Cant Help Falling in Love Final

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Allyson Farris
Caroline Reynolds
English 1201
1 October 2020
Can't Help Falling In Love.
“But I can't help falling in love with you” is a lyric that is well known for its
interpretation of love. It's a song you would hear at a wedding, or perhaps a song you have
playing in your low lit living room while dancing with the love of your life. It's a lyric you could
only think of romantically and if you watch these two videos, you can see the difference on how
each artist has interpreted the lyrics on whether love is romantic or not. In Elvis’ video the first
time singing this lyric he is making direct eye contact with his girlfriends mom and slightly
making eye contact with his girlfriend. Showing that the person who Elvis is singing to is right
there with him. Smiling, staring deeply at him, and touching his hands. Romantic right? Now, in
the Twenty One Pilots video the first time Tyler Joseph sings this lyric he is sitting in a van by
himself. Uh, not so romantic, right? As a viewer we notice that Joseph has no romantic figure in
this video. Elvis has his love, and Joseph is alone. ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ is a song that
most of us have interpreted to be a song about romantic love, but in the two versions it shows
how different love is perceived by an individual. With its rhetorical appeals it proves that love
doesn't have to be romantic to be proclaimed and shown.
For example the line, “Shall I stay? Would it be a sin” In Elvis’ version he is singing
directly to his girlfriend's mom, seeking approval. This video came out in the 1960’s and in that
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era it was a sign of respect to get approval from your significant other's family, and to make sure
they like you. Elvis is clearly trying to get her to like him, and it seems as if he is doing a pretty
good job. However, in the Twenty One Pilots version, Joseph is singing this line while walking
with his ukulele in between tour busses and tour vans. You can identify that he is alone and
thinking it would be a sin if he stayed to perform his show. He would get a guilty conscience if
he didn't see his fans. Would it be a sin if he stayed and performed that show? Or should he go
home and find a romantic partner to sing this song to?
Why have we always perceived this song to be a romantic song? It's because when Elvis
put his music video out in 1961, he was on a beach in Hawaii, singing to his girlfriend. Seeing
this gave your mind the connection to romance. Making you perceive that it can only be
romantic. So, this is a song the whole world knows. According to Lindsay Goldenburg Jones
from Women getting married ‘Can't Help Falling In Love’ is the third most popular wedding
song in the world. By that statistic you would assume that since the song came out it has always
been intended for romantic purposes. So how did Tyler Joseph change the meaning of this song?
How did he make us understand his interpretation by just a video?
For instance, in the past we have interpreted “Take my hand, Take my whole life too, For
I can't help falling in love with you.” as an extremely romantic gesture, and it makes you think of
anticipating your future with your significant other. However, Joseph is not singing to a romantic
partner. Instead, Joseph is singing to his fans.The people that have built him up. Explaining that
he is in love with his fans, and they have been with him his whole life and they can have him for
the rest of his life. His fans are singing with him bringing in unity. Showing that they also are in
love with Joseph. This is quite different from Elvis’ version because Elvis is singing to his
girlfriend, and holding her hand while her mother is sitting on a queen's throne. Telling her that
he loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Joseph isn't doing that at all. These
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two videos on the same song, with the same lyrics are branching out to different ideas about
love, and how we can celebrate them.
The rhetorical appeals for the song and the videos are pathos. According to Paul Hudson
from The Social Man, love is the most powerful emotion you can feel apart from pain. Though
both versions have their distinct differences between meaning you can still hear, and feel the
emotions in their voice. How the artist is projecting their emotions is how they want the audience
to feel while listening to the song. The audience for Elvis’ version is people in love romantically.
You can tell by the video setting and the characters in the video. They are in Hawaii , which is
known for romance. The way Elvis is gesturing to the young woman you can tell they are
romantically involved. Apart from that, the Twenty One Pilots video is more directed at an
audience who believe that love does not have to be romantic to be proclaimed. With the setting
being in a van, outside and in a theater there is absolutely nothing romantic about that. It is
showing genuine love, apart from romantic love. These two videos explained a lot on how
society has changed their interpretation on love in just 51 years. Love isn't just intimate and
within these two versions it really shows you how love can be meant for two different types of
relationships.
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Work cited :
Jones, Lindsay Goldenberg. “The Most Popular Wedding Songs in the World.” Woman
Getting Married, 6 June 2015,
www.womangettingmarried.com/the-most-popular-wedding-songs-in-the-world/.
Accessed on september 26, 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ThQkrXHdh4&list=RD6ThQkrXHdh4&index=1 Accessed
on September 26, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXhKWWCCdk8 Accessed on September 26, 2020

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Hudson, Paul. “Pain And Love: Why The Two Strongest Emotions Go Hand In Hand.”
The Social Man, 26 Feb. 2017, thesocialman.com/pain-love-strongest-emotions/. Accessed
on September 26, 2020.

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