ANALYSIS OF THE CONNOTATIVE MEANING OF SONGS

“THE SPIRIT CARRIES ON” BY DREAM THEATER.

Group Name:
1. Mohammad higo firnanda
2. Fikri ardiansyah
3. Muhammad Fajar
4. Aniqotul maghfiroh
INTRODUCTION
A song is a series of notes. For a songwriter, inspiration can be struck in a matter of a few
seconds. But making a whole song "ready-to-eat" that is not long and not short and not boring
if repeated can take hours, even months. Even that sometimes doesn't really satisfy the
creator. Creating and completing a song is a process that requires skills like any other
profession.
Songwriters usually make songs different in tone and lyrics. Meaning can be interpreted as
an attempt to give purpose to something that will form its own concept. The meaning
contained in the song is the songwriter's way of expressing his thoughts through distinctive
language by showing the soul and personality of the writer.
Jan Van Luxemburg "1989" The definition of song lyrics or verses can be considered as
poetry and vice versa and accordingly, as the definition of poetic texts is not only sufficient
types of literature but also expressions that are advertising, sayings, mottoes, prayers and
verses of metal songs.
Lyric poetry in the form of a song can reveal the heart story of the songwriter himself and
a depiction of something else such as a phenomenon that is happening at some moment. The
expression of a meaning is written explicitly and there are even implicit contained in the
lyrics of a song.
Dream theater is an American musical group, formed in 1985 as Majesty and founded by
John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy. The band is renowned for its instrumental
techniques and has received many award medals from music magazines.
Through his famous songs, such as "pull me under, another day, a dramatic turn of event,
and the spirit carries on." Has led this music group to become one of the best metal music
groups.
In this study, researchers chose the song "the spirit carries on" created by John Petrucci.
This song tells about fear about death, the belief that death is not painful, and also advice that
we do not mourn the dead and not fear death, researchers chose this song because the
meaning of the song is very deep, so that the meaning of this song can be conveyed well by
the listener. Therefore, the title in this study is Analysis of the Connotative Meaning of the
Song "The Spirit Carries On" by Dream Theater.

THEORY
Qualitative research must uncover objective truths. Therefore, the validity of data in a
qualitative study is very important. Through the validity of the data, the credibility (trust) of
qualitative research can be achieved. In this study to obtain the validity of the data was
carried out by triangulation. In fulfilling the validity of the data, this study triangulated time.
According to Sugiyono (2006: 274).
RESEARCH METHODE
The research method used is a qualitative descriptive method, which is to make something
systematic, factual, and accurate about the facts and properties of certain relationships or
areas (Suryabrata, 2003: 75). The subject of this study was the song "The Spirit Carries On"
by John Petrucci, guitarist of the band Dream Theater.
Data analysis techniques carried out in the study are as follows: first, identifying data in
the form of exposure to the lyrics of the song "The Spirit Carries On" in accordance with the
problem formulation. Second, analyze the meaning of the connotation in each sentence
contained in the verse of the lyrics of the song "The Spirit Carries On" by John Petrucci.
Third, draw conclusions and make a report on the results of the study.

LYRICS
Where did we come from?
Why are we here? If I die tomorrow
Where do we go when we die? I'd be alright
What lies beyond Because I believe
And what lay before? That after we're gone
Is anything certain in life? The spirit carries on

They say, life is too short Move on, be brave

The here and the now Don't weep at my grave
And you're only given one shot Because I am no longer here
But could there be more But please never let
Have I lived before Your memory of me disappear
Or could this be all that we've got?
Safe in the light that surrounds me
If I die tomorrow Free of the fear and the pain
I'd be all right My questioning mind
Because I believe Has helped me to find
That after we're gone The meaning in my life again
The spirit carries on Victoria's real
I finally feel
I used to be frightened of dying At peace with the girl in my dreams
I used to think death was the end And now that I'm here
But that was before It's perfectly clear
I'm not scared anymore I found out what all of this means
I know that my soul will transcend
If I die tomorrow
I may never find all the answers I'd be alright
I may never understand why Because I believe
I may never prove That after we're gone
What I know to be true The spirit carries on
But I know that I still have to try
RESULT

Lyrics Song Connotations

Where did we come from? Nicholas asked himself only to realize to himself,
Why are we here? that he was a servant of god created by god to
Where do we go when we die? worship god, and would face back to god.
What lies beyond
And what lay before?
Is anything certain in life?

They say, life is too short Life is too short in life we are given only one
The here and the now chance.
And you're only given one shot
But could there be more
Have I lived before
Or could this be all that we've got?

If I die tomorrow Nicholas told me that he was not afraid of death,

I'd be all right because after death, his soul would still live.
Because I believe
That after we're gone
The spirit carries on

I used to be frightened of dying Don't be afraid of death, still believe that we can
I used to think death was the end live it
But that was before
I'm not scared anymore
I know that my soul will transcend
 I may never find all the answers Tells when a knowledge that does not know the
I may never understand why truth, but Nicholas still tries to prove, and
I may never prove continues to try (never give up).
What I know to be true
But I know that I still have to try
Move on, be brave It tells us that we must rise up and forget the
Don't weep at my grave memories of those who have left us, because we
Because I am no longer here too will not be in the mortal world.
But please never let
Your memory of me disappear

Safe in the light that surrounds me
Free of the fear and the pain
My questioning mind
Has helped me to find
The meaning in my life again
Tells about someone's anxiety (Nicholas) about
the life that is being lived right now. He hopes to
find enlightenment on the question.

Victoria's real Nicholas believed that the soul of Victoria was

I finally feel still alive within him and that after he died, it
At peace with the girl in my dreams remained by his side, that is, eternal.
And now that I'm here
It's perfectly clear
I found out what all of this mean

In the table above, it can be seen that the meaning of connotations is also taken from each
stanza. In the first stanza it means the enigmatic life of man, not knowing where it came from
and the absence of certainty about life. The next lyrics of “The Spirit Carries On” still
continue from the previous questions. Tells about someone's anxiety (Nicholas) about the life
that is being lived right now. He hoped to find enlightenment on that question. The last stanza
means that he (Nicholas) finally found the true meaning of life. That life is only a temporary
stopover in this world. Realizing that the dead are the body, not the soul. Because his soul
will stay alive. This means that death is not even the end of real life. It is normal to be afraid
of facing death. But what is more important is how we prepare for our death, so that the good
memory of ourselves or what we have done can continue to exist even though we are not
physically in this world.
CONCLUSION AND ADVICE

The connotation in the lyrics of the song "The Spirit Carries On" is that this song from the
analysis of the prejudice of researchers, the song The Spirit Carries On has a meaning if we
are servants of God created by God to worship God, and will face back to God.

And researches hope this research can be used as a source of information about
connotation analysis, especially in analyzing songs and can provide knowledge for students
majoring in English.

REFERENCES

Sugiyono. (2006). Quantitative, Qualitative and R&D Research Methods. Bandung: Alfabeta.
Suryabrata, S. (2003). Research Methods. Jakarta: Rajawali.