Personification, Adjectives in 'Take Me Home, Country Roads'
2024-01-05
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1Many Americans have returned to work or school as the holiday season comes to an end.
2Some traveled far to be with loved ones for Christmas and New Year's Day.
3Last month, we looked at the song Take Me Home, Country Roads.
4For many people from the state of West Virginia and the Appalachia mountains, the song reminds them of home.
5John Denver recorded the hit song in 1971.
6Lana Del Rey recently recorded her version of the song.
7In today's Everyday Grammar, we will continue looking at parts of Del Rey's version of the song and connect it to grammar and figurative language.
8Let's look at the last section of the song.
9All my memories gather 'round her
10Miner's lady, stranger to blue water
11Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
12Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye
13I hear her voice in the morning hour, she calls me
14The radio reminds me of my home far away
15Driving down the road, I get a feeling
16That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday
17In the first two verses of each section, West Virginia is humanized once again using personification.
18Personification is the humanization of a non-living thing.
19The use of the subject and object pronouns "she" and "her" give a female quality to the state.
20That personification of West Virginia as a woman also appears in the chorus of the song when it is referred to as "mountain mama."
21"Her voice" and "she calls me" add to the female characteristics of the state.
22"Miner's lady" and "stranger to blue water" are other personified comparisons in the song. West Virginia is known for its coal and limestone mines throughout the state.
23Many European immigrants came to West Virginia in the late 1800s and early 1900s to work in the mines.
24"Stanger to blue water" is a reference to West Virginia's geographic location as a landlocked state.
25A stranger is an unfamiliar person.
26The phrase is noting that the state is not near an ocean and is unfamiliar to blue ocean waters.
27And finally, we have more adjectives.
28Today we look at descriptive adjectives, not comparative adjectives.
29Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
30Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye
31"Dark and dusty" refer to the "miner's lady" line and coal mining.
32Coal is a dark, natural substance found in the earth.
33West Virginia and other parts of the Appalachian region are rich in this resource.
34It also creates dusty particles that fill the air.
35That combination "paints" or covers the sky.
36The line "misty taste of moonshine" also has a descriptive adjective.
37"Misty" has several meanings.
38"Mist," the noun form of the word, means water in the form of very small drops floating in the air.
39So, "misty" means full of mist. It can also describe something that is not clearly seen or remembered. Finally, it can describe eyes that are full of tears. In fact, "misty-eyed" means the same thing as "tearful."
40Moonshine is a kind of alcohol that is made illegally.
41Making moonshine was especially common in the hills of Appalachia during Prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933.
42The alcohol was moved by car at night and the bootleggers could only see by the light of the moon.
43That is where it got its name.
44It is not common to describe a taste or flavor as "misty."
45But there are a few possible meanings.
46Since "moonshine" was strong, drinking it could leave one's eyes "misty" or filled with tears.
47The "misty" flavor of moonshine could also refer to the illegal way of producing and transporting the alcohol without anyone knowing.
48Today we looked at the rest of the song Country Roads.
49We found even more personification by comparing West Virginia to a woman with words like, "miner's lady" and "her voice."
50We found even more adjectives that were used to describe parts of Appalachian culture like "dark and dusty" for coal mining and "misty taste of moonshine" to describe a strong alcohol flavor that could bring tears to one's eyes.
51I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Many Americans have returned to work or school as the holiday season comes to an end. Some traveled far to be with loved ones for Christmas and New Year's Day. 2Last month, we looked at the song Take Me Home, Country Roads. For many people from the state of West Virginia and the Appalachia mountains, the song reminds them of home. John Denver recorded the hit song in 1971. Lana Del Rey recently recorded her version of the song. 3In today's Everyday Grammar, we will continue looking at parts of Del Rey's version of the song and connect it to grammar and figurative language. 4Let's look at the last section of the song. 5All my memories gather 'round her 6Miner's lady, stranger to blue water 7Dark and dusty, painted on the sky 8Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye 9I hear her voice in the morning hour, she calls me 10The radio reminds me of my home far away 11Driving down the road, I get a feeling 12That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday 13More personification 14In the first two verses of each section, West Virginia is humanized once again using personification. Personification is the humanization of a non-living thing. 15The use of the subject and object pronouns "she" and "her" give a female quality to the state. That personification of West Virginia as a woman also appears in the chorus of the song when it is referred to as "mountain mama." 16"Her voice" and "she calls me" add to the female characteristics of the state. 17"Miner's lady" and "stranger to blue water" are other personified comparisons in the song. West Virginia is known for its coal and limestone mines throughout the state. Many European immigrants came to West Virginia in the late 1800s and early 1900s to work in the mines. 18"Stanger to blue water" is a reference to West Virginia's geographic location as a landlocked state. A stranger is an unfamiliar person. The phrase is noting that the state is not near an ocean and is unfamiliar to blue ocean waters. 19Adjectives 20And finally, we have more adjectives. Today we look at descriptive adjectives, not comparative adjectives. 21Dark and dusty, painted on the sky 22Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye 23"Dark and dusty" refer to the "miner's lady" line and coal mining. Coal is a dark, natural substance found in the earth. West Virginia and other parts of the Appalachian region are rich in this resource. It also creates dusty particles that fill the air. That combination "paints" or covers the sky. 24The line "misty taste of moonshine" also has a descriptive adjective. "Misty" has several meanings. "Mist," the noun form of the word, means water in the form of very small drops floating in the air. So, "misty" means full of mist. It can also describe something that is not clearly seen or remembered. Finally, it can describe eyes that are full of tears. In fact, "misty-eyed" means the same thing as "tearful." 25Moonshine is a kind of alcohol that is made illegally. Making moonshine was especially common in the hills of Appalachia during Prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933. 26The alcohol was moved by car at night and the bootleggers could only see by the light of the moon. That is where it got its name. 27It is not common to describe a taste or flavor as "misty." But there are a few possible meanings. Since "moonshine" was strong, drinking it could leave one's eyes "misty" or filled with tears. The "misty" flavor of moonshine could also refer to the illegal way of producing and transporting the alcohol without anyone knowing. 28Final thoughts 29Today we looked at the rest of the song Country Roads. We found even more personification by comparing West Virginia to a woman with words like, "miner's lady" and "her voice." 30We found even more adjectives that were used to describe parts of Appalachian culture like "dark and dusty" for coal mining and "misty taste of moonshine" to describe a strong alcohol flavor that could bring tears to one's eyes. 31I'm Faith Pirlo. 32Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 33______________________________ 34Words in This Story 35figurative - adj. used with a meaning that is different from the basic meaning 36misty - adj. full of or covered with mist. 37verse - n. writing in which words are arranged in a rhythmic pattern: poetry or song 38chorus - n. part of a song that is repeated; a large organized group of singers 39characteristic -n. a quality that a person has that makes them different, or similar, to others 40bootlegger - n. someone who sells products illegally, often without providing the requires taxes to government 41What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com or leave us a comment below. 42We want to hear from you. 43Our comment policy is here.