Michael Rivera

Mrs. Lord

English 1301

Short Academic Response #2 Song Review Assignment

Overwhelmed, By Royal & the Serpent

[Verse 1]
Turn off the T.V
It's starting to freak me
Out it's so loud
It's like my ears are bleeding
What am I feeling?
Can't look at the ceiling
The light is so bright
It's like I'm overheating

[Pre-Chorus]
This mind isn't mine
Who am I to judge?
Oh I should be fine
But it's all too much

[Chorus]
I get overwhelmed so easily
My anxiety creeps inside of me
Makes it hard to breathe
What's come over me
Feels like I'm somebody else
I get overwhelmed so easily
My anxiety keeps me silent
When I try to speak
What's come over me
Feels like I'm somebody else
I get overwhelmed
[Verse 2]
All of these faces
Who don't know what space is
And crowds are shut down
I'm overstimulated
Nobody gets it
Say I'm too sensitive
I can't listen cause I'm eyeing the exits

[Pre-Chorus]
This mind isn't mine
Who am I to judge?
Oh I should be fine
But it's all too much

[Chorus]
I get overwhelmed so easily
My anxiety creeps inside of me
Makes it hard to breathe
What's come over me
Feels like I'm somebody else
I get overwhelmed so easily
My anxiety keeps me silent
When I try to speak
What's come over me
Feels like I'm somebody else
I get overwhelmed

[Bridge]

I should be fine

But it's all too much

I should be fine

But I'm not

[Chorus]
I get overwhelmed so easily

My anxiety creeps inside of me

Makes it hard to breathe

What's come over me

Feels like I'm somebody else

I get overwhelmed so easily

Keeps me silent

What's come over me

Feels like I'm somebody else

I get overwhelmed

Lyrics provided by: https://genius.com/Royal-and-the-serpent-overwhelmed-lyrics

To start off, this song is called Overwhelmed, and it is performed by Royal and the

Serpent. I would like to mention why I enjoy this song. What I mainly like about this song is the

beat. The beat of this song is very relaxing, as well as very smooth. To me, the beat of a song is

what makes them great, and it does the same for this song. I mainly chose this song for my review

because I connected with the message the writer was portraying through the song. A lot of what

this song is trying to project through its lyrics, I relate to. I, very frequently, feel very overwhelmed

and stressed with many things, like school. I did not know about this performer until I found this

song, so I have yet to listen to many of her work. I do admire her however, she speaks on a subject

that many people can relate to, which to me is very comforting.

In the lyrics, personification can be seen throughout the Chorus. In line 19, the artist

mentions the following: “My anxiety keeps me silent”, which refers to her anxiety as if it was a
human, that is keeping her silent. Majority of the lyrics could be seen as pathos. An example of

pathos in the lyrics can be seen in lines 32 and 33, as she says “ I should be fine but its all too

much.” The Rhetorical situation is mainly targeting people who suffer from anxiety. It is very clear

that this genre of music is not a Hip-hop or Pop song, it is more of a calm, deep meaning song.

The context of the song is odd. It seems as if she is feeling this sense of anxiety that she has not

felt before, and it is very harmful to her.

The meaning of this song is quite complex. This song was the performers way of

showing others her experience dealing with anxiety. Through sharing her story, she is trying to

relate to others and educate those who do not suffer from anxiety. By explaining in great detail

what anxiety feels like to her, she is able to express to the audience the difficulties of dealing with

this illness. Her purpose for writing this is was so she could tell those who suffer from anxiety,

that they are not alone, and to those who do not, educate them on the topic. This song was targeting

anxiety and the feeling of being overwhelmed. This can be inferred by the way the writer refers to

anxiety as something that keeps her from being able to function as a normal person. Which makes

this song a great example of depth in lyrics.