By clicking on this Bob dylan alalysis you can see my final essay that i used for my Literature of Popular Music Class that compared the lyrics of Bob Dylan to American Ballads.
I came across the original version of the Lost Jimmie Whalen also:
Original Lost Jimmie Whalen
I came across the orginal Frankie and Johnnie while writing a paper.
Original Frankie and Johnnie
As I sit here and let me ming wander on this before finals this week, I wonder what would the world be without music. Music is a way for many people to connect and bond with each other. Music is a way for people to express themselves for what mood they are in and how they feel about certain thing. No matter where you go you see people relating to music. For example on facebook one of my friends said that that “dubstep is literally getting me through finals week.” Another one of my friends jokingly said “music keeps me sane, especially in school.” Then another friend sarcastically said “I would of never came out of the vagina if there was no music!” I believe that a world without music would be expressed in colors. People would express themselves with what they wear. However a world would without music would be quite bland. I rely on music so much in my life.
The poem “Listening to Jefferson Airplane” by Thom Gunn is a 2 line poem. It can be widely interpreted. The poem is this:
The music comes and goes in the wind,
Comes and goes on the brain.
I believe this poem to be a reference to the drug acid. While you are tripping on acid you’re your thoughts come and go on your mind. You are always thinking of something new and different while tripping on acid. The reference to “comes and goes in the wind” is a sign that it music drifts in and out. As music drifts in and out across your brain, you receive a different train of thought. The setting of this poem is in the Polo Grounds in Golden Gate Park. Jefferson Airplane performed at the Golden Gate Park with the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead are known for having acid distributed among its concert goers.
By analyzing the lyrics of a ballad we are able look through a window into the past. Through this window of a past we are able to see how the culture or society operates based on how women are represented. In the ballad “Matty Groves,” women are viewed as a piece of property and just as a “reproductive partner.” The ballad of “Matty Groves” depicts the story of a woman who is caught sleeping around with another man while her husband is away. In order to better understand the ballad of “Matty Groves” we had to look at the historical context of the ballad.
The ballad of “Matty Groves” dates all the way back to 17th Century Scotland. Scotland operated this time under a strong hierarchical class system. This is proven in “Matty Groves” because it refers to the characters as “Lords” and “servants.” For example the 3 main characters that mention references to being part of a class system are: Lord Donald, Lord Donald’s wife and Matty Groves. A lord is a person who is part of the upper or higher class. According to Mildred Dickemann’s studies; “strong hierarchical societies are highly hypergynous” (James). Hypergynous is the marriage with a person of a higher social class or position. This was quite common in England during the 17th century. Often times, women who were in a hypergynous marriage were forced to marry an older man in order to escape the hardships and limits of the lower class. England during the 17th -19th Century was an agrarian society. An agrarian society is one that based its culture and life around agriculture. In many agrarian societies women are viewed as “reproductive partner” because their main purpose is to create “free labor” for the farm or manor. By looking closely at the lyrics of “Matty Groves” composed by Fairport Convention we are able to see the historical context come into play with the decisions and actions made the Lord Donald’s Wife.
The setting of “Matty Groves” is set in England during the medieval times. We are able to determine this from the lyrics, “It can never be said in fair England” (Matty Groves). John James believes that, “Lord Donald’s wife had no say in her own marriage as it was arranged by her father and emissaries for Lord Donald” because it was an arranged marriage (James). We are also able to determine that “Matty Groves” is set in an agrarian society because of the lyrics, “For he is out in the far cornfields, bringing the yearlings’ home.” By analyzing the ballad from the beginning we are about to see different interpretations of the ballad.
In the opening stanzas of the ballad “Matty Groves” we are able foreshadow and interpret many things.
“A holiday, a holiday, and the first one of the year.
Lord Donald’s wife came into church, the gospel for to hear.
And when the meeting it was done, she cast her eyes about,
And there she saw little Matty Groves, walking in the crowd.
Come home with me, little Matty Groves, come home with me tonight.
Come home with me, little Matty Groves, and sleep with me till light.”
Oh, I can’t come home, I won’t come home and sleep with you tonight,
By the rings on your fingers I can tell you are Lord Donald’s wife.”
