What is chocolate rain

1919 unread replies.1919 replies.

Song lyrics are like poems set to music. They rely on a series of stresses (rhythm) in the lyrics, typically feature a rhyme scheme, and typically use a small amount of text to tell a story, evoke an emotion, and/or deliver a message.

where-are-they-now-the-incredible-tale-of-tay-zonday-and-his-shower-of-chocolate-rain-391943.jpg

Before you watch the video for "Chocolate Rain" (yes, we're going to pretend you haven't seen it before), I'd like you to examine the lyrics in isolation.

The website "Genius" is a spinoff of a site called "RapGenius" that exists to explicate the meaning behind song lyrics (this mission has since expanded to include poetry, speeches, and more). The site allows users to add annotations to individual lines to explain the meaning behind them. Because it is not heavily moderated (IE, there aren't barriers to entry in terms of who can add content—ANYONE can go on and claim an annotation), it's a bit like Wikipedia in that we can't assume what's on there is factual. Like any interpretation, the argument for a line's meaning must be supported by evidence and analysis.

So, keeping in mind that the annotations may or may not be accurate, I'd like you to visit the Genius page for Chocolate Rain (Links to an external site.) and read the lyrics all the way through without the annotations. Then, return to the beginning and read them again, this time clicking on each line to view the corresponding annotation.

Now, here's your prompt for this CR Exercise:

maxresdefault.jpg

PROMPT:

We're going to treat these lyrics like a poem and analyze them to practice our critical reading skills and unpack the meaning behind Zonday's song.

1. WHAT IS CHOCOLATE RAIN? (~200 words)

The Genius page claims that the phrase "Chocolate Rain" stands for "racism." This makes sense in some contexts: the line "Some stay dry and others feel the pain," for instance, can refer to the sporadic, unpredictable nature of racial prejudice. However, does this equation hold up? AGWR Chapter 3 has a great section on why it's dangerous to write about "symbols" in texts, because claiming "symbolism" is subjective and reductive. It doesn't allow you to talk about a text in its full depth. If we're going to claim that "Chocolate Rain" represents racism, we need strong evidence and convincing analysis.