I did my primary source analysis assignment on the song “Born in the U.S.A” by singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen. After listening to this song I analyzed what I thought that it meant. This song has a very clear meaning. It is an anti-War song, speaking of the memories and heavy heartache of a man returning from War after experiencing a personal loss not just as a citizen but also as a recruit. This song describes how he was unemployable for "doing the right thing". Springsteen basically wrote this song about the problems Vietnam veterans tend to encounter when they returned to America after serving their time. Vietnam was the first war the United States did not win. While veterans of other wars received a hero's welcome and a nice pat on the back, those who fought in Vietnam were very much ignored when they returned to back to the United States.
In January of 1973, the Paris Peace Accords was signed and the United States forces were drawn from Vietnam. This war cost of country 58,000 lives. In 1973 the U.S. congress enacted the Wars Power Act. Our soldiers came home beaten, bruised and depressed after a hard fought loss. Springsteen wrote this song with the lyrics he used to make a loud statement about how veterans were not treated right after losing the war. People confuse the meanings of the song because Springsteen made it so upbeat to be a happy positive song. In all reality the song is upbeat to show people that it was a big deal. I also think he did this to show people that they were not even noticing what was going on and how it really should have been a better welcoming to these veterans.
When the song first begins the first couple things that you notice are the drums and all the louder musical instruments in the ba...
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...ad a family and was cared about very much.
After analyzing one of Springsteen’s most popular and famous songs, I really learned a lot not only on how to break down a piece to get to know the meaning but also how easily lyrics can be interpreted different than they were written to mean. This song was clearly written to recognize those Vietnam veterans who were not recognized as they should have been after coming home from a hard fought war. But people have taken the lyrics to make the song another patriotic piece about the pride that we have here in America.
In my opinion I think people need to take more time to realize what good pieces of music such as Bruce Springsteen’s, actually mean and to really put together the lyrics and listen to what he is trying to express. These Veterans should have got more attention and appreciation for what they did for our country.
An estimation of about 2.6 million men served in the Vietnam war, but only a several hundred thousand of them came home. While some soldiers who returned were successful with the transition of returning back to the civilian life, many others did not. In John Prine’s anti war song, “Sam Stone”, he sings about the life of a man who goes home to his family and gets addicted to drugs.
The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial issues in American history. It is no secret that the American public was not in favor of this war, which is why the government’s decision to keep the US involved for over ten years created such a disconnect between America’s people and their government. In the third verse the Temptations sing, “People all over the world are shouting 'End the war.'” The Temptations bravely attack the government, addressing their continuation of a war no one wants. Although The Temptations avoid explicitly naming the war, or the government as the guilty party, it is evident that this is a criticism, or at least an acknowledgement of a predicament America found itself in.
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
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.
Vietnam, on the other hand, didn't really have an original theme or even a cadre of original artists to convey its messages. Many of the artists singing out about Vietnam were veterans of the "Ban the Bomb" and Civil Rights movements. In the early 1960s, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez broadened their focus to include Vietnam, and tailored their songs accordingly. "We Shall Over-come," a Civil Rights anthem, underwent minor lyrical modifications and soon became a staple of the anti-war movement. But generally, artists found themselves singing to a small group of people until 1962, when The Kingston Trio broke into Billboard Magazine's Top 100 Most Popular Songs with "Where Have All the Flowers Gone." The lyrics an...
While the songs written for the American Revolutionary war were somewhat speculative, and depending on the song, poked fun at their enemies. The songs written and sung about the war in Iraq were anything but. They outlined the issues and say everything that they feel is true regarding the situation the United States is in. For example in the song written by Neil Young "Lets Impeach the President." The lyrics in this song are deep and correlate directly with the feelings of many American citizens. For example “Let 's impeach the President for lying and misleading our country into war” (YouTube) these lyrics as well as the video depict a propaganda style. Following life changing events, such as a new life experience or a national crisis, songs are written to show and demonstrate its impact. Whether it is in the 18th century or the 21st century the premise is still the same and can be seen throughout the
“The withering of the economic dimensions of class, the destruction and demoralization of the politics of place, the betrayal of institutions designed to protect workers, and the amplification and mobilization of cultural nationalism…” and when comparing the electric version to the acoustic, “the artistic decision to juxtapose the song’s two contrasting dimensions ought to be central to any approach to understanding the essence of ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ The heart of the song rests at the intersection, not the selection, of its internal oppositions.” (Cowie & Boehm, 2011)
There was a song created roughly during this time called the Ballad of the green berets. This song talked about the best of the United States men called the green Berets and how they willingly trained to fight for our people even if it meant their own death. With the end of the war all of the surviving soldiers, including the Green Berets, were able to return home to their loved ones. Many were even awarded for their brave acts in battle. This was a turning point for many peoples lives during the Vietnam
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
... began the piece, and the beat of the drum was frequent. After the introduction, the rest of the musicians joined. The pianist also had a solo part with the companion of the drum. The pace of the song was moderately fast, and the song ended with a climax.
Many people hail “The Star Spangled Banner” as the greatest piece of American music. The audiences of America’s national anthem seem, instinctively, eager to express their respect by embracing the notion to remove their hats and stand up. However, not many people ponder over the question of what “The Star Spangled Banner” truly means. What does it mean? Why does it deserve so much reverence and honor? What exceptional difference allows it to prevail over the masterpieces of prominent composers like Mozart and Beethoven? The answer is fairly simple. “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes America’s perseverance, its set of moral laws and ethics, and its history that constitutes what America truly means.
When watching this I caught on to the meaning of the storyline, and how yeah everything may be all happy and nice because everyone got what they wanted in the end, but that only fixed their problems, not the world, not the reality of what was really happening behind all the glitz and glam that was occurring in their own world. Throughout the song the scene shows American soldiers getting shipped off to war and everyone is so happy and proud that America is in the war and going to win, it then changes to the soldiers marching in the rain trying to stay strong and hold on for dear life as they get battled down. Eventually those who have made it out through the war alive, they become veterans with medals that don’t do much justice to recognize the sacrifice they have made and then turn into forgotten men of the war. I found connections with the economy and war which showed how the president failed his country even with bringing in ideas such as The New Deal that clearly did not work out according to plan. Poverty was a common thing during the depression, and reflecting back to the girls in the scene where they are in their conjoined beds due to lack of furniture and stealing milk from neighbors and soldiers
...orgettable. Research shows that “There’s this unifying force that comes from the music and we don’t get that from other things.”(Landau) Bruce Springsteen is a great storyteller and has captured some of the experiences of the American working class. Even when the lyrics are dark or the subject matter is depressing, he manages to provide hope, too. For as long as I can remember, my mother has been playing Springsteen’s music. When I hear a song of his now, it reminds me of driving down the road with the windows down belting out a song with my mom. As Dave Marsh from Creem Magazine prophetically wrote in 1975, “Springsteen’s music is often strange because is has an almost traditional sense of beauty, an inkling of the awe you can feel when, say, first falling in love or finally discovering that the magic in the music is also in you.” (Bruce Springsteen Biography 2)