Lauren Ahart and Meredith Breckner's Powerpoint for Wiki song analysis 2nd hour 2011

1. Lauren Ahart and Meredith Breckner Period 2 April 11th 2011 Susan Smith“When this is over" Song by: HAYDEN

2. Song lyrics “When this is over” filling up, dirty water,my chin's up, going under.you're still asleep, baby brother.i'll wake you up when this is over. the car is rolling down to water.why are westrapped to our seats,trapped,what did we do?i brushed my teeth just as she asked me to.this is it, baby brother,one more breath togetherwe're almost underwaterwhere is mom?i miss her. the car has rolled into the water.why are we dying in this way,what did we do?i was nice to him,her boyfriend, this is stupidwhen people come to search the lakewe'll be found in our pajamasthey will seea big mistake is all that this must be. this is it, baby brother,one more breath togtherwe're almost underwaterwhere is mom?i miss her. the car has rolled into the water.why are we dying in this way,what did we do?i was nice to him,her boyfriend, this is stupidwhen people come to search the lakewe'll be found in our pajamasthey will seea big mistake is all that this must be. i wake upbeside you, in mom's cari try to get you out,you're strapped to the backseati am too. the car is rolling down to water.why are westrapped to our seats,trapped,what did we do?i cleaned my room just as she asked me to. i wake upbeside you, in mom's cari try to get you out,you're strapped to the backseati am too. the car is rolling down to water.why are westrapped to our seats,trapped,what did we do?i cleaned my room just as she asked me to.filling up, dirty water,my chin's up, going under.you're still asleep, baby brother.i'll wake you up when this is over. the car is rolling down to water.why are westrapped to our seats,trapped,what did we do?i brushed my teeth just as she asked me to.

3. Intro Imagine someone drowning their children to be rid of the burden and to get back with their lover who didn't want children. Imagine someone getting out of their car, taking off the parking brake and letting their car with children inside go into a lake to drown. Then imagine this person lying about the whole thing and saying someone else did this deed. What if this was all true? On October 25th, 1994, Susan Smith did just that. This type of crime is typically unusual. Susan Smith's story inspired songwriter, Hayden, to produce the song, "When This is Over." The song didn't entail what happened throughout the case or investigation, but how the unthinkable actually happened. The song was written from, Smith's three year old son Michael's, point of view instead of a bystander's point of view. Hayden tried to imagine how a three year old would explain things, so he chose not to use notable complex words. Yet, he did include words to show that Michael was livid, confused, and worried about his baby brother. Hayden's voice was extremely dry to express anger, and he maintained that tone throughout the whole song. He didn't choose this voice to only express anger, but to also help people realize all of the emotions he was experiencing all within this small period of time. Through song analysis, back story, political, cultural, and modern-day connections, people are able to see the deed more clearly.

4. BackSTORY October 25th, 1994 was a day that will be forever the day a women drowned her children, but there was more to the story than her randomly drowning her children. Susan Smith was in love with a man named Tom Finlay. Tom, who wasn’t her husband did not want her children. Tom wrote Susan a letter explaining to her that he didn't want the responsibility of another man's children (Pergament, "Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Letter," par. 3). Susan planned to drown herself the day she received the letter, but she didn't want to leave her children by themselves. So, to resolve this problem, she thought she would drown them first, and then drown herself. After driving around the town for awhile, Susan approached John D. Long Lake. This is when she realized what she really wanted was to be rid of the burden of her children. Life for her was just becoming too stressful, and overwhelming. There is where she concluded the best solution to the problem. She drove the car onto the ramp, pulled the parking brake off, stepped out of the car, shifted the gear into neutral, and let the car roll of the ramp and into the lake (Pergament, "Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Unthinkable," par. 3). She knew when the car had completely sank because she intentionally left the headlights on (Pergament, "Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Trial," par. 9). Most would infer that she was happy and stress-free now, but this wasn't the case. Susan was terrified of the future consequences of the crime she committed. After the tragedy, she reported the crime, except she didn't tell the truth. Susan stated that an African American man had gotten into her car and demanded that she drive (Pergament, "Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Big Lie," par. 9). Supposedly, she drove a couple of blocks, and then he forced her out of car and kept driving with Susan's children. She proclaimed that her children were just missing. Susan confessed, and that is when the police proceeded to arresting her. Since she had committed homicide, she was put on suicide watch until her upcoming trial date, July 10, 1995. At the trial, several witnesses tried to claim to that Susan had a mental illness, which caused her to commit this crime. However, the jury outlawed the possible illnesses, and presented her with her verdict. She was guilty of two counts of murder (Pergament, "Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Trial," par. 62). Susan was sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison. Yet, the jury figured since she had confessed about lying on the African American man she was given possible parole in 30 years.

