Rhetorical Analysis

“Everybody” grabs the audience’s attention immediately by stirring emotions with the first line. Keith Urban opens with “So here you are now, nowhere to turn… just the same old yesterday. You made a promise to yourself that you were never gonna be this way.” This line uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos to initially provoke listeners to relate with their own experiences and feelings of loneliness. This content is paralleled in the video, as individuals walk alone through the dim light. By each person’s expression, we can see that they too are experiencing loneliness. Urban connects with the audience in this way. Everyone has likely felt lonely and a sense of despair at some point in their lifetime; this opening line brings to the surface those emotions.

After the opening verse the song changes tone a bit; our emotions are still tugged at but in a slightly different manner. Urban advises “don’t give up now, you’re so close to a brand new day.” While our emotions and feelings of loneliness are on the line, this line assures us that no tough time is permanent, and with persistence and optimism feelings of despair can be overcome. Listeners are likely relating these words to their own experiences, and this truth that “everybody needs somebody” instills a sense of hope and assurance in the audience. At this point, the individuals in the video are coming together and we see that although they may experience hard times, they do have somewhere to turn. As they begin to play, we no longer see the emotions of loneliness and sadness; instead they are content being in each others’ company. This visual and audio convinces the audience to not let their emotions kill them; to be strong and reach out. Feelings of needing someone are no false need; as humans we do, in fact, need somebody. By the conclusion of the video the audience feels that although tough times will inevitably happen, others will be there if we allow them to.