"Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman
The title "Fast Car" is a very misleading title because the song itself has absolutely nothing to do with an automobile. The song is an autobiography of Tracy Chapman's childhood which involves having to drop out of school because she needed to provide income for her and her father because her father was physically incapable of working. As shown by the line, "Momma went off and left him [dad]", she was left by her mother and forced to take care of her father single-handedly. She worked hard to fight through her difficult adolescent years and continued her education at Tufts University. Although she was presented with social and financial hardship, her hard work surfaced, making her an amazing individual. Personally, this song highlights my value on the importance of working hard for things that you want. You can not expect everything in life to come your way if you do not work hard for it. This song also highlights the importance of family. Loved ones are definitely the most valued parts of my life. They are always there for me when I need them, and like Tracy, I will always be for them when they need me.
"Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion
I lead a life that is highly focused on close friend and family relationships. My family always does everything together. We eat dinner together every night and go on vacations on a regular basis. People who care about me are surely the most important to me. Celine Dion shares a similar message throughout this song. She asserts that loved ones, whether it be a significant other or family, are with you the entire way. No matter what, they have your back and do what is best for you. When you are going through a tough time, family can give you strength. This is exactly what Celine points out when she says, "You were my strength when I was weak". Celine Dion intimately expresses her love for this person. Similarly, I also try to lead a life full of love. Hate is an over-practiced principle that encourages destruction rather than construction. If everyone tries to lead lives full of love, the world would be a better place. Just like John Lennon said, "All you need is love".
"Hakuna Matata" the Lion King Soundtrack
Hakuna Matata is a Swahili phrase that literally means "there are no worries". Occasionally, times are tough and it seems like nothing is going your way. This song from Lion King simply reminds us to live without being in constant fear of failure. If you live with this fear in the back of your mind at all times, it will limit you in life. Being overly cautious depreciates the value of your time here on earth. I define myself as someone who lives life one day at a time. I do not see any need to be worried all the time. From a literary standpoint, in Don DeLillo's novel White Noise, Jack and Babette (the parents in the novel) live in constant fear of death. Because of this worry, they are two of the most unproductive parents that I have ever witnessed. A huge weigh can be lifted off of people's shoulders if they live with a little less worry. Hakuna Matata!
"Fly Over States" by Jason Aldean
Like I said in my biography, I have lived in Indiana for my entire life. Typically, fly over states are not places that are visited often by others. They are stereotyped as being boring compared to states like New York and California. Aldean says that people never "met the man who plowed that earth, planted that seed, busted his ass for you and me." Most people see my home state as "miles and miles of of back roads and highways, connecting little towns with funny names. Who'd want to live down there in the middle of nowhere?". I really do not see The Hoosier State like this whatsoever. I think Indiana is a beautiful place that is very family friend. There are areas like Fort Wayne, Evansville, Indianapolis, and Gary that are densely populated. There are areas like Zionsville, Brownsburg, and Fishers that are sparsely populated. Contrary to popular belief, Indiana is amazingly diverse. To be honest, there is not another state that I would prefer to live in. I love my native state!
"What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong
This song exemplifies many of my values in life. Essentially, this piece describes environmental surroundings and biological surroundings. This song has a simple purpose and it is to announce that we live in an awesome place. I value our environment and maintenance of earth. This "wonderful world" that we live in also helps to define me. My environment has a direct impact on my daily life and my surroundings determine what kind of person I am. For example, had I grown up on the Pacific Coast in California, I could totally see myself being an avid surfer. I might even take it to an extreme level of going surfing nearly everyday. I do love the ocean and I have always thought that surfing is a lot of fun. I live in Indiana, where there is not an ocean, so I naturally chose to do something else with my time: soccer. I have been playing soccer ever since I was about four years old. This comparison of geography determining my lifestyle kind of relates to ethnomusicologists studies of music. People often listen to music solely based on the region they live in. This ethnomusicologist approach to thinking about why I do what I do definitely helps to determine who I am and what kind of life i live.
"What I Got" by Sublime
The meaning of this song coordinates nicely with my values of life. Life and personal skills are precious and should be appreciated. Being happy for what you do have is more empowering than being unhappy with the lack of stuff that you wish you could acquire. Don't be too infatuated with materialistic things. Be proud of yourself and where you are in life.
Out of all the songs you had this post I really liked your last song "What I've Got" the best. I have always really liked that song and I totally agree with what you said. Every time I hear that song it always makes me appreciate the things I have and how good my life really is. The song that i talked about to day in class is about the same thing. I think that this song was a really good choice to represent those values.
ReplyDeleteLogan -
ReplyDeleteI can't decide if I'm more stoked about your choice of Sublime song or Hakuna Matata, but either way the truth stands - great job with this assignment! I think you really hit the nail on the head here, and figured out a way to answer the questions with your chosen pieces of music while really stretching the amount of information we could gather from each song. As you have a varied taste in music I'm looking forward to seeing what else you post!
- Casey
I really like how you choose to live what seems like a very carefree life. The idea of worrying over tiny things is what creates such immense havoc in our society. That with the addition of a live of love instead of hate could take you far one day! I also really like both of the last songs you chose. Louis Armstrong is an incredible trumpet player and musician and Sublime nailed it when they wrote What I Got. It really expresses how important relaxing and appreciating things is.
ReplyDeleteHey Logan!
ReplyDeleteI love this grouping of songs! You did a great job really communicating what you value in this world. The classic Louis Armstrong is probably my favorite choice, its so simple yet it makes me sit back and really think about how many great things there are on Earth. I also like how you defended the great state of Indiana. What I really love is how diverse and resourceful my community has been over the past years I have lived here. Secondly, the people here are amazing, and there is always something new for my friends and I to explore and appreciate.
-- Matt Bloom