The senior song for the class of 2014 will be announced on Friday, Nov. 8. Nominations for senior song include the “So Close Now” by Eli Young Band, “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, “I’m Not Gonna Cry” by Corey Smith, and “We Run This Town” by Luke Bryan. AP English IV teacher and sponsor of the senior class Stephanie Shackelford approves of the latter suggestion.
Awaiting the senior pep rally where the senior song will play, senior english teacher Ms. Stephanie Shackelford feels unsure of what her students will choose.
“I think it’d [the song] be a good choice,” Shackelford said. “Partly I just like the song, but it talks about ‘packing up and heading out, can’t sleep, I’m dreaming way too loud’.”
If given the opportunity to choose, Shackelford would pick “So Hard To Say Goodbye” by Boyz II Men, her senior song. Shackelford has seen strange suggestions, including the Imperial March from Star Wars. Shackelford believes students have a variety of reasons for choosing songs.
“Oddly, it’s different for different people,” Shackelford said. “Some like a song for the lyrics and what they say, some like a song because it’s representative of their era, some because they just like the song.”
Some seniors have their own idea of what the class should choose. Senior Soren Swanson supports the idea of Boyz ‘n Tha Hood, a parody rap-esque song by Dynamite Hack, playing over the speaker when the senior song announced.
“[The song] epitomizes our youthful spirits by overcoming obstacles,” Swanson said.
As for the genre of the song, some seniors strongly oppose certain types of songs. For Swanson, country music strikes a negative chord.
“I would hate if [the song] was country,” Swanson said. “It’s generally depressing and I’m not a fan of it.”
Senior Destini Bates shares a similar dislike for rock when regarding the choice of the senior song. As opposed to Swanson’s dislike of the emotions often found in country songs, Bates dislikes the lack of feeling in rock songs.
“I don’t get as much as an emotional vibe from hard rock,” Bates said.
Although opinions vastly differ from student to student on the final decision of the senior song, a majority of seniors can agree on one thing. Like Bates, students support the choosing of a song that expresses the emotions of the senior class at this stage in their lives.
“I just want it to be a good, meaningful song,” Bates said.
