The Second Persona: Post 7

The second persona is an invented idea of who the audience is. In order to use the second persona you must identify the rhetor and the audience. The goal of this method is to morally judge the rhetor. I will be applying this method to Dermot Kenndey’s song Rome. 

It could be argued that the audience are the people who listen to his music, but in this case his intended audience is the person he wrote the song for. Rome is a break up song where Dermot is asking his ex to look back on their relationship and remember him fondly. 

The song opens with the lyrics:

“So, what’s the past for?

I’ll need it if love don’t last long

You can run around infinite in my head

Oh, you can’t see, oh, I’d stay if you asked me

Now you know I care, but it’s hard to tell when you’re scared” (Kennedy, 2019)

This lyric shows that he is heartbroken. This lyric also sets the scene and allows the listener to know that this song is about their break up. 

The chorus states:

“Do you remember when

Midnight drives when you’d sing

I’d play you songs you were in?

I just want to be there again

Do you remember when

With Rome below us that day

You said, “I wish we could stay”?

I just want to be there again” (Kennedy, 2019)

He is not only recalling good times in the relationship but also a trip that they took to Rome. Since he is referring to instances that only she would remember from their relationship, this makes her his intended audience. As for the lyrics speaking to his morals, I would say that he is morally sound. The lyrics show that he  clearly cared for her and is invested in their relationship. 

A lyric that proves this is when he states:

“But last night

It hurt me to hear you say it felt broken

And even though I tried

All these memories run my mind in slow motion”

This shows his ability to empathize with her by him saying “It hurt me to hear you say it felt broken”. This again speaks to how he feels about her and shows that he is not okay with the state of their relationship either.

Writing a song for someone is a grand gesture, but is also his way of dealing with their beak-up. Song writers often write songs to think through and deal with their emotions. This could be a way for him to cope with the situation. The song is  sincere and heartfelt. His intention was to reach out to her and remember what was great about their relationship. Some could argue that it is not moral to gain notoriety from an event like a break up. Though he did release the song on his album he kept her name out of the song, which protects her identity.  I believe Rome is an appropriate response to the break up and does not show any immoral or ill intentions on the side of the rhetor.

Kennedy, Dermot. Without Fear. (2019)