"I Shot the Sheriff"-Eric Clapton Cover

I personally like the cover more than the original just because I feel like I can understand the lyrics more in this version than the original. The type of music is very funky. The story itself is one of a harsh life and I believe it to be the story of a slave trying to earn his freedom. My reasoning behind this is due to the lyrics. During a part of the song the lyrics say, "Sheriff John Brown always hated me, For what I don't know, Every time that I plant a seed," and the part where it mentions a seed was my first inclination of slavery. The second inclination of slavery was much later in the song when it says, "Freedom came my way one day, And I started out of town, All of a sudden I see sheriff John Brown, Aiming to shoot me down." The mention of freedom is what really caught me off guard but also solidified my thoughts that the song was somehow linked to slavery. The song itself is a very sad song and this can be heard within the artist's voice. It is sad to think that back in history it was so unequal and that people looked at each other so differently. At least now a days we recognize that injustice in today's society and we are doing something about it. But back then it was entirely different story, and many people lost their lives due to slavery.

"Hotel California"-The Eagles

I have been listening to this song for years! My grandfather is the one who listened to it constantly, and I can recite it almost completely from memory. The song starts out with a guitar solo that is quite unique, and just this part alone lasts for an entire minute until the drums signal the start of the singing. Two deep taps of a drum and the singing begins. The singer's voice is quite high pitched but is smooth. The lyrics describe a story of a man who was riding on what I assume to be a motorcycle (this could be different depending upon person) in the middle of nowhere. He got tired and saw a hotel sign and he describes what I assume to be a very long drug-induced hallucination. He hears voices, he describes a woman, and then describes what sounds to be a murder. When I mean murder, this is what they lyrics say, "And in the master's chambers, They gathered for the feast, They stab it with their steely knives, But they just can't kill the beast." That sounds like an attempted murder or actual murder to me. Following this last verse, the singer describes him trying to run away from the scene. Trying to find a way out of the hotel, the singer comes across a night man who says he can never leave. At this point of the song, the tempo of the song picks up and the electric guitar takes over.