Lullaby Shawn Mullins
Answers to Talking Points
Ad 1) The singer gets to know a girl from the audience in Los Angeles, tells us that she had rich parents, that she is pretty but not happy. This Californian town is an angel town on the surface, but hell underneath.
Ad 2.1.) On one hand she grew up with the children of the stars in Hollywood, a youth we may dream of. On the other hand she is not happy, she cannot relax, she never smiles.
Ad 2.2.) rich - unhappy
dream parents - now divorced
pretty girl - not radiant
angel town - devil town
Ad 2.3.) She is about to hang her head to cry, she hardly ever smiles, her smile looks like a frown.
Ad 2.4.) Maybe she attended his concert, he met her afterwards. She told him details about her past and her present life. Maybe they spend the night together and he sings her a lullaby.
Ad 3) In his song "Richard Cory", Paul Simon describes a rich man, who finally puts a bullet in his head. The divorces, alcoholism and drug abuse among actors and fashion models show that they must have problems.
Ad 4) The sun tan looks good on the surface and helps the people to hide themselves, but underneath the facade they are unhappy.
Ad 5.1.) a) The song is a soft one, that puts you to sleep.
b) He sings a song to her to soothe her, to stop her from crying.
c) He sings a song to her to get her into his bed.
Ad 5.2.) a) It is nothing but a one-night-stand, he says bye bye to her. b) He says goodbye to Los Angeles without regrets.
Ad 6.1.) The repetition of a positive statement such as "Everything is gonna be alright" calms the listener down, so that he or she can fall asleep. It has an ironic element, because the singer obviously does not believe in what he says. "Rock" alludes to the rocking of a cradle and to rock-music.
Ad 6.2.) No, it addresses each and every listener. It will have a soothing effect on those listeners who understand nothing but the chorus.