Rhetorical Analysis Of Life Is A Highway

When Tom Cochrane visited West Africa in 1989, he had no idea that his experience would lead to the almost overnight success of his music career (Friend, 2017). Originally titled “Love is a Highway,” “Life is a Highway” sat on Cochrane’s shelf for years after many failed attempts at making it work as his next hit song (Friend, 2017). After visiting West Africa, Cochrane was inspired to rewrite “Love is a Highway” as a reminder of life’s uncontrollable nature. The rewritten version, “Life is a Highway,” quickly rose to the top of the rock charts in 1991 and became an anthem for a new generation after being rerecorded by country music star Rascal Flatts in 2006 for the Pixar movie Cars (Fox, 2022). What contributed to the dramatic popularity

Human creation and understanding of symbols are known as rhetoric (Foss, 2017). These symbols, or rhetoric, are expressed through various mediums, all with different emphases and methods of processing. One of these rhetorical methods is metaphoric criticism, which investigates how metaphor shapes reality. Aside from the title itself being a metaphor, “Life is a Highway” explores multiple different metaphors within the pages of its lyrics. The origin, lyrics, and popularity of “Life is a Highway” pose the question: How can metaphors be used to create an understanding of the abstract concepts of life and

This universal language of music also embodies the basic human motivation of unification. Rehfeldt, et al. (2021) claim “Because of the symbolic meaning assigned to particular types of music by a sociocultural community, and because of the shared experience that people may have while producing or listening to music, music may serve to unify groups of people” (p. 770). Music creates a sense of belonging for both the artists creating the music and the listeners enjoying the music. Each variation of music speaks to the basic human motivation of unification in a unique way. Country music has an especially unique way of speaking to listeners and providing a sense of belonging through the roots of