“Charlie Boy” Popular folk band, The Lumineers, composed a song, “Charlie Boy,” to remind the audience of a terrible and appalling part of America’s past, the Vietnam War. During this time period many men were killed in combat because their president, John F. Kennedy, made them believe that they could win a disastrous war without many casualties. One of the members of The Lumineers had a personal connection with someone who fought in this dreadful war. Wesley Schultz, the lead singer of the band, attempts to remind Americans that the Vietnam War is a critical and unfair part of our history that many people have forgotten. The Lumineers adopt a use of a warm melody, repetition, and album placement in order to convey …show more content…
During the Vietnam War, Wesley Schultz’s uncle, Charles Schultz, was a second lieutenant who fought and died for his country. His family lived in Metuchen, New Jersey, while Schultz was deployed to Vietnam with the democratic belief and support for John F. Kennedy running through his mind. He believed in Kennedy’s request to ask what you could do for your country, he felt as if his country needed him, and in his early twenties he joined the USMC and was deployed to Vietnam. Schultz was killed in action and after the war had ended his home town of Metuchen built a monument in memory of the three residents who gave their lives in the war ("Charlie Boy, The Lumineers”). The Vietnam War began because communism was spreading throughout Indochina and the U.S. wanted to use a policy called internationalism to stop it from spreading. Many citizens during …show more content…
This melody makes the song “Charlie Boy” much easier to listen to even though it is about an event that happened 36 years ago. The band appeals to American’s heartfelt emotions by using only an acoustic guitar and cello, which makes the tone of the song sound very humble. The passive melody is used in order to express what he is saying in an understandable tone. It is not demanding, yet it captures people’s attention with its sweet use of acoustic instruments. When the band uses this melody his audience gives in to what he is saying more than they would if it was being forced upon them with a powerful, assertive melody. Without using a commanding melody The Lumineers still convey their point to their audience. To help deliver their message The Lumineers use another rhetorical device called
The Boys of ’67 Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam, by Dr. Andrew Wiest, is an account of Charlie Company’s involvement in the Vietnam War: from the activation of the Ninth Infantry Division, the draft and training, the arrival in Vietnam, the battles and losses, the replacements, the Freedom Bird, and ultimately for some, to the return home. The author writes of boys who were just becoming men and how they were brought together, the only division during the Vietnam War to be trained together and deployed together, to create a group of soldiers who became a band of brothers. The Boys of ’67 is the story of that brotherhood and how they walked through a year of living hell and were changed forever. As Dr. Wiest writes, “That jarring transformation, along with the transformation of the country to which they returned, changed the lives of the boys of Charlie Company forever.”
As young girl with big dreams I imagined my senior year of high school to be one of the best years of my life. I imagined going to homecoming with all of my friends, being the captain of the varsity soccer and cheerleading teams, going to Friday night football games, going to Prom with my perfect date, and going on a senior trip with all of my best friends. I never imagined my senior year to be the way that it is. I am the new kid.
I carry the memories of the ghosts of a place called Vietnam-the people of Vietnam, my fellow soldiers- Tim O’Brien
It was a way for the United States to recruit soldiers to send to Europe, as the United States was short on soldiers and even passed conscription acts to draft people into the army. In addition, Americans still held anti-war sentiments, as Wilson was reelected campaigning on not going to war. This patriotic song helped ease American fears and provided confidence that US troops would be able to end the war swiftly. On a global scale, the song is tied to the American entry into World War I, an event that solidified the Allied victory, shaping the history of the world leading to World War II. On the national level, the song gave the people hope because it reflected the belief that the United States’ troops would be able to dominate Europe and come home safely. By the end, however, the death and destruction left by the war became apparent. The trust in Wilson’s grandiose ideals and the patriotism faded as the people began seeing US involvement in the war was a mistake, taking up Harding’s offer to return to “normalcy” (Brinkley, 530). As a result, this song is also firmly situated in a change of eras as the United States moved past World War I and into the Roaring
This contrast in style affirms that the soldiers are human and provides emphasis to the weight these intangible objects have on the soldiers. An emotional burden that the men must carry is the longing for their loved ones. The Vietnam War forced many young men to leave their loved ones and move halfway across the world to fight a questionable war in an unfamiliar land.... ... middle of paper ... ...
For centuries, writers of both poetry and prose have sought to entertain and educate their readers as well as evoke specific emotions by detailing events from the human experience to which they can relate. Similarly, composers have sought to do the same albeit through the combination of music and lyrics. In his 1982 release, “Goodnight Saigon,” singer/songwriter Billy Joel, through the use of sound, imagery, symbolism and the juxtaposition of opposites, brings images of the Vietnam War to the forefront and in so doing, provides his audience with insight into the human experience.
