Two Music Videos of the Same Song

By: Samantha McBroon

“Stand by Me” by Ben E. King, a classic song released in 1961 and recreated many times, each

having their own amazing sound. The remix that I decided to use is the Florence + The Machine

version. These two styles have the same meaning behind the words that are being sung. The

differences are the people that will listen to each version and the sound of each artist. Both

versions are different and great in their own way. One of the major differences is that the original

version is being sang by a male and the recreated one that I picked is being sung by a female.

The next difference is the people that listen to each version are different. The Florence version is

for Final Fantasy IV and the Ben E. King version was used for the movie that was released in

1986, Stand by Me.

These two artists have a unique sound in general because the one being sung by Ben E. King has

a more masculine sounding voice with the low deep tone. You can really hear the grit raw

emotion and sound in his voice. This could be because he is an older male and the way his voice

has developed. The second adaptation of this song is being sung by Florence + The Machine, she

has a very flowy and soft but intense voice. When she sings the break down of just her singing

“oooo”, you can really hear how much control she has in her vocal cords. If I am current and

correct, “The Machine” is the instruments and piano that are being played. I think her voice

really makes this song stand out in the video game world for fitting nicely with the characters in

the video, also showing the emotion they energy in the video.

There are so many different versions of this song that almost all of them could attract different

audiences. This is just the audiences that I believe would be attracted by each version. The
different versions are attracting different audiences because the first one is from 1961 and was

used for the movie “Stand by Me”. The people that would listen to the original version would be

an older generation and then the younger generation if the people around them showed them the

song or movie. People would have heard this song first being sung by Ben E. King because it

was released in 1961, then the movie, “Stand by Me”, was filmed and released 25 years later. It

is also being used in other places being song by different people, like the TV show Glee. The

song is also being covered by and posted around YouTube from different artist and people who

are not established in the music world. The Florence version is attracting people of the younger

generation that play video games. This is because she was asked to sing this song on the

soundtrack for Final Fantasy IV. Also, people that like Florence + The Machine listen to this

song just because of how amazing her voice is. This version was created in 2016. People who

listen to Florence + The Machine might have not known that it was made/used for a video game.

When I heard this remix, I did not know that it was used for a video game.

The rhetorical appeal that goes with both the original from 1961 and the recreation from 2016 is

pathos. This is because both are appealing to emotions. The Florence version is talking about the

unconditional love and bond that can not be broken between friends. In the Florence + The

Machine video it showed friends running and staying together. This is showing evidence of

Pathos, you can tell they are enjoying themselves and that they are supporting each other. The

Ben E. King version was talking about friendship for the actual movie, but the music video also

had another emotion or appeal which would be Ethos. This is because Ben E. King is singing this

song and at the beginning of the video, he is alone. You see him sitting down and he is singing

the song. Then the video goes to him singing to some of the cast of Stand by Me. He stands up

and is encouraging them to join in him singing, some of them even start playing instruments for
the song. This is showing that he wants to bring everyone together and he wants them to join in

with him. He did not want to stand alone anymore. This is showing that Ben E. King is

recreating and showing the meaning of the song which makes it credible, because he is showing

it is better to have people be with you and stand with you then just being alone. In the Ben E.

King video it showed everyone smiling and having a good time this is also showing evidence of

Pathos.

I believe that both versions did a great job at explaining the videos even though they were

singing the same words, but the emotions helped create its own story. You can tell the energy

that is happening in the original version between the cast and Ben E. King. They are all having a

very good upbeat time. Which can also be shown from the upbeat tempo of the music. The

Florence version is more flowy, light, and has an underlining eerie haunted sound. It also has a

magical vibe with the fantasy aspects that is being shown in the music video. Every time I listen

to music, I try to find the emotion and hidden meaning behind the artist voice. With the second

version every time I listen to her sing this song I want to sing along and show my emotion that I

am feeling with the way I sing. That is what she is doing as well, every time I sing or listen to

this version I cry.

Both songs have great aspects and emotion in their own way. Looking into both songs and re

watching the videos really helped me figure out the similarities and differences in these different

versions of the same song. This has really opened my eyes to how different visual aspects and

the way a person sings can have a change in what your mind perceives. Each version is amazing

and emotional in their own way. Analyzing both versions and their videos helped me understand

what each singer does differently with the way they look at the songs they sing. Artist are
different and always put their own spin and twist on to the songs they sing. This is especially true

when they are recreating a song that is already so good as it is.

Works Cited

King, Ben E. "Stand by Me." 1961. YouTube.

https://youtu.be/osWVPZ59iw8

Machine, Florence + The. "Stand by Me." 2016. YouTube.

https://youtu.be/qv6aw5a8oY8