Lyrics Analysis Ms Georgiou

Shani 'Hold Me' Lyrics Analysis

Below are the lyrics of the song by 'Shani', 'Hold Me'. I will then evaluate what the song is about as well as what the artist has come to represent through the lyrics of the song and what it is telling the audience about the artist including the mise en scene. The first verse is as follows;

Boy you waan fi hold me
Put your arms right arounddd me
Mi no se me give u di tightest hole u eva did see in your life

While analysing the lyrics within the song by 'Shani' it becomes clear to the audience that she is singing about lust, love and relationships as well as sexual references. When 'Shani' is singing 'Boy you waan fi hold me' she is telling the audience that she wants to be held along with the lyrics that follow, 'Put your arms right arounddd me' which also shows a representation between an intimate relationship. These lyrics follow the conventions of the Reggae genre because lust and love are big elements that a lot of artists use throughout their work. Also the final row of lyrics in the verse are, 'Mi no se me give u di tightest hole u eva did see in your life' this references a sexual perception which again links in with the generic conventions consumers expect to see and hear. In this part of the song our artist will be laying on her bed on her computer watching a video on YouTube by her lover ‘Gyptian’ who this song is dedicated too because it is a reply back to the original version of the song by Gyptian. Outfit worn is ripped black leggings with a plain white vest top, blue crop jean jacket and pink converse trainers.

Second Verse:

Boy you waan fi just squeeze me
Put di ting right around me
Mi no se me give u di tightest hole u eva did see in your life

Again when 'Shani' is singing 'Boy you waan fi squeeze me' it is telling the audience the same thing as the first verse, that she wants to be held tightly. 'Mi no se me give u di tightest hole u eva did see in your life' is a repetition of the first verse, this is done continually throughout the song to build on the feel of the song as well as to make it catchy so that consumers can remember the lyrics. In this part of the song our artist will notice something on the side of her dresser and will walk over to a Tiffany &Co gift bag. Outfit worn is ripped black leggings with a plain white vest top, blue crop jean jacket and pink converse trainers.


Third Verse:

Your eye dem dry and u na care
So you can give it anytime and anywhere
Inna de square
So we na care
Mi a yuh woman so mi haffi be there

In this next verse the lyrics become more emotional towards the feelings 'Shani' has within the song. As she sings, 'Your eye dem dry and u na care' this means that the person she is singing about has shown no emotion as he/her has not cried and they do not care. This line references relationships and is something consumers in a relationship are going to be able to relate to. The next three lines, 'So you can give it anytime and anywhere, Inna de square, So we na care' shows a representation between intimacy and the subculture of today's society and the artists within the music industry that follow mainstream perceptions of relationships, love, sex and lust. The final line in this verse 'Mi a yuh woman so mi haffi be there' shows the dedication that partners put into their relationships as 'Shani' is singing that she is his/her woman so she has to be there, not that she may be there, she has to be. This again allows all age groups and genders to relate to the lyrics within the song as well as creating history between the artist and the consumers. In this verse of the song our artist is sitting on her bed opening up the present which must have been secretly placed their by ‘Gyptian’, she discovers it is a necklace and just keeps on staring at it and holds it up against her neck. Outfit worn is ripped black leggings with a plain white vest top, blue crop jean jacket and pink converse trainers.


Fourth Verse:

Well you seh you want a girl who will tek u away
Baby come behind me let me wine pon u
Wid it gooddd
You haffi feel itt
I'll have you comin back for more

The fourth verse consists of lust and the feeling of being loved. I am able to tell this from the following lyrics, 'Well you seh you want a girl who will tek u away, Baby come behind me let me wine pon u'. These lyrics show what relationships are based on as well as what individuals expect to get out of a relationship. In this verse the song is concept based due to the perception of relationships working out perfectly. I am also able to pick up on this from the last line in the verse 'I'll have you coming back for more', this again relates back to the perception of having a perfect relationship. The middle part of the verse, 'Baby come behind me let me wine pon u, Wid it gooddd, you haffi feel itt' shows a sexual reference once again that creates a link between the type of genre the song and artist is based within. For this verse of the song our artist has had an outfit change and is looking at herself in mirror dancing to the music whining low to match the lyrics, she is also wearing the necklace which ‘Gyptian’ brought for her and she keeps touching it whilst looking in the mirror, there is also a change in shot with this verse for the last lyric line which is a close up of her singing to the camera singing ‘Ill have you coming back for more’. Outfit worn for this verse is a dark green all in one, with a crop waist jean coat and black suede heels, with the Tiffany necklace.