5. Political Susan's crime had politics and culture all messed up with her crime. Politically Susan's crime set the standard for investigations in the future. People have killed their children before, but none were as famous as Susan's story. Susan's story was one of the first crimes to go on TV to ask for help in finding her children. Then the truth came out, it was her who actually killed her children. People were in utter shock. Before this crime happened investigators use to listen to the parent's story, now today, the parents are the first ones to be investigated. (Oprah, 4) Another aspect of the political side was that the governor at the time (Haley) would not let Oprah interview Susan. (Oprah, 2) The governor thought Susan had got enough press when she killed her children then lied. The thing that makes this political is that a political figure stepped into the case and put her foot down because felt what Susan did was wrong and she didn't think Susan needed anymore lime light.

6. cultural Susan's lie had the culture of her town all jumbled up. The part that made this case cultural was the fact Susan lied about a man kidnapping her children. When Susan said this the town was divided. Racism was back on the radar as the thing people were looking for to capture the kidnapper, questioning was based solely on the race of the citizens (Pergament, "Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Unthinkable," par. 7). Another aspect that made this cultural was the fact that Susan was caught. The investigator sat Susan down and told her he knew she was lying about the kidnapper because he had a drug bust going on at the corner where the alleged kidnapping happened. Pergament, "Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Big Lie," par. 9). If drugs and drug busts where not a large part of our crime division then Susan may have gotten away with it. Susan's crime overall changed how investigations are done and brought prejudice back to how a small town in South Carolina viewed others.

7. Contemporary and conclusion The song "When This is Over" by Hayden was written about a dark time in American history, but this isn't the only song about this dark time. The song "Paper Gown" is also about this horrific event. ("Paper Gown", 3) "Paper Gown" isn't from Michael's point of view like "When This is Over", but about Susan from a third person point of view. The song was written more recently which shows that this crime is still spoken of and thought about. The reason it is still talked about is because it caused a entire town to point at their counter parts based on the color of their skin, Susan outright lied to everyone, and the fact that a mother killed her children is too much for some people. This crime is a dark time in American history that can't be covered up. People need to understand that sometimes parents can get out of their car, pull the parking brake, and watch their children go into a lake to drown just to be rid of the burden of them.

8. References "Haley to Oprah: No Susan Smith interview." UPI NewsTrack 31 Dec. 2010. Student Resource Center - Gold. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. "Hayden's Biography." Last FM. N.P. N.D. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://www.last.fm/music/Hayden/+albums>. "Paper Gown Lyrics." SongMeanings. N.P. N.D. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858782206>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: David.” TruTv: Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/david_4.html>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: Family Life.”TruTv:Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/life_5.html> Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: Penalty Phase.”TruTv:Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/phase_10.html>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: Susan.”TruTv:Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/susan_3.html>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Big Lie.”TruTv:Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. Web. 28 Mar 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/lie_6.html>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Confession.”TruTv:Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/confess_8.html>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Investigation.”TruTv:Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/invest_7.html>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Letter.”TruTv:Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/index_1.html>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Trial.”TruTv:Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/trial_9.html>. Pergament, Rachel. “Susan Smith: Child Murderer or Victim: The Unthinkable.” TruTv: Crime Library. Turner Broadcasting System, 2011. nd. web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/unthinkable_2.html>.