Adam Sandler’s “What The Hell Happened To Me?”: How Music Affects Culture Essay, Research Paper

Adam Sandler’s “What the Hell Happened to Me?”: How Music Affects Culture

This song means that culture affects how we grow up greater then most people

think. I shows that when Adam Sandler was young, he was a well-rounded boy that

liked to have fun. The song is also saying that our culture is affecting

innocent youth that are forced to deal with the problems that the previous

generations made for them. This song shows how all people are affected when they

are really just innocent bystanders that have to witness the world at its

roughest. They are forced to deal with it although they are truly unprepared for

such a harsh treatment.

Traits. The song presents cultural traits in that it shows how we grow up and

are affected by culture. Cultural traits presented in this song are how we teach

children and what we subject them to. Our methods of education and entertainment

both affect how we turn out in the long run. The song shows how these traits

affect how people grow up, and what they value in life. For example, the song

talks about selling lemonade, eating popcorn, and watching parades. Then it goes

on to say he’s “only happy when [he's] drinking JD” The point is that people are

changing because of society and our culture’s lack of certain elements, such as

respect and discipline.

Values. The values presented by this song include the value of respect and

discipline, and the need for more strict ways to keep a young mind safe of

destruction. These values are presented in the line “I only did the things that

Mama said I should, but now I do whatever I want.” That line shows that values

change as we age and the reason is because of society; obviously if Adam only

did what was allowed, culture’s values of discipline and respect must have

turned him the wrong way, because his mother did not.

Other values presented in the song are education and entertainment. This is

shown by the lines stating that as a boy, Adam was well-behaved and had fun in

parks and carnivals. He played in the snow and he loved sports, but as an adult

he only finds pleasure in things he would never had imagined he could have only

20 years ago. Also, it is shown that culture has made such a mess of his mind

that he can’t understand why he would be in this shape. he presents this

information to us in the lines “It makes no sense, I can’t believe I’m me.’ He

says this meaning “Why did I end up like this and how? I never saw it coming.”

Language. This song really does not demonstrate the language of the culture

besides his use of shortened words and contractions. This shows that in our

culture, we are lazy and don’t really care enough to finish complete words or to

make full sentences.

Lyrics:

I used to ride the big wheel

And sell lemonade

Eat popcorn with Grandpa while we watched the parade

But now I’m only happy when I’m drinkin’ JD

What the hell happened to me?

I used to have fun throwing snowballs

With my best friend Billy

Then Mom would make us cocoa if we got real chilly

But now I only get excited when I see a girl pee

What the hell happened to me?

I used to be the nicest kid in the neighborhood

I only did the things Mama said I should

But now I just do whatever I want

I even whipped it out at a restaurant

I used to help clean the park in the middle of town

Then play kickball ?till the sun went down

but now all I do is get VD

What the hell happened to me?

It makes no sense

I can’t believe I ended up me

I’m outta my gourd

Won’t somebody please help me

I’m kinda a weirdo

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