Comparative Analysis

"Here Without You"

A hundred days have made me older

since the last time that I saw your pretty face

A thousand lies have made me colder

and I don't think I can look at this the same

But all the miles that separate

disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

CHORUS

I'm here without you, baby

but you're still on my lonely mind

I think about you, baby

and I dream about you all the time

I'm here without you, baby

but you're still with me in my dreams

and tonight it's only you and me

The miles just keep rollin'

As the people leave their way to say hello

I've heard this life is overrated

but I hope that it gets better as we go

CHORUS

Everything I know, and anywhere I go

it gets hard but it won't take away my love

And when the last on falls,

when it's all said and done,

it gets hard but it wont take away my love

CHORUS

"Stop & Stare"

This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us

it's time to make our move, i'm shaking off the rust

I've got my heart set on anywhere but here

I'm staring down myself, counting up the years

Steady hands, just take the wheel...

And every glance is killing me

Time to make one last appeal... for the life I lead

CHORUS

Stop and stare

I think I'm moving but I go nowhere

Yeah I know that everyone gets scared

But I've become what I can't be, oh

Stop and stare

You start to wonder why you're here not there

and you'd give anything to get what's fair

but fair ain't what you really need

Oh, can you see what I see

They're trying to come back, all my senses push

Untie the weight bags, I never thought I could...

Steady feet, don't fail me now

Gonna run til you can't walk

Something pulls my focus out

and I'm standing down...

CHORUS



      Utilizing a subdued tempo in “Here Without You,” 3 Doors Down uses metaphors in the context of life, far-fetched personification, and unrealistic hyperboles to show the listener that “you’re still with me in my dreams.” Also, utilizing a subdued tempo in “Stop & Stare,” One Republic has a heavy usage of unrealistic hyperboles, far-fetched personification, and also an upbeat choral to prove to the listener that “I’ve become what I can’t be.” In comparison, 3 Doors Down and One Republic both have similarities and dissimilarities in their songs “Here Without You” and “Stop & Stare.”

      In the song by 3 Doors Down, “Here Without You” and in the song “Stop & Stare” by One Republic, there are similarities found. Poetic devices seem to be the top contenders for the similarities. Both songs utilize hyperboles and personification to reveal to their listeners that they are leaving where they are. Both songs also deal with relationship, and they each have the same point-of-view. 3 Doors Down sings, “a thousand lies have made me colder,” and One Republic sings, “and you’d give anything to get what’s fair,” which are both hyperboles. A hyperbole is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. “A thousand lies have made me colder” is a hyperbole because a thousand lies couldn’t physically make a person colder, and “you’d give anything to get what’s fair” is also another hyperbole because one cannot personally and physically give anything to get what is fair. 3 Doors Down sings “the miles just keep rolling,” which is personification, along with “this town is colder now, I think it’s sick of us,” which is sung by One Republic. Both lines are personified because miles cannot roll and a town cannot be cold.

      Along with similarities, these two songs also have dissimilarities. Unlike 3 Doors Down, who uses metaphors in the context of life, One Republic uses an upbeat choral. “Here Without You” is a lot more sad and the singer is alone, whereas in “Stop & Stare,” the song is more upbeat and the singer with the subject. 3 Doors Down makes it clear that they are “here without you, baby,” and by doing so, they are a lot more sad and gloomy. Although, taking an alternate route, One Republic depicts that the subject is present but he starts “to wonder why you’re here not there.” 3 Doors Down sings “I’ve heard this life is overrated,” to show metaphor in the song, whereas One Republic uses an upbeat choral in their song,” Stop & Stare.” Not only is the chorus in “Stop & Stare” upbeat, but so is the tempo when the chorus is sang; One Republic sings, “stop and stare/ I think I’m moving but I go nowhere,” that is the ultimate climax of the song and once the second verse is sang, One Republic goes back into a subdued tempo. Dissimilarities aren’t as apparent as thesimilarities in these two songs, however.

      3 Doors Down and One Republic both utilize a subdued tempo, far-fetched personification, and unrealistic hyperboles to show that they are leaving where they are. 3 Doors Down also uses metaphors in the context of life, whereas One Republic uses an upbeat choral. Both songs deal with relationships and leaving, but also one is more distraught and the other is faster, making it visible to the listener that there are similarities as well as dissimilarities of the two songs.