Post #2
Welcome to the second posting of Percussion Writing! (Oh, yay!) The topic this time shall be The California Dream. Not to be confused with The American Dream, the California Dream focuses more on great success and comfort rather than just looking for better living conditions and a better government.
Those who have lived in the United States for a while sometimes wish they lived somewhere else in the U.S. There are always the families that want to live in California. Why not? Great weather, many cities to work in, the beach, high-end living... California seems to have it all... Or does it?
That's when the other side of the coin appears. Great weather becomes dull, the cities produce smog, smug, and sickos, the beach seems to get boring after a while for those who live right next to it, and everything is expensive! People have dreamed of living in California for many reasons, but what is California really? It’s been known for it’s liberalism, weather, Hollywood, and many other things that would be fit for the younger generation. Another example would be plastic surgery. There is a large amount of people who believe that California is the most materialistic state. When one thinks about it, it’s not that bad; it just means your have the opportunity to have more stuff that you might need at some point. However… would you really want to live in a place that has liposuction commercials on T.V.? Would that feel like home to you?
Yellowcard’s “Back Home” is a good song on how I feel about California. True, I have only lived here for one semester of college, and maybe I need to get out more, but, so far, I haven’t really felt the dream. Here is the music and the lyrics. Enjoy!
Back Home Lyrics
Artist(Band):Yellowcard
Don't know what I was looking for when I went home, I found me alone
And sometimes I need someone to say, "You'll be all right. What's on your mind?"
But the water's shallow here and I am full of fear, and empty handed after two long years
Another sunny day in Californ-i-a
I'm sure back home they'd love to see it
But they don't know that what you love is ripped away
Before you get a chance to feel it
Back home I always thought I wanted so much more, now I'm not too sure
Cause sometimes I miss knowing someone's there for me and feeling free
Free to stand beside the ocean in moonlight
And light myself a smoke beneath the dark Atlantic sky
Another sunny day in Californ-i-a
I'm sure back home they'd love to see it
But they don't know that what you love is ripped away
Before you get a chance, before you get a chance to feel it
Everybody here is living life in fear of falling out of line
Tearing lives apart and breaking lots of hearts just to pass the time
And the eyes get red in the back of your head, this place will make you blind
Put it all behind me and I'll be just fine
Another sunny day beneath this cloudless sky
Sometimes I wish that it would rain here
And wash away the west coast dreaming from my eyes
There's nothing real for them to see here
Another starry night in Californ-i-a
I'm sure back home they'd love to see it
But they don't know that what you love is ripped away
Before you get a chance, before you get a chance to feel it
I know that the California Dream is supposed to be great and everything, but is it really better than what you already have at home? Would you feel more accomplished when you tell people that you live in the golden state? I mean, California isn’t a bad place to live in, but even it has its limits. Although it’s a good dream to hope for comfort and more opportunities to become famous, it just may not be the dream for everyone.
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Good song choice!
ReplyDeleteI think it definitely supports how you feel about California: essentially not seeming like the ideal place to be after all. Born and raised here, I love the place I live. At the same time, though, I also understand a lot about what this song portrays, especially in regards to some locations within the state not being the most desirable in the world (Los Angeles).
I’d like to direct your attention to some key spots in the lyrics and my thoughts on them. Perhaps you have already devised these ideas yourself. If not, here’s my two cents.
“But the water's shallow here and I am full of fear, and empty handed after two long years”
I think this line in particular truly sums up this song’s idea of the California dream. Through further analysis, I see the shallow water as big cities in general, with hardly any room to move or make significant progress. Most people crowd the cities here in hopes of possibly landing in the spotlight if it even happens to pass over them, making it nearly impossible for the average Joe to make a name for himself.
The end of this phrase also underlines the fact that success certainly does not come quickly. In the crowded cities in which people live, it takes a very long amount of time to even start on the path towards success, let alone attempt to.
“Everybody here is living life in fear of falling out of line / Tearing lives apart and breaking lots
of hearts just to pass the time”
Again, this idea of time is portrayed, this time with the notion that people in California do stupid or irresponsible things just to pass it while they work on becoming successful. I think this song definitely hints at the idea of California as mainly a bust. They might even be saying that coming to California is almost a guaranteed failure! Sorry for the long post. Hope this helps!
Great song choice!
ReplyDeleteI think that's very interesting you said "California is the most materialistic state. When one thinks about it, it’s not that bad; it just means your have the opportunity to have more stuff that you might need at some point."
I agree with you that there's nothing wrong with having too many material posessions, yet I feel materialism takes away focus from more important values such as modesty.
I'm looking forward to reading your full argument!
I agree with both previous comments. Having come from California I can understand some of the stereotypes that are portrayed in this song (although I don't completely agree...anyway that's beside the point). I think this is a solid song to work with. There are some juicy lyrics for analysis that I think will make a good paper.
ReplyDeleteYou may consider looking at certain words...just zooming in and analyzing specific word choices. one example that I noticed right away was the word "another" in "Another sunny day in Californ-i-a." You can explain why this specific word get's the point of the song across. Clearly sunny days are nice, but they chose "another" to explain how it gets boring and tiring having sunny weather everyday.
hope the writing is going well!