MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS OF LOVE IN THE CARPENTERS’ LOVE SONGS (ẨN DỤ Ý NIỆM VỀ TÌNH YÊU TRONG NHỮNG TÌNH KHÚC CỦA THE CARPENTERS) NGUYỄN THU HÀ Field: English Language Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Dang Nguyen Giang, Ph D Hanoi, 2016 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person I, Nguyen Thu Ha, hereby state that this thesis is the result of my own research and the substance of the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for any degrees to any other universities or institutions Hanoi, 2016 Nguyen Thu Ha Approved by Dang Nguyen Giang, Ph D Date:…………………… ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the accomplishment of this study, I have been fortunate to receive help and support from many people First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr Dang Nguyen Giang, my supervisor, who has provided me with inspiration to this research His experienced guidance, comments, corrections and useful materials during the course of my writing to fulfillment of this study Also, my special thanks go to all the lectures of the M.A course at Hanoi Open University for their useful lessons from which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of this study Finally, my warmest thanks are due to my parents for their support and spiritual encouragement in the process of study ABSTRACT It is not quite hard to learn and understand how to use metaphor in writing However, it is quite delicate to decode the meaning of these cognitive metaphors in particular works, especially the metaphor of love Since love is the-all-time favorite topic, the muse of every writer, poets, composers, etc Metaphor of Love is the great topic to study on, though it is not interested by many people It does not take much effort to see metaphor in love stories, love poetries, and love songs Particularly, music is considered as bridge to connect people together, and is the best way to communicate There is nobody saying no to love songs That is why studying metaphors of love through love songs is a great idea With the hope of creating a new direction of love’s values and highlighting the profound philosophy of human life in songs, this thesis would focus on the conceptual metaphors in the lyrics of The Carpenters’ love songs In this thesis, the concept which is drawn out again is ‘love is a journey’ Furthermore, there are structural metaphors such as up-down, herethere repeatedly appearing in The Carpenters’ songs There are also some of the metaphoric expressions such as ‘love is music’, ‘love is movement’, ‘love is religion’, etc The metaphoric expressions in the songs are enticing, even seductive, in their witty suggestiveness There are three types of conceptual metaphors investigated in the present study: orientational metaphors, structural metaphors and ontological metaphors Normally, more than one type of love appears in lyrics and this is logical only when one needs to take many roles in a relationship Due to the fact that there is few researches on pop song lyrics, this thesis can be one of the leading head to take the lead and to open a new issue for further discussing and researching If anyone is interested in studying the topic of conceptual metaphors of love could find this thesis as useful material TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the Research 1.3 Objectives of the Research 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Scope of the Research 1.6 Significance of the Research 1.7 Structure of the Research CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of Previous Research 2.2 Review of the Theoretical Background 2.2.1 Metaphors from Traditional View 2.2.2 Metaphors from Cognitive View 2.2.3 Conceptual Metaphors 2.2.4 Love and Conceptual Metaphors of Love 11 2.3 Summary 15 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 Research Orientations 16 3.1.1 Research Questions 16 3.1.3 Research Approaches 16 3.1.4 Data Collection 16 3.2 Research Methods 16 3.2.1 Major Methods 17 3.2.2 Supporting Methods 18 3.2.3 Data Collection Techniques 18 3.2.4 Data Analysis Technique 19 3.3 Summary 19 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 20 4.1 Orientational Metaphors 20 4.1.1 Up - Down 20 4.1.2 Here - There 22 4.2 Structural Metaphors 24 4.2.1 Love is a Journey 24 4.2.2 Love is Flying/Floating 29 4.2.3 Love is Movement 31 4.2.4 Loveis Music 32 4.2.5 Love is a Rapture/High 35 4.2.6 Love is Madness/Insanity 37 4.2.7 Love is Magic 39 4.2.8 Love is Religion 40 4.2.9 Love is Closeness 43 4.2.10 Love is a Unity of (Two complementary) Parts 46 4.2.11 Love is (Sun)Light 47 4.2.12 Love is Chromaticity 49 4.3 Ontological Metaphors 51 4.3.1 Love is a Nutrient 52 4.3.2 Love is a Plant 53 4.3.3 Love is a Fluid (In a container) 54 4.3.4 Love is a building/Construct 57 4.3.5 Love is a game (To play) 60 4.3.6 Love is a Sourceof Warmth 62 4.3.7 Love is an Astronomical Object/Phenomenon 63 4.4 Summary 65 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 66 5.1 Recapitulation 66 5.2 Concluding Remarks 66 5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies 68 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Metaphor is regarded as an issue of language including some figurative features understood due to the literal words and expressions In fact, metaphor, from the rhetorical