Terminal

Rupert Holmes

Terminal is a ballad song written by Rupert Holmes. In the

song, the speaker does not tell the reader what’s happening, but
rather it shows the reader what’s happening, describing each
crucial moment in the trail of events.

Connotation vs. Denotation

The story and meaning of the lyrics of the songs can be found to the
text itself but it is not easy to find it. The lyric narrates or revolved
around the storyline of a man. Hence, this song shows that
denotation is more evident than connotation

It’s not simple to understand literally and figuratively the lyrics of

the song if we could not easily understand the meaning of it. If we
attempt to read it line by line, we could definitely go deeper sense of
it. Cited: “I was the commuter on the 804, work for a computer on
the 19th floor and… You came down the aisle of the bus and you
sat by my side… Shoulder up we shared that 9o’clock ride. Oh my
heart was screamin’ as you left your seat” denotes that the man is
probably a commuter and then he met someone [girl] that made his
feeling a heaven or just like has tickled his impression that is why
his heart was like joyfully screaming. Moreover, the bus connotes
that an opportunity or something that will happen where it was all
began. “Followin’ your movements I was at your feet and…Oh down
into the terminal both of us smiled, so we entered the terminal just
as you smiled “wont you leave our work for today?” you ask of me
then” – denotes than after having been tickling his experience with
the girl whom was beside him, he followed the girl and began asking
the availability of such and… “We were all alone from 10 am till 3,
Really thought the fire had gone out of me but...

You awoke the sleep of my life from gray into red.” – it denotes that
the moments were all started from the span of time cited. The
transition of feeling happened from representing the color “gray”
and “red”.

“But I had to get home to the kids and the wife and...

So I let for the terminal where I began. Baby, no, I wouldn't have left
if I'd been half a man.” – denotes that he realized that he has a
commitment, which is his family that was represented in the lyric
by using the term of offspring and wife respectively. “I am now
about to begin the last of my days, I'm within what others would
call a terminal phase. I myself can only say it's livin' dead. Ridin' to
the office with a song in my head that goes... ”La da da…And you
know it grows” . This is where he started to realize everything what
he made is a big regret he’ll never forget just like by using the term
“terminal phase” that could probably connote for something living
dead that exists. On the lyric’s context, it could definitely define
where it all started that he’s regretting until he’s alive.

Concrete vs. Abstract

The song Terminal by Rupert Holmes was truly an amazing

work. I find it beautiful and at the same time a heartbreaking song.
The lyrics were really unpredictable. At first the song may seem like
a perfect love story which happened in a terminal---- from the title
itself. The first line, “I’ve come back this morning to where I first
came alive/ “Here within this terminal where the buses arrive.”, is
not the literal thing that the place was where he came alive (born).
It is an abstract thing which refers to something that awakened and
made the man feel alive. The man who is a usual employee who
works in his usual office “I work for the computer on the 19th floor.”
--- fell in love with a girl he saw on the terminal, “You came down
the aisle of the bus and you sat by my side/ Shoulder up to
shoulder we shared the 9 o’clock ride. Having a feeling of
connection with the girl, the man took a chance to be together with
the girl for a day and even excused himself from work “So we
entered the terminal just as you smiled/ ...So I phoned in sick on
the way to a home of a friend/ We were all alone from 10 am till 3.”
“Really thought the fire had gone out of me.. “---- we can infer in
these lines that the man seeks for happiness and having this girl by
his side made him feel alive--- “You awoke the sleep of my life from
gray to red”. But a shocking truth was revealed, “Could have held
her body my entire life/ But I had to get home to the kids and the
wife.”; that no matter how he wanted to spend his life with this girl,
he knows he cannot because he has an obligation to fulfil as a
married man. Unfortunately, he was bored and unhappy with his
marriage which resulted with him having an affair or a fling with
this girl who made his heart beat again. Nevertheless, he decided to
stay with his family at the expense of losing his love. Everytime he
goes to the terminal, he tends to reminisce the feeling and the love
he lost. Finally, he tried to forget her “Lord I’ve never find her
though I’ve truly tried/ Probably she’s found another bus to ride.”
This could also mean that the girl found another man to fall in love
with. The last lines may not literally refer with the man having an
incurable sickness rather he was back to his safe and seemingly
terminal or the last days of his life. “I myself can only say it’s livin’
dead.”, with the use of the word “livin’ dead”, this may abstractly
mean that the man was existing but considers his heart dead
because of the loss he experienced. Lastly, the line “... a song in my
head that goes La da da da/ And you know it grows La da da, La da
da.”, may be an abstract representation that no matter what
happens life must go on just like a song that goes into his mind. In
the song, concrete description is more evident than abstract.

