Cornflake Girl

A) In both of Tori Amos’ songs, “Pretty Good Year” and “Cornflake Girl” she uses female vocals (her own voice), with a piano as her main instruments to create a certain mood of the song.   However, while in “Pretty Good Year” it seems that those are the only two instruments used, in “Cornflake Girl” Amos also includes drums and guitar to keep the tempo of the piece.   There seems to be a slight whistling sound at the beginning of “Cornflake Girl” as well, which just adds a little bit of texture to the piece.   Both pieces are performed in duple meter, and both are simple with the bigger beats being broken down into 2 smaller beats.
The dynamics of these pieces help to convey Amos’ strong messages that she is trying to get across through the changing dynamics and the lyrics.   In “Cornflake Girl” there are times when the instruments all drop out except for the vocals and a soft piano in the background.   This adds to the urgency and causes the listener to pay attention to the lyrics more specifically at these points.   In “Pretty Good Year” the beginning of the song starts out piano, very soft and sad sounding, until the second to last verse when it gets louder, becoming a harsh forte.   This accentuates these lyrics, just as in “Cornflake Girl,” until it gets soft, and sadder again until it fades out.  
The lyrics in Amos’ songs have strong meanings that resonate long after the song is over.   In “Pretty Good Year” when one is listening to it, it is obvious that the song leaves a sad deeper meaning with you.   Amos seems to be talking about a boy named Greg who is growing up, and dealing with his “wonder years” being over which we can see when she says “they say you were something in those formative years.”   She seems to be talking about a boy who is lost in his own life.   The dynamics in the song mix with the sad lyrics, about being lost and add to the sadness of the song. “Cornflake Girl” has a very deep meaning, when Amos talks about two different types of girls,...