To the persistent individual, though, there is a body of music in existence that merits regard. It is powerful music written by the youth of America, youngsters who did have a stake in the Vietnam War. There can be little question about the origins of the power which American protest music conveyed: those who wrote such music lived each day with the real knowledge that they were losing friends in, and could possibly be forced themselves to go to, Vietnam. One such group, Creedence Clearwater Revival, made its contribution to this genre near the end of the Vietnam War.
Throughout time, music has been an influential part of society. As a form of entertainment and expression, its impact has always been felt both economically and emotionally. During the Vietnam war, music evolved into more a form of expression rather than pure entertainment. Emotionally charged songs became a method to oppose the war, and vent frustrations. While many songs opposed the war, numerous others focused on peace and happiness. They provided a positive perspective in an otherwise depressing time. Along with incorporating passion into music, cultural diversity increased in music greatly. Black artists became progressively more popular and accepted in the musical scene. This respect carried over to society slowly but surely. During the Vietnam war, music played a crucial role in the societal evolution into a state where emotions fueled actions, more emphasis was put on equality, all opinions counted.
The song was written to motivate young men to join the army, idealizing soldiers as patriotic “son[s] of liberty” who would make their fathers, girlfriends, and country proud. The US soldiers are shown as the liberators of
The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular protest music, which has reached out to the youthful generations everywhere demanding for a revolutionary change. The protest music took the children of the 1960’s to a completely new different level. Musicians of this generation were not going to sit and do nothing while the government lied to the people about what was going on in Vietnam. Instead, they took their guitar-strumming troubadours from the coffee houses, plugged them in, and sent the music and the message into the college dorm rooms and the homes of the youth of America. However, as decades went by, protest music does not have much of an impact as it use to because of the way things have changed over the years. Through the analysis of the music during the 1960’s, there shall be an understanding on how the different genres of protest music has affected social protesters based on how musicians have become the collective conscience of that generation through their lyrics and music and the main factors that contributed to the lack of popula...
The year is1965, 8 years into the Vietnam war and 2 years in the shadow of a presidential assassination, marked the inception of an artistic vision, cut to Vinyl. Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 revisited is a testament to the state of America in the 1960s, using poetic devices, and engaging rock and roll music to capture the imagination of a breadth of people, unwittingly, it would seem, brought change to the minds of Americans. Opening their eyes to what was happening and inflicting a sense of new found justice in their hearts, Living vicariously through Bob Dylan’s intense imagery, due to the events unfolding in that period, People latched on to Dylan’s lyrics and imposed their own expression and feeling onto his songs.
The soldiers feel that the only people they can talk to about the war are their “brothers”, the other men who experienced the Vietnam War. The friendship and kinship that grew in the jungles of Vietnam survived and lived on here in the United States. By talking to each other, the soldiers help to sort out the incidents that happened in the War and to put these incidents behind them. “The thing to do, we decided, was to forget the coffee and switch to gin, which improved the mood, and not much later we were laughing at some of the craziness that used to go on” (O’Brien, 29).
“Some folks are born to wave the flag, ooh, they’re red, white and blue.” Creedence Clearwater’s song “Fortunate Son” is commonly misinterpreted as a very patriotic, country glorifying song. However, it is in fact the opposite. Many people make this mistake because of the first two lines which evoke patriotism yet they fail to see the deeper message that lies within the rest of the song. Creedence Clearwater wrote this song in 1969 as a protest against America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Even though “Fortunate Son” is a protest song, the main issue addressed is the inequality between the social classes.
During the height of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, already-renowned songwriter Bob Dylan composed one of his most prominent works, called “Only a Pawn in Their Game”, as both a memorial and personal commentary on racial discrimination and victimization. As he wrote the lyrics, the communities of African-Americans were steamed over the violent death of one of their activists, Medgar Evers, by a gunman. Dylan composed his song to both pay tribute to Evers, but also to call out the act itself, attempting to signify that the killer themselves was also a victim, the true guilt belonging to the white elite, driving people like the gunman to commit acts against the growing Movement. To have a song such as “Only a Pawn in Their Game” to be as famous as it was/is, there must follow three key factors: a strong theme, especially with a contemporary subject, to
The 1960’s was a time of war and fear for the United States and many people were turning their accusations towards the government. “Masters of War” was written by Bob Dylan in late 1962 and early 1963. The focus of this song is a protest against the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that was happening during the early 1960’s. The song is protesting on the American government having its citizens live in fear of a constant attack and hiding behind their shroud, unaffected by anything that would happen to the people. It shook the nation with its fierce and angry tone against the “military industrial complex.” Dylan’s lyrics stated that it was not contained by declaring a pointless war and not taking responsibility for the problems it was causing. “Masters of War” is a powerful song against the government and the military. The protest song “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan highlights how the looming aspect of the Cold War affected the people of the United States and demonstrates Dylan’s view on the governments involved.