Hearing vs. Listening (revised)

What is the difference between hearing and listening? According to Webster’s dictionary hearing is defined as, “the process, function, or power of perceiving sound.” It is a verb that requires your brain to process the sound waves that enter your ear canal. However, Webster’s defines listening as, “paying attention in order to hear.” Listening is more that just hearing something. It is actually paying attention to the message in order to get the full meaning. You have to hear to listen but you don’t have to listen to hear.

In the case of music, have we ever really listened to a song? Have we ever actually listened to more than the beat, musical scores, or tone of voice? It is a strange idea to think that we can hear music without actually listening to it. It is easy to write off a song as a “good” song because of the way it sounds. But to actually think about the message being sent, the argument being delivered, and what the speaker actually wants from the song requires more that just hearing; it requires intent listening.

In examining Tim McGraw’s song ,“Live Like You Were Dying,” I did just that: I listened. In doing so I was able to comprehend and grasp the full meaning of the song and the rather serious message that it presents. I could not have done this with simply hearing the music. I had to dissect every word and look at the lyrics in text form. Understanding what methods he used to achieve his purpose required close reading. What I found is a desperate man encouraging us to live as if we were dying.

“He said I was in my early forties,
With a lot of life before me,
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
I spent most of the next days,
lookin' at the x-rays,
Talkin' 'bout the options
and talkin' 'bout sweet time.
Asked him when it sank in,
and this might really be the real end.
How's it hit ya,
when you get that kind of news.
Man what ya do.
And he says”

The speaker in the song is not necessarily the artist. However, the speaker is either a man or woman (the song dose not specify) who is telling the audience about a man. The man is in his early forties, married, and religious. The man goes on to explain a serious event in his life and how he has dealt with it. But closely examining the text I was able to decipher the story and understand his message.

In explaining his illness, he tells that he was diagnosed with some unknown illness and it dose not leave him much time. By understanding this, it finally sinks into him that the illness he has risks his life and will eventually kill him. Then the original speaker asks the man how it felt to hear the news and what he did about it.

“I went sky divin',
I went rocky mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fu Manchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I've been denying,
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.”

The man explains all the things he did when he found out that he did not have much time left to live. In the chorus, the man goes on to explain that he lived life on the dangerous side. He explains that he went sky diving, rocky mountain climbing, and went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumancho. He became a more tender soul when he “loved deeper and [he] spoke sweeter.” He gave forgiveness. Then he goes on to tell the speaker that he hopes the speaker will one day have the chance to “live like [he was] dying.” Since this advice is in the chorus, and it is repeated three times, it can be viewed as the most important advice throughout the whole song.

“He said I was finally the husband,
That most the time I wasn't.
And I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all the sudden goin' fishing,
Wasn't such an imposition.
And I went three times that year I lost my dad.
Well I finally read the good book,
And I took a good long hard look at what I'd do
If I could do it all again.
And then.”

In the second verse the ill man explains how he started valuing his relationships with his marriage, friendship, and religion. He shows that he is married and finally started acting like the husband he should have been all along. Also, be became the friend he should have been along. He no longer saw fishing as “such an imposition” and he goes on to explain that he went three time the year that he lost his dad. He valued his spiritual relationship by finally reading the Bible. Finally, he examined his life as a whole and wondered what he would do if he had a second change at life.

“Like tomorrow was a gift and you've got eternity
To think about what you do with it,
What could you do with it,
what canI do with with it,
what would I do with it.”

In the bridge he gives more advice to the speaker and audience. He says to live like the old cliché, “tomorrow is a gift.” Then he asks three questions, one to the speaker and two to himself. First he asks what the speaker he would do with a second chance. Then he asks himself, what did he do, and what would he do with a second change at life. Finally at the end he repeats three times, “live like you were dying.”

The song presents its argument in a very straight-forward way. By relying on ethos and pathos, the author tries to persuade the audience to live their life as if they were dying. Ethos is a form of persuasion that relies on the speaker or the persona he/she gives. In the song, the author tries to gain credibility because he is dying. It is very easy to believe that the author is credible simply because he is dying. But I ask, is that enough? Should we, as a society, believe anyone who is dying? I think his illness he has does make him credible for the most part. I find it easy to believe the advice he is promoting because is in the that situation.

Pathos, on the other hand, is another form of persuasion but it deals with the audience rater than the speaker. The song relies almost solely on pathos. The fact that a man is dying, hits the audience emotionally. Its easy to feel sorry for the man, because he is so young. I know that I think about my father when I hear this song and I’m sure others do as well. Even though pathos can be found in almost every line of the song, its not overly sentimental. The man never asks the audience to be sorry for him. He instead advises them on how to live their lives to the fullest.

As you can see, simply hearing this song would not have yielded such and understanding for the meaning of the song. Quite possibly it could have missed the meaning all together. I challenge you to listen to the music, understand what the artist is saying, and evaluate the music you listen to. You have a choice to listen to what your hearing or just hear. What will you do?