Literary Analysis over "Hello Seattle"
As we age, we try to travel around the world and to be able to see places that you have only dreamed of seeing. To be able to travel to other places in the world is something most people want to do. Going out into the world is something we may all want to do in our lifetime. The song that I feel best represents this is “Hello Seattle” by Owl City (Adam Young). This song, to me, relates to what people want to see in the world and what they would like to accomplish.
The song likes to repeat itself, especially in the first 7 stanza's. In the first part of these stanza's, it introduces itself as “Hello Seattle”. It introduces what object it is talking. For example, it uses “Hello Seattle, I am a manta ray” in the 2nd stanza. It uses this as a start for the rest of the stanza's. For the rest of the stanza's, it describes this object of what it does, and as if the writer is the object. An example of this would be “ Hello Seattle, I am an albatross, On the docks and moored boats, I sail above your inlets and interstates, Through the rain and open wind”, which is the 5th stanza. In this stanza, like in the others, he watches an albatross, studies it, try's to make himself one of them. It seems as if he wants to become one of them. Another theory that I have about this song is that when he says “Hello Seattle, I am a...”. When he says this, it seems to me that whatever thing or object s the subject of the stanzas, he wants to be.
In the 5th stanza, it seems as if the writer is referring to himself, of what it is he would like to do, or even be “ Hello Seattle, I am an albatross, On the docks and moored boats, I sail above your inlets and interstates, Through the rain and open wind”. The specific part that I am referring to is “ Hello Seattle, I am an albatross” and “I sail above your inlets and interstates, Through the rain and open wind”. It seems to me that he would like to just escape from the world, just to fly away from his problems.
The song likes to talk about individual objects, as if he were the object itself. One example is in the 3rd stanza, “ Hello Seattle, I am the crescent moon, Shining down on your face, I will disguise myself as a sleeping pill, And descend inside of you”. He uses this theme to be able to describe what he sees these objects doing. In my example, he describes the crescent moon, which he could be looking at it at night. As it says “ Shining down on your face”, he could be describing how bright it could be shinning that night. When it says “ I will disguise myself as a sleeping pill, And descend inside of you”, he could be referring to that since it could be shinning so brightly, it could be a nightlight for someone, and it could be making them be able to sleep a little easier.
In one specific stanza, it seems to talk about death and about life both at the same time. It is in the 4th stanza, and it says “Hello Seattle, I am a cold seahorse, Feeling warm in your sand, I sing about the tide and the ocean surf, Rolling in the evening breeze”. One interpretation that it refers to death is “Hello Seattle, I am a cold seahorse” and “Rolling in the evening breeze”. The part that refers to a cold seahorse makes me kind of think of a dead animal just floating there in the ocean. The other part that says “Rolling in the evening breeze” makes me think of a ghost that is going with the breeze. Now for the part that refers to life in this stanza. When is says warm in your sand, it kind of makes me think of a child wrapped in a warm blanket that is making them happy. It being happy makes people just feel happy. When it talks about sinning in a tide and ocean surf, it makes me think of a “Church” choir, which represents life in general. Also, the part about a cold seahorse could also represent life. It could mean a seahorse trying to find somewhere that makes him happy.
In the 6th stanza, it seems to be talking not only about lighthouses, but also about hope. The quote is “ Hello Seattle, I am an old lighthouse, Throwing beams of bright lights, Red in the morning, blue in the evening sun, Taking heed for everyone”. When it says “ Throwing beams of bright lights”, it seems as if it talks about throwing hope out to anyone who needs it, as if they are lost at see. When it says “Taking heed for everyone”, it seems to be saying that it does not matter who it is that it helps, as long as it try's to save them.
In conclusion, there are many interpretations of this song. Each one of the stanzas could be interpreted as something different. Going off of this, no body's interpretation is right, but no body's is wrong. While we go to unfamiliar places, we must always consider what different things are there, what kind of people live there, and what kind of objects affect their community.
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