Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.
Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.
In their sties with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a darn good whacking.
Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.
*"one more time" / Metaphor: Throughout the song, the metaphor being set up is one that compares people to piggies. This affects the song because it makes a funny comparison while causing the listener to think about the comparison being made and asking the listener to identify “piggies” in their lives. The listener then thinks about what sort of people are being called piggies and looks for them in his or her life.
Personification: Giving the piggies human characteristics of wearing starched white shirts, not caring what is going on and living their piggy lives, allows the listener to see what sort of people are being compared to piggies. The Beatles are not comparing everyone to piggies here, just those who try to keep up appearances by living in excessive homes, wearing the best clothes and eating in the most expensive restaurants. Or maybe politicians because the image of the sty and the word backing may indicate something to do with government. This continues with the same effect on the listener as that of the metaphor because it keeps giving the listener ways to find more “piggies” in real life.
Imagery ( Irony): This line makes it very simple to imagine two pigs, dressed up and sitting at a table – silverware in hand, eating bacon. It is ironic because bacon comes from pigs, so they are, in effect, being cannibals. This ironic image impacts the song because the whole way through we’ve been picturing piggies “leading piggy lives” that are much like our own. Really though, we are being told that these pigs are hypocrites and cannibals, so everyone that we’ve associated with the piggies, even ourselves, here at the end becomes a savage cannibal. This causes the listener to stop and consider what really is being implied by the metaphor of piggies to people.
Artist Voice: By performing this song, The Beatles are asserting their voice, which, in this case is a social commentary. They are trying to raise awareness of the dangers of living in a life that is too comfortable where people do not show concern for those who are less fortunate or in an inferior position.
Mollie Davis
English 9.
Ms. Davis
23 November, 2010
“Piggies”by: The Beatles
Works Cited: (Go to www.easybib.com for help making citations!)
WRONG: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Piggies-lyrics-The-Beatles/13426D348D2C226048256BC20021182A
RIGHT: The Beatles. "THE BEATLES - PIGGIES LYRICS." Sing365.com. 2000-2007. Web. 19 Nov. 2010. <http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Piggies-lyrics-The-Beatles/13426D348D2C226048256BC20021182A>.
RIGHT: Harrison, George, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. "Piggies." The Beatles White Album. The Beatles. Parlophone, 1968. CD.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Choose a song (everyone MUST have a different one – so come to class Monday with THREE songs and lyrics PRINTED OUT)
2. On MONDAY and TUESDAY you will analyze the songs this means:
Ø Identify at least three literary features
Ø Explain what impact those literary features have on the song
Ø Explain what impact those literary features have on the listener
Ø Explain what you think the artist’s voice is in the song
3. Develop a creative way to show us your analysis (skit, collage, art, original song, poem, etc….)
4. On WEDNESAY (9.1, 9.2), MONDAY (everyone), and TUESDAY (everyone) you will give individual (maximum 4 minute) presentations explaining your literary analysis.