Literary Lyrics Activity: Lay Me Down by Sam Smith

The music video depicts Sam Smith at a funeral in a church, standing in front of a recently deceased’s coffin. Through the use of a flashback, it is revealed to the audience that the deceased person in the coffin at the church was actually Sam Smith’s husband. The music video then returns to the present day which is some time after the funeral, depicting Sam Smith sitting in the church, and mourning. Sam Smith effectively creates a emotionally powerful song through the lyrics, melody as well as the visual aid. The song is written in the first person perspective, allowing the audience to see the story from the viewpoint of Sam Smith. This makes the song more emotional and personal, especially through the visual aid. Additionally the lyrics makes this song more emotionally powerful due to the specific word choice, as seen in this small passage: Deny this emptiness / This hole that I'm inside / These tears / They tell their own story / Told me not to cry when you were gone / But the feeling's overwhelming, it's much too strong. The song is also made more powerful through the visual aid which show the audience what Sam Smith’s life was before his husband had died as it uses a flashback to show when they got married and how happy they were. This makes the song more emotionally powerful, especially as after the flashback Sam Smith is seen in the church alone, mourning over the death of his husband.