In our literature class we are seeing the conection in between music and literature.  The debate was open because of Bob Dylan recieving a Nobel prize because of his mesmerizing lyrics.

Biography:

MIA was born with the name of Mathangi Arulpragasam 18 of July of 1975 in Britain. Then she lived in Sri Lanka with her parents and her brother. Her dad was an activist supporting the EROS that was a paramilitary group that supported the LTTE that was a socialist group of Sri Lanka against the government. The first eleven years of her life she lived changing places because of her dads position in the Sri Lanka’s civil war. She lived in a poor environment when she was young. Then she lived in India because of the situation in her country. Then because of all the violence she escaped to Britain as a refugee of the Sri Lanka’s civil war. In england she suffered of discrimination because of being a refugee. She first started as a filmmaker and then she proceeded to be a songwriter.

Video:

Lyrics:

I fly like paper, get high like planes

If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name

If you come around here, I make ‘em all day

I get one down in a second if you wait

I fly like paper, get high like planes

If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name

If you come around here, I make ‘em all day

I get one down in a second if you wait

Sometimes I think sitting on trains

Every stop I get to I’m clicking my gun

Everyone’s a winner we’re making that fame

Bonafide hustler making my name

Sometimes I think sitting on trains

Every stop I get to I’m clocking that game

Everyone’s a winner now we’re making that fame

Bonafide hustler making my name

 

All I wanna do is

And

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And

And take your money

 

Pirate skulls and bones

Sticks and stones and weed and bongs

Running when we hit ‘em

Lethal poison for the system

 

Pirate skulls and bones

Sticks and stones and weed and bombs

Running when we hit ‘em

Lethal poison for the system

 

No one on the corner has swagger like us

Hit me on my burner prepaid wireless

We pack and deliver like UPS trucks

Already going hell just pumping that gas

 

No one on the corner has swagger like us

Hit me on my burner prepaid wireless

We pack and deliver like UPS trucks

Already going hell just pumping that gas

 

All I wanna do is

And a

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And a

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And a

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And a

And take your money

 

M.I.A.

Third world democracy

Yeah, I got more records than the K.G.B.

So, uh, no funny business

Are you ready all?

 

Some some some I some I murder

Some I some I let go

Some some some I some I murder

Some I some I let go

 

All I wanna do is

And a

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And a

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And a

And take your money

All I wanna do is

And a

And take your money

Some of the most prominent literary devices are:

• Satire
• Repetition(mostly on the chorus)
• Images: mostly auditory images to portray the stereotypical sound that refugees are discriminated for, like gun shots and a cash machine.

 

This picture shows M.I.A.’s new music video of her new song «Borders» which talks about  the refugee situation in actuality. Here’s the video:

With this activity i learnt how music can be so much more than only a mix of sounds. M.I.A. makes a critisism about the situation of refugees and migration which is happening all around the world. And it brings to the table the debate about this very important matter. This task was very useful to learn of very important topic by listening and reding the real meaning behind the song we listen to daily. And with this i got to the conclusion that a lot of songs may be classified as literature because of its lyrics which transimit powerful messages.

Here there’s a video of the page Genius which explains the lyrics of the song!