Your Song 2

Kogler 1
Matthew Kogler
Prof. Strehle
English 1201
16 February 2020
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
“How wonderful life is while you're in the world”, is one of the best-known music
lyrics ever. While simple, it tells so much about how impactful just one person can be on
your life and turn your world upside down. In the original video that accompanied Elton
John’s hit, he stands in a field a simply sings. He looks directly into the camera for the
majority of the video as if he was actually singing to the person this song is about.
However, Elton John has stated, “this song is not about anyone in particular” (Eames,
Tom).
“Your Song” as performed by Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge dramatically
contrasts Elton John’s video. In this video, we can see Ewan’s love interest as he is
singing to her and this provides greater meaning to the song. The video also contains
much more energy and highlights the romantic nature of the lyrics. Romanticism is
further amplified by the fact that the setting is in Paris, France, which is widely regarded
as the most romantic place on Earth. And in both renditions of “Your Song” by Elton
John and Ewan McGregor the claim is that life is so much better with a certain girl in the
world and both are targeted towards that girl; however, Ewan McGregor provides better
support for the claim and appeals more to pathos through superior visual storytelling.
Kogler 2
In the original music video from the 1970s where Elton John sings one of his
most famous songs ever released, there is little to no backing of the message that the
song is attempting to deliver. While the camera equipment used to film the video is quite
dated and does not produce great detail; it is clear to see that Elton John looks a bit
lifeless in the video. This gives a very ingenuine feel to what Elton is saying. The song is
supposed to be romantic and this should entail some sort of drama and a certain
engagement with the camera. His facial expression lacks emotion while he does
maintain eye contact with the camera. Unfortunately, the music video provides no
rhetorical appeal aside from the lyrics of the song. Which does not lead anyone to
believe that his life is so much more wonderful with whoever he is singing about in the
world.
Ewan McGregor tells a very different story in his performance of “Your Song” that
provides a very genuine feel. Throughout the video, Ewan is looking at the girl and the
girl looking back at him. The locked eye contact between the two shows that
engagement that Elton John’s video was lacking. It also demonstrates the emotional
significance of what Ewan is saying. Ewan is so telling in his performance because it is
clear to see he means what he is saying, whereas Elton John seemed to just be singing
the song.
The authenticity of Ewan’s performance is what makes it appeal to pathos in
such a big way. When watching the video, the emotion between the two is clear to see.
Seamless dancing and movement also creates a sort of magic between the two. This is
extremely appealing to emotion as we can almost see her falling more in love with him
throughout the video. And while the lyrics of the song are significant and a key factor in
the romance aspect of this video, the performance itself is what really contains the
Kogler 3
rhetoric. Undoubtedly proving that the girl he is singing to makes his life so much
better.
Despite the differences in the visual aspects of these two videos, they both
maintain the same message and audience. The audience that is being appealed to is a
younger one with the song's lyrics that seem to be almost childish. With a lyric like
Don't have much money but boy if I did
I'd buy a big house where we both could live
This is reminiscent of someone who is young and in love. Which is clearly shown by
Ewan McGregor. As men are singing this romantic song to young women it is also
apparent that the intended audience is female. Other than this, the audience is not very
specific when taking a broad interpretation of this song. However, in the context of both
videos, the audience is specifically the women that both men are singing to or about,
regardless of what John says about the song not being for anyone in particular.
While both renditions of “Your Song” provide rhetorical appeal simply through the
lyrics of the song, it takes a performance in the music video that is equally filled with
rhetoric. This is only accomplished by Ewan McGregor and it truly gives meaning to the
words of this song and fulfills their intended purpose. Elton John’s video seemed to be
without emotion and therefore did not create the same feeling and appeals to emotion
that Ewan McGregor did. This proves that the storytelling in a music video can play
such an important role in providing meaning to the song; and without such storytelling,
the lyrics of a song can become quite meaningless.

Kogler 4
Works Cited
Eames, Tom. “The Story of... 'Your Song' by Elton John.” Smooth, Smooth, 15 Nov. 2018,
www.smoothradio.com/features/the-story-of/your-song-elton-john-lyrics-meaning-facts/.
“Elton John - Your Song (1970 Original Video) (HD 720p).” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Mar. 2016,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrznwpD-2tk.
“Ewan McGregor Your Song with Lyrics from Moulin Rouge.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 June
2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkxj-FBEH1w.

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Kogler 1

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

“Your Song” as performed by Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge dramatically

significance of what Ewan is saying. Ewan is so telling in his performance because it is

The authenticity of Ewan’s performance is what makes it appeal to pathos in

Don't have much money but boy if I did

I'd buy a big house where we both could live

the lyrics of a song can become quite meaningless.

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