Paper #6

Rock N' Roll Jesus

Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus” tells the story of a “savior” that has returned to save everyone from the devil by converting their views on music to Rock and Roll. The speaker in this song tells of a man who has come to spread the good news about this music and preach the gospel on the revival of Rock and Roll. He attempts to play off of the audience’s emotions as well as their knowledge of his credibility as an artist. This song has a religious overtone to it that can be seen as both effective and ineffective. The speaker is attempting to use Jesus and a religious theme to sway peoples’ opinions on how they should feel about the song. By the speaker referring to himself as “Rock N Roll Jesus”, he attempts to gain credibility with the audience by making them think that his movement for Rock and Roll is as credible as Jesus’ movement to spread Christianity. Although Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus” may offend some because of its religious overtones, the song successfully conveys its intended message and is thematically consistent throughout.

“Rock N Roll Jesus” paints a clear picture for its entire audience when telling the intended message of the song. This song refers to the speaker as “Rock and Roll Jesus”, a savior for the music genre of Rock and Roll; he is back to “save” everyone that he can and convert them to Rock and Roll fans. He tells of how he is here to enlighten everyone about the Rock and Roll revival that he has started and how if he cannot gain their allegiance in time, the devil will get them.

Sittin’ high on a mountain top holdin’ shop spreadin’ the good news
Been alotta false prophets and quick hits
And a lot of un-American bullshit
But the time has come to settle and the devil’s gonna make you choose.

These lines show the religious overtone that is present throughout the song. The first line in this quote shows the speaker’s belief that he above anyone else is capable of “spreadin’ the good news” of Rock and Roll. This line also plays into the religious theme as Moses first sat on a mountain and preached his Sermon on the Mount to his followers. The next two lines tell of the speaker’s disapproval of the previous attempts to revive the genre of Rock and Roll as he speaks of “false prophets and quick hits”, or artists that have come along feeling that their songs will turn around Rock and Roll for the better. The last line tells of the speaker’s belief that if he does not save his audience and convert them to the life of Rock and Roll, the devil will make them choose. His threat of “the devil’s gonna make you choose” is a play on Kid Rock as the devil and him scaring you into choosing between a life that eventually leads to heaven, or one that leads to hell. In this case, if the speaker cannot save you to Rock and Roll, the devil will send you to hell, or a place where the life of a Rock and Roller is not present. These four lines virtually speak for the entire song in that they show the message that this song attempts to convey; that “Rock N Roll Jesus” is back to revive Rock and Roll, spread the good news about this music, and convert people to the genre.

Kid Rocks straightforward, in-your-face approach to “converting” listeners to Rock and Roll is ineffective. The speaker’s targeted audience is not as likely to respond to this type of approach, especially when dealing with religion in such a straightforward manner. The artist almost loses some of the credibility that he has as a major recording artist when he attempts to attract listeners by forcing certain beliefs on them.

It’s all sex, drugs, rock n roll
A soul sensation that you can’t control
And you can see I practice what I preach
I’m your rock n roll Jesus

These four lines show the negatives of the approach that the artist takes in delivering his message. Once hearing these lines, every bit of credibility that the speaker had is nullified. He speaks of his use of sex and drugs and the popularity that these things have in the world of Rock and Roll. The third line shows that he uses the afore mentioned when he says, “I practice what I preach.” When he follows that line with “I’m your rock n roll Jesus”, he loses any bit of trust that the audience had instilled in him as an artist. While the two things mentioned previously are growing more and more common these days, especially among younger men and women, they are not condoned by most. The speaker’s acceptance of these two controversial subjects goes a long way to turning many listeners away from this genre of music. The speaker’s repetitive mention of being “Rock N Roll Jesus” along with his stated use of sex and drugs proves that his method of attracting listeners to the Rock and Roll genre is ineffective.

The speaker in this song constructs his argument and approach to getting his message across in a risky, straightforward style. He tells his audience exactly what he wants to them to hear and/or do and does not shift around his words to make his message sound less controversial. This approach plays on both the audience’s emotions as well as their trust in the credibility of the speaker. By relying on the religious theme of the song to gain him credibility, the speaker is playing on the audience’s emotions. He is hoping that by playing on a religious theme people will feel okay about joining a cause that supports sex and drugs and is not widely accepted.

The speaker’s argument and attempt at attracting listeners to the Rock and Roll genre of music is very much ineffective. His claim that he is the “Jesus” of Rock and Roll completely denies his attempt at drawing in a new audience. His head-on approach to bringing people to his side of music is gone about in a negative way, pushing most listeners farther away from the genre than when he began his argument. He does this by not only claiming to be “Jesus” but also by speaking of his use of sex and drugs and making it apparent to the listeners that those things come with being a fan of Rock and Roll. If not already a fan, I would be completely turned off from the Rock and Roll genre after hearing this song and the argument behind it. The speaker, while staying consistent in his approach to sway listeners to Rock and Roll, does a pitiful job attempting to change the view of his audience on this particular genre because of the examples he chooses to show of the life of a Rock and Roll fan.