I thought I would try something new here. As a writer and a lover of hip-hop I felt that it was prudent to analyze some songs if for no other reason but to extol the genius and the symbols, metaphors, and other literary devices that are present in this wonderful art form.
Let’s begin.
Song: “Wildflower”
Artist: Cee Lo Green
Album: The Lady Killer (2010)
“Wildflower” is a wonderful metaphor in and of itself. The song, expertly sung by Cee Lo Green, takes the chance to compare a beautiful woman with a wildflower. Throughout he finds similarities between a true beauty and flora, a true wonder of God’s creation.
All it takes is some moonlight and as long as the weather’s fair
Reacts through a river, romance by the evening air
A fragrance on her flesh, this is who she is; don’t apologize
You are to awe her but you’ll only be beautiful in the beholder
Two lines in the first verse really affirm and play into the extended metaphor of the song. The first would be the line ‘A fragrance on her flesh’. This line could be said of the sweet fragrance most women carry as well as the aroma of a bouquet of wildflowers might have. The same could be said of the line ‘…only be beautiful in the beholder’. This speaks of the old adage that beauty rests in the eyes of the beholder, a phrase that applies to women and flowers.
Wonderful wildflower
Open up, let me see
Sexy hints in season
Share your sunshine with me
The chorus as a whole calls her a ‘wonderful wildflower’. The implication of ‘open up and let me see’ is that she should share her individual beauty with him and only him. The rest of the chorus plays in a similar fashion.
The picture is perfect is perfect, a keepsake ‘cause the occasion’s rare
It’s poetry in motion, I’m just proud to say that I was there
To pull her out of the ground, standing out in the crowd, oh my how she’s grown
Hold her in both my hands and put her right on the table when I get her home
‘The picture is perfect’ refers to his woman, his flower. This is further enforced by saying she’s a ‘keepsake ‘cause the occasion is rare’. The last two lines are a brilliant bit. The crowd that she stands out of is in direct parallel to a flower in the earth amid its fellows. Finally, to ‘hold her in both my hands’ could either be an embrace or the way you’d carefully hold a vase full of flowers. The same can be said of the phrase saying to ‘put her right on the table when I get her home’. It could be either be flower placement or foreplay depending on the way it’s taken
Wonderful wildflower
Open up, let me see
Sexy hints in season
Share your sunshine with me
Show those pretty colors, baby
Show them all to everyone
Everybody’s got a little light under the sun
As with the chorus it speaks of that individual beauty to be given to only him.
Wonderful wildflower
Open up, let me see
Sexy hints in season
Share your sunshine with me
Wonderful wildflower
Open up, let me see
Sexy hints in season
Share your sunshine with me
Courtesy of Lucius Black for Royalty Magazine
Courtesy of Lucius Black for Royalty Magazine
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