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Grammar and Usage of Standard English: Essay and Analyses · Exercise at the end of Chapter 1 in "The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier"
Exercise at the end of Chapter 4 in "The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier" ·
Exercise at the end of Chapter 5 in "The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier"
The problem that occurs with "Thrasher" becomes one of punctuation. The song lyrics are esoteric enough, but when written as prose in contrast to verse, it is difficult to determine comma and period placement. Punctuation the writer in conveying meaning and assist the reader in meaning-making. "This is what I mean; on the other hand, this is not what I mean." Without the punctuation readers cannot determine where one thought (sentence) ends and where one thought (sentence) begins.
Punctuation has its beginnings with William Caxton who purchased a printing press from Germany and imported it to London, England. At this time, there were no established rules for punctuation. Rules were formulated during the Reformation period or for the English language, during the Age of Linguistic Anxiety. Scholars decided the English language had been corrupted and in order to prevent further corruption of the language. In order to make English a suitable language for scholarship and more accessible to the middle class there became a necessity to develop rules for grammar and punctuation. The middle classes had little time or desire to spend time learning Latin and Greek, the languages of scholarship at the time. The middle class understood that their use of language was different from the upper class and in order to aspire to being upper class, the middle class would have to improve their speech. The middle classes desired a method to improve their speech quickly without years of study opening a space for a need for "self-help" or "do it yourself" manuals to proper speech and writing. These are some of the reasons why grammar and punctuation books were written.
The main problem with this song because the words are esoteric, it becomes difficult to punctuate in order to maintain the exact meaning Neil Young intended. Written in verse, with Young's minimal punctuation, meaning is somewhat conveyed. In attempting to punctuate, the meaning is changed and the meaning conveyed is not necessarily the meaning that Young intended.
The Original Copy of the Lyrics "Thrasher"
They were hiding behind hay bales,
They were planting
in the full moon
They had given all they had
for something new
But the light of day was on them,
They could see the thrashers coming
And the water
shone like diamonds in the dew.
And I was just getting up,
hit the road before it's light
Trying to catch an hour on the sun
When I saw
those thrashers rolling by,
Looking more than two lanes wide
I was feelin'
like my day had just begun.
Where the eagle glides ascending
There's an ancient river bending
Down the timeless gorge of changes
Where sleeplessness awaits
I searched out my companions,
Who were lost in crystal canyons
When the aimless blade of science
Slashed the pearly gates.
It was then I knew I'd had enough,
Burned my credit card for fuel
Headed out to where the pavement
turns to sand
With a one-way ticket
to the land of truth
And my suitcase in my hand
How I lost my friends
I still don't understand.
They had the best selection,
They were poisoned with protection
There was nothing that they needed,
Nothing left to find
They were lost in rock formations
Or became park bench mutations
On the sidewalks
and in the stations
They were waiting, waiting.
So I got bored and left them there,
They were just deadweight to me
Better down the road
without that load
Brings back the time
when I was eight or nine
I was watchin' my mama's T.V.,
It was that great
Grand Canyon rescue episode.
Where the vulture glides descending
galaxies and stars
Down the windy halls of friendship
To the rose clipped by the bullwhip
The motel of lost companions
Waits with heated pool and bar.
But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe
Just another line
in the field of time
When the thrasher comes,
I'll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I'll know the time has come
To give what's mine.
"Thrasher" Grammar/Punctuation Analysis
They were hiding behind hay bales. They were planting in the full moon. They had given all they had for something new, but the light of day was on them. They could see the thrashers coming and the water shone like diamonds in the dew.
By adding periods, the thoughts are broken into logical chunks that convey meaning to the reader. The comma placement strings the two thoughts together, but the meaning becomes more obscure. Punctuated this way, what does the "light of day" being on them mean in reference to "they had given all they had for something new."
Or
They had given all they had for something new. But the light of day was on them.
When punctuated this way, the lyrics make better sense. We now understand that the "light of day" has nothing to do with the previous sentence, rather it introduces the next thought that "they could see the thrashers coming." This conveys a completely different meaning.
And I was just getting up, hit the road before it's light. Trying to catch an hour on the sun. When I saw those thrashers rolling by, looking more than two lanes wide, I was feelin' like my day had just begun.
