Tonal Analysis

Presenting the song The Great Escape with a coexistent ambiguous tone of losing faith and anticipating conviction, Patrick Watson uses second person point of view, hauntingly beautiful flashbacks and nostalgic symbolism to figure out the good qualities about himself in which to find his “great escape.”

Watson demonstrates himself in a different point of view almost separating him in two, one with good qualities and the other with flaws.  He does this to make himself be completely free by embracing the sadness when he is down and accepting that he can’t always make it out great and realizing there will be tough situations to power through, which provides one with comfort. Although paying more attention on the flaws, he feels almost as though he is hopeless in any situation he puts himself in because of the consequences he has to face. He pays too much attention on his flaws making him fall into a period of depression.  He watches himself go into “his car and drives away….looking for a way home” holding back tears by putting a smile on his face.  His dark thoughts chase him away from the peace he can make from little notable memories. The way he represents the song in the point of view of two different time periods of his life promotes though of the readers, leading them to understand that there is the faith of having a positive mind, you just have to distract the negativity. Patrick also puts himself in the perspective of child; he tries to find the good by remembering what has happened in the past. Although he tries to find those places of content, the other side of him full with imperfections immediately puts him down.

As Watson tries to allude to the past, he finds himself with a positive attitude. He displays himself as though he is talking to a child; telling them everything will be okay and you don’t always need to win to be a winner. He utilizes the child into the song to show that even as a kid whatever decision you make, make sure you are comfortable with it. Patrick uses the words “don’t let yourself fall down” to warn the child to make thoughtful decisions and not overwhelm themselves with impossible tasks. He reaches back to his inner child to escape and find comfort. He finds comfort by remembering when he was happy and didn't care about the flaws or mistakes he now has stuck in his head.

The symbolism in this song represents the contemplative moments of Patrick’s life. For instance, when he watches himself go into the car with a smile on his face, this symbolizes the positive moments trying to fight through the negative. Although the smile may just be to cover up the heavy tears inside, it shows that a little smile can change a mood. It’s the transition of realizing that paying attention to the negative gives him no room to feel good about the positive. The car also symbolizes the transition of moving from a negative memory to a good one. He looks for the great escape as “[he] drives” away to a place that makes him feel safe and happy to be alone for example, his home. His home symbolizes, in this case, a place of comfort and ease away from negativity that he puts on himself when exploring the world. When Watson uses the child to allude to his past, he remembers the good and realizes as a child he didn't have a care in the world so he shouldn't now. The great escape symbolizes a place of positivism all around. There is no negativity to put you down; the great escape is the happy place.

Watson finds ways to make himself feel good whether or not the flaws show. This shows the readers that the kind of person you are will indicate the feelings you impact on others; whether or not they like you, you should always be confident.