“Do You Remember” Song Analysis

Shifting from the toying tone at the start to the reminiscing rhyme in the end, in “Do You Remember” The Last Emperor uses playful mood, a powerful motif, and relatable narratives to portray his empathy for the decline of youthfulness in children in our world today.

In the song “Do You Remember” The Last Emperor has a very light and happy mood that is constantly used throughout the song. Theirs an immersing aura of joy, and peace within the lyrics, this is one of my favorite parts and one of the most influential parts of the song. When we were told to choose a song, this was the first to come into my mind because it is my favorite song ever made. It includes so many different pieces, which stick out to me, so much emotion and truthful story telling that I respect. The playful mood and the lullaby like music, enhance the powerful lyrics. The whole story is about mood, from how the author speaks, to what mood you feel when you listen to it. It is honestly impossible to escape feeling great when listening to this song, and that’s what makes me love it.

The use of a motif in this song is what defines it as a story. “And look at this wonderful world through the eyes of a child” is just one of the recurring lines referring to children. “Its like the story of the little wooden boy who wanted to live the life that every child should enjoy” as well as “I heard my calling as a child and I answered it”. If you haven’t noticed yet this song is very oriented around the young, this is because the author thrives in this song to respect children’s minds and how pure and untouched they are, or seem. Being a child it gives me even more reason to respect The Last Emperor, and what he stands for. “I'll always be young, see a young mind is fresh and its clear my memories will one day disappear unless” this really sums up the main motif of the song that children’s minds are fresh. To me this is a song that shows we need more free expression, and children like minds running our world.

“Do You Remember” by The Last Emperor is the “definition” of a narrative because it is an ongoing story that gets a point across. “So I turn down the music on my FM dial I beg of you to come and listen for a while and look at this wonderful world through the eyes of a child” by saying “I beg of you “ he is telling you what he is doing, which is the purpose of a story; to show something that is happening. The use of a story is an excellent way to get your point across and that’s what he does very well. To me no rap artist compares to the elegance, and dedication to wordplay and narrating that The Last Emperor does. This may be surprising, but this is one of his least complex worded songs, he has many more that grasp more towards wordplay and less towards narrating. But all and all In “Do You Remember” he uses great relatable narratives that show he is a child inside, but an adult in the world.

The interior of The Last Emperor’s songs are filled with as much emotion, and pride that you will find in rap music. He represents himself through his raps in such a unique and meaningful way, unlike many rappers in our world today. If someone gave me a task to find an underground rapper that plays with words with such ease, and linguistic complexity I would turn them down because it’s a virtually impossible feat. So on that note I leave you with the comment that The Last Emperor is a must if you love music, English, and what words truly show in lyrics.

Zachary Freedman