"Sissy's Song"

Essay by annapoppCollege, UndergraduateB-, November 2014

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Anna Popp

WRIT 340

Professor Blaine

September 25, 2014

Assignment 1

Originally, country singer, Alan Jackson recorded "Sissy's Song" for the funeral of his long time housekeeper, Sissy, who met her untimely death at forty years old. The music video displays Alan Jackson in an abandoned chapel surrounded by large windows with sunlight radiating through them, which immediately projects a somber feeling upon the viewer. Throughout the video, Alan Jackson fixates his gaze upwards into the light towards heaven as if he is communicating with her through his song, which ultimately places him as the dominant character because through his lyrics he chooses what message to bring back to her loved ones. Although the image of Sissy is left up the viewers imagination the mystical setting paired with the lyrics subliminally recreate Sissy as young white beautiful female who will live on forever through Jackson's song. Jackson's lyric project the judeo christian meta narrative that there is life after death, and paired with his appearance as the typical all-American country man comforts the viewers while at the same time allows Sissy to transcend death through his song.

which gives Judeo-Christian metanarrative that there is life after death, and giving the viewers comfort in knowing that, Death is portrayed from the perspective of a white, Christian, male who remains the dominant character by speaking for Sissy, and, ultimately, allowing her to transcend death through his song.