Fifth Verse:

Boy you waan fi hold me
Put your arms right arounddd me
Mi no se me give u di tightest hole u eva did see in your life

This next verse is a repetition of the first verse which is done continuously as the chorus. This part of the song makes it narrative based because it is telling the audience a story about love. For this part of the song our artist is now in change of location in a white based room, she is dancing up against the wall whilst singing the chorus straight at the camera. Outfit for this verse was a change again, she was now in a very elegant blue big shouldered dress and black open toe leather boot heels, with the necklace on.

Sixth Verse:

Boy you waan fi just squeeze me
Put di ting right around me
Mi no se me give u di tightest grip u eva did see in your life

The first two lines in this verse is repeated throughout the song, however the last line is changed to suit the change in narration. The last line, 'Mi no se me give u di tightest grip u eva did see in your life' allows the audience to imagine holding someone tight and having a grip on them as well as not wanting to let go. Throughout the song some of the verse's are put together from different lines from each verse to create something new and innovative that consumers will find catchy and expressive. For this part of the song the location was changed again and our artist now is laying back down on her bed which has white silk sheets with loads of red rose petals gathered around, she starts off by singing into the camera again with different hand movements and even grips hold of the bed sheets to match the lyrics as shown above. Outfit for this was another elegant dress which was white with one shoulder very floosy, the necklace on again, red lipstick and a white flower in her hair, no shoes needed to be worn for this shot.

Seventh Verse:

I a bike mi a ride like voom voom voom voom
Cock up mi bump up a boom boom boom boom
Lift it up n drop it back badoom boom boom boom
No time to play around boy jus get in my room

This next verse contains a lot of onomatopoeia within the verse. Onomatopoeia can be defined as the creation of a name that sounds like what it refers to, an example of this is snap, crackle and pop. In this case voom voom voom voom is the onomatopoeia which is in the first line within the verse. This creates an automatic image in the audience’s head that can be related to a motorbike or a car. In this verse, also the ending in each line is with an 'oom' this makes the lyrics easy to catch on to which is the aim of many music labels in order for their songs to stick in consumer’s heads. As 'Shani' sings 'Cock up mi bump up a boom boom boom boom, Lift it up n drop it back badoom boom boom boom, No time to play around boy jus get in my room’, we become increasingly aware of the conventions of the song from the type of genre it is in. As a result of this the audience are able to perceive a performance based element. The reason for this is because the lyrics and the tempo of the song is upbeat which makes the audience feel they can dance to the music. For this part of the song the shot goes back to another shot in the white based room, but this time as she sings ‘lift it up and drop it’ she goes up and down the screen which helps her represent the lyrics clearly with her dancing. Outfit for this verse was a change again, she was now in a very elegant blue big shouldered dress and black open toe leather boot heels, with the necklace on.


Eighth Verse:

Me out a control
A real man me want in mi soul
Man mi no u ah di one so no politic on yuh
Di gyal who could hold u down

'Me out a control, A real man me want in mi soul', both of these lines within the verse show a representation between everyday life that people want to be happy and loved. In conclusion to this music is about expressing what artists feel so that the audience can relate to those emotions. For this part of the song we go back to the shot of her laying on the white silk sheets but a side view/close-up we decided to repeat certain shots in the video because we realized that many of the verses throughout the song where repeated so this way the video will match with the lyrics, in this shot the audience can only see her face which is turned to the side and she is singing straight at the camera. Outfit for this was another elegant dress which was white with one shoulder very floosy, the necklace on again, red lipstick and a white flower in her hair, no shoes needed to be worn for this shot.

