{"id":4380,"date":"2015-04-15T10:57:35","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T15:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?page_id=4380"},"modified":"2015-05-20T09:57:56","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T14:57:56","slug":"i-get-along-with-you-by-george-strait","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/music\/strait-country-1981\/i-get-along-with-you-by-george-strait\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;I Get Along With You&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe title=\"George Strait - I Get Along With You\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/djsxpROEKCM?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>George Strait\u2019s song \u201cI Get Along With You\u201d, the fifth track of his debut album <em>Strait Country<\/em>, employs numerous rhetorical and structural strategies in order to convey his intended message, that he lives a simple lifestyle. Elements of style and structure, specifically rhythm, delivery, and repetition, are all present as Strait attempts to connect with a target audience, in this case a young female audience.<\/p>\n<p>To begin, the lyrics of the song should be discussed. The speaker is describing how he \u201cgets along\u201d with this certain woman, and he also describes the type of people who he doesn\u2019t \u201cget along with\u201d. In addition, Strait\u2019s voice is so genuine and gentle that he sounds like an everyday country guy, which allows the listener to assume that he is the speaker in the song. The beginning of each verse begins with Strait singing about who he doesn\u2019t get along with, and ends with him repeating \u201cBut on and on, I get along with you\u201d. Some of the things that Strait names that he doesn\u2019t get along with are \u201cpeople who aren\u2019t kind\u201d, \u201cfolks with only money on their mind\u201d, \u201csomeone who\u2019s always trying to tell me what to do\u201d, and \u201cpeople who always tell me that I should change\u201d. It seems that Strait wants someone who allows him to be himself, a simple, polite man who doesn\u2019t want much luxury. Furthermore, the line \u201cbut they don\u2019t understand exactly what love boils down to\u201d gives the impression that Strait knows what love is all about, and that strikes a chord with the target audience.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.texasmonthly.com\/sites\/default\/files\/80Strait1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"170\" height=\"254\" \/>The target audience of this song (and many of Strait\u2019s other songs) is young females. This can be attributed to the lyrics and also the first example of rhetorical style to be discussed, delivery. According to <em>Rhetorical Analysis<\/em> by Mark Garrett Longaker and Jeffrey Walker, \u201cdelivery is the actual performance of a discourse, including not only oral interpretation of the words, but also such things as projecting one\u2019s voice\u2026\u201d (160) In \u201cI Get Along With You\u201d, Strait\u2019s voice can almost be described as sensual. He is very calm and gentle with his words, which when coupled with what he is singing will connect with the young female target audience.<\/p>\n<p>Next, the rhythm of the song is an important and effective characteristic in giving the song meaning. From <em>Rhetorical Analysis<\/em>, \u201cthe (rhythm) of actual song\u2026can give it nearly hypnotic charm and affect an audience\u2019s mood.\u201d (157) In this song, both the rhythm and the instrumentation have an effect on the intended meaning. The song is very simply arranged, with a very basic bassline and drum beat prevalent throughout its entirety. Also, the song contains very few instruments, namely the guitar and steel guitar, and these instruments are very quiet and gentle throughout the song. This is important because just as the lyrics portray Strait as leading a simple life and \u201cgetting along\u201d with this simple woman, the simple rhythm and instruments reinforce that idea.<\/p>\n<p>The last rhetorical idea in the song to be discussed is repetition, a component of structure in which an idea is repeated throughout the passage. In this song, more than one idea is repeated. First, the line \u201cOn and on, I get along with you\u201d is repeated multiple times at the end of the verses and again at the end of the song. This serves to contrast with the first part of the verse to strengthen the idea that Strait \u201cgets along\u201d with this woman. In each case, Strait begins the verse by naming people he doesn\u2019t get along with, and then ends it by maintaining that he gets along with her. Also repeated throughout the song is the rhythm of the music. The music of each verse is the same, and with the exception of the bridge the music is the same throughout the whole song. By keeping the simple rhythm and instrumentation the same, the theme of simplicity is further backed up.<\/p>\n<p>There is one more important detail of the song that should be examined. While the structure and style of the song have already been talked about, the song\u2019s form hasn\u2019t been mentioned and is an important component. The song is in standard AABA form, which Jocelyn Neal\u2019s <em>Country Music: A Cultural and Stylistic History<\/em> describes as \u201cconsisting of verses and bridges\u201d and \u201cdoes not have a chorus in them\u201d. \u201cI Get Along With You\u201d only contains one set of verses and one bridge, but it is still AABA. The importance of the \u201cB\u201d section is notable because, again, the simplicity of Strait\u2019s wants are in focus. The lyrics of the bridge are \u201cWell, all it takes to please me, is waking in the morning, feeling you by my side, and all I ever needed is knowing that I&#8217;m needed in your life\u201d. These lyrics are paired with a slightly different drum beat and higher pitch instrumentation which draws attention to what he is saying. While the \u201cA\u201d portions of the song describe what he doesn\u2019t want, the \u201cB\u201d section contrasts and focuses on what he does want. The AABA song form is a fairly simple form, which is another reinforcement of the \u201csimple\u201d theme Strait is attempting to convey.<\/p>\n<p>As can be seen in the analysis of \u201cI Get Along With You\u201d, the stylistic and structural components of the song aid the message that Strait is attempting to convey. Strait\u2019s easy delivery, the repetition of certain lyrics, and the song\u2019s AABA form all contribute to the idea that Strait is trying to get across, that he is a simple man who doesn\u2019t lead an extravagant life.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Listening Guide<\/strong><br \/>\nSong \u201ctype\u201d: AABA<\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 584px\" width=\"480\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 40px\">Time<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Section<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Listening Cues<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Discussion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 40px\">0:00<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Intro<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Guitar, steel guitar<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">The song begins with a gentle, simple lead in with the guitar and then steel guitar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 40px\">0:09<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Verse 1<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t get along&#8230;&#8221;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">The tempo remains the same as it was during the intro, and the guitar and bass do not change<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 40px\">0:55<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Verse 2<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;Well I don&#8217;t like&#8230;&#8221;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Again, the instrumentation remains the same as Strait sings his verse. Verse ends the same way as the first (\u201cOn and on, I get along with you\u201d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 40px\">1:38<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Bridge\/B<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Drum lead in, &#8220;Well all it takes to please me&#8230;&#8221;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Drums are more pronounced and the pitch of the song gets slightly higher<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 40px\">2:01<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Verse 3<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">&#8220;I may not do&#8230;&#8221;<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Pitch and instrumentation revert back to the way they were in the first two verses. Strait repeats \u201cOn and on, I get along with you\u201d at the end of the verse.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 40px\">2:30<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Outro<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 100px\">Guitar<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 220px\">Quick outro, guitar lick begins as Strait\u2019s vocals fade away<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Works Cited<br \/>\nLongaker, Mark Garrett, and Jeffrey Walker. Rhetorical Analysis: A Brief Guide for Writers. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.<\/p>\n<p>Neal, Jocelyn R. Country Music: A Cultural and Stylistic History. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>George Strait\u2019s song \u201cI Get Along With You\u201d, the fifth track of his debut album Strait Country, employs numerous rhetorical and structural strategies in order to convey his intended message, that he lives a simple lifestyle. Elements of style and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/music\/strait-country-1981\/i-get-along-with-you-by-george-strait\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"parent":3949,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4380","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4380","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\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4380"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4875,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4380\/revisions\/4875"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}