perspective, is the method of changing the name which is based on the implicit comparison between two similar things Recently, the definition of metaphor has considerably changed when the cognitive linguists suppose that metaphor is a powerful cognitive tool for human to give discrete concepts Metaphor is not only a dialect as the structuralists refers to but also a form of human thinking about the world Besides, metaphorical thinking depends on concepts In “Oxford Dictionary of Psychology”, it is considered as "an expression of the spirit, an idea, or a thought that corresponds to a separate entity or a class entity, or that is the definition or the typical attributes of the entity types or classes of that entity, which may be specific or abstract” Conceptual metaphors are also known as cognitive ones These are not only the chemical forms of the ideas but also a process of cognitive and functional manifestations forming new ideas The cognitive metaphors are exploited and decoded due to the background knowledge, cultural patterns, psychological characteristics, ethnic thinking, etc about the human spirit Thus, approaching language towards cognitive linguistics is a new direction in which more current linguists and supporters are interested Love is the all-time-favorite story, and it is love to be told not only by the romantic poets but by everyone So far, there have been several authors giving research works on love in different levels However, the studies of love in terms of conceptual metaphors are not interested by many people Each of musical compositions contains its own emotion, feeling and inspiration Various rhetoric devices are used to describe love, and metaphors appear to be an effective way to this among them The study on the conceptual metaphors in the lyrics of The Carpenters’ love songs will contribute a new direction of love values as well as highlight the profound philosophy of human life in the songs For these reasons, the author has made a decision to choose the topic: "Conceptual metaphors of love in The Carpenters’ love songs" Hopefully, the analysis of conceptual metaphors can help people have a better understanding of the implicit ideas employed in the lyrics of the songs 1.2 Aims of the Research The study attempts to find out the conceptual metaphor patterns of love in The Carpenters’ love songs 1.3 Objectives of the Research In order to achieve the aim, the study is expected to reach the following objectives: - To describe the orientational metaphors in The Carpenters’ Love songs; - To find out the structural metaphors of love in The Carpenters’ Love songs; - To analyze the ontological metaphors of love in the lyrics of The Carpenters’ Love songs 1.4 Research Questions The objectives of the study can be elaborated into the following research questions: - How are the orientational metaphors organized in The Carpenters’ Love songs? - What are the structural metaphors of love in The Carpenters’ Love songs? - How are the ontological metaphors of love manifested in the lyrics of The Carpenters’ Love songs? 1.5 Scope of the Research The thesis is limited to the conceptual metaphors in the lyrics of The Carpenters’ Love songs, and the other issues related to cognitive linguistics are mentioned as a more convenient way to clarify the conceptual metaphor models within the scope of the subject Indeed, the research is about love between men and women throughout The Carpenter’s Love songs In order to select the song lyrics with the exact metaphors needed to be analyzed, we focus on the songs belonging to some key words such as “love together”, “love with you”, “love separate”, “love something between” and “love bond” All the key words are believed to be conventionally used in the metaphors of love with different focused meanings In this study, love simply means love between male and female people Due to the limitation of time and the author’s ability, there are twenty songs investigated and analyzed in the present study 1.6 Significance of the Research Theoretically, the research results will confirm the theory of cognitive linguistics as a believable approach to analyze the language in general and clarify several issues about the conceptual metaphors through the lyrics of The Carpenters’ Love songs in particular Indeed, conceptual metaphor, which is not just a figure of speech but also a matter of thinking, is an extremely important mechanism for people to perceive the world Practically, the findings of the research, to some extent, are applied to analyze, evaluate and translate English songs They help the readers and the listeners uncover the implicit thinking of The Carpenters through the lyrics they use in their Love songs By this, we mean that knowledge from this sort of work will be of great benefit to translators, who should be able to find the possible equivalents in the target language, and the teachers, who would apply these kinds of patterns to their semantic teaching periods We'll find a place where there's room to grow And yes, we've just begun This Masquerade Are we really happy with This lonely game we play Looking for the right words to say Searching but not finding Understanding anyway We're lost in this masquerade Both afraid to say we're just too far away From being close together from the start We tried to talk it over But the words got