irresponsible album. Based on the results, there are 17 dead

metaphors, 5 stock or standard metaphors, and 1 original metaphor. The results of

the analysis are used to answer the first problem formulation regarding the types

of metaphors. The frequency of dead metaphors has the highest number among

the other six types. This shows that the metaphor used is close to everyday life

because dead metaphors are more directed at things that can be seen with the eyes

such as places, images, universal terms, and human activities. The type of

metaphor also supports to reveal the theme of the album. The theme is chosen

because the metaphor that is often used is dead metaphor, which as explained

earlier, dead metaphor refers to several aspects of life such as time, activity, and

even universal terms.


56

The second research question is about the theme of each song and the

whole album. Metaphorical meaning and semantic features are developed to

reveal the theme of the song and later become the theme for the album. Semantic

features that are reflected in metaphorical expressions found are [+shine],

[+freedom], [+barrier], [+refreshing], [+future], [+riddle], [+strange], [+life],

[+happiness], [+achievement], [+hierarchy], [+entertainment], [+filler], [+story],

[+base], and [+partner]. From the semantic features, the theme that can be

revealed is "Best Part of Life". The theme is illustrated by understanding the plot

of the story conveyed by the song lyrics. The five songs chosen in the album as a

whole tell about the songwriter's life journey from difficulties, struggles,

achievements, and love which makes him feel that each of his life stories has its

own best part. The journey of his love from meeting until when he was with his

lover. How he describes his lover who makes him feel comfortable and happy. He

also shares his life story from having nothing to living a decent life and achieving

his success. The theme “Best Part of Life” is illustrated and summarized from the

five songs in this album.

This research aims to assist writers or other researchers in conducting

studies related to semantics, metaphors, themes, and song lyrics. There are several

difficulties in the process of making this paper, such as distinguishing

metaphorical expressions and common expressions, and determining the types for

each metaphor. Despite experiencing some difficulties, the writer was able to get

through it well supported by an understanding of the theory used. Further studies

are encouraged to compile a complete, extensive, and comprehensive analysis.


57

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APPENDICES

Appendix: The classifications of the metaphoric expression

No. Title of the

Song

Metaphorical

Expressions

Types of Metaphor

Dead Stock Original

1. Everything You’re a falling star ✔

2. Everything You’re getaway car ✔

3. Everything You're the line in the

sand, when I go too far

✔

4. Everything You're the swimming

pool on an August day

✔

5. Everything You're a wishing well ✔

6. Everything You're a mystery ✔

7. Everything You're from outer space ✔

8. Everything You’re a carousel ✔

9 Everything You're every line ✔

10 Everything You're every word ✔

11. Everything You're every song ✔

12. Comin’ Home

Baby

The road is warm now ✔✔

13. That’s Life Some people get their

kicks

✔

14. I’ve Got the

World on a

String

I've got the world on a

string

✔

15. That’s Life I've been a puppet, a

pauper, a pirate, a poet,

a pawn and a king

✔ ✔ ✔

✔ ✔ ✔

16. I’ve got the

World on a

String

I'm sitting on a rainbow ✔

17. The Best is

Yet to Come

I just pick me a plum ✔

Total 17 5 1


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