Approach of the Study

“M.I.A.” generally tells about the journey of a soldier who serves in the war. Matthew Sanders employed deco rum in order to suit the lyric poem of “M.I.A.” According to Simpson 1967, decorum means suiting the style to the subject. Matthew Sanders modified the style and tone to fit the theme of the subject. The subject, or the theme of “M.I.A.” is war. As a musician, he combined the poem’s mood and tone in order to be sung in a song arrangement. Thus, it is clear that his purpose is to make good lyrics to be sung. Therefore, his style as a musician fits his purpose in writing lyrics or poem. According to Simpson and Myers, style is also determined by the necessity to make the reader see and feel. It means that Matthew Sanders should consider his style in writing lyrics in order to make the reader or listener see and feel his writing and si nging of “M.I.A.”. Thus, it is important for Matthew Sanders as a musician and a poet to suit “M.I.A.” in a song. As mentioned earlier, “M.I.A.” portrays the war in the point of view of a soldier who is also the center of the song. The soldier or the protagonist starts his journey in the battlefield after he sees a “carnage”. In the beginning of the war, he is quite confident that he is in the winning side, but the horror of the war shakes his heart and mind. However, he is able to survive in the war and return to his country. The researcher provides individual stanza analysis in order to acquire a clear understanding about the lyrics and its literal meaning. The First Stanza Staring at the carnage, praying that the sun would never rise Living another day in disguise These feelings can’t be right, Lend me your courage to stand up and fight On tonight Oooooo…. Stand up and fight. This stanza actually consists of six lines. It is called sestet. It tells the thought of someone who is going to be deployed in a war. It begins with someone who sees a large- scale killing as the words “staring at the carnage” suggest. The researcher sees the killing as an event that has direct impact on the person who becomes the subject of the lyrics or the main character. It is shown in the words “praying that the sun would never rise”. The words seem to make the main character wish that the killing day would have never come. It raises a question why the killing has a direct impact to the main character. The answer is revealed in the following line. It turns out that the killing makes the main character be someone else as the word “disguise” is used. The researcher simply thinks that the word “disguise” means a soldier in uniform since the lyric s’ theme is about war. Further, the same line also reveals that the main character is going to be deployed in a war as written “Living another day in disguise”. After he knows that he is going to a war, he is bothered by something inside his mind. It is stated in the third line , “These feelings can’t be right”. The word “these” reveals that there is more than one thing that bother him. It seems that he knows that bad things are waiting for him in the war, but he does not know exactly what kind of bad things that await. Having unclear vision about the war and his bad feelings, the main character who is a soldier asks for “courage”. It is shown in the fourth line, “Lend me your courage to stand up and fight”. At first, the researcher thinks that the main character asks God for courage, but the word “your” does not capitalized. Apparently, the word “your” refers to the main characte r’s loved ones. Since there is no clear information about the main