“A Shot Across The Bow” by Mayday Parade (Hate)

            This song is about a girl that the singer hates and hopes she dies because she broke his heart and cheated on him. I love this song because it is not like typical break up or hate songs really because of it’s sound. It’s actually a feel good song if you’re not listening to the lyrics. The first time I heard it, I was actually driving and it came on my iPod after I purchased the whole album. I was paying attention to the road, so not really to the lyrics, and I was thinking that it was a nice song. I started listening to lyrics and then I realized that it actually was not a nice song, not a nice song at all. The chorus is about wishing she would drown in the ocean, and then he would hold a funeral for her, but it would mean nothing to him. When I started actually listening to the words, I started laughing because it was so ridiculous.

The music and the lyrics integrate with each other to make the song have even more hatred than a slow paced song. It sends out the statement that the singer hates this girl, and he is completely content with that fact and wants her to know just how much he does hate her. The beginning starts up and he is explaining how he is scared to say what he’s about to say; he says to give him a second, because if he doesn’t say what he needs to say, then he’s going to go crazy. That’s when the music speeds up and he starts wishing she would drown.

After the second chorus, I can detect that him and this girl were in a very serious relationship but something was wrong about it. One of the lyrics reads, “I knew the wedding bells were ringing loud but my bride was missing”. It was probably a break-up that was bound to happen eventually, but both people didn’t want to say good-bye yet. Eventually she cheated on him and he obviously resents her for that. This type of song is not unusual for Mayday Parade. A lot of their songs have to do with girls breaking their hearts, for example, “Three Cheers For Five Years” which is from the EP, Tales Told By Dead Friends and “Miserable At Best” which is from the album, A Lesson in Romantics. Mostly all of Mayday Parade’s songs are about love/hate since those themes go hand in hand. I picked this song from the self titled album, Mayday Parade, because out of all Mayday Parade songs, this one stood out to be because of it’s stark difference from their other songs that have the same themes.

I would recommend listening to this song whenever you want! I usually put all Mayday Parade songs on shuffle and hope it comes on, but if you’re not a big Mayday Parade fan like I am, I think this song would be perfect for break-ups. Not in the stage when you’re still grieving over your broken heart, in the stage when you are trying to move on and in the hatred stage. This song could even be a good workout song. After your break-up, you want to get back out there on the market, or if you want to show your ex what he/she is missing, go for a run and put this song on! It will motivate you to go hardcore and keep on running. Or if you’re just looking for a good laugh, this is your go-to song!

Works Cited

Sanders, Derek. Perf. Jake Bundrick, Jeremy Lenzo, Alex Garcia, and Brooks Betts. A

            Shot Across The Bow. Mayday Parade. Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount, 2011. CD.

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/maydayparade/ashotacrossthebow.html

• I want to learn how to interpret songs on my own in the future.
• I want to know the meaning behind some of the really famous songs that never made sense to me.
• I want to learn the songs that tell stories that have effected history.

My name is Marissa Bavaro. I’m from Bethpage, Long Island, which is about forty minutes West of Stony Brook. I have an older brother who is three years older than me, and I also have a dog! Besides my immediate family, I have over eighty cousins. My family is your typical, big, loud, Italian family, who won’t let you in the door without shoving food down your throat.

I’m not musically talented at all and I’m one of those people who wishes more than anything that they had talent. I can’t sing, nor can I play any instrument except maybe, if I’m lucky, I can play Hot Cross Buns on the recorder. I know, not impressive, but my lack of musical talent never stopped me from still loving music. I’ve always been very interested in music; I don’t think I’ve gone one day without listening to some type of music. My parents always know to come to me when they want to know the name of a song, because nine times out of ten, I know the name. I would say my music interest varies through many genres; on my iPod you could find show tunes to country to alternative rock.

I’m also a big movie enthusiast; I can go for days quoting certain movies. Some of my favorite movies include: My Cousin Vinny (which I can quote every single line), Italian Job, Pitch Perfect, Frozen, and Step Up.