Tonal Analysis

"Miss America" Lyrics

Expressing his feelings towards Whitney Houston’s tragic death in “Miss America”, James Blunt utilizes allusions to the celebrity, sober personification, and a multiple person point of view to exhibit his tone of solemn reminiscence.

By employing allusions to Whitney Houston, James Blunt successfully displays his universal tone of solemn reminiscence. Through these allusions Blunt ensures the song is about Houston without including her name in his lyrics. The title, “Miss America”, alludes to the reputation Houston holds in her home country. Every citizen of America is familiar with her celebrity status and has heard her famous hit, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. Blunt’s title choice reflects the fame Houston possessed as well as her powerful influence on many young, aspiring artists. His tone is revealed through his solemn reflection on her once striving popularity. Consistently using allusions towards her fame, Blunt describes the way she was once displayed to the public. Houston would often be found with her “picture in the paper” and her face on the “silver screen”. While she was alive, her stardom affected everyone in some fashion, yet continues to do so today. However, in present day, she is remembered as a talented woman who passed away too early. On February 11, 2012, the world received the news she had passed away and her name was yet again plastered on every news surface possible. People, including Blunt himself, mourned for her sudden death. Found unconscious submerged bathtub in her hotel room, Whitney Houston’s cause of death is known to be heart disease and cocaine use. Blunt questions if “someone [gave her] something to help [her] ease the pain”. As he looks back on the situation, Blunt’s tone displays his wistful feelings that if Houston was not given accessibility to these drugs she may not have undergone such a death. Within “Miss America”, allusions are deliberately placed into James Blunt’s lyrics to portray his solemn, reminiscent tonal usage.

Personification is inserted by Blunt to assist in the conveying of his ubiquitous tone throughout his song. Before her life was ended, Whitney Houston could often be found on the front of a tabloid magazine with a major, total farce headline about her. As an onlooker just like any other citizen, Blunt wonders through his lyrics if her “make-up never [made] up for the pain behind [her] eyes”. Even though she appeared to be joyous and gleaming in pictures, her makeup was just a cover up for what she was truly experiencing. Ideally someone would have come to her rescue, but it became too late and too much damage had been done. Blunt wishes that a friend, family member, or anyone would have been able to aid her in her recovery as he reminisces on unnecessary, life-changing mistakes. Once healthy and flourishing, everyone “watched [Houston] fly” and glow within her reputation. Because of her substance abuse, she started to become decrepit and then “[fell] apart”. Reminiscing on her avoidable cause of death, Blunt morosely conveys that she was ill and sick at the end of her short life. As Houston consumed all of her alcohol and pain medication, she was slowly destroying her body in the process. Just “like the liquor in the bottle, [they] watched [her] slip away”. The slipping away of her soul produces a sorrowful statement, implying that her death was a long time coming and was not peaceful. Blunt’s portrayal and reflection of the catastrophic scenario in which Houston died contributes to the melancholy feeling of his tone. Blunt displays the tragicalness of her situation through his somber tone, as she was living another life behind the scenes before her body gave up.

            A multiple person narrative point of view is applied to Blunt’s lyrics to personally show his reflective, solemn tone towards Whitney Houston’s shocking death. Not only does the use of a multiple person narrative point of view convey his feelings, but also represents normal onlookers’ emotions towards Whitney Houston as well. James Blunt speaks of Whitney as if he has personally been touched by her graceful spirit and has been acquaintances with her for years. He creates an apostrophe speaking towards Houston by expressing: “I feel as if I know you when you’re on my silver screen, but I don’t know the places that you’ve been”. James Blunt exhibits that he has witnessed Houston’s presence only on television and confesses he cannot imagine the struggles she was facing. Speaking for every human once touched by Houston, James reassures everyone that “someday we’ll find you’ll live forever”. Directly comforting Whitney in his purposefully placed apostrophe, Blunt solemnly shows through his tone that although much sadness is present now and Whitney is not with the human population anymore, one day everyone shall be in heaven together. Illustrating another defeated attempt at trying to envision her constant battle with substances, he says: “I don’t know what goes on in your mind, I’m sure it’s enough to make me cry”. As she is now in heaven, James reflects and tries to feel the same pain she did when she was alive, but cannot come close. He is only capable of partially thinking about her mental wounds, which makes him immensely upset. Utilizing a multiple person narrative point of view, James Blunt creates the feeling as if he and the listeners are speaking to Whitney themselves to display his tone of solemn reminiscence towards her and her journey into heaven.
       Through his reflective tone of solemnity in “Miss America”, James Blunt portrays that despite Whitney Houston passing away, “no goodbyes” are necessary because she will “always be Miss America”. Throughout “Miss America”, Blunt employs a multiple person narrative point of view, allusions to the star, and dismal personification to exhibit his tone of solemn reminiscence. The collaboration of these elements provide in the depiction of Blunt’s slightly depressing universal tone that accompany the story of Whitney Houston’s sudden death. James Blunt creates a beautiful tribute to a star of the modern age that will never be forgotten.

James Blunt