Classroom Analysis of "It's Not Easy Being Green"

Today we looked at "It's Not Easy Being Green" to kick off our "Green Is the New Black" unit in English. We discussed that the theme of this song is that you don't have to be like other people, you can be awesome just the way you are. In fact, we all have awesome things about ourselves that make us stand out and we should really be proud of those things, instead of saying, "I'm not like that, I'm not good."

We looked at some sensory details, too. There are LOTS of sights in the song: you imagine colored leaves, sparkling water, stars, trees, the ocean, trees, and mountains. You can also hear the roar of the ocean if you "listen" very closely to the song. There aren't really any smells, touch, or taste in this song.

Last of all, we focused on the idea of repetition. Great song writers use lines of verse over and over to reinforce the theme or to make the song better. Sometimes only a line or two get repeated, but sometimes we have a chorus or refrain. We'll look at those ideas later.