in the way We're lost inside this lonely game we play [Chorus] Thoughts of leaving disappear Each time I see your eyes And no matter how hard I try To understand the reason Why we carry on this way And we're lost in this masquerade We tried to talk it over But the words got in the way We're lost inside this lonely game we play You’re The One Ev'ry night, ev'ry day You're the one I always dream of Ev'ry line of your face Is sketched so plain inside my heart You've grown so deep inside of me You're everything I feel and see And you're the one, you're the one I love All my life, all my love I can feel when you're beside me All that's right, all that's wrong Suddenly becomes so clear My heart has overtaken me With feelings you awake in me And you're the one, you're the one I love Only you could move me enough to believe in love one more time All I need to know for tomorrow is that you're mine Mine for a lifetime If our friends all around Find it hard to understand us You and I understand the other one so very well And that's what I've been looking for So I keep coming back for more 'Cause you're the one, you're the one I love Superstar Long ago, and, oh, so far away I fell in love with you before the second show Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear But you're not really here, it's just the radio Don't you remember, you told me you loved me baby? You said you'd be coming back this way again baby Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby I love you, I really Loneliness is such a sad affair And I can hardly wait to be with you again What to say to make you come again? Come back to me again and play your sad guitar Don't you remember, you told me you loved me baby? You said you'd be coming back this way again baby Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby I love you, I really Rainy Days And Mondays Talkin' to myself and feelin' old Sometimes I'd like to quit Nothin' ever seems to fit Hangin' around Nothin' to but frown Rainy days and Mondays always get me down What I've got they used to call the blues Nothin' is really wrong Feelin' like I don't belong Walkin' around Some kind of lonely clown Rainy days and Mondays always get me down Funny, but it seems I always wind up here with you Nice to know somebody loves me Funny, but it seems that it's the only thing to Run and find the one who loves me (the one who loves me) What I feel has come and gone before No need to talk it out (talk it out) We know what it's all about Hangin' around (hangin' around) Nothin' to but frown Rainy days and Mondays always get me down Funny, but it seems that it's the only thing to (only thing to do) Run and find the one who loves me What I feel has come and gone before No need to talk it out We know what it's all about Hangin' around (hangin' around) Nothin' to but frown Rainy days and Mondays always get me down Hangin' around (hangin' around) Nothin' to but frown Rainy days and Mondays always get Me down Top Of The World Such a feeling is coming over me There is wonder in 'most everything I see Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes And I won't be surprised if it's a dream Everything I want the world to be Is now coming true especially for me And the reason is clear, it's because you are here You're the nearest thing to heaven that I've seen I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation And the only explanation I can find Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around Your love's put me at the top of the world Something in the wind has learned my name And it's telling me that things are not the same In the leaves on the trees and the touch of the breeze There's a pleasing sense of happiness for me There is only one wish on my mind When this day is through I hope that I will find That tomorrow will be just the same for you and me All I need will be mine if you are here I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation And the only explanation I can find Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around Your love's put me at the top of the world I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation And the only explanation I can find Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around Your love's put me at the top of the world Make Believe It’s Your First Time We've tried our hand At love before We've been around the game enough To know the score' But then is then And now is now And now is all that matters anyhow [Chorus] Make believe it's your first time Leave your sadness behind Make believe it's your first time And I'll make believe it's mine The door is closed It's you and me We'll take our time with love The way it oughta be This moment's ours Tonight's the night And if we fall in love Well, that's alright [Chorus] So close your eyes And hold me close And let our hearts pretend That love is ours to share tonight And it might never end 10 I Just Fall In Love Again Lyrics Dreamin', I must be dreamin' Or am I really lyin' here with you Baby, you take me in your arms And though I'm wide awake I know my dream is comin' true And, oh, I just fall in love again Just one touch and then it happens every time And there I go I just fall in love again, and when I Can't help myself, I fall in love with you Magic, it must be magic The way I hold you and the night just seems to fly Easy, for