The use of "And" is improper grammar. "And" is used to string two thoughts together in a sentence and never to introduce a thought. The correct sentence would be "I was getting up [to] hit the road before it is light." The sentence needs the word "to" for the purpose of connecting the sentence. The use of "Trying to catch an hour on the sun" is incorrect. This is a sentence fragment and has no subject. Most likely, the sentence should read, "I was trying to catch an hour on the sun." Inserting the commas makes sense because Young is stringing together a series of phrases. The use of the word "feelin' is for effect. The use is meant to capture a southern dialect or working class dialect where the "g" at the end of "ing" is dropped.
Where the eagle glides ascending, there's an ancient river bending, down the timeless gorge of changes, where sleeplessness awaits. I searched out my companions who were lost in crystal canyons when the aimless blade of science slashed the pearly gates.
Comma placement here makes sense again because Young is stringing together a series of phrases and the period placement makes sense because there are two separate complete thoughts.
Or
Where the eagle glides ascending, there's an ancient river bending down the timeless gorge of changes where sleeplessness awaits. I searched out my companions who were lost in crystal canyons when the aimless blade of science slashed the pearly gates.
The comma placement in this stanza becomes a matter of interpretation. Young may have meant that the "river [was] bending down the timeless gorge of changes," but this is not clear.
It was then [that] I knew I'd had enough [and] burned my credit card for fuel. [I] Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand. With a one-way ticket to the land of truth and my suitcase in my hand, how I lost my friends I still don't understand.
The use of "I'd" and "had" are not grammatically incorrect, they are just a poor sentence construction because Young is placing to had's next to each other: "I'd" equaling "I had." This would create a construction that reads I had had that alerts the reader there is a better way to construct the same meaning without placing to had's together. The insertion of [that] is necessary otherwise t is a sentence fragment. The [I] needs to be inserted, otherwise the sentence lack a subject.
They had the best selection, they were poisoned with protection, there was nothing that they needed, nothing left to find. They were lost in rock formations or became park bench mutations, on the sidewalks and in the stations. They were waiting, waiting.
Or
They had the best selection. They were poisoned with protection. There was nothing that they needed. Nothing left to find. They were lost in rock formations or became park bench mutations, on the sidewalks and in the stations. They were waiting, waiting.
Punctuated this way, "Nothing left to find" becomes a sentence fragment without a subject.
So I got bored and left them there. They were just deadweight to me, better down the road without that load. Brings back the time when I was eight or nine I was watchin' my mama's T.V., it was that great Grand Canyon rescue episode.
The problem that occurs in this stanza is the placement of the period between "load" and "Brings." When punctuated this way, Brings becomes a sentence fragment without a subject. Inserting the word "This" creates a subject referring to the thoughts in the previous sentence relying on the reader to understand that one thought in Young's mind leads to the next thought. The use of the word "feelin' is for effect. The use is meant to capture a southern dialect or working class dialect where the "g" at the end of "ing" is dropped.
Where the vulture glides descending, on an asphalt highway bending, thru libraries and museums, galaxies and stars. Down the windy halls of friendship, to the rose clipped by the bullwhip, the motel of lost companions, waits with heated pool and bar.
This stanza is a string of phrases that do not make grammatical sense. "Where the vulture glides descending [there is] an asphalt highway bending [through] libraries and museums, galaxies and stars. Down the windy halls of friendship, to the rose clipped by the bullwhip. The motel of lost companions, waits with heated pool and bar." The spelling of the word "thru' is used to produce an effect. The use is meant to capture a southern dialect or working class dialect where the "ough" sound becomes unpronounced and sounds like "u."
But me I'm not stopping there got my own row left to hoe: just another line in the field of time. When the thrasher comes, I'll be stuck in the sun like the dinosaurs in shrines but I'll know the time has come to give what's mine.
The double referral to self, "me I'm" is a peculiar construction. This may be working class English, a southern dialect, or Black English. Black English is the least likely candidate because according to the grammatical rules of Black English, the speaker would more likely say "But I not be stopping there…." I know I have heard the construction before, but I am not sure as to what regional American speaker would use it. The "got" should actually be "I have my own row to hoe."
The purpose of the lack of punctuation is for the purpose of creating a particular rhythm for the lyrics similar to poetry. If the stanzas were punctuated correctly, the rhythm Young is acquiring would be lost. Also the rhythm of the lyrics would probably no longer fit the rhythm of the music.
Second, by constructing grammatically correct sentences by inserting missing subjects, proper use of contractions, and using proper English would disturb the lyrics creating a dialect that is not working class or southern in sound. Neil Young writes music within the Country Music genre, therefore using proper English would not fit within the framing of working class or southern dialect.
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