Bruce Springsteen Is Known For His Genuine And Relatable

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.

Life, liberty, freedom, equality, opportunity, and so many other words have been used to describe the United States of America. Every American child grows up with the words “the land of the free” pounded into their heads, and every morning schools declare America as a place of “liberty and justice for all.” Such inflated rhetoric presents America with large shoes to fill. Thus, America’s shortcomings should not be surprising. Langston Hughes and Upton Sinclair were two 20th Century writers, who saw past this idealistic talk and saw the jungle that the United States really was. Langston Hughes wrote in his poem “Let America be America Again”, “Let America be America again. –Let it be the dream it used to be. –Let it be the pioneer on the plain –Seeking a home where himself is free. –(America was never America to me) (1).” He highlights not only the experience of African Americans during the 1930s, but identifies with other oppressed groups including immigrants writing, “I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—And finding only the same old stupid plan –Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” Likewise, Upton Sinclair conveyed his repulsion to immigrant oppression during the Industrial Revolution in his book The Jungle, emphasizing the gullibility behind trusting the grandiloquence of the American dream.

America started out as a free land where immigrants would come to start a new life; a life that’s better, a life without oppression. This continuing tradition that’s been going on for centuries is known as the American Dream. Many people dream for the traditional white picket fence, a family, and a respectable amount of money; also known as the American Dream. America’s structure was built upon this foundation, but over the years the foundation began to crack and crumble. Now the foundation only supports the upper class, leaving the poor struggling for their dreams. This idea is further examined, in the famous nationalistic song “This Land is Your Land”, in which the singer Woodrow Guthrie sings about the classic American Dream. Many people sing along to the well known words “This land is your land this land is my land” expressing how America is open to all dreamers. However later in the song the reality of the American Dream comes through in the unknown, never sung lyrics “As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me”. The progression of the lyrics in “This Land is Your Land” accurately embodies the progression of the American Dream and how there’s a shift between the hungry poor and the rich. Although the American Dream is still alive and running, there are some dark truths that are never brought up. These truths of hunger and despair are always overshadowed by the successes of the rich. To further demonstrate this idea, Author F. Scott

Some people are born to become legends, Bruce Springsteen is one of them. From the second he was born and through his younger years everyone knew he was destined for something bigger than a regular nine to five life, they just didn’t realize the magnitude of what was to come. Born into a all around food middle-class family, no on in that house hold even Bruce, didn’t realize that within fifty years he would reach living legend status. Also have a title of one of the best musicians to every live. After working hard at what he loves, Bruce has become known as a musical hero and inspiration to his fans and fellow musicians. With his deep lyrics, amazing stage presence, incredible guitar skills, and his passion, he is an untouchable force in

The song highlights these peoples’ views in regard to the war, by illustrating the immense urge to not go and fight, that “it ain’t me”. I feel as if this song shows us a turning point in the US government’s approach to the war itself. With its release closely following Nixon’s silent majority speech, the song was able to go against what Nixon said by screaming to the American people that we as a country need to end this conflict, despite whatever our elected officials

Over the course of American history, several significant events have impacted poetry. Moreover, poetry serves to be the origin of many historical songs. Furthermore, this poetry origin has developed diction and repetition within songs. “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” a historic song, employs repetition and diction to emphasize its patriotic theme. However, as time continues, the merit of the piece, written by George Frederick Root in 1862, has been degraded and no longer holds the same significance in people's hearts. In order to better understand the change in meaning that the poem undergoes, one must consider the meaning of the poem, the framework of when it was written and the context of what it means today.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, when cold war tensions were at an all time high in the United States, Bob Dylan wrote a song that would become known as A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, which depicted the world after a nuclear cataclysm. He song provided imagery such as “a newborn baby with wild wolves around it” and “a young woman whose body was burning” (Dylan). Compared to Sinatra, Dylan’s music was extremely politically motivated and used to push a message, it was also composed by Dylan himself. This difference is most likely due to Sinatra’s origin in the Big Band era of Swing Music, where a singer would exist as part of a large ensemble if one existed at all, and the band director would be primarily in charge of songs that the orchestra performed. Whereas Dylan was a child of the Folk Music revival, which valued music less for setting a mood but rather as a means for creative expression for a given artist. Even if a difference in era is the root in Dylan’s music being far more politically motivated, it did lead to him being able to have a large amount of influence of the political views of his listeners. Dylan was also notoriously racially tolerant, with the singer Victoria Spivey saying that to him “Everybody was people, not color” (Sounes, Chapter 3). One of Bob Dylan’s biggest hits was Blowin’ In The Wind,

