American Pie” is an impressionistic ballad by Don Mclean which features unique and intriguing lyrics. It has imaginative changes in tempo, vocal delivery and instrumentation, and imparts a wide range of emotions ranging from pure joy, to melancholy and despair. The song takes the listener on an autobiographical journey through the turbulent 1960’s with references to the events that shaped the era. Don Mclean was enshrined in the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2004 for his work on “American Pie” (Don McLean: Songwriters Hall of Fame Inauguration). With its use of formal structure, allusions, and figurative language, the song, “American Pie”, has many poetic qualities.
The formal structure of “American Pie” allows Don Mclean to use multiple combinations of rhymes. The end rhymes are the most apparent rhymes in the song and follow a rather simple pattern that one can hear right away. A good example of end rhyme would be the start of the second verse when Don Mclean writes, “Did you write the book of love, and do you believe in God above”. “An interesting fact about the song “American Pie” is with the exception of the chorus and the refrain verses, the last line of every verse is the same: “The day the music died” (Damsker 42 – 45). It is the only line in the entire song that does not have a matching end rhyme in the same verse. In addition to the use of end rhyme Don Mclean made use of internal rhyme in the lyrics of his song, “American Pie”. The most obvious use of internal rhyme is in the chorus. One hears “Bye, Bye” and “pie” along with “Chevy” and “levee”. Another example of internal rhyme occurs in the fourth verse when Mclean writes “Helter skelter in a summer swelter. The birds flew off with a fallout shelter”. In this verse...
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...uman with human qualities. Mclean personifies music in the last line of each verse when he writes, “The day the music died”. Music is not human therefore it cannot die.
In conclusion, the song “American Pie” represents great poetry because of its use of formal structure, allusions, and figurative language. The songs power comes solely from the words that Don Mclean writes. Each time one listens to this song they are reminded of a time when music was quite fine.
Works Cited
Damsker, Matt. Rock Voices: The Best Lyrics of an Era. New York: St. Martin's, 1980, Pages 42 – 45.
“Don McLean: Songwriters’ Hall of Fame Inauguration”, Howard, Alan & McLean, Don, “Songwriters’ Hall of Fame Inauguration, 2004”, Don McLean Online: The Official Website of Don McLean and American Pie, “http://www.don-mclean.com/hallofame.asp” October 21, 2010.
“Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday conveys the inhumane, gory lynchings of African-Americans in the American South, and how this highly unnatural act had entrenched itself into the society and culture of the South, almost as if it were an agricultural crop. Although the song did not originate from Holiday, her first performance of it in 1939 in New York City and successive recording of the song became highly popular for their emotional power (“Strange fruit,” 2017). The lyrics in the song highlight the contrast between the natural beauty and apparent sophistication of the agricultural South with the brutal violence of lynchings. Holiday communicates these rather disturbing lyrics through a peculiarly serene vocal delivery, accompanied by a hymn-like
“Why The Grateful Dead Were the Greatest American Rock Band:, BlogCritics, BlogCritics, 2014, web, 16 April 2014
Rhymes are two or more words that have the same ending sound. Songwriters and poets often times use rhymes to help their piece flow better, or keep the audience or readers engaged. Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is filled with rhymes, with a rhyme in almost every single line: “Brando, the King and I, and the Catcher In The Rye / Eisenhower, Vaccine, England’s got a new Queen / Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye” (line 6-8). Billy Joel uses the rhymes to move from one topic to the next, and the song is even in chronological order from 1950 to 1989. The rhyme schemes of the song are end rhymes as well as perfect rhymes. On the other hand, the poem is completely free verse, or without a single rhyme. This makes the poem less artistic and harder to remain engaged and interested. In addition to rhyming, allusions are another way of displaying artistic
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.
Shank, Barry. “”That Wild Mercury Sound:” Bob Dylan and the Illusion of American Culture.” Boundary 2 29.1 (2002): 97-123.
Harris, James F. “Listen to the music: the meaning of classic rock,” The World & I, Vol. 11, 12 Ed. (1996): December, pp. 306.
The Song “American Idiot” by Green Day uses techniques to engage the audience to interoperate the issues. Green day through their style of music convey issues such as the medias over powering effect on society, greed and the division of the United States of American over political issues. Green Day’s negative stance on the issues through these techniques conveys the audience to agree with the main issues being focused.
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.
DeWitt, Howard A. Chuck Berry: Rock ‘N’ Roll Music. 2nd Ed. Ann Arbor: Pierian Press, 1985.
Rytell, David. “Music Worthy of a Riot.” David Rytell’s Home Page. 1989. Web. 17 September 2011.
As Floyd is falling down on the stage, my heart is teared apart resonating with miserable life of African-American people in 1940s Pittsburgh. I have seen how people struggle with their assigned and unfair destiny and how the brutal reality smashes their dreams and humanity; I have seen that there were a group of people singing, dreaming, fighting, loving and dying in the red-brick house, which I might pass by everyday, all in this masterpiece of August Wilson. It is always difficult to reopen the grievous wound of the dark period during America history; however, the hurtfulness would be the most effective way forcing people to reflect the consequence of history.
The instruments utilized by the songwriters in “Bullet the Blue Sky” created a chaotic vibe for me as I was reading the poem. The big intro before the first verse of U2’s song helped me feel the tension in the song before the lyrics even commenced. I noticed that “Bullet the Blue Sky” kept referring to the tune of “The Ants Go Marching In.” I thought it was an excellent fit to the lyrics of the song, the tune symbolizing the United States military marching into the country of El Salvador. In “Minority Poem,” I enjoyed how Lum integrated tone, active voice, and explosive consonants into his poem to catch the audience’s attention. The symbols he utilized in his poem, such as apple pie, caught my attention. I was impressed with how Lum was able to convey a sarcastic tone in the poem merely by using certain words. The fact that Lum writes his poem in an aggressive tone gave me a sense that he was describing the hostility in which Caucasian Americans treat minorities in the U.S. in the active form. The words themselves in “Minority Poem” imply assertiveness and demonstrate the fact that Caucasian-Americans really dislike minorities. Overall, the poetic techniques and figurative language utilized in both poems set up a tone that helped me emotionally relate with the
1 Gass, Bryan "A History of Rock Music: The Rock and Roll Era" World Book. Ed. 6. 1994.
The song that I chose for for my Essay is “Neil Diamond-America”. This song is all positivity on American ethics and American culture. All it talks about it America's great accomplishments. It talks about how great that is that people from other countries are coming from land and by sea just to see how amazing it is to live in America. It talks also made me realize that most Americans don't see America in the same way, that we don't realize the places we have and how truly great our country is. This song analyzes what a foreigner looks in in finding a safe haven or just a new place to live.