you to take me to a star Heaven is that moment when I look into your eyes And, oh, I just fall in love again Just one touch and then it happens every time And there I go I just fall in love again, and when I Can't help myself, I fall in love with you And, oh, I just fall in love again Just one touch and then it happens every time And there I go I just fall in love again, and when I Can't help myself, I fall in love with you 11 (They Long to Be) Close to You Why birds suddenly appear Every time you are near? Just like me, they long to be Close to you Why stars fall down from the sky Every time you walk by? Just like me, they long to be Close to you On the day that you were born the angels got together And decided to create a dream come true So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair Of golden starlight in your eyes of blue That is why all the girls in town (Girls in town) Follow you (Follow you) All around (All around) Just like me, they long to be Close to you On the day that you were born the angels got together And decided to create a dream come true So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair Of golden starlight in your eyes of blue That is why all the girls in town (Girls in town) Follow you (Follow you) All around (All around) Just like me, they long to be Close to you Just like me (Just like me) they long to be Close to you (Why? Close to you) (Why? Close to you) (Haaahhh, close to you) (Why? Close to you) (Why? Close to you) (Why? Close to you) (Haaahhh, close to you) (Why? Close to you) 12 For All We Know Love, look at the two of us Strangers in many ways We've got a lifetime to share So much to say and as we go from day to day I'll feel you close to me But time alone will tell Let's take a lifetime to say I knew you well For only time will tell us so And love may grow for all we know Love, look at the two of us Strangers in many ways Let's take a lifetime to say I knew you well For only time will tell us so And love may grow for all we know 13.Where Do I Go from Here Autumn days Lying on a bed of leaves Watching clouds up through the trees You said our love was more than time It's colder now The trees are bare and nights are long I can't get warm since you've been gone I can't stop singin' sad songs (*) Where I go from here? Tell me where I go from here? You said you'd take me through the years So where I go from here? Lover's plans Like fallin' leaves on windy days Flutter past and they fly away I though I knew you oh so well And I need you now I need to fell you in the night I need to your smile so warm and bright I wish my mind could let you go Repeat (*) You said you'd take me through the years So where I go from here? 14.Only Yesterday After long enough of being alone Everyone must face their share of loneliness In my own time, nobody knew The pain I was goin' through And waitin' was all my heart could Hope was all I had until you came Maybe you can't see how much you mean to me You were the dawn breaking the night The promise of mornin' light Filling the world surroundin' me When I hold you Baby, baby, feels like maybe Things will be all right Baby, baby, your love's made me Free as a song, singin' forever Only yesterday when I was sad and I was lonely You showed me the way to leave the past and all its tears behind me Tomorrow maybe even brighter than today Since I threw my sadness away Only yesterday I have found my home here in your arms Nowhere else on earth I'd really rather be Life waits for us, share it with me The best is about to be And so much is left for us to see When I hold you Baby, baby, feels like maybe Things will be all right Baby, baby, your love's made me Free as a song, singin' forever Only yesterday when I was sad and I was lonely You showed me the way to leave the past and all its tears behind me Tomorrow maybe even brighter than today Since I threw my sadness away Only yesterday (only yesterday, only yesterday) Only yesterday when I was sad and I was lonely You showed me the way to leave the past and all its tears behind me 15 All You Get from Love Is a Love Song Like sailin' on a sailin' ship to nowhere Love took over my heart like an ocean breeze As seagulls fly I knew that I was losin' Love was washed away with the driftin' tide Oh it's a dirty old shame When all you get from love is a love song That's got you layin' up nights just waitin' for the music to start It's such a dirty old shame when you got to take the blame for a love song Because the best love songs are written with a broken heart And now the tears in my eyes are ever blinding The future that lies before me I cannot see Although tomorrow I know the sun is rising Lighting up the world for everyone, but not for me 16 When I Fall in Love Maybe I'm old fashioned feeling as I Maybe I'm just living in the part But when I meet the right one, I know I'll be true My first love will be my last When I fall in love, it will be forever Or I'll never fall in love In a restless world like this is Love is ended before it's begun And too many moonlight kisses Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun When I give me heart, it will be completely Or I'll never give my heart And the moment I can fell that you fell that way too Is when I fall in love with you And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too Is when I fall in love