Dixie Chicks "Not ready to make nice" - SPECS AND SLIMS

Subject Matter – The experience that the song “Not ready to make nice” is about the Dixie Chicks not wanting to apologise to the President of the United States (President George W Bush at the time) after the lead singer Natalie Maines mentioned during a performance that they were ashamed that the President was from Texas.

Purpose – The purpose of this song was to express their feelings and thoughts over the debates with what they had said to the President, the banning of their song from country radio stations, and their freedom of speech.

Emotion – The predominant emotion represented in the song is anger. The mood stays constant throughout the song. The Dixie Chicks want to seek that the listener of their song would feel that they don’t feel as though they need to apologise and that they feel strongly about how angry they are about comments people have said.

Craftsmanship – The techniques used in the Dixie Chick’s song are rhyme and imagery. The singers achieves their effect by wearing white dresses to represent them being sweet, and then being smeared in black paint, to represent them going over to the ‘dark side’. This shows that people perceive them as girls that have turned from good to bad.  

Structure – In the song, “Not ready to make nice”, there are 8 stanzas, and there are clear chorus and verses. 4 of the stanzas have 4 lines in them, 3 stanzas have 8 lines in them, and 1 stanza has 9 lines in it. The 5^th stanza in this song is the bridge.    

Language – The language used is appropriate in this song as it is trying to convey a message of anger because they can’t speak their mind without being ridiculed by strangers. “It’s a sad story when a mother will teach her daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.”  

Imagery – One example of imagery is when she sings, “I made my bed and I slept like a baby,” which gives the listener the image that she is a normal innocent person that makes their bed and has restless or good sleeps like anyone else. The imagery given off in the music video is showing them covering themselves in black paint and having black paint wiped all over them. This gives off the impression as though they are angels that have turned bad as people are seeing them as these perfectly angelic women, but after the comment, they are suddenly seeing them as bad people.  

Movement – I don’t feel that this poem has any significant sound features. It is a good song however it is not a musical.

Sound – In stanzas 1, 2 and 8, the last word of the first 2 sentences rhyme with each other. In stanzas 3, 6 and 7, the last word in every second line rhymes with each other.  

Summary – I feel that the impact of this song for me was that people should stop pressurising and threatening the Dixie Chicks for making one comment about the President. They are just people, but when strangers are criticising them, they shouldn’t be forced to apologise and be hated. I feel that they are right to not apologise, and just stand up for what they believe in.