Analyzing the Hidden Meaning of the Piano Man
Many artists write songs about what is going on in their lives. This can be seen in Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”. During the time when he wrote this song, Joel was in disagreements with his first record company and was performing at a local bar in Los Angeles, as Bill Martin. We find out when reading the lyrics to this song that, Bill, the piano man, is actually Billy Joel himself. It is known to many that Mr. Joel is a piano player. Throughout the song, there is an overall theme of depression with the employees and patrons of the bar. Many of them, he explains, come to listen to the piano man to feel better and to forget about their daily lives.
First we have the locals at the bar. The first person
Due to the fact that the narrator could not actually know what the piano player is thinking, the reader can say that the narrator is actually describing his own actions after hearing the musician sing. Based on the lack of emotion given from the narrator and the blending of the narrator and the musician’s actions at the end of the poem, the speaker, has a common voice with the piano player, both of whom are
Music helps everyone connect with other people. By playing a sad song, it can show that they are sad and need someone to talk to them. Or if someone plays a country song, it could mean they are happy and want to dance. That is how Lil Wayne wrote his music; through the pain and sadness, he felt in New Orleans. It was with the help of Lil Wayne’s music; David Ramsey survived his first year of teaching, connected with his students, and began to understand how connected the students were with Lil Waynes lyrics.
“The Pianist” by Wladyslaw Spilman is a extraordianry story about a man’s survival in the holocaust in Warsaw, Poland. The book explains how Szpilman survives the holocaust in Poland by hiding, escaping, and with luck. Szpilman is important to society because he explains the following topics in his perspective for them not to happen again, religious discrimination, human rights, and punishment in crimes involving genocide. Many of the issues raised by the holocaust continue to have an impact on the world today.
For example, in the beginning of Ordinary People, perhaps the time when Conrad was struggling the most, he results to music, “He thinks of a simple, spare melody… ‘Rainy Day Man,’ an old James Taylor tune… He hums it through to relax himself” (pg. 21). Music symbolizes his antidepressant; it is the method he uses to cope with discomfort. Conrad uses music to escape the pain caused by depression. Similarly, Styron uses music as a tool to provoke his writing’s creative side, and in concurrence with alcohol, as an alternative way to evade his attention from his suffering.
After the shell hits the brewery, Kenan is so irritated and worn-out from getting water every day, that he decides to leave cantankerous Mrs. Ristovski’s water bottles in a hole. The worn-out Kenan has a change of heart when he listens to the cellist’s music later on. He goes back to retrieve the water because he decides he does not want to become “a ghost” like Mrs. Ristovski and the other people while he is still living. The cellist’s music gives Kenan faith and the optimism to live. As the cellist’s notes seep into Kenan, he is filled with visions of him spending time with his family. Kenan’s resolve strengthens and he realizes that he must continue to survive, so that when the time comes, “they will be the ones who will rebuild Sarajevo.” In recovering the bottles for Mrs. Ristovski, Kenan regains his humanity. The music also has a transforming effect on Kenan as he watches the “the building behind the cellist repair itself, the scars of bullets and shrapnel [become] covered [with] plaster. Kenan watches as his city heals itself around him.” This shows the transcendent power of music as it puts Kenan into a state of bliss and helps him to develop hope that his city will heal. The music is so powerful that the happiness is “all taken away” when the music stops and Kenan “is back on the street where twenty-two people were killed.” Usually, Kenan is a person that everyone trusts and the music helps Kenan preserve his trustworthy
The story mentions at one point that the music stops and so does the barmaid. It has her full attention and she waits for it to start back. The music is the manipulator and she is its marionette waiting for it to guide her again. A few more examples that music soothes and comforts the soul are the mother gently humming while Sonny is out on the streets, Sonny’s brother, the narrator, whistles to keep from crying after reconciliation with Sonny fails. At first glance these may seem to be insignificant details, but when analyzed they prove that music is a source people lean on for comfort whenever they are in a state of worry or despair.
In the song “1-800” by Logic the narrator uses metaphors to explain some of the depression that people in this world have. Also he uses loved ones to explain some of the hard times they could give you if you don’t make the right choices. This song has a dark and an important message because it talks about people having so much depression they are think about suicide. This song can make a big change in someone's live that is going in depression. It can also change the perspective of how people look at life even if they aren’t going through depression.
The most obvious thing that is important to the character is his adopted daughter, Anna. Throughout the narrative he shows that he cares for her happiness and her health. She is unable to speak clearly and tell her own story, so the character (father) tells it for her. The character is trying to show the reader how effective music can be as a therapy, and is using his own experience to prove the worth of musical therapy. He gives example after example of how music improved the life of his daughter, and how she looks forward to her day with music so eagerly. One line he says, “Ask her a direct question and you will get a stammered word or two at most. Play a song and she will begin to shout out the words, even if she has never heard them before. ”It is a testament to how much music can change her attitude and behaviours. It seems to fill her with confidence and strength where usually she is frail, a picture painted by the quote above.
It became a way of self-expression; his own movement within himself. He related to the way he felt the music move him, was the way the heroin flowed through his veins and set him free. Free of the confinements of the city that trapped his youth, and free of the bars that held him hostage to break his habit of addiction. Even though he had hurt his family, he was able to relate his pain and struggles through music. With his own emotional struggles after the death of his child, the narrator reunites with his brother years later.
Billy Joel is one of the best selling solo artists of all time in the United States. Amongst his most popular songs are “Piano Man,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “She’s Always a Woman,” all with good reason. Having written a plethora of memorable songs that could easily be added to the soundtrack of our lives, Billy Joel’s undoubtedly one of the most talented musicians and songwriters of all time.
The Pianist is a movie that shows the life of one man, Wladyslaw Szpilman who was a popular Jewish Pole radio station pianist. In the World War II which is a background of the movie, How Szpilman suffered and how he survived are presented in the movie. While the movie portrays Szpilman’s life, it also shows how the Jewish people are dehumanized by Nazi during the war. The director, Roman Polanski, successfully uses camera angle, lighting and plot structure, and characterization to present the theme of dehumanization.
So why would the band choose to illustrate such a serious stage of personal development with the nursery rhyme-like style of the song's chorus? Before we get to that, the song's emotional and psychological message must first be examined.
‘The Pianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed through Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hope in todays society – and to understand how Polanski uses music to symbolise ‘hope’ for Szpilman in the film. Polanski effectively utilises an array of visual and oral text features such as music, dialogue, and lighting to build further
The piano, created by Bartolomeo Christofori in 1709, has impacted our society by becoming a popular instrument and a popular medium for musicians to create musical masterpieces. Also called the pianoforte, the piano is one of the most beautiful sounding instruments that can range in sound from as low as a gust of wind, to as high as the shrill sound of a bird. It has evolved over time and become an amazing instrument. The piano was accepted very well in history and it has generated many changes in the music industry. The piano was also used a lot in society and has had many applications grow from it. Without it, many classical masterpieces as well as modern songs wouldn’t have been possible.
The poem Piano, by D. H. Lawrence describes his memories of childhood. Hearing a woman singing takes him to the time when his mother played piano on Sunday evenings. In the present, this woman is singing and playing the piano with great passion. However, the passionate music is not affecting him, because he can only think about his childhood rather than the beauty of the music that exists in his actual space.