Some songs are so well known that whoever you meet, they can sing them. “Don’ Stop Believin’”, “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2”, “Tiny Dancer”, “Come Sail Away”; these songs helped define a generation, and another great example of that is Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son” (1976). This song is a song that virtually everyone can recognize and even sing along to. Inside the lyrics to this song is a myriad of images that people have been fighting over their overall meaning for a long time. But what many people never notice is the correlation that this song has with the aftermath of natural disasters, and how people deal with the issues that arise from the disaster. The song opens up with the chorus, saying “Carry on my wayward son/ For there’ll be peace when you are done” (Kansas). This line foreshadows some sort of issue that the protagonist is having trouble either getting through or finishing. “Lay your weary head to rest/ Don’t you cry no more” (Kansas) almost seems to foreshadow sleep or even eternal sleep in death. The a capella format of the beginning also adds a haunting element before the song proceeds to present both the main theme from the song and also the triplet ‘breakdown’ for lack of better words. The first verse begins with only a piano accompanying the lyrics. “Once I rose above the noise and confusion/ Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion” (Kansas) implies a veil around the protagonist, preventing him from knowing what is going on, or perhaps he is keeping himself from finding out. “I was soaring ever higher/ But I flew too high” (Kansas) shows that he seems to like what he saw, but san unknown object prevents him from being able to either get or stay there. At this point the guitar, bass, and drums enter, gi... ... middle of paper ... ... Denial turns into anger which can manifest itself as blaming a whole range of people, objects, or deities. From anger, people begin bargaining both with deity to help them if they obey, or even with insurance companies by being willing to take a pay cut to get more assistance. Eventually this can lead into depression and a lack of hope that anything can happen. This can be caused by any sort of situation and seems to take some people a lengthy amount of time to get out of sometimes. Finally, there comes acceptance of the fact that this has happened and it all will work out. With what I have observed with the tornado passing through Washington IL, people go through this cycle on their own terms. While I can never know what they are truly thinking, many people seem to have moved very quickly into the acceptance phase within less than a week of the tornado occurring.
The opening stanza sets the tone for the entire poem. Updike uses symbolism to portray the sad, disappointing life Flick ...
The lead singer of the band Train, Pat Monahan revealed in an interview that this song is about the death of his mother. In the interview Monahan stated, “ Loss of the most important person in my life was heavy on my mind, and
The narrator is presented as this strong figure at first, but the piece tears away this wall brick by brick. In stanza six when they are coming back from Mexico, the narrator says the drugs “might help him live longer.” The biggest turn of hopelessness is in stanza 8 for the narrator. His brother falls into a coma and his brother’s lover cries in his arms and he “Wonder(s) how much longer you will be able to be strong.”(Lassell 481) It only progresses only further when the narrator says: “Offer God anything to bring your brother back. Know you have nothing God could possibly want.”(Lassell 481) The narrator becomes almost emotionless during the funeral of his brother, and it shows that this sense of hopelessness has grown even larger, to the fact where he stands in silence and stares at the casket. During the funeral, he thinks to himself “Know that your brother 's life was not what you imagined.”(Lassell
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.
This song talks a lot about the baggage of the past that people hold onto instead of letting it go. All that baggage is only going to end up hurting you more and more instead of helping you in any way possible. An example is the opening
Because the war was so unpopular back in the United States, the returning veterans faced many challenges on their return home. What should have been a celebrated homecoming became a nightmare for many veterans. In addition to any injuries or lasting effects of the war, their needs were largely ignored by the nation. This plight of the Vietnam veteran is the subject of Bruce Springsteen’s popular song “Born in the U.S.A.” The song is the lead track on his 1984 album of the same name and was a huge hit for Springsteen. Personally Springsteen considers it one of his greatest songs, but he is disappointed that its message was never fully understood. Coming in at a length of 4 minutes and 44 seconds, the song “Born in the U.S.A.” is exactly twice as long as “Fortunate Son.” However the impact is not twice as great. Springsteen’s message and cause is noble and needs to be heard. He sees that Americans have collectively turned their backs on the very men who risk their lives to protect their freedom. But the songs simple chorus anthem is often misunderstood by those who hear the song. Like Fogerty, Springsteen sings with more passion than classic technique. He shouts and screams above the crackling drum driven beat of the song as he tells the story of a poor boy fighting a rich man’s war. This theme is very similar to “Fortunate Son” and in fact a person could see this man as the same character in
Music is regarded as a method of passing a message. Though some songs do not intend to do that, the message in them is still perceived. The song, “Get up, ...
For example, one line, “Soon our pilgrimage will cease; Soon our happy hearts will quiver, with the melody of peace,” which is saying that one day we will die, and you can’t stop that. “Lay we every burden down; Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and a crown,” also reveals that you should appreciate what we’ve had, and what was given to us. This song is telling you, in every line, that you can’t live forever, but appreciate what you have, while you
“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.
When first receiving news about the death of a loved one, the normal reaction is shock and denial. No one wants to hear that their father, grandmother, or uncle had just died, and according to Kübler-Ross, one way people cope with grief and loss of a loved one is denial. This means that a person may try and hide from the facts and block out what others are trying to say. That person might deny the reality of the situation and have thoughts like, “He not dead, that’s impossible. He was doing fine just yesterday” or “This must be some kind of mistake.” Denial is a defense mechanism that buffers the immediate shock that comes after hearing such news. It is difficult for the person to accept the fact that someone dear to them is no longer with them, so they rebuke the truth and instead choose to avoid any type of encounter that forces them to face the truth and reality. This even extends to avoiding thinking about the situation. Gibran sta...
The first stanza begins by stating, The children go forward . They are leaving their mothers behind, going to a place inaccessible to them. At the moment the children are on their way to school, but as they progress, they will begin to move past the achievements of their parents. Instead of becoming resentful, the mothers do all they can to ensure this progress continues. All morning the mothers have labored . They exert themselves strenuously for the benefit of their children. They put forth much time and energy at manual labor. The mothers labored in giving birth to their children, and are laboring to raise them to adulthood. They sacrifice themselves so that their children may have a future better than their own.
Denial is basically another word for rejection; anger can be a symptom of rejection after being told something “unacceptable” and making an outburst; bargaining to try to reverse what has already happened; depression can be caused by the feeling of being rejected by others. “A person might feel rejected after a significant other ends a relationship… Rejection can also result from life events not involving relationships” (GoodTherapy, Rejection). Everyday life events influence us. The social interactions, peers, morals, people tend to desire involvement. That’s why being rejected can change people, they could either become withdrawn or try to change themselves to fit in. By breaking down the information found on rejection, in this case from the GoodTherapy website, more can be understood. Mental “illnesses” may develop in the long run, such as depression, which might lead to self harm. Everything, the personality more importantly, is stored within the brain and that means other emotions may influence what the mind rejects. When an overwhelming emotion, like anger, influences rational thought someone may not be reasoned with. The topics from the “10 Surprising Facts About Rejection” list
The lyrics of “Firework” make a positive impact by encouraging individuals to express their individual worth. The lyrics talk about revealing ones’ true self to the world. A quote from t...
Considering altogether setting, figures of speech and tone we can finally conclude what is this song is about.
Denial: At this stage you will minimize or just deny what has happened. You may even pretend what happened is great! In which some cases this may be true, in order to give an individual a reason to go ahead and open a business, or switch careers that they have been wanting to do for a while.