In life we are always bound to make decisions and most of the

time we are always caught up in making a choice between what we
WANT to do and what we HAVE to do.

Irony vs. Paradox

Both irony and paradox and irony make a work of literature

more intriguing and force the readers to use their imagination and
comprehend the underlying meanings of the texts. The song
‘terminal’ was blended with paradox and irony. “I've come back this
mornin to where I first came alive.” The speaker used this paradox
to mean that he went back to the place where he first felt something
to be alive. It does not literally mean that it was the place where he
was born. But if you look at the line broadly, the paradox is that
people don’t usually bother to go back to the place where we first
came to life. And how would we know if it’s the exact place where
we first came to life? An irony was used to show that the girl
disembarks as cited in this line; "won't you leave out work for
today?" - An irony which intends to say ‘off your work today!’ so
something happened. “I wouldn't have left if I'd been half a man.” is
a line which suggests that he was there, he had his chance, but he
turned his back because it was the right thing to do. It’s a paradox
because the speaker contradicts himself but it’s true. “I myself can
only say it's livin' dead”- is an obvious paradox. How can dead live?
It’s hard to believe. But the song itself is an irony because it ended
up in a different way; the least expected decision was made by the
narrator. He let go of someone who once made him happy, it’s so
ironic. He eventually realized he regrets his decision. But it’s too
late.

Imagery vs. Symbolism

In the song Terminal by Rupert Holmes, imagery is more

appearing than symbolism. The speaker in the song narrates and
the lyrics give us a vivid image of what he is narrating. But the
composer of this song also used symbolism because there are some
that can be seen. The speaker is a man and he tells about his
experience in the terminal. He saw a lady who rode the bus and sat
next to him “You came down the aisle of the bus and you sat by my
side”. She was close to him that their shoulders touch each other
during their whole ride “Shoulder up to shoulder we shared that 9
o'clock ride”. And he felt crestfallen when the lady left her seat “Oh
my heart was screaming as you left your seat”. But after the lady
disembarked, he followed her “Following your movements I was at
your feet”. And the next time they met at the terminal they’ve both
smiled at each other. It seems like they already know each other
and they’re signaling each other with a smile “Oh... down into the
terminal both of us smiled so... we entered the terminal just as you
smiled”. The “smile” here symbolizes the beginning of their affair.
Then the girl asked him to leave off his work “’Won't you leave out
work for today?’ you asked of me then” therefore he called his office
that he is sick while he was on his way to a friend’s house “so I
phoned in sick on the way to the home of a friend”. The “friend”
here is referring to the girl. He spend the entire day with the girl
“We were all alone from 10 a.m. till 3”. It is implied that they made
love. He felt a burning passion for the girl that he thought he
wouldn’t ever feel again “Really thought the fire had gone out of
me”. The “sleep of my life” signifies his boring and wearying life and
she liven up his life “you awoke the sleep of my life from gray into
red”. The “gray” represents his gloomy life and “red” represents a
cheerful living. But he is already married so he decided to return to
his family and stay with them “But I had to get home to the kids
and the wife”. But he felt regretful with his decision “So here I am
this morning where love had asked for the dance here within this
terminal where I passed on the chance”. The “bus” in this line
“Probably she's found another bus to ride” signifies another man to
love. And now the “terminal phase” here “I'm within what others
would call a terminal phase” signifies the part of his life where he
would never ever experience and feel what he have experienced and
felt, that would be his last. (

By means of creatively presenting the imagery,symbolism,

paradox, and irony as well as the abstract and concrete things in
the song the narrator was able to bring us a wonderful piece of
work that will surely break our hearts.
 Christianne Romano-Connotation vs. Denotation

Jomina Remi Magdasoc-Abstract vs. Concrete

Jennifer Morete- Irony vs. Paradox

Sherry Lou Gogolin-Imagery vs. Symbolism

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