The emotions conveyed by versed lyricist Yip Harburg in “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime” force even those who cannot begin to relate to the disheartening lines to feel a sort of emotional awakening. However, without the proper musical accompaniment, the words can become ineffective and hollow, lost within the reverberating waves of an unfitting tune. Over the years since the creation of his original song, artists of every style have performed their own interpretations, changing the score to fit their exclusive genre. Accomplished musicians, particularly Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, Abbey Lincoln and Tom Waits, have all approached this 1930’s song in contrasting ways. These divergent musical understandings differ by either decidedly expressing the …show more content…
Bing Crosby’s voice resonates as he sings through the opening statement: “They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob”. Without the help of the orchestral build up, the first line of Crosby’s 1931 version of “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime” would hold little meaning. A minor key combined with the use of a constructive crescendo make the beginning lyrics impart oppressive hardships and an overbearing significance which will continue on throughout the remainder of the song. Although the use of minor chords softly laid beneath the vocals of Crosby (which is used quite often throughout this rendition) establish the sincerity of the singer’s grief, the absence of any music at all does this just …show more content…
In the opening of Bing Crosby’s approach, minor chords and a great crescendo build up to the opening line of the song which forms the distinctive theme of despair throughout the rest of the score. In contrast, Vallee’s one minute and twelve second upbeat introduction contradicts the true message behind the first line of Harburg’s lyrics. Along with the jubilant beats, which is bordering on disrespectful to the meaning of the song itself, Vallee takes the time to enthusiastically introduce himself to his listening audiences. He may recognize what the song is about, as he points out in his introduction that it holds a “theme that is both poignant and different”, though he doesn’t show any attempt at proving his understanding throughout the remaining verses. Following this quick message to his fans, more instrumental fillers play including a flute performing a quick tune, eventually transferring into a major key that one would usually associate with euphoria; not anguish. Similar to Vallee’s ignorant attempt, Abbey Lincoln’s jazzy portrayal barely does justice to Harburg’s melancholy chorus. Lincoln is definitely able to render the pure emotion that Crosby was able to capture through the use of her vocals, changing her tone and volume as appropriate, but the fast-paced jazz music is no exception. This genre of music seems almost too calming to be associated with
The piano is what sets the mood of the whole piece, the beginning starts off slow and gloomy sounding, then the vocalist begins to sing and confirms that this song is going to be unhappy. Although the song is gloomy sounding, I still like it, the piano has a pleasant melody and it is calming. It sounds like a song that should be played in a movie when a loved one dies and everyone’s moored at a funeral.
The beat and resonance of the music is very slow and soothing. It immediately sets up a sad mood. The music also manages to create a lonely and sympathetic atmosphere, which carries on throughout the play. The music only plays at significant times in the monologue as the tone of music needs to fit the mood and subject of which Doris is talking about at that moment, i.e. when Doris reminisces on the good times the music becomes lighter; but when she talks about the death of John the pace of the music slows and becomes duller. The use of music alone can form an overwhelming sympathy if appropriately used.
Sonny’s brother has been distant towards him, but recently, he has been trying to understand him and help him. Sonny decides to take his brother to a concert to see if he will understand what he is trying to convey through music. Sonny hasn’t played the piano for “over a year” and he is a little bit rusty (147). Sonny also says he isn’t on “much better terms with life” than he was a year ago (147). In a way though, he is in a much better place, because his brother is there for him. When Sonny starts to play the piano, he is a little bit nervous, and he does not really feel the music that he is playing. After a while though, he starts to loosen up and play his heart out. The tune he is playing is no longer just a song; it is “Sonny’s Blues” (148). The music he plays “fills the air with life, his life,” and Sonny’s brother finally understands “he could help us be free if we would listen, “ and that Sonny “would never be free until we did” (148). By the end of the story, Sonny achieves his goal of communicating his problems though his
...he scales in this composition. As for timbre, at the lower register, the song took on a dark, rich, tone, and at the high points it had more of a tinkling melody. The “upbeat” parts made me think of a happy couple strolling through the fair on a summer afternoon.
A document from the Ransom Center minstrel collection “The Programme” (Wood’s Minstrel Hall) features many short minstrel plays created for entertainment purposes, among which are “Happy Uncle Tom” and “Dixie’s Land”. It is not hard to see that both of these two plays contains symbols that are associated with African Americans by the whites. Evidently, the creators of these performances incorporated their ideas of racial identities into these shows, which then passed on the messages to the audiences. There are also many sheet music and scores in the Ransom Center minstrel collection, including “Git along home my yaler gall” by the Boston Minstrel. The composer wrote this piece in a light-mooded major key, with a faster 6/8 tempo, intending to portray the image of a happy African American. In the text portion of this piece, many words were intentionally misspelled to exaggerate the presumed accents and lack of education of African Americans. These are all evidence of how the white composers at the time tend to incorporate the common perceptions of the African American from the standpoint of a white person into their compositions. Music is essentially a representation of the
A Rebuttal of “Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime” In “Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime,” L. Christopher Awalt says that homeless people are homeless on their own accord. He believes “many of them seem to have chosen the lifestyles they lead” (Awalt))).. This article states that most homeless people would prefer to escape responsibility rather than fix their social and economic problems. Awalt uses an example of a man who had been on the streets for about 10 years. He provided this man with resources to improve his life and within four months he was making progress.