Holidays in medieval times were often “holy days.” Work was strongly emphasized in the medieval times. “The reason you got out of work was so you could go to church” (James). Lord Donald’s wife goes to the church because it would be the best location and are to find a person. We know that she is looking for someone because she “cast her eyes about” after the meeting in the Church. After she spotted little innocent Matty Groves in the crowd she tells him to “come home with me tonight” and to “sleep with me tonight.” John James says that, “Lord Donald’s wife is bored and not attracted to her brutal, high-status husband who is probably old enough to be her father. The holiday, during which her husband is away, provides her with an opportunity to explore the field” (James). You can see that Lord Donald’s wife wants to explore the “field” with Matty Groves be asking him to spend the night. Lord Donald’s wife is viewed as piece of property based on the “rings on her fingers.” The rings on her fingers symbolize that she is married to Lord Donald. However this doesn’t prevent Matty Groves from going home with her. Lord Donald’s wife convinces Matty groves to come over by saying that “Lord Donald’s not at home. For he is out in the far cornfields, bringing the yearlings home.”
“Little Matty Groves, he lay down and took a little sleep.
When he awoke, Lord Donald he was standing at his feet.
Saying “How do you like my feather bed? And how do you like my sheets?How do you like my lady who lies in your arms asleep?”
Here Lord Donald asks the peasant Matty Groves how he likes his property, referring to the feather bed, the sheets and the his wife. As a peasant Matty Groves would never experience these things.
“Oh, well I like your feather bed, and well I like your sheets.
But better I like your lady gay who lies in my arms asleep.
Well, get up, get up,” Lord Donald cried, “get up as quick as you can!
It’ll never be said in fair England that I slew a naked man.
Oh, I can’t get up, I won’t get up, I can’t get up for my life.
For you have two long beaten swords and I not a pocket-knife.
Well it’s true I have two beaten swords, and they cost me deep in the purse. But you will have the better of them and I will have the worse.
And you will strike the very first blow, and strike it like a man.
I will strike the very next blow, and I’ll kill you if I can.”
If any information about Lord Donald leaked that he had killed a naked man then his reputation among the other lords would we ruined. I agree with John James theory that “Lord Donald is rightly concerned about his reputation because this is the key to his continued social status. Gossip among peers can destroy the social standing of even the very rich” (James). The next thing that we are able to notice is the class difference. A peasant would unlikely be able to possess a sword because of it being too expensive. However, it would be quite common for a peasant to own puny little pocket knife. Matty Groves would fight Lord Donald to his death to bring home Lord Donald’s wife.
“So Matty struck the very first blow, and he hurt Lord Donald sore.
Lord Donald struck the very next blow, and Matty struck no more.
And then Lord Donald he took his wife and he sat her on his knee,
Saying, “Who do you like the best of us, Matty Groves or me?”
And then up spoke his own dear wife, never heard to speak so free.
“I’d rather a kiss from dead Matty’s lips than you and your finery.”
One thing is clear from these stanzas. Lord Donald’s wife no longer loves Lord Donald. She wants to accept her fate. Lord Donald’s wife is nameless throughout the balled. We are able to determine this because she is referred to as being Lord Donald’s wife and “never head to speak so free.” This is the one time that she is able to speak whatever she wants to. John James believes that “Nameless people don’t speak freely in the presence of nobility. Lord Donald appears to be giving her an out” but she takes a stand that costs her herself life.
“Lord Donald he jumped up and loudly he did bawl,
He struck his wife right through the heart and pinned her against the wall.”
Here Lord Donald kills his own life because she would rather be with Matty Groves instead of himself, Lord Donald.
“A grave, a grave!” Lord Donald cried, “to put these lovers in.
But bury my lady at the top for she was of noble kin.”
What is ironic is that even in the situation of death, the class system is still honored. Lord Donald refers to his wife as “noble kin” and makes sure to have her buried on top. Just like in the class system, a noble is above a peasant. According to John James, “All of them are victims of their social position” with them referring to the Matty Groves, Lord Donald’s wife and Lord Donald (James). I agree with John James that if it wasn’t for the differences in the social positions of the three main characters then this wouldn’t be much of a ballad.
The ballad of “Matty Groves” provides us the listener and reader a window to the past. By analyzing the lyrics and the historical context of the ballad we are able to see the class struggles, how woman were treated, the types of society that England was in and how being in a higher status in a hierarchical society automatically makes you have an advantage. In the ballad of “Matty Groves” we learned that England was a hierarchical agrarian society. Men treated women as pieces or property and would often times just use them to have sex. They married women young. Often times these women were of a lower class.
