Zach Bryan’s “Mine Again“, a part of his blockbuster album American Heartbreak, is a staple of the singer-songwriter’s modern approach to country music. Along with being one of Bryan’s most popular songs on American Heartbreak, the lyrics demonstrate clear poet construction. “Mine Again” reflects on the theme that rediscovering one’s self of identity after a time is possible even after a period of struggle and loss. The song addresses a personal transformation in which the speaker find his real self once again, along with forming a close bond in a friend like relationship with a version of himself that he previously may have lost. The song progresses through vulnerability, perseverance, and hard-won clarity of the speaker.

Bryan makes use of personification to paint a picture of a war inside himself and his final victory over his own mind.

Are those tires you got still turning? Is that spirit you had still burnin’?

The personification of the speaker’s spirit and drive into tangible items – tires and fire – that could have stalled or dimmed during a certain period of time and struggle underscores the speaker’s concern with whether or not they still hold the same resilience and passion that they once had. The representation of the speaker’s will as physical items also allows the image to be easier understood by a listener. The specific comparisons of internal qualities to mechanical and elemental forces, Bryan brings up how perseverance is an issue of both functionality and emotion, which ties into the theme of vitality being reclaimed. Without these qualities. Without one’s “turning tires” a person slows, and without a “burning spirit”, cools to a stop.

Conversations and the repetition of rhetorical questions provide a intimate and conversational tone, making the message of the song feel like a heartfelt dialogue.

Do you still talk that shit the way you did before?

Questions like these represent the speaker’s longing and frustrations, deepening the emotional impact of the song by conveying their questioning attempts to reconnect with someone or some part of themselves after a long disconnect. This technique helps the listener feel the desperation and urgency of the song’s stakes. The initial never-answered questioning of the speaker makes the period of loss feel never ending, with the speaker not getting an answer from a part of themselves that they are worried they lost.

Finally, the contrast of the resolve of the song to the initial rhetorical questions show the overcoming of struggle, and how very possible it is despite how hopeless the initial lines of the song appear. Along with this, the Bryan reveals the audience of the song is not to another individual, but the speakers own mind with the change of perspective in the resolve of the song.

Cause I am mine again
And I’m so damn glad I’m here
Talkin’ strong, sober, and clear like I couldn’t back then

The resolve of the song comes with the switch from third person to first person perspective. The repetition of “You are Mine Again” changes to “I am Mine Again” showing that the speaker has regained the part of themselves that they previously thought that they had lost. After the unanswered questioning throughout the beginning of the song, all is finally answered and the speaker declares themselves whole again. The switch of perspective and resolve of the song demonstrates the ability to overcome struggle, and reconnect with parts of oneself that they feel may have been lost.

“Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega & DNA is undoubtedly poetry. The song is from the perspective of a woman observing those around her while sitting in a diner. It is written as if we are inside her head, following her thoughts as she is having them. The song is able to convey the experience of feeling detached, as though you are an outsider watching everyone else experience life and not a participant.

It begins with a simple repetition:

Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da

This conveys the absent-minded thought of the speaker before she focuses in on those around her. She is not thinking of anything important, really, just sitting in the diner. These lines are repeated throughout the song in between her thoughts. It helps to create the feeling of being inside her head and also separates her from those around her because she is inside her own head as well.

The speaker continues by describing watching the man behind the counter meet a woman. She sees their connection, but she is alone. Then she begins to read the paper, saying

I open up the paper
There’s a story of an actor
Who had died while he was drinking
It was no one I had heard of
And I’m turning to the horoscope
And looking for the funnies

This description further shows her feeling of detachment. She’s reading the story of someone who’s died but there’s nothing to really do about it, so she just flips to the funnies. This is one of the most interesting parts of the song to me because it’s an experience almost everyone has had. We hear sad news or we lose someone and there’s nothing to say or do so eventually we just keep going.

I could list a few other lyrics that show her feeling of disconnect from those around her, but I don’t think I need to. You can listen to the song.

In the final section of the song, the speaker shifts from observing those around her to a reflection on the past, saying

Oh, this rain, it will continue
Through the morning as I’m listening
To the bells of the cathedral
I am thinking of your voice
And of the midnight picnic once upon a time
Before the rain began…

The rain serves as a metaphor for the fog she has felt herself in since she presumably lost this person. I would guess that they are someone she was in love with and they recently broke up. The use of this metaphor and language shows that being with this person allowed the speaker to feel like she was a participant in life, and only since she has lost them does she feel like a detached observer.

“Evermore” by Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver is the namesake of her 2020 album. In this song, the lyrics explore depression, grief, hopelessness, and growth from these challenging emotions. Swift has been open about her struggles with depression, and this song explores how a person heals from a hard time. At first, the song deals with grappling with pain and the hopelessness that someone feels when dealing with depression, as the song goes along it transitions and grows into a more hopeful outlook on healing.

In the opening verses of the song, Swift’s lyrics symbolize a hopelessness of depression, and a feeling of never being able to move on, or overcome depression.

I rewind the tape but all it does is pause
On the very moment all was lost

Swift uses a metaphor in this verse, for going back in time. Swift is trying to make sense of what has happened in her life, and is trying to find the happiness in her moemory. However she can’t because all she can remeber is when she lost everything. This quote highlights how challenging it can be for someone with depression to move on, and how their past can continue to haunt them. The tone also conveys a sense of hopelessness, about the fact that it feels impossable to move on from this event.

Whether weather be the frost
Or the violence of the dog days
I’m on waves, out being tossed

Throughtout the song, Swift uses her lyrics to depict the non linear path of healing from mental illness. In the bridge her tone and lyrics symbolize rock bottem. Swift refrences weather events in the song to show that in the summer and the winter the feelings of depression remain the same. She then uses the metaphor of being out in the ocean being tossed around, for not feeling like she is in control of her own feelings or mental state. These lyrics to me feel the most hopeless in the entire song. Swift is upset that she has felt down for so long, and yet she still cannot overcome her depression because she feels like she has no control over her mental state.

That this pain would be for
Evermore

This pain wouldn’t be for evermore (evermore)
Evermore

Lyrics at the begining of the song show that Swift feels that this depression and pain will last forever. This contributes to the hopelessness she feels at the begining of the song. As the song goes along she begins to grow as a person, and by the end of the song she has regained hope that she can overcome this depression. Swift uses the repetition of these lines but changes it slightly towards the end. This change highlights her growth and changes the song to give a more positive outlook at the end. It also represents the process of healing from depression. Sometimes it might feel like the pain will last forever, but eventually the pain will start to fade.

Overall the song “Evermore” represnts the path of healing from mental illness. The song is very powerful because it is one of Taylor Swift’s most emotionally vulnerable songs, which can help her listeners connect with it. It also provides hope for anyone dealing with mental illness.