Imagery

Glitter in the Air ~ Pink
"Glitter in the Air," by Pink, is a song that uses a lot of imagery. The song is about being in love. It does not seem to be a sad song with just the lyrics, but with the music and everything, it is a bit melancholy. To me, it seems to indicate that that "perfect" love cannot last forever. I also think it is about that moment in life when you are about to go forward, and not sure if you should--and in this song, this seems moment seems to be love. Anyway, the song uses a lot of imagery. Even the title, "glitter in the air" is imagery because it immediately makes you think of glitter in the air, as does the line "Have you ever thrown a fistful of glitter in the air?" Another part of the song that uses imagery is the bridge: "There you are, sitting in the garden/Clutching my coffee/Calling me sugar." You can both see the man sitting in the garden with the coffee and hear him calling her "sugar." The second verse, about waiting for the phone to ring, also is very easy to picture in your mind. The chorus (if you can call it that, since the lyrics change) also uses a lot of imagery with phrases such as "the tip of the iceburg" and "the hourglass on the table." These phrases, and the images they cause to appear in your mind, add to the whole effect of being on the edge of something that could change your life, such as diving into a relationship with someone.
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Between the Lines ~ Sara Bareilles
"Between the Lines," by Sara Bareilles, does not use quite as much visual imagery, but it does still use a lot of imagery. I think the song is about being in a really complicated relationship with someone - you love them, but it's complicated: you're "between the lines." "Between the lines" is imagery in itself, because even though it is a common expression, it makes you think of 2 lines (or maybe 2 lines of text, like in "reading between the lines"), which you are between. I also think "eyes wide shut unopened" is great imagery, albeit confusing. It's sort of a paradox; I'm not sure if it is possible to have eyes that are both wide and shut at the same time, but you can still imagine it, and it is a good description. This song also uses imagery of what you can hear, such as in the 2nd stanza when it talks about how the name sounded familiar and she "could've sworn [she'd] heard him say it ten thousand times." This description you can hear in your head, even though you don't know the actual name. There is more audio imagery in the bridge when she says, "I'll talk until the conversation doesn't stay on/Wait for me, I'm almost ready/When he meant let go." You can hear all of this conversation-type thing in your head. The imagery in "Between the Lines" may not jump out really quickly, but it is definitely there!

Lyrics