{"id":4351,"date":"2015-04-15T13:15:34","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T18:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?page_id=4351"},"modified":"2015-05-20T11:15:14","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T16:15:14","slug":"holes-by-rascal-flatts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/music\/feels-like-today-2004\/holes-by-rascal-flatts\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Holes&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Written by Marissa Gallardo<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Rascal Flatts - Holes\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GKndXfPh5PI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Love is a game of chance, and sometimes you lose.\u00a0 We gamble with our hearts, our sanity, our trust, and when love is lost, we are left with feelings of emptiness.\u00a0 We are left with holes of what once was and the distant hope of what was to become.\u00a0 Rascal Flatts\u2019 \u201cHoles\u201d may not have been one of their biggest hits from their album <em>Feels Like Today<\/em> (2004), but it stands out on the album mainly comprised of upbeat, high energy songs.\u00a0 \u201cHoles\u201d exhibits the band\u2019s ability to deal with real emotions and lead singer Gary LeVox\u2019s powerfully emotive voice and portrayal of the pain someone experiences when they are left with nothing but a hole, a remnant of the past that lingers never to be forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>The song begins with a description of what holes are left in the narrator\u2019s life: \u201cthree in the hall from those pictures in the closet; two in the bedroom from that night I lost it; and one deep inside me determined to stay\u201d.\u00a0 The holes in his life are represented by emptiness, anger, pain and isolation.\u00a0 Each of the holes are slightly different, but they all hurt in their own way. \u00a0LeVox\u2019s voice has a unique tremble and vulnerability that portray the weakness and desperation that he is feeling in this moment of loss. Although he stands out as different and, in some instances, \u201cnot country\u201d because of his pitch, LeVox\u2019s voice pierces through in controlled cries of pain and isolation.\u00a0 The song would not have had the same effect if it had been sung in a lower register because LeVox has the emotive ability to be powerfully weak which cannot be found in many country artists of the early 2000\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.cleveland.com\/pdextra\/2008\/06\/large_rascal.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"133\" \/>\u201cHoles\u201d, as a lyric, paints many different pictures that all encapsulate what it feels like to experience heartache.\u00a0 A hole is dark, cold, isolating; a hole surrounds you and is yet nothing at all, a lack of something that once was.\u00a0 The pain and the sadness that the narrator is experiencing has taken a hold of his life by being a constant reminder that never seems to fade away. According to new evidence, \u201cthe brain actually triggers sensations that you also feel in times of &#8220;real&#8221; physical pain, making heartbreak truly, physically painful\u201d (Kraft).\u00a0 The song not only aims to show emotions but to also show the pain of loss and the hole left behind.\u00a0 To be \u201cfalling back into\u201d a hole stimulates ideas of death, pain, loss and desperation.\u00a0 His love was deep enough that without her in his life, he can no longer continue as the same person.\u00a0 The part of his life that was defined by love and a relationship has died and been lost.\u00a0 Because the narrator says \u201cthese holes left by you\u201d, we can also assume that the loss of this love came as an abrupt surprise and the decision was hers.\u00a0 The narrator initially has feeling of desperation and anger to try to regain what once was but soon realizes that he is left with holes left to fill in by himself.<\/p>\n<p>The second verse highlights the speaker\u2019s moments of weakness as he resorts to alcohol and falling upon his knees to understand what has happened.\u00a0 The alcohol \u201cnever hits bottom\u201d and never fills the void that is left; yet, he sits and tries to understand what went wrong and \u201chis problems\u201d. In contrast to the beginning of the song, which strongly reinforced that this pain was because of the woman who left him, at this point in the song the audience is first beginning to see that he takes some blame in what has occurred to tear these two people apart.\u00a0 In order to connect to the audience, it is important to have a moment of reflection in the song.\u00a0 If the song was solely focused on hurt and blame, I believe it would have quickly turned people away from it because many people have been on either side of the situation, and in either case, a release of negative emotions is the only way to get over a hurt as tragic as heartbreak.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQsFxNv7Ys3GpVrKDmqn7QbVXeZ0u3kNWhr1LZ-tkEAgul74ubK\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"152\" \/>The bridge functions as the realization of what has truly occurred; these holes that are left to be filled in have been dug by himself.\u00a0 The bridge begins with clear biblical illusions: \u201cThere\u2019s two through my hands and one through my feet; from this cross that I bare to the day that I see\u201d.\u00a0 The illusion to Jesus Christ on the cross seems to be extreme for these circumstances; however, the speaker bares the weight of the potential of a failed relationship as he slowly comes to the realization that the \u201cblame\u201d and the \u201cshame\u201d are his own.\u00a0 The stigmatic holes he speaks of are borne as a mark of disgrace.\u00a0 He is able to see truth that has been hidden by his self-pity and desperation as he grieved the loss of love.<\/p>\n<p>As the song comes to a close, it ends with a repetition of the lyric \u201cleft by you\u201d multiple times followed by a long instrumental including soft echoes of \u201cleft by you\u201d.\u00a0 The emotionally charged delivery from the vocalizations of LeVox to the stylized harmonies of the trio persistently remains at a relatively fast tempo for the thematic elements of the song with minimal fluctuations of the up-beat instrumentation.\u00a0 I believe that the instrumental break and the repetition of \u201cleft by you\u201d with a slightly different emphasis symbolizes a time of self-reflection and realization that no matter how much time passes that the holes and memories will still remain.\u00a0 The audience is also able to use this instrumental break to reflect and connect with the song lyrically.