Santeria's Analysis
There are two ways of looking at Sublime's Santeria. One is to take the lyrics at face value. Another is to take them metaphorically. I personally prefer the metaphorical version, but here's both analyses.
Literal:
Point of View: Since this is written by Brad Nowell (lead of Sublime), it's most likely written from his perspective.
Theme: Jealousy/revenge
Tone: Angry, upset
Rhythm: Besides the "A B B C C" rhyme in the song's first stanza/section, the song doesn't rhyme too much in general. There's a little bit of vowel rhyming with words such as "hide" and " five" , but that's about the extent of it.
Diction: Santeria makes use of quite a few interesting words. For example, "Sancho" means "woman-stealer" or the like in Spanish well. Heina too has roots in Spanish slang. There, it is slang for girlfriend/woman. Perhaps the most important unusual word here is Santeria (after all the song derives its name from this!). Santeria is a Caribbean/African religion that is often compared to witchcraft (Santeria actually translates to this in Spanish) in western culture due to some of its dubious ritualistic practices such as animal sacrifice. Its use in this song is important because the singer says "I don't practice Santeria, I ain't got no crystal ball". He doesn't practice this voodoo/witchcraftesque religion, and as such he didn't see this whole thing coming (more on this in lyrical analysis).
Repetitive Language: Unlike many songs, Santeria doesn't have a whole lot of repetition. It does repeat the word "I" quite a bit, but that's not too important besides the fact that it cements the song as a narrative from the singer. Of the little repetition there is in this song, one of the more significant ones is the repetition of "Sancho" and "love". This helps the listener understand that the song is about love and the resulting "Sancho" who steals the singer's "Heina".
Lyrical Analysis:
From a literal viewpoint, Santeria isn't very complex. On the surface, it's a simple song about the feelings of vengeance felt after the singer's "heina" has been stolen from him by a "sancho". He goes on about how he's going to "pop a cap in Sancho" and that he "won't think to twice to stick that barrel down Sancho's throat." As the song progresses, Brad (the singer) begins to make peace with the whole situation. With lines such as, "and I'll make it, oh yes I'm coming up", his sentiments turn from "I'll kill you!!!" to "This sucks, but I'll make it I suppose". What's not readily apparent when looking at it literally, is the many references to his "soul" in lines such as "my soul will have to wait."
Literal:
Point of View: Since this is written by Brad Nowell (lead of Sublime), it's most likely written from his perspective.
Theme: Jealousy/revenge
Tone: Angry, upset
Rhythm: Besides the "A B B C C" rhyme in the song's first stanza/section, the song doesn't rhyme too much in general. There's a little bit of vowel rhyming with words such as "hide" and " five" , but that's about the extent of it.
Diction: Santeria makes use of quite a few interesting words. For example, "Sancho" means "woman-stealer" or the like in Spanish well. Heina too has roots in Spanish slang. There, it is slang for girlfriend/woman. Perhaps the most important unusual word here is Santeria (after all the song derives its name from this!). Santeria is a Caribbean/African religion that is often compared to witchcraft (Santeria actually translates to this in Spanish) in western culture due to some of its dubious ritualistic practices such as animal sacrifice. Its use in this song is important because the singer says "I don't practice Santeria, I ain't got no crystal ball". He doesn't practice this voodoo/witchcraftesque religion, and as such he didn't see this whole thing coming (more on this in lyrical analysis).
Repetitive Language: Unlike many songs, Santeria doesn't have a whole lot of repetition. It does repeat the word "I" quite a bit, but that's not too important besides the fact that it cements the song as a narrative from the singer. Of the little repetition there is in this song, one of the more significant ones is the repetition of "Sancho" and "love". This helps the listener understand that the song is about love and the resulting "Sancho" who steals the singer's "Heina".
Lyrical Analysis:
From a literal viewpoint, Santeria isn't very complex. On the surface, it's a simple song about the feelings of vengeance felt after the singer's "heina" has been stolen from him by a "sancho". He goes on about how he's going to "pop a cap in Sancho" and that he "won't think to twice to stick that barrel down Sancho's throat." As the song progresses, Brad (the singer) begins to make peace with the whole situation. With lines such as, "and I'll make it, oh yes I'm coming up", his sentiments turn from "I'll kill you!!!" to "This sucks, but I'll make it I suppose". What's not readily apparent when looking at it literally, is the many references to his "soul" in lines such as "my soul will have to wait."