Lyric Analysis: Frank Turner (Part 2)

When we realised that Frank Turner was the most popular artist for our group, we made a unanimous decision that it was a good idea to choose one of his songs. We agreed that his music was most suited to the ideas we already had, and thought that we could produce a strong peice based on his music. The general feel of his songs seemed to suit us all and the ideas we had. Initially the song we chose was "The Real Damage", the first track from the album "Sleep is for the Week".

LYRICS:

I woke up on a sofa in an unfamiliar house,

Surrounded by sleeping folks that I didn't know.

On failing to find my friends, I decided that it was clearly time to go.

So I made my way out of the door as quietly as I could - there was no one there I knew to say goodbye.

Squinting in the sadly sobering sunshine of the Sunday morning light.

I started the night with all my friends and ended up alone.

I started out so happy, now I'm hungover and down.

It was about then that I realised that I was half way through the best years of my life.

I scanned the local landmarks trying to find out where I was,

or maybe even find a bus back home.

I was longing for a shower, for clean sheets,

And a charger for my phone.

Suddenly it hit me that I got paid this friday last,

So I rifled through my pockets for some change.

But all I found was a packet of broken cigarettes and a sinking sense of shame.

I had to ask myself:

Is it really worth it? Is any of this worth it?

Well the whole things far from perfect,

But i've yet to figure out a better way to spend my time.

Too many suits and dirty looks made me rack my brains,

The real damage started to sink in.

It's been quite a heavy weekend but I can just about remember where I've been.

Well I started the night with all my friends and ended up alone,

I started out so happy, now I'm hungover and down.

I stood on a street corner and I felt a little sick;

It was about then that I realised I was half way through the first day of the week.

This song is particularly strong in terms of lyrics and theme. This is reflected in the fact that we chose the song and made plans for it. The song is a narrative of the after affects of a weekend's drinking and the revelations it causes the artist to have about his life. He seems to realise that the life he's living isn't doing him any favours. It's affecting his relationships and his health. The ultimate problem appears at the end of the music, when he realises that he's missed an entire day of his life, entirely due the effects of drink.

There would be a lot of things to consider in making a music video for this song. The thing to be avoided most is purely creating a narrative. A narrative-based video would be weak and unproffesional. So we had to make sure we didn't base the entire video on the lyrics, and more try to capture the feel of the song.