Family structure is often built on foundations consisting of, trust, principal, and unconditional love. Relatives are often a reflection of the morals, and dignity our guardians instilled in us. The struggle in families arises when an individual does not live up to the standards set for them, by family, and sometimes results in incarceration, or use of narcotics. In “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, readers encounter two brothers who are brought up in the rough neighborhood of Harlem, New York. Although Sonny, the younger brother, chooses a different life path in heroin usage, and in being a musician, his older brother, the narrator, becomes an algebra teacher. Despite not being in each other’s lives for a period of time, the knitted fraternal relationship that they share proves to be eternal regardless of their loss of contact. Ultimately, this story is an amazing illustration of how two people are from the same blood and home, are never quite the same, yet the love of a family will always be kindled. In the following articles "Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music, by Suzy Bernstein Goldman, explains how people often explain their emotions through music. In another article titled, -“ Black Literature Revisited: "’Sonny's Blues’" by Elaine R. Ognibene, she elaborates on the effects music has to bring two people together. Finally, in “The Jazz-Blues Motif in James Baldwin's "’Sonny's Blues’" by Richard N Albert discusses, the bound in families and enlightens on the cliché saying that blood is thicker than water. Ultimately, Albert provides the best interpretation of the short story “Sonny Blues,” because it’s more realistic and relatable from my own personal experience.
The song begins in a slow and introspective making use of a minor tonality. The original piece starts in the key of D Minor and follows an AABA form. The piece uses unlikely and unexpected chord changes, as well as a false key change from D Minor to D♭ Major in the first “A” section, even though this section ultimately ends in F Major. (In a Sentimental Mood) The first seven notes used in the song, although in a different key, identical to the first seven notes in Gershwin’s Someone To Watch Over Me. The piece makes use of the “Circle of Fifths”. The following is a quote from Source 1: (In
“Sonny’s Blues” is a short story in which James Baldwin, the author, presents an existential world where suffering characterizes a man’s basic state. The theme of tragedy and suffering can be transformed into a communal art form, such as blues music. Blues music serves as a catalyst for change because the narrator starts to understand not only the music but also himself and his relationship with Sonny. The narrator’s view of his brother begins to change; he understands that Sonny uses music as an outlet for his suffering and pain. This story illustrates a wide critical examination.
The song “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South”, may possibly portray Holiday’s sadness and experience during the Great Depression. The line “Homesick, tired, all alone in a big city” can be ...
As a soldier, he cannot provide a better shelter for his younger brother when their parents die; he cannot send his brother away from Harlem and its drug circle. The concern on financial difficulties also guides the narrator in making choices throughout his life. I believe the narrator does not have the luxury to do what he may want to do; instead, his priority in career choice will adhere to the one which guarantees an economically secured and stable life. In spite of supporting his brother’s love and determination for jazz music, the narrator applies the same logic of making a living job towards Sonny; which in turn, creates a huge disagreement.
For many years, American musical theatre was defined as being mere entertainment for the people. It ranged from operetta, burlesque, vaudeville, and more. If there is one towering figure in the history of American Musical Theater, that person is Oscar Hammerstein II. He was a lyricist-librettist, as well as a distinguished poet and director. For over forty years, as the theatre’s forms of entertainment shifted, he helped merge everything into the art form known today as the musical. Born twenty-three years after Hammerstein, came Alan Jay Lerner. Idolizing Hammerstein’s work, he would grow to become another distinguished lyricist-librettist in musical theatre history. In this paper, we will look deeper at who these lyricists are and their writing style. Then we will examine one of each of their works and factors that fueled their creation.
The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.
From the first stanza of this song, you get put into a scene. You know almost immediately that it is about someone, and it is the middle of December, but without stating the obvious, it paints a more illustrated picture for you. The first line states, “A winters day, in a deep and dark December” and I could almost immediately feel a cool breeze around me. When I normally think of a winter’s day, I think of people playing in the snow, and having a good time. This may be because I grew up in Southern California where there has been a lack of snow, but in my head, that is what I imagine. Having them state, in a deep and dark December, turns my attitudes to the more pessimistic way of looking at things. The image of children playing in the snow in my head has now turned to cold and dark emptiness. Reinstating my idea of emptiness, the next line follows with the simply statement, “I am alone”. Personally, I hate being alone. So to have the opening words place us in a deep and dark setting, and then state that you are alone, automatically puts me in a negative mindset.