Theme Portfolio Entry #3

"Pittsburgh"
By The Amity Affliction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khdPVdaGNcQ

I've been searching for an exit, but I'm lost inside my head;   Metaphor
Where I spend every waking moment wishing I was dead.   Hyperbole
For a few minutes get me away from here,
For a few minutes wipe away my tears.
For I am lost right now as the ocean deep;   Simile
I am low my friend and how my heart does sink.  Personification
Yeah I am lost right now as the ocean deep;
I am low my friend and how my heart does sink.  Repetition

It's like there's cancer in my blood,   Simile
It's like there's water in my lungs,   Simile
And I can't take another step,
Please tell me I am not undone.
It's like there's fire in my skin
And I'm drowning from within -   Simile
I can't take another breath,
Please tell me I am not undone.

I've been searching for an exit but I'm lost inside my head;   Metaphor
Where I spend every waking moment wishing this would end.   Hyperbole
I can't take another step, I cannot live inside my mind,   Metaphor
I can't face another day, I am so fucking tired.
For I am lost right now as the ocean deep,
I am low my friend and how my heart does sink.   Personification
Yeah I am lost right now as the ocean deep,
I am low my friend and how my heart does sink.   Repetition

It's like there's cancer in my blood,   Simile
It's like there's water in my lungs,   Simile
And I can't take another step,
Please tell me I am not undone.
It's like there's fire in my skin
And I'm drowning from within -   Simile
I can't take another breath,
Please tell me I am not undone.

I've been searching for an exit, but I'm lost inside my head;   Metaphor
Where I spend every waking moment wishing I was dead.   Hyperbole
I'll take another step for you -
I'll shed my tears until I drown, or until I am underground.   Hyperbole   Euphemism
I'll take another breath for you...
Will you still be there when I'm home, out from the great unknown?  Symbolism

It's like there's cancer in my blood,   Simile
It's like there's water in my lungs,   Simile
And I can't take another step,
Please tell me I am not undone.It's like there's fire in my skin
And I'm drowning from within -   Simile
I can't take another breath,
Please tell me I am not undone.

In the song "Pittsburgh" by The Amity Affliction, simile, hyperbole, and metaphor are used throughout the song to convey the speaker's battle with depression, and the powerful emotions that accompany this battle. The song opens with the metaphor "I've been searching for an exit, but I'm lost inside my head." This metaphor immediately establishes that the speaker feels trapped within his own mind and cannot find a way to escape his dark thoughts. The speaker then states that they "spend every waking moment wishing [they were] dead," which conveys the idea that the speaker's dark thoughts have completely taken over the speaker's mind, and have driven the speaker to the brink of suicide. The speaker feel like they are "lost right now as the ocean deep," meaning they feel that their mind has grown so dark that the speaker no longer knows where he is, and is surrounded by only darkness and emptiness. As the song moves into the chorus, the speaker uses multiple similes to describe the pain that they have been feeling because of their depression. The speaker states that "it's like there's cancer in my blood, it's like there's water in my lungs...it's like there's fire in my skin, and I'm drowning from within." These similes convey the idea that the speaker feels as though their depression is slowly killing them, forcing the speaker to suffer slowly until the day their depression finally takes them. The speaker is forced to "shed [their] tears until [they] drown, or until [they are] underground." The frequent use of simile, metaphor, and personification in The Amity Affliction's "Pittsburgh" is meant to illustrate the gravity of the emotions that the speaker is feeling as a result of their battle with depression and mental illness.