American Pie Essay

Given the points above, it is almost sacrilege to classify this song as anything other than an American classic. Even in today’s time people recognize

When songwriters begin to pen the lyrics of a song, I believe their ultimate goal is to transcend time in hopes of reaching listeners for generations to come. J.R. Cash, professionally known as Johnny Cash, wrote a song that did just that. “Ragged Old Flag” is a patriotic song that speaks to every generation. Written in 1974, “Ragged Old Flag” was meant to tell the story of our country. Johnny Cash recorded “Ragged Old Flag” live at the House of Cash. Cash wanted the song to be recorded live because it was raw, untouched, and unapologetically real. The basis of this analysis is to show how patriotism spans generations, but also why a song such as, “Ragged Old Flag” is an important part of patriotism in the United States of America.

I feel that the repertoire of songs that were written by Tin Pan Alley composers appeal to so many Americans and continue too, today; because, their songs tempo are so upbeat, very rhythmic, making it very fun to listen to. Tim Pan Alley composers and performers inspired the American public during a delicate time, giving hope while influencing people’s feelings and opinions. Finally, another reason that many of these great American song are still appealing is because we hear them in popular movies. For example, song by Diana Krall, “You Don’t Know Me;” can be heard in “MY Best Friend’s Wedding,” along with one of Michael Bublé songs, “The Way You Look Tonight. Another example is, “How Sweet it is” in American Pie by Michael Bublé. Some of these

The 1930’s was a decade of extremely hard times, following the stock market crash and an extreme depression. In spite of the tremendous hardships in America during this decade, it also became a time of great music that is still remembered today. Jazz music was highly popular in this time, and Billie Holiday was a famous jazz performer. She stood out from many other musicians because of her intense and passionate performances. Jazz arose from “unacceptable” segments of society, but quickly grew like wildfire. We often think of the 1930’s as the decade that jazz became civilized, and famous throughout popular culture through the work of pioneering artists like Billie Holiday. People did not own televisions or cable, so radio was their main source of entertainment, and music during this decade was both up beat and a source of relaxation. “Strange Fruit” defied musical category because it was considered too artsy to be folk, and too explicitly political to fit into jazz. This is why “Strange Fruit” became such a powerful phenomenon. Many other artists later took on this song, changing the genre but still portraying the same message. Nina Simone dramatized “Strange Fruit” in the context of the Civil Rights Movement. More important artists like Jeff Buckley, Rene Marie, Labor Camp Orchestra, and many others made their own rendition on the song, still leaving all of their audiences moved by the powerful imagery of the lyrics.

Through new technology including the ability to record music, the emergence of Tin Pan Alley, and the immigration boom, America soon developed a new sinful musical culture. 19th Century American Pop music, although tame in today’s standards, was considered to be morally corrupting and created a new naughtier America. In the transition from classical romantic ballads to the syncopated, “blackness” was pop like Ragtime music took quite a large evolution. From the dance halls for the working class, cabaret for the middle class, and high class refined dancing, the explosion of Ragtime music effected all types of Americans. Due to the immigration boom and the introduction of mobility and leisure time, class lines began to blur, causing the middle and working class to bump elbows more often than ever before. Often times, such incidences would occur in entertainment venues like Coney Island or even run of the mill vaudeville shows. Modern music was can be identified by its’ lascivious subject matter, which reflected the evolving ideals of Americans. One song that illustrated this is “I Love My Wife; But Oh, You Kid!”, which spoke of a man’s desire to cheat on his wife, highlighting the new sexually aware younger population. Although it’s tone and composition were similar to earlier, classic, love songs the subject matter and morals

The song American Pie is a representation of loss during the transition into the 1970s. It was written in 1971 by Don McLean and filled with his views on the state of society, political changes, and cultural changes. The cultural changes and the loss of everything society knew produced the lost generation that McLean was apart of. He demonstrated his disapproval of the direction of the country by using music, faith, and war as examples of the changes and loss his generation faced.

Taking only just a little over two minutes in length, the “troublemaking” song was an easy way to vocalize beliefs during this time against the Americas role overseas fighting and the corrupt political establishment with held in the United States. The entire song is constructed upon the impression

In spite of its inception, it is keened that the British utilized the melody to fulminate Americans afore the Revolutionary War, tracing back to the French and Indian War. Shuckburgh was so regaled at the discernment of the soldiers that he fixated to make fun of them by mounting a couple of preposterous words into an English melody. “Yankee” attributes to the British soldiers. However, the inception of “Doodle” is undiscovered. The lyrics that were utilized pristinely isn’t kenned because of the fact that

Throughout all the anti-war protests and marches during the Vietnam War, it is interesting to note the changes in the music of that time. From the beginning of the war, where support and loyalty from Americans was present in songs, to the end of the war, where anger and distrust was evident in musical lyrics, American’s opinion changed about the war. This change in opinion was easily recognized by the altering of musical lyrics about the war when Americans grew tired of the constant sending of U.S. troops to Vietnam. The growing dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War led to increasing levels of anger and hostility in the popular music of the time.

Changes within the military again, can be something seen every single year. These changes have the ability to affect the pride in which Americans are feeling at that specific time period. Don McLean's song, American Pie, reflects his opinion on the decline of America and its loss of innocence during the 1960s. Don McLean was born in 1945 in a rather large New York town. His childhood was pretty good as he had two parents who supported him.

‘American Pie’ was written in 1971 and topped the music charts in 1972. Don Mclean wrote it partly as a biography and partly as the story of the evolving America through the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s. Don Mclean wrote the song to tell a story about his generation and how it had and continued to change since he was younger. It took Mclean over ten years of work and with the combination of many ideas American Pie was born. In American Pie by Don Mclean, he shows America’s lost innocence in the song after the 1950’s through symbolism, allusion, and denotation.

Colors tend to be darker in the red spectrum, with some exceptions of white, green and purple

The poem’s words echo through your mind, revealing a haunting display. Eleanora Fagan, professionally known as Billie Holiday, performed Strange fruit. She sang the poem not in a melody, but in a screeching tone creating an alarming show. The timbre of her voice’s pitch was intense. In other words, the way Billie Holiday sang Strange Fruit in a serious voice, confirms that the poem is not to joke about because it is based on a true story. It is important to realize, that the poem relates to history because it demonstrates how demented racism dominated in the

As the song begins, the narrator seems to feel nostalgic about the music written by a certain person, and he describes the way that music made him smile (1-3). He misses the music from the past that could make people smile, and that could help them forget their troubles. McLean seems to be referring to the 1950s, which is clearer in the chorus of the song. As the speaker goes on, he says, “But February made me shiver / With every paper I'd deliver.” Here it is widely believe that Don McLean is referring to the death of Buddy Holly. He is said to have been delivering newspapers on his paper route the February that he learned of Buddy Holly’s death. The speaker identifies Holly by the month of his death, and the, “widowed bride,” (12)

Folk music is significant to American history because, it discuses a vast amount of different problems and historical events that have happened throughout U.S. history. An example of this is, singing about wars was a popular topic, along with political issues, economic issues, labor issues, relationship issues, as well as many others throughout the years of American history. These vast amount of topics and hardships in these songs not only show how these people felt at the time, but can also show an actual timeline of events that happened in U.S. history. I will be discussing one of these famous and important folk singers, Odetta Holmes. I will be analyzing and discussing her life and success in her