Citations:
James, John. “Post-Tenure Teaching Project.” monkeys-unckle. 01/03/2009. Web. 21 Feb 2011. <http://monkeysuncle.stanford.edu/?p=247>.
http://www.metrolyrics.com/matty-groves-lyrics-fairport-convention.html
“I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” is a ballad in many ways.
“I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” is a very interesting song to analyze and break down. It is a song that was written by Bob Dylan. By breaking down the song we are able to see that it is a literary ballad. It is a literary ballad because it tells a story. It tells the story of a man who dreamed that he saw St. Augustine.
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine,
Alive as you or me,
Tearing through these quarters
In the utmost misery
With a blanket underneath his arm
And a coat of solid gold,
Searching for the very souls
Whom already have been sold.
In the first two stanza’s we are able to see that the man is dreaming that he has seen St. Augustine. Here St. Augustine is looking for the souls that have been “sold.” St. Augustine is trying to rescue the main character whose name we do not know.
“Arise, arise,” he cried so loud,
In a voice without restraint,
“Come out, ye gifted kings and queens
And hear my sad complaint.
No martyr is among ye now
Whom you can call your own,
So go on your way accordingly
But know you’re not alone.”
In the 3rd and 4th stanza’s St. Augustine tells the main character that he will tell his grief’s. A martyr is “somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief or cause, usually religious” (Wikipedia). St. Augustine is telling the main character that he is not alone in the world.
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine,
Alive with fiery breath,
And I dreamed I was amongst the ones
That put him out to death.
Oh, I awoke in anger,
So alone and terrified,
I put my fingers against the glass
And bowed my head and cried
In the 5th and 6th stanza, we are able to see that St. Augustine is angry at the character because of him being “alive with fiery breath.” He dreamed that he was one of the ones who killed St. Augustine. It hurts the main character so much that he is “alone and terrified.” He even cries about this horrific dream.
Female Character Breakdown in “Lily, Rosemary and The Jack of Hearts”
Posted: April 19, 2011 in Uncategorized
Click on this link to see the lyrics of the song, “Lily Rosemary and The Jack of Hearts.” In this blog entry, we will look at the female characters.
A ballad essentially tells a story. In the song “Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts” Dylan tells the story of “The Jack of Hearts.” The characters in this song are Lily, Rosemary, Big Jim and “The Jack of Hearts.” However, “The Jack of Hearts” is the main character that the song is revolved around.
“Lily was a princess, she was fair skinned and precious as a child.” The character Lily’s name can be interpreted to symbolically meaning the plant lily. The plant lily symbolically represent a bunch of different things. I believe that the name Lily is a reference for the “white-lily” because Lily is “fair-skinned.” The white lily represents virginity, purity and feminine sexuality. It is ironic that the Lily is represented for “purity” because she isn’t pure or a virgin. “She’d come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs with men in every walk of life.” This supports the claim that she isn’t a virgin because she had affairs. Also she isn’t pure because she had many affairs. If someone is pure then they would only stay with the man that they had married. Also we can say that Lily isn’t pure because she has a fake identity. We are able to make this claim that she is fake because she had dye in her hair. ““Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair.” However at the end of the song she takes the dye out of her hair as if she was becoming pure to herself. At the end of the song “she was thinkin’ ‘bout her father, who she very rarely saw.” Also when Lily takes “off her dress and buried it away” we can see that she is changing. Back in the western days, a whore or prostitute would dye their hair to appeal to customers. They would also wear dresses to appeal to the men. When Lily combination of Lily taking off her dress and burying it away, taking the dye out of her hair, and her thinking about her father are all different reasons to claim that Lily was changing as a person to become “pure” to herself.
Rosemary plays the role of Big Jim’s wife. The name Rosemary can be connected to the plant rosemary. The plant rosemary represents constancy, fidelity and loyalty. It is also ironic that rosemary symbolically represents loyalty and constancy yet the character Rosemary completely goes against being loyal. We are able to see this when she was “lookin’ like a queen without a crown.” Big Jim is referenced as being a “king.” A crown in Celtic tradition represents loyalty. So “a queen without a crown” suggests that she isn’t loyal to Big Jim. She also misrepresents loyalty when it is stated that she was “tired of playin’ the role of Big Jim’s wife” and that even though “she was with Big Jim, she was leanin’ to the Jack of Hearts.” Here you can see that she was not going to be loyal to Big Jim. She clearly didn’t want to be his wife. She wanted to run away with the Jack of Hearts. So Rosemary kills Big Jim with her penkife. “Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back.” We know that Rosemary killed him because she had “her reflection in the knife.” The knife is the penknife that killed Big Jim.
