Music Analysis and comparison to the Kite Runner

Who Will Comfort me – by Melody Gardot

ENG3U by Steve Hall

To: Ms L. Wickett

Introduction

Music can express feeling and emotion in a unique way that is like no other art form. It can also tell a story of joy and happiness, as well as one of despair and sorrow. This is a short report analyzing the song Who Will Comfort Me by Melody Gardot, a jazz vocalist, and it's likeness to the Kite Runner.

The Song

Lyrics: My soul is-a weary

My soul is-a wearyMy soul is-a wearyI said my soul is-a weary

My soul is-a weary and beaten down,From all of my misery.Oh lord, who will comfort me?

My soul is-a weary and beaten down,From all of my misery.Oh lord, who will comfort me?(scat)

Got a hold on my heart that keeps me bound,When the whole wide world is free.Oh lord, who will comfort me?

Got a hold on my heart that keeps me bound,When the whole wide world is free.Oh lord, who will comfort me?(scat)

My home is a wreckage,A family drowned in flight and poverty.Oh lord, who will comfort me?

My home is a wreckage,A family drowned in flight and poverty.Oh lord, who will comfort me?

Oh lord, who will comfort me?

At a length of 4 minutes and 56 seconds, this jazz/blues genre tune tells the story of a person who is going through a lot of internal troubles. Written and performed by artist Melody Gardot, the lyrics are kept simple, consisting of Gardot asking God who will comfort her broken soul. It's instrumentation consists of finger snapping, scat singing, several percussion instruments,

brass instruments and an acoustic guitar.

Comparison to The Kite Runner

When I listen to this song now, after reading the Kite Runner, I hear a woman singing about Amir’s troubles throughout the book. After witnessing Hassan’s rape, Amir is facing a lot of internal troubles because he knows he did wrong. With the line “My soul is-a weary,” being repeated, I picture Amir having problems sleeping and fighting a battle in his own mind.

Another line that I can compare from this song to Amir’s feelings is “My soul is-a weary and beaten down,” as well as the line “Got a hold on my heart that keeps me bound.” The hold on his heart is the fact that he let his best friend suffer while standing by and doing nothing. This is what is beating down on his heart. Also, the line after this one in the song is “When the whole wide world is free.” I think looking at this tune from the perspective of the Kite Runner, the whole wide world is Baba, Ali, Rahim and even Hassan who seem to move on with their lives while Amir is struggling on the inside.

Throughout the song, the same question is asked – “who will comfort me,” and it is the title of the song. I can picture Amir wondering where he will find comfort, through the years to come after the rape. Will it be from Baba? Rahim? Soraya?

In the last verse, the lyric is “My home is a wreckage, a family drowned in flight and poverty.” Looking at this song from the perspective of the Kite Runner, I think this is Amir talking about how he has all of these internal struggles as a result of Hassan’s rape, as well as having to run away from Kabul, his home, and his father having to get a job, being paid minimum wage in a gas station in California.

At the very end of the song, the artist lets out an almost eerie giggle. After reading the Kite Runner, and hearing this giggle, I can imagine this be Amir reacting to being beaten up by Assef. I like the fact that I can find similarities between this simple set of lyrics, and the concepts from the novel Kite Runner. When going back to review chapters, having this song in my head creates sort of an ambience – a soundtrack in my head, adding interactive components to reading the novel.

Created Discussion Questions

1. What is it that comforts Amir’s “weary soul” at the end of the novel?2. Why have the characters that have been present throughout the whole novel not been able to

help Amir find peace?3. Do you like this piece of music? Why or why not?4. Do you think this piece of music accurately portrays Amir’s feelings in the Kite Runner? Why

or why not?

Web link to song:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKDj-OVJ6hc