THE MILLSAPS HOOKS PROJECT

“You and I Both” by Jason Mraz utilizes a mélange of techniques to create a text painting of the story he is telling of love. Waiting for My Rocket to Come is his first album and his coming of age. “You and I Both” freely uses his wide vocal range, along with the primitive beat and acoustic nature of the song, to talk about love. Mraz uses repetition to emphasize the amount of love his feels; for example: “See I'm all about them words, over numbers, unencumbered numbered words, Hundreds of pages, pages, pages for words.” Also, there is a slight rest before the fourth stanza begins with “and with this silence.” In the sixth stanza Mraz sings of the telephone ringing, and text paints by adding a “ding-a-ling-ling.” Musically, the acoustic guitar and drum are basic and innocent and give the feeling of sincerity when he speaks of love.

--Sital Sanjanwala