Garth Brooks is one of the most distinct country artists of all time. His integration of rock elements into both his recordings and live performances have gained him immense popularity. This integration of rock elements allowed him to prevail the country music charts. Not only is his music so very diverse from many other country music artists, he has an astonishing voice to match. His interesting lyrics send you on a journey. Brooks' song, "The Beaches of Cheyenne", is no exception to his diverse performing and writing style and uses various poetic devices while telling the story of a woman's heartbreak.
As soon as Brooks' song starts, the narration of his story of heartbreak is automatically known. Brooks sets up the story by describing what is going on by saying, "They packed up all his buckles/And shipped his saddle to his dad/And by the way the house looked/She must have took it bad/The workers come on Monday/To fix the door and patch the wall/They say she just went crazy/The night she got the call..." (Brooks, 1-8). Brooks starts off by telling his listeners about a woman who received a call and went crazy. Later on in the song, he says that her husband had died. The way in which his narration is told adds an eeriness which is present throughout the rest of the song.
The first verse, as well as setting up the narration of the story, sets up the characterization of the woman present within Brooks' lyrics. In the third verse he states, "They say she just went crazy/Screamin' out his name..." (Brooks, 16-17). Within this line, the woman is depicted as though she has gone crazy because she had lost her husband. Brooks' characterization of the woman adds to the overall feeling of the song. This also adds to the overall tone of the song which makes it more depressing.
As well as using major poetic devices like Brooks' narration and his characterization, he uses many others as well. Alliteration is used multiple times throughout his lyrics, an example of alliteration is when he says, "Some say she's still alive..." (Brooks, 31). His various uses of alliteration throughout the song help to catch the listeners' ear. Various uses of imagery are used as well. Brooks uses imagery to help the listener picture what is going on. A prime example of imagery within his song is when he says, "And to this day they claim/That if you go down by the water/You'll see her footprints in the sand/'Cause every night she walks the beaches of Cheyenne." (Brooks, 19-22). Brooks also uses an euphemism, "He promised her he'd turn out/Well it turned out that he lied..." (Brooks, 11-12). Brooks says this because it is more pleasant than just bluntly stating that her husband had died. Also, Brooks uses local color within the song too, he talks about where they live, "And the dreams that they'd been livin'/In the California sand..." (Brooks, 13-14). Brooks' uses of various poetic devices help to better exemplify his song writing skills.
Garth Brooks' "The Beaches of Cheyenne" genuinely uses numerous prime examples of poetic devices. His narration throughout the song is complemented by various other poetic devices like; imagery, alliteration, local color, euphemism and characterization. All of these poetic devices are used to ameliorate the overall appeal of the story. His lyrics focus upon heartbreak which a woman had felt when she had found out that her husband had died. Garth Brooks' "The Beaches of Cheyenne" is unlike various other country songs about heartbreak and could be considered a masterpiece among so many other country songs.
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