During this period, Pete Seeger began writing books. His greatest publications include The Bells of Rhymney and Other Songs and Stories and American Favorite Ballads, Tunes and Folksongs as Sung by Pete Seeger. In the book “Carry it on! A History in Song and Picture of America’s Working Men and Women, Seeger and Reiser tell a story with songs describing every little aspect to the struggle of workers, specifically what they did in order to make things right. “Farm workers have been treated like livestock, herded into overcrowded dormitories or housed in shacks. In the prosperous 1960’s, the average farm worker made less than $2000 a year” . This example is followed by a song called “Deportee” which is written from the perspective of a farmer. Another book “The Incompleat Folksinger”, explores the many aspects of folklore music and what impacts it has had on Pete. He describes his songs to “tell of

Bob Dylan arrived in New York in 1960, where within a few months Bob Dylan was performing in Greenwich Village and becoming increasingly active as a folk singer. In 1964 he was among the most respected young folk singers in the United States. It was common for folksingers to write their own music, and that’s what Bob did. Dylan followed the way his idol Woody Gunthrie wrote songs, which he frequently renewed old music with new lyrics that chronicled social justice. Bob followed this by creating topical songs such as “Blowin in the Wind”, which addressed civil rights.

Some people remember things based on the date or who they were with, others tie their memories to specific emotion-filled moments, I remember everything based on what song was playing. I listened Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America”, off my brother’s first generation iPod, the first time my mom allowed me to bike alone through the neighborhood. Carpools home from rec soccer practice were filled with the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” and geeky dance moves, windows rolled down so everyone could see. Coming home from fencing practice and studying late at night was an accompaniment of Bruce Springsteen songs being quietly played on the piano by my dad. Whatever the memory, music permeates each and every one.

We develop our personalities through everything surrounding us. Culture, education, community, family, and religion influence our individuality to a great deal. Things get more complicated for children of immigrants, who struggle defining their identities. These children are exposed to a mixture of two different worlds: they follow their parents’ traditions at home while outside the home they live the culture of which they were born. In the memoir Greetings From Bury Park, Sarfraz Manzoor shows that belief in music can be comparable to that of religion. His obsession with music, Bruce Springsteen’s songs in particular, forms his way of thinking throughout his entire life.

Oftentimes musicians draw from their own lives, past and present, to find inspiration for their music. Sometimes they will pick out past experiences or people to write about, and it makes the music more personal and interesting. In the case of Bruce Springsteen, he grew up relatively poor in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and frequently talks about the people he grew up with. Because of Bruce Springsteen’s civilian background, he was inspired to write Darkness on the Edge of Town, a concept album about the struggles of the working class.

With every aspect of our lives we are making a point, arguing a belief, or refuting some other aspect of our existence. Aesthetic pieces, most avidly poems and songs, argue a message both in the lyrics and in the meaning posed between the lines. “American Pie,” in a multitude of ways, argues that American lives and memories are closely intertwined with the music of the time period. Not only does “American Pie” argue a message it also pulls many generations together. Today, thirty years after the initial release, “American Pie” still has an effect in our music and continues to be popular with all age groups. Don McLean accomplishes this task through using the context of the time period, placement of words, the words

I was not born in the United States; yet, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” hit from his 1984 album by the same title is still culturally and politically significant. Springsteen is one of those artists that is still heard in modern times because of the great amount of fame he has acquired throughout his career. The song bring some attention to the wrongdoings of the United States government in their treatment of their veterans, especially after the Vietnam War. It raises awareness by using a catchy melody to draw listeners in; but Springsteen fails to achieve his ultimate goal of influencing young adults to protest against their government because the memorable words in the chorus overshadow the plot in the verses. This makes the