Anyway. Here's what you have to do.
1. Listen to the song "Goodnight Saigon" by Billy Joel. A link to the song, and a really cool photo presentation can be found HERE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIva5JW5uqQ
2. Click HERE for the lyrics to the song
http://www.lyricsdomain.com/2/billy_joel/goodnight_saigon.html
3. WRITE A REFLECTION on the song. When writing the reflection, use the following questions to guide you:
- In your own words, describe what thoughts or feelings the song created for
you? - Why do you think the song was written? What was the composer trying to
communicate? - What can you tell from the song about the culture in which the song was
written? - What questions does the song raise in your mind?
26 comments:
Mr.Tesler i think the song was wrote for two reasons and two reasons alone. It was wrote to show the war in a bad way. Second it was wrote to show how he felt what the war was like. The composer was trying to show in song instead of speaking out against the war and getting in trouble for it. He used the song as a loop hole to get around the law. He saw / heard what they did to shank. So he played it smart. The way the song was wrote i cant tell what the true culture of the song. The only questions that I have about the song is why did they show in only one way?
~Giovanni Ramos~
Interesting comments here, Giovanni.
At the time the song was written, there weren't any laws, or restrictions on artist's freedom of expression.
As far as only showing one side, not everyone is objective. I'm not sure he's really showing the war negatively; I think he's really trying to show what it was like to be a soldier during this war. Unfortunately, the war itself was a very negative experience.
What say you all?
After listening to the song, I fell in love with it immediately. While watching the music/video montage, I was nearly in tears. I've always stuck by the policy, "If war is the answer, we are asking the wrong question," except for certain situations in which war is ultimately inevitable.
The Vietnam War was not necessary. Our government allowed millions of people to be killed, wounded, and traumatized, and for what? To make sure another country, millions of miles away, didn't conform to a certain type of government that a bunch of politically important people in the U.S. deemed unacceptable.
I believe that the song was written to make everyone aware of what was going on during the war, and what happened for those of us who were not around during the war.
-Rachel
the song was sad and i think the song was written to show people how it's like to be there. the song was made in the 1900s i think. i don't have any questions in mind about the song if i do i think u can find it in the song or sreach it up.
-xiang
After listening to the song, I liked it a lot because it was very truthful and you don’t get that with many songs now a days. The Vietnam War was not necessary. Our government allowed millions of people to be killed, for no apparent reason . This war was not supported by US citizens because every one believe it was a pointless war. this song wanted to let every one know the truth about what was going on. and what happened for the people that weren’t around during that time.
Natalie slavova
After listening to the song, I liked it a lot because it was very truthful and you don’t get that with many songs now a days. The Vietnam War was not necessary. Our government allowed millions of people to be killed, for no apparent reason . This war was not supported by US citizens because every one believe it was a pointless war. this song wanted to let every one know the truth about what was going on. and what happened for the people that weren’t around during that time.
natalie slavova
After listening to the song, I liked it a lot because it was very truthful and you don’t get that with many songs now a days. The Vietnam War was not necessary. Our government allowed millions of people to be killed, for no apparent reason . This war was not supported by US citizens because every one believe it was a pointless war. this song wanted to let every one know the truth about what was going on. and what happened for the people that weren’t around during that time.
natalie slavova
After listening to the song, I liked it a lot because it was very truthful and you don’t get that with many songs now a days. The Vietnam War was not necessary. Our government allowed millions of people to be killed, for no apparent reason . This war was not supported by US citizens because every one believe it was a pointless war. this song wanted to let every one know the truth about what was going on. and what happened for the people that weren’t around during that time.
natalie slavova
I think that the song was very interesting. The way it was written and sung caught my attention immediately. It helped me understand how people felt during such a big war. The song was written to show the hardships that people went through for the Vietnam war. As you said in class, it was the first war we lost so it must've been very hard on the Americands then. The composer was trying to tell us that the war was an unnecessary event and that many people died trying to protect us. -kristina papa
I think this song was written/the message the composer was trying to communicate was: to show the truth of war. The real truth is masked to the publics eye. People are always taught that war is a good thing, it helps protect us, we are shown how soldiers are helping out and are successfully doing there jobs. It almost like a curtain, you aren't seeing behind the scenes events: people are never showed how soldiers are dying left and right, how they have to live in such poor conditions, and other things stated in the song.
If people do know what really happens and I am sure not many do, then they probably chose to ignore it. What really happens in war (especially the Vietnam war) effects people negatively. They like to create a lie and pretend instead of facing the sad truth.
A question I have about the song is: How does Billy Joel know so much about the Vietnam war and how things were? did he interview people who were in the war?