with you 17 Hurting Each Other No one in the world Ever had a love as sweet as my love For nowhere in the world Could there be a boy as true as you love All my love I give gladly to you All your love You give gladly to me Tell me why then Oh why should it be that We go on hurting each other We go on hurting each other Making each other cry Hurting each other Without ever knowing why Closer than the leaves On a weepin' willow, baby, we are Closer dear are we Than the simple letters A and B are All my life I could love only you All your life You could love only me Tell me why then Oh why should it be that We go on hurting each other We go on hurting each other Making each other cry Hurting each other Without ever knowing why Can't we stop hurting each other Gotta stop hurting each other Making each other cry Breaking each other's heart Tearing each other apart Can't we stop hurting each other Gotta stop hurting each other Making each other cry Breaking each other's heart Tearing each other apart 18 I Won't Last a Day Without You Day after day, I must face a world of strangers Where I don't belong, I'm not that strong It's nice to know that there's someone I can turn to Who will always care, you're always there When there's no gettin' over that rainbow When my smallest of dreams won't come true I can take all the madness the world has to give But I won't last a day without you So many times when the city seems to be Without a friendly face, a lonely place It's nice to know that you'll be there if I need you And you'll always smile, it's all worthwhile When there's no gettin' over that rainbow When my smallest of dreams won't come true I can take all the madness the world has to give But I won't last a day without you Touch me and I end up singing Trouble seems to up and disappear You touch me with the love you're bringing I can't really lose when you're near When you're near, my love If all my friends have forgotten half their promises they're not unkind, just Hard to find One look at you and I know That I must learn to live without the rest I've found the best When there's no gettin' over that rainbow When my smallest of dreams won't come true I can take all the madness the world has to give But I won't last a day without you When there's no gettin' over that rainbow When my smallest of dreams won't come true I can take all the madness the world has to give But I won't last a day without you 19 A Song for You I've been so many places in my life and time I've sung a lot of songs I've made some bad rhyme I've acted out my love in stages With ten thousand people watching But we're alone now and I'm singing this song for you I know your image of me is what I hope to be I've treated you unkindly but darlin' can't you see There's no one more important to me Darlin' can't you please see through me Cause we're alone now and I'm singing this song for you You taught me precious secrets of the truth withholding nothing You came out in front and I was hiding But now I'm so much better and if my words don't come together Listen to the melody cause my love is in there hiding I love you in a place where there's no space or time I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine And when my life is over remember when we were together We were alone and I was singing this song for you You taught me precious secrets of the truth withholding nothing You came out in front and I was hiding But now I'm so much better and if my words don't come together Listen to the melody cause my love is in there hiding I love you in a place where there's no space or time I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine And when my life is over remember when we were together We were alone and I was singing this song for you We were alone and I was singing this song for you 20 Goodbye to Love I'll say goodbye to love No one ever cared if I should live or die Time and time again the chance for love has passed me by And all I know of love Is how to live without it I just can't seem to find it So I've made my mind up I must live my life alone And though it's not the easy way I guess I've always known I'd say goodbye to love There are no tomorrows for this heart of mine Surely time will lose these bitter memories And I'll find that there is someone to believe in And to live for something I could live for All the years of useless search Have finally reached an end Loneliness and empty days will be my only friend From this day love is forgotten I'll go on as best I can What lies in the future Is a mystery to us all No one can predict the wheel of fortune as it falls There may come a time when I will see tha I've been wrong But for now this is my song And it's goodbye to love I'll say goodbye to love ... manifested in the lyrics of The Carpenters’ Love songs? 1.5 Scope of the Research The thesis is limited to the conceptual metaphors in the lyrics of The Carpenters’ Love songs, and the other issues... employed in the lyrics of the songs 1.2 Aims of the Research The study attempts to find out the conceptual metaphor patterns of love in The Carpenters’ love songs 1.3 Objectives of the Research In. .. direction of love s values and highlighting the profound philosophy of human life in songs, this thesis would focus on the conceptual metaphors in the lyrics of The Carpenters’ love songs In this thesis,