Listening Blog #2
Listening Blog #2
For my second Listening Blog, I choose the song Soldiers Joy by Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. I thought this song provoked pretty positive emotions unless you listened super closely to the lyrics of the later verses. It got a little sad towards the end talking about how soldiers used morphine or beer to "take them away from here." I think this is probably a metaphor for them getting drunk or on drugs to be able to not think about the horrors of war. I liked how the lyrics and the music interacted. I thought the breaks between the lyrics for the music solos made the song more fun to listen to and gave you a little break from the lyrics that didn’t make much sense. I think that the fiddles in this song were used in a pretty traditional way. I thought that they fit with the tune and the lyrics of the song. As a lover of country music, this song does share some features with the genre of music that I enjoy. The fiddles and the dialect are definitely similar to some of the older country songs. My favorite part of the song was probably the “grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine” part. I thought this part was just random and it made me laugh.
I also love country music and could hear some of the connection between "Solider's Joy" and older country music. I agree that the metaphor used in the song is an indication that the men are tired of the war. I liked that this song had a fast upbeat rhythm. I think that the instruments used in this song helped make it have a good tune.
ReplyDeleteI think the metaphor you explained was hit spot on, war is awful and most people do not get through without some help. I am not familiar with country music, however I may listen to some so I understand the connection between this song and that genre. Great analysis!
ReplyDeleteHi Clara!! I agree with everything that you had to say. Towards the end I also think that it started to get a little bit dark and sad. I also love country music so as I listened to the song, I made sure to notice the fiddle. It definitely sounds like an older country song. Your blog post was awesome, good job!!
ReplyDeleteClara I really liked what you had to say about this song. I strongly believe that songs are greatly influenced by what is going on around you. Obviously in this song, a lot of the other soldiers were getting drunk and doing drugs so that is what they wrote about. You can see the same type of thing in todays music.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that at first it seems just like a happy song soldiers would sing while marching, at least that's what I picture. It is definitely actually a sad song that shows how awful war was for soldiers with a catchy toon. I also liked the random part there, I feel like it helps distract the audience from the darker meaning.
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