\u00a0 It is rare that a song makes you stop and think, but with this unique ending to the song, the artist gives you the ability to fully understand the depth of the pain and the transition that the speaker has made throughout the progression of the song.<\/p>\n<p>Rascal Flatts was able to take a song that they did not write and beautifully tell a sad story that many people know too well. Although they have been criticized for not writing all of their own music, Rascal Flatts led by the engaging voice of lead singer LeVox enraptures their audience.\u00a0 You start getting into trouble as an artist when you say, \u2018We&#8217;re only going to record things that we&#8217;ve written,\u2019 especially when you live in a town where some of the greatest songwriters in the world live,\u201d LeVox told Billboard&#8217;s Tucker. \u201cOur egos aren&#8217;t the ones speaking. It&#8217;s our hearts\u201d (Trickey) To tell a story of heartache is difficult, but not portray sadness in this way and bring the lyrics and feelings of so many people to life is a feat to be admired.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRfNTL4-gwwquBXNFMkmJ0VFKwmsG8C2XagzMSFzdyvXxe69g8emA\" alt=\"\" width=\"454\" height=\"255\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Song Breakdown<\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 709px\" width=\"480\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Form<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Time<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Listening Cues<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Description<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">Intro<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a00:00<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Guitar and piano<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">The intro has a steel guitar and a piano that sets the theme of sadness.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">Verse I<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a0 0:15<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;There&#8217;s three in the hall&#8221;&#8230;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Introduction of the different types of &#8220;Holes&#8221; that the narrator is dealing with. \u00a0LeVox&#8217;s voice has unique vulnerability and weakness<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">Chorus<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a0 0:42<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;Holes, in and around me&#8221;&#8230;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">There is a pick up in instrumentation and a use of vocal harmonies. \u00a0Elongation of &#8220;Holes&#8221; seems to emphasize the depth and pain the narrator is dealing with<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">Verse II<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a0 \u00a01:18<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;I pour drink after drink&#8221;&#8230;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Develops the image of the narrator&#8217;s moments of weakness (alcohol use and falling to his knees). Taking blame for the pain that he is feeling; not all the woman&#8217;s fault. (help with audience connection?)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">Chorus<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a0 \u00a01:40<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;Holes, in and around me&#8221;&#8230;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Pick up of instrumentation and harmonies similar to the first chorus. \u00a0Vocalizations develop the ups and downs of strength and weakness during a breakup<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">Bridge<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a0 \u00a02:11<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;There&#8217;s two in my hands&#8221;&#8230;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">&#8220;Two in my hands and one in my feet&#8221; is a religious reference to Jesus on the cross. \u00a0Dramatic description of the weight that he bares because of his relationship failure but there is no pause in instrumentation, slowing of the pace, or elongations of phrases to really &#8220;be dramatic&#8221;. \u00a0He takes the blame for the pain he is feeling. Moment of realization, grief and acceptance.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">Chorus<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a0 \u00a02:37<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;Holes, dig in and surround me&#8221;&#8230;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Repetition of a portion of the Chorus perhaps to show a full circle acceptance of the situation. \u00a0The holes are still there but now he is on the first steps to filling them or getting better<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">Outro<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 60px\">\u00a0 \u00a03:13<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Guitar and drums with interjected harmonies and vocals<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Extremely long outro with harmonies of &#8220;left by you&#8221; throughout with interesting guitar instrumentation. \u00a0Moment of reflection for the audience and the narrator, understanding the hurt and the pain that he went through but also the strength he needs to move on.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kraft, S. (28 March 2011). <em>Love Study: The Brain Reacts to Heartbreak the Same as Physical Pain. <\/em>Retrieved from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/220427.php\">http:\/\/www.medicalnewstoday.com\/articles\/220427.php<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Trickey, Erick. &#8220;Flatts, Rascal.&#8221; Newsmakers 2007 Cumulation. Ed. Laura Avery. Detroit: Gale, 2008. 367-370. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Apr. 2015<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by Marissa Gallardo Love is a game of chance, and sometimes you lose.\u00a0 We gamble with our hearts, our sanity, our trust, and when love is lost, we are left with feelings of emptiness.\u00a0 We are left with holes &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/music\/feels-like-today-2004\/holes-by-rascal-flatts\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"parent":3898,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4351","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4351"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4893,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4351\/revisions\/4893"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}