Analysis Of The Beatles ' Blackbird '

For this analysis on Louis Armstrong’s West End Blues, I am going to concentrate on Louis Armstrong and how influential he was in the birth of Swing. He was extremely innovative in the way he played his instrument. Louis Armstrong had a brilliant trumpet sound. His power, range, and his rhythmic approach are all trademarks of his playing in the 1920s and 1930s. West End Blues is still considered one of the most influential and classic pieces in the Jazz Industry. I will explain why by breaking down the song utilizing the five elements of music; form, harmony, texture, melody, and rhythm.

“The free bird thinks of another breeze….a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams…” The two literary works “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” can be seen as mockingbirds that have flown over fields of prejudice and repeat what they have seen for all to hear. Jem Finch, a young boy and lawyer’s son from “To Kill a Mockingbird” clearly symbolizes a mockingbird because of his youth and innocence, and because of his innocence he cannot fully understand the racism in the story. Jem also has many similarities to the caged and free birds in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, whether it be Jem’s

“Crazy Blues” by Noble Sissle is a cover of the song originally written by Perry Bradford. This timeless piece of history was first recorded on August 10th, 1920 by Mamie Smith and later released on as a vinyl record by Okeh Records.3 Smith’s version of the song was wildly successful, selling 75,000 copies in the first month following its release. Within a year, the record had sold over a million copies, and in all, two million copies were purchased.4 After its incredible success, recording companies rushed to record other African American singers. Noble Sissle’s version was recorded later that same year, and had similar success. Despite the large quantity of blues recordings during the 1920’s, “Crazy Blues” is considered the first successful blues song recorded by an African American artist.9 Ironically, “Crazy Blues” is considered more of a popular song than a blues song despite many references to “blues” throughout the track. Nevertheless, this song paved the way for black music makers into a then predominately-white recording industry, and quickly after its release, a market for black music emerged. Perry Bradford, who wrote “Crazy Blues”, also persuaded several record companies to invest in a music market specifically for blacks.9 After record companies realized the lucrativeness of selling “race

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arrive, you were only waiting for this moment to be free" - The Beatles

“They were as influential in that decade as the Beatles were in the prior one. Their impact extends to classic and alternative rockers alike. Then and now, Led Zeppelin looms larger than life on the rock landscape as a band for the ages with an almost mystical power to evoke primal passions”. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (No

Angelou was born in Missouri in 1928. She spent most of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, pre Civil Rights Movement with her grandmother and her older brother. Angelou is most known for writing the poem Caged Bird. In the first stanza about the caged bird, Angelou declares that the bird, “can seldom see through/ his bars of rage/ his wings are clipped and/ his feet are tied/ so he opens his throat to sing”(Caged Bird). Angelou uses the bird as a metaphor for oppressed African Americans during this time period; the bird is held back by a barrier, just like African Americans were held back by unjust laws, a corrupt legal system, and their white peers who saw them as inferior. Similar to the bird, Angelou felt held back by others, but she did not let the “bars of rage” hold her back from her potential so, like the bird, she “opened her throat to sing” and used her voice to protest for herself and those who could not advocate for themselves.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” depicts two birds which are used as metaphors to express the state in which the two classes of people live. In one description the poem describes the standard of living of a bird of privilege which alludes to the lives of whites. Then it describes caged birds whom of which are crying out for freedom, and are meant to represent African Americans during this time. It describes the feeling of being trapped and calling out for

Through the poems “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou it is evident freedom is a desire for all beings, and this is conveyed through symbolism and juxtaposition.. “Sympathy” is a poem that expresses a caged bird’s desire to be free and it’s pain, as well as the poet’s connections to the bird. The poet writes, “I know why the caged bird beats his wing/Till its blood is red on the cruel bars/For he must fly back to his perch and cling/When he fain would be on the bough a-swing” (Dunbar 8-11). The bird symbolizes freedom is a desire for all beings. The bird is a symbol for being trapped, confined, or restricted. The bird tries to escape so desperately to the point where there is blood on the bars. This is an urgent

Lonesome Dove is a story in the western genre written by Larry McMurty. The book was published in 1985 and was the first book of a tetralogy, but third in chronology. The book is about a strenuous cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Lonesome Dove was a wholesome and interesting book that engages your curiosity from the beginning to the end.

The song connects to the whole group otherwise known as the flock. This relates because the song lyric is about flying high and free like a bird. The lyric: “Cause I’m free as a bird now” connects because the flock is usually being hunted down, so when they get the chance they can be free and isolated in the sky like a bird. Max states: “Which is why we hadn’t done an up-and-away” (Patterson 292). What Max was trying to say was that they hadn’t gone up into the sky to be free because they had important thing to do at the time. That important thing was to escape from the flyboys. These two quotes connect to each other because the flock was going to be free like birds into the sky to have some privacy of the crisis going on around

The title of Wallace Stevens poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," is misleading, because he does not only offer thirteen ways of looking at blackbird, but the poem offers us many insights on how humans think. "Blackbird", written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, has many similarities with "Thirteen Ways of Looking at A Blackbird" other than just their titles. They use many poetic conventions to explain their poem 's ideas, both writers use a blackbird to compare to humans and human nature, and imagery plays a big role in getting across their points.

As the bird is entrapped, his wings “clipped”, and his feet “tied” by racism, he attempts to express himself by singing, the only form of freedom left in a society filled with racism.As the bird is entrapped, his wings “clipped”, and his feet “tied” by racism, he attempts to express himself by singing, the only form of freedom left in a society filled with racism.As the bird is entrapped, his wings “clipped”, and his feet “tied” by racism, he attempts to express himself by singing, the only form of freedom left in a society filled with racism.As the bird is entrapped, his wings “clipped”, and his feet “tied” by racism, he attempts to express himself by singing, the only form of freedom left in a society filled with racism.As the bird is entrapped,

The poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou tells the story of two birds: one bird has the luxury of freedom and the second bird lives its life caged and maltreated by an unknown tyrant. Maya Angelou wrote this poem during the Civil Rights Era, the period when black activists in the 1950’s and 1960’s fought for desegregation of African Americans. This poem parallels the oppression that African Americans were fighting during this time period. In “Caged Bird”, Angelou builds a strong contrast that shows the historical context of discrimination and segregation through the use of mood, symbolism, and theme.

Dunbar utilizes the analogy of caged bird in his poem “Sympathy” to expose the emotions and struggles of enslaved African Americans to achieve freedom. He begins his poem by describing the free bird singing when “sun is bright and first bud opens” to portray the beauty of landscape. However, the beauty turns into sadness when the poet states "I know what the caged bird feels, alas" which depicts a tone of sadness. This contrast between a free bird and caged bird initiates the losses of caged bird. It cannot go out and experience the freedom under the open sky. It struggles with physical constrain “till its blood is red on the cruel bars” helps visualize the intensity of struggle the bird is experiencing to gain his freedom to go where he desires, and to be with those who give him happiness. This struggle is similar of African American who tried to rebel in hopes of gaining their freedoms, but all resulted in vain. Their wounds, just like the caged bird, are “old, old scars” emphasizes that African Americans

In the last stanza, the caged bird’s song symbolises the emotions and cries of freedom. The combination of the two represents that there is a need for every child to reach their full potential. Something that cannot be achieved with helicopter parenting and the barriers placed upon them.