Ninth Verse:

Mami waan fi hold yuh
Put di ting right arounddd me
Mi no se me give u di tightest hole u eva did see in your life

Tenth Verse:

Boy you waan fi just squeeze me
Put di ting right around me
Mi no se me give u di tightest grip u eva did see in your life

Eleventh Verse:

I a bike mi a ride like voom voom voom voom
Cock up mi bump up a boom boom boom boom
Lift it up n drop it boy badoom boom boom boom
No time to play around boy jus get to my room

Twelfth Verse:

Me out a control
A real man me want in mi soul
Man mi no u ah di one so no politic on yuh
The one who could hold you downnn

Thirteenth Verse:

Hoooold yuh
Put your arms right arounddd me
Mi no se me give u di tightest hole u eva did see in your life

Fourteenth Verse:

Boy you waan fi just squeeze me
Put di ting right around me
Mi no se me give u di tightest grip u eva did see in your life

Fifteenth Verse:

Your eye dem dry and u na care
So you can give it anytime and anywhere
Inna de square
So we na care
Mi a yuh woman so mi haffi be there

From the ninth to the fifteenth verse each stanza has been repeated so that consumers are able to pick up on the tune and style of the song. Also for this part of the song from the verses 9 to 15 the shots just kept on changing from the white based room to her lying on the white bed silk sheets and also the shots repeatedly went back to the shots of her looking at herself in the mirror and then a close-up in the green outfit. The outfits remained the same throughout these shots.

Sixteenth Verse:

Well you seh you want a girl who will tek u away
Baby come behind me let me wine pon u
Wid it gooddd
You haffi feel itt
I'll have you comin back for more

This verse consists of lust when 'Shani' sings 'Well you seh you want a girl who will tek u away'. Lust is defined as a craving for sexual intimacy which is part of the narration for this song. The rest of the verse emphasizes the feeling of lust for example; the way the 'gooddd' is dragged out to make the word sound emphasized. For this part of the song we changed the location once again with our artist outside of her house walking towards her car and then she gets into the car. Then there is another change in shot where the camera is filming her inside of the car driving but she isn’t singing the song is just being played. Outfit for these shots was the same which was black acid wash leggings with a pink netted vest top, the same crop jean waistcoat with black suede heels, the necklace and her car keys.

Seventeenth Verse:

Boy you waan fi hold me
Put di ting right arounddd me
Mi no se me give u di tightest hole u eva did see in your life

Eighteenth Verse:

Boy you waan fi just squeeze me
Put di ting right around me
Mi no se me give u di tightest grip u eva did see in your life
I a bike mi a ride

Finally, the seventeenth and eighteenth verse are used to sum up the song as it ends and the music fades into the background. For these last two verses of the song the shots where back and fourth to the silky white bed sheets and the white based room and then the final change in shot was a long shot which was of her walking beside a river very late at night with all candles lit up around the river, as she just lifts her arm up walks towards the camera, the song finishes and then we have the actual sound of that shooting played in the video because we though it went very well with the video as she gets nearer to the end of her walking the song slowly fades into the background. Outfits for these shots are the same as above, and the outfit for her by the river is again in the white elegant one shouldered dress, black suede heels, with a white flower in her hair.


Overall me and my group members will try to connect the music video with our target audience by, matching the camera shots with the song, so for example as shown above the lyrics are continueously repeated throughout the song, so to connect the music video with the song we have continueously repeated certain shots and locations throughout our music video. Also we have tried to connect with our target audience by having the music video based on the artist and the artist only because we want to show her true emotions and personality to the target audience. We also wanted to portray Shani the artist to being a very sweet and innocent young woman, just generally singing to this boy that she loves. In our video we have different camera shots of Shani opening a present from Gyptian who is her secret lover, and then she wears this necklace throughout the video to show how much she cares for him. Finally there is a camera shot in our music video which shows a point of view shot of Shani watching her lover 'Gyptian' on her computer screen and her just laying on her bed thinking about him. Finally at the end of our music video there is the last camera shot which shows Shani in a very beautiful white elegant dress walking towards the camera , whcih then leads to a panning shot of her walking away from the camera, with this shot we tried to show to the target audience that Shani has amde her decission and she wants to be alone and independant and she isnt going back to her lover, this is way she walks away from the camera alone.