Song Analysis 1

Justin Bieber was born on March 2, 1994 in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.  His mother was only 18 years old when she had him and raised him as a single mother.  He grew up with a normal childhood playing on sports teams and going to school.  He knew from a young age that he enjoyed playing music in various forms; he would even play his guitar and sing on street corners at the age of 12.  His family wanted to see him singing so he posted videos to YouTube and then a former marketing executive saw the videos and helped him get signed with a label.  His perseverance and hard work has made him the artist and sensation that he is today.  In the song Never Say Never, Justin Bieber uses clever similes and allusions to communicate his message of perseverance.

               Allusive similes are used throughout the song to give real life examples of people never giving up.  He uses the allusive simile “Like Luke with the force if push comes to shove” to give an example of the main message.  He is saying that if you don’t give up like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars then you will be successful is.  In the next line he uses the allusive simile “Like Kobe in the fourth, ice water with blood”.  This shows the reader that to become great you have to push through tough times, by giving the example of Kobe Bryant playing through a tiring, tough basketball game.  Also that if you keeping trying through the tough games then you can become amazing, just like Kobe Bryant is at basketball.  The third allusive simile he uses is “Like David and Goliath/ I conquered the giant”.  This is a biblical reference referring to the fight between David and Goliath.  David was young and small but was fighting for god, Goliath was a nine foot giant.  With Davids hard work he was able to defeat the giant and scare the citizens of the town and became successful in his mission.   Bieber uses these allusive similes throughout the song to show how real successful people have gone through some tough times but came out to be very successful.

                Bieber also uses hyperbole throughout the song. One example of hyperbole is “And I’m fast enough to run across the sea” he exaggerates his speed and being able to run on water to show that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.  Another example of hyperbole is “I will fight till forever” shows that the struggle and fight may feel as though it’s lasting forever, but it really isn’t and will be over sooner than you may think.   One of the most exaggerated hyperbole is “So now I got the world in my hand” to show how you may feel after you have conquered your dreams.  Bieber uses hyperbole though out the song Never Say Never to add emphasis to how great the outcome can be if you always try your hardest and never give up.  Throughout the song, simplistic hyperbole and allusive imagery are used to describe a very powerful message.