Most musicians use the poetic device, tone, to set the mood of the song. There are many different ways to portray tone in songs. Like in the songs “have a Cigar” and “Rock n’ Roll Band”. Both songs use tone, but the usage contrasts in a way. Though both “Have a Cigar” by Pink Floyd and “Rock n’ Roll Band” by Boston have similar meanings, Pink Floyd incorporates cynical tone and their manager’s point of view in order to mock the way people become famous, while Boston uses optimistic tone and reminiscent imagery to tell the story of how their band got famous.

            In the song “Have a Cigar” by Pink Floyd, they use cynical tone and their manager’s point of view. The lyrics “Oh by the way, which one’s Pink?” shows that the manager is joking around with them, because the name of their band is Pink Floyd, but that isn’t any of their names.  The manager isn’t really taking them seriously and he doesn’t really know a lot about them. The song also says “We call it riding the Gravy Train,” which shows that the manager thinks that the band can get fame easily. “It could be made into a monster/If we all pull together as a team” portrays the fact that their manager believes in them, even thought he has no idea who they really are. The last example is “The band is fantastic/ that is what I think” which is the manager’s opinion on their band. The tone and point of view in this song helps the listener to understand the meaning and set a mood.

The song “Rock n’ Roll Band” by Boston uses optimistic tone and reminiscent imagery. The lyrics “Playin’ all the bars, sleepin’ in our cars/And we practiced right out in the street” shows the band remembering back to before they were famous. They never gave up even though they had no idea if anything would happen. Also, “No we didn’t have much money/ We barely made enough to survive” they didn’t mind the fact that they didn’t have money to do what they were doing, but they got on stage and that’s what inspired them to keep going. The tone in this song is in the lyrics “And said, boys, I think this band is outta-sight.” It sets the tone of excitement, because they are about to make a deal that would change their lives forever. Also, “Dancin’ in the streets of Hyannis” shows that they are happy, and they are just ecstatic about what is happening. The song “Rock n’ Roll Band” shows the band reminiscing about their past and how optimistic they were about their futures.

Both songs show many uses of tone. The tone of each song sets a mood for the listener to relate to. In the songs, there is also point of view of tone. There is the point of view for the speaker and the songwriter. They also use tone so the listener can understand the audience the song is set for. The poetic devices in each song help to set a subject and a purpose for the songs, too. Though both “Have a Cigar” by Pink Floyd and “Rock n’ Roll Band” by Boston have similar meanings, Pink Floyd incorporates cynical tone and their manager’s point of view in order to mock the way people become famous, while Boston uses optimistic tone and reminiscent imagery to tell the story of how their band got famous.