What is interesting is that between the two characters Lily and Rosemary is that the both represent plants. The plants symbolically represent different things. Lily represented purity while Rosemary represented loyalty. The really ironic thing is that both Lily and Rosemary didn’t really represent those meanings of purity or loyalty. Lily was pure at all and Rosemary wasn’t loyal to Big Jim.
Augustus Owsley Stanley III is better known as just Owsley. On March 15, 2011 he died in a car accident in Queensland in Australia. He was 76. What makes this article very interesting is that Owsley was a “gifted chemist” (NY Times). Owsley is known for producing some of the purest acid around. “He was also among the first individuals (in many accounts, the very first) to mass-produce the drug; its resulting wide availability provided the chemical underpinnings of an era of love, music, grooviness and much else” (NY Times). Owsley was student at the University of California. In 1964 he started researching how to better synthesize lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD or Acid). Owsley was responsible for giving acid to Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshed, Brian Jones and even John Lennon. “It was Owsley who agree to deliver a lifetime supply of acid to John Lennon” (NY Times). Owsley was one of the few scientist that found the drug LSD to be “positively transforming” (NY Times). According to Seth Schiesel’s father, “Before Acid, my neck was so strong from carrying the concrete and bars that made up my skull and with the drug coursing through me the concrete chipped off and WOW, I could see and hear and feel so much” (NY Times). During the 1960’s LSD was becoming a popular choice for many bands and people to experiment with. LSD is a psychedelic drug that can have life changing experiences. Some people if you take too much of the substance at a time are stuck into a permanent acid trip. Owsley was best know for his influence on the band “Grateful Dead.” “With Bob Thomas, he designed the band’s highly recognizable skull-and-lightning-bolt logo. Mr. Stanley also made many recordings of the Dead in performance, now considered valuable documentary records of the band’s early years. Many have been released commercially” (NY Times). Owsley had a huge influence on the music and culture scene in America from the 1960-70’s.
I believe that Owsley did play a huge role in reshaping the music and culture in America during the 1960’s. My main thought though is should someone be recognized as a main drug producer? I mean should someone be known for producing the world’s best marijuana, purest heroine or ever coke? I don’t think so. I mean coke and marijuana have seen its phases in American culture. Marijuana was mostly used explicitly in the 1960-70’s with LSD. Coke had a major usage in the United States in the 1970-80’s as the disco culture thrived. Marijuana is often smoke by people who are into classical rock and roll. Cocaine can be found at the club scene of techno and some rock and roll venues. What I am trying to get at is should Owsley be known as producing some of the purest LSD or should he be known as assisting in shaping the Gateful Dead.
The word hipster was a slang term that originated in the 1940’s and was brought back to life in the 1990’s-2000’s. Its “slang” definition varies widely across the internet but from what I found this is what I can make out. “A Hipster usually is very artsy, and hates anything mainstream” (Wiki). A hipster also rejects most mainstream popular culture. They will often indulge themselves in non-mainstream culture, indie rock and reject most politics. Hipsters also have their own slang. For example here is a few words and definitions that some hipsters use on a normal basis.
bronson – beer
sentence: “I drank a sixer of bronsons last night while watching the game.”
Origin: Watching Charles Bronson movies while drinking beer is deck. The term spawned from this ritual.
bust a moby – to dance
sentence: “Let’s go to the Tunnel and bust a moby.”
“Did you see her moves at the party last night? She really knows how to bust a moby.”
chipper – a woman who’s easy
sentence: “She’s a real chipper and will sleep with anyone after one bronson.”
clothesline – the gossip that is on the scene
sentence: “Yo, I heard on the clothesline that she is sleeping with Billy. She is such a chipper.”
cronkite – boy
sentence: “Have you seen Anne’s new cronkite? She met him at the cafe and he is such a frado.”
deck – a key word for most Hipsters, similar in meaning to the antiquated fresh. To be deck is to be up on the latest trends, cutting edge, and/or hip.
sentence: “That tassel we met at the gallery opening sure looked deck in her cowboy boots.”
” Have you checked out the new Jonathan Lethem book? It’s deck.”
(More definitions can be found by clicking here)
The clothing style of a hipster varies among people but one major theme is associated with all hipsters. Most hipsters dress like they don’t give a shit about what they look like. They often times wear tight jeans, flannel shirts, have some kind of nerd glasses on and flaunt a messenger bag around.
Here are some pictures of some modern day hipster styles:
dbullis113lit 