Rhetorical analysis of “7 years” by Lukas Graham

We’re complicated beings living in a universe thats equally, if not more complex. Naturally life is going to be complicated. Everyone has their own unique way of dealing with this. Some go to therapy and talk about their issues, others go to the gym and work them off and yet a smaller, uniquely talented group of individuals do so through lyrics and chords. Lukas Graham happens to be one of them. Like all of us he has his issues, his demons and nightmares, but he also has a wonderful voice and superb understanding of the piano. Just like the rest of us, he was dealing with his issues, however the end result was a song that went viral. His song “7 years” contains within it his life’s story and his worries to come. Visual and lyrical devices are used throughout his song in order to express his story and his doubts about life.

An important visual element represented throughout the entire music video is its coloration. Colors portray an emotional context. The entire music video is filmed in black and white, colors that aren’t often associated with happy, joyful themes. Consequently this isn’t a happy or joyful song, its an emotional one. The coloration accurately portrays the bleak and sad characteristics of the lyrical aspect of the song.

His music video utilized many rhetorical devices in order to achieve this. In the beginning, as the piano develops the opening harmonic, soon to be followed by the chord possession, you see a burning book. Within it are his memories and his past. You see him sitting alone in the theater, writing in his notebook as pages cascade all around him. He is surrounded by his past. The visual contents suggest that as he lives life he can’t help but embrace what it once was and how it affected him. Old monuments and buildings are also a very compelling visual element within the video. Their eroded figure and degraded structures suggest that his troubles have longly affected him. They’ve been with him for a very long time and don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Another interesting visual element encountered throughout the beginning of the music video is the presence of angels. Many stone angels, most often seen throughout the cemetery he visits, are seen. He looks at them with almost a look of desperation or sadness. Angels are often symbolic of hope givers and saviors. He may be looking at them for help.

His writing about them may be an attempt to rid himself of these troubles, to cleanse his memories. Later in the video another visual element emerges, a “No Photos” sign posted on a telephone pole. People are very fond of photos, mostly because they identify them as a safe keep for precious memories. The fact that the sign says no photos are allowed may suggest that Lukas doesn’t want to remember a majority of his past, as that seems to be his current and most formidable issue. He can’t help but reflect on its troublesome contents.

Eventually he visits a cemetery. The leaves have fallen and the trees are bare. At first it seems he is only there to visit a past loved one, but he has a very peculiar way of doing so. He leaves a letter on the ground and then sets it on fire. He actually burns the letter on an angel figurine. He may think that angels may carry his letter for him. The letter is a visual element indicative of a memory that came from the notebook he was writing in earlier in the video. Throughout the entire song he lyrically mentions his parents extensively and the life advice they gave him. Perhaps he is visiting them at the cemetery and leaving them a letter. Burning it is his way of sending it to them. The cemetery is also a visual element representing his troubled past. He wants to lay it to rest, but as the song progresses it is very noticeable that he hasn’t quiet figured out how to do so.

Visual elements alone cannot tell his life’s story, that is why he used lyrics to accommodate the imagery. As a child of seven, his mother told him to go out and make some friends. By seven most of us, or at least the majority of us have already succeeded in doing so, whether that be friendly children living down the block or talkative classmates. The fact that his mother had to tell him to make some friends may suggest that he was rather shy as a child.

He sings “It was a big, big world, but we thought we were bigger” suggesting that at a young age he ignorantly assumed that the world revolved around him, as most children do. While realizing that this isn’t true is most often a milestone in development and maturity, it might have been all too well overwhelming for him as he mentions that at a young age he was “smoking herb and drinking burning liquor”. Many people have methods of dealing with stress and anxiety. Using substances was his method of coping with change and transition. This method of coping with stress and anxiety may have only led to further complications down the road.

Later on in his song he mentions how him, including others were “out to make that steady figure”. This is a lyrical means of saying he wanted to be rich and significant to many others. People often seek fame and glory when they cant find these qualities within themselves.

All of these issues are long standing and have troubled Lukas through most of his life, which is again represented by the old buildings and monuments. He has struggled to find away to free himself of this weight. About half way through the music video he’s seen performing with his friends, surrounded by a cheering audience. Life is often too burdensome to deal with alone and it seems he’s discovered that friends provide love and support. Finding friends that not only understand what you’re going through, but can relate to you is essential.

In his music video he is also seen writing in his notebook at night. Modern pop culture typically identifies the night time as a moment of excitement and festivity, however for Lukas Graham it seems to be a time when his past comes back to him. As the sun sets his doubts take over, and his primary outlet for dealing with these doubts is to write about them. He’s later seen throwing the very same notebook into the air out of frustration. This is representative of his not wanting to be haunted by his past any longer. He wants to move on with his life. Also you notice the vibrant city in the background. This represents his seclusion from the rest of the world. At times he really just enjoys being on his own, escaping the perils of life and society. Later he is seen in the very same place, only the sun has risen. Daylight has taken over. He’s still writing in his notebook and actually tares a page out of his notebook and throws it off of the cliff edge. This could be yet another indication of him wanting to rid himself of his past. The same page that he threw is then seen crumpled up on the ground near the newspaper dispensers. It is right around then that he mentions his story had been told. The letter ignites and begins to burn, which is symbolic of his beginning to move on with his life.

As he progresses through life day by day, night by night, he is still very unclear about what is to come in the near future. He mentions that his wife provided him with children, a blessing none the less. It is around then that his work starts selling and he gains popularity. He has had many friends come and go throughout this process as he mentions, “ …some are still out there seeking glory”. As his social life has transitioned and his popularity and fame increases, he mentions that it was never about achieving fame or glory, in fact the idea of glory often bores him. He’s seen with his friends just having a wonderful time and finding enjoyment in sharing his experiences through his spectacular music with other people. He seems to have found and cares more about an intrinsic value. In the end all he cares about is being with those who love and know him.

Towards the end of his song, when he sings about being in his latent sixties, you see an old man. This visually portrays his aging. He wonders whether or not as time progresses he will become cynical about life. It is around this time that he’s seen roaming a cemetery. The cemetery represents the past that he had laid to rest. He recalls some advice that his father once gave him, to “Remember life and then your life becomes a better one”. He comes to the cemetery in order to make an attempt at doing so. He realizes that in order to take his father’s advice correctly he can’t reflect on the unfortunate moments of his life, the part of his life he laid to rest, but the moments that made it worth living. It is at this moment in the music video that you see the notebook he threw fall to the ground. This is symbolic of him realizing this. As he walks away, the notebook is consumed by a fiery explosion. His past is no more and his walking away from the explosion is symbolic of him walking away from his past and moving on to what is to come in the near future.

It is unclear whether or not his faith is intact throughout the music video. He’s seen in a cemetery earlier in the music video and towards the end of the video an old partially weathered cross is seen from the very same cemetery. This could be a visual representation of his disclosing his faith or renewing it.

Towards the end of his music video he’s seen sitting in the very same theater he was writing in at the beginning of the video. There are no more pages cascading down around him, it seems he’s managed to move on. Another crucial visual element is his not being alone in the theater at the end of the music video. He’s now surrounded by people that love and understand him. His life’s journey has been long and virtuous, but in the end he finds comfort and satisfaction in knowing that he isn’t alone, not anymore.