I think this song was written to show how the Vietnamn War was. It showed how the soldiers felt. It showed that they felt that they had no home.They were always fighting.They just told us how a normal day in the war was.
-Chrissy Thomatos
I think the song was written to make people 'see' that the war was wrong. I think the composer was trying to communicate how the experience affected soldiers' lives. He is trying to make people understand that the war had a great impact on the lives' of soldiers because they were scarred by it for life.
By:Mariela O(per.7)
This song had a lot of emotions in the lyrics and it is a good song. When reading the lyrics I tried to interpret the information and it really shows the war in a different way. I think it is in the perspective of a young man and he is describing what is going on during the time of the Vietnam War when men as young as 18 would be put in. He even described how they would come back in plastic as corpses meaning that many of them died. The composer described how they had no good things there like soap and didn't have the things they would if they were back home. To me I think that what they did during the Vietnam war was wrong. To put in young men in the war traumatized them and they couldn't do anything to refuse. They were forced. I mean what if they wanted an education or wanted to get married. Their lives were ruined and they never knew when they would die. It could have been anytime. When he says that they would go down together I think this means that they would all fight together to stay alive.
Anastasia P
I think that this song was because the composer probably had friends or people he knew that served in the Vietnam War. Joel imagines what it must have been like deep in the confused combat terrain and he was trying to share that image with his listeners. From this song I assume that the culture in which the song was written was how he mourned for the friends he had that was in the war and all the live lost so of course he would be against it. It depresses me because I feel so much for all the men who went to fight thinking it was the right thing to do, but then came home to absolutely no welcoming. The sad part is that I can’t think of a question to ask right about know.
Shazia R.
Period 4
In the song Goodnight Saigon by Billy Joel, it made me feel as if he was actually involved in the war and was retelling his personal experiences to some extent. The was not created for anti war purposes because it came out eight years after the Vietnam War ended. However, this song probably serves as a tribute to all the brave efforts and courage by the soldiers who fought in Vietnam. The composer was trying to communicate that everyone who served in Vietnam will all be remember together. The song was written in that 80's style of recording. The only question I have is did Billy Joel serve in Vietnam. Jason K 902
I beleive this song was written to show people the hardships and emtions people that were in was go through. I think the composer was trying to open people's eyes to ther seriousness of war. I think ther person who wrote the song was against the war and they wanted to let people knoe what was going on and how people were spending their days.
When i was listening to this song it brought out a sense of sadness. I felt bad for the soldiers and the things they had to go through.
~sarah bianchi
1)I thoughts and feelings that this song has created for me is that the people who were fighting in the Vietnam had noting there and didn’t know why they were there.
2)I think the song was written to reflect what the soliders in Vietnam where feeling and what they were thinking. The composer was trying to said that the soliders where suffering.
3)The culture in which the song was written was sad because there was a war accoring
4)Questions that the song raised for me is, was the U.S helping the soliders get what they personaly needed?
By: Monica T.
I think the song was written to show people that the war was completely wrong and to show how any people were negatively affected by it. The song also mentions athe composers view on the war since he expirienced it and how he felt and was affected as were the soldiers.
Danny p.6
the song showed me what he thought of the war and it made me relize that it wasent just the families of the people in the war everyone was effected by it.i think that billy joel wrote the song was becouse he wanted to show his take on the war and how he felt about it.one questoin i had was is he the only one who wrote a song about the war
omar a
After listening to the song I thought it was great and very truthful. Honestly I don't think that the Vietnam war was neccessary and troops from the United States were dying for no reason. The composer was communicating the truth about war.
The song "Goodnight Saigon" throws the entire Vietnam war into a different light. It is more of a realistic perspective than a negative one. The lyrics told of the hardships that soldiers faced overseas, and even of the advantages and disadvantages they had. Though the things discussed in the song were often demoralizing, they revealed the bare truth of what was really going on. I think the composer was trying to communicate this bitter truth and how pronounced it had become during the Vietnam war.
To me, the title "Goodnight Saigon" seemed somewhat representative of death, and I was wondering if anyone else had something different to say on the matter?
-Bridgette C.
After listening to the song "Goodnight Saigon" by Billy Joel, I liked because it spoke the truth. The composer made clear that the Vietnam was unecessary and what was the result after all, Vietnam still turned into Communist and millions of people died because of no huge reason. The song was written to show the hardships many Americans felt during the Vietnam War, and the American public definately did not support the war because the war was basically pointless. The song also pays tribute to thousands of soldiers who died in the battle fronts in Vietnam and that they will be remembered, like the Memorial Day. I think the song was written during the 1980's, I am guessing it by it's style. The only question I have is Billy Joel somewhat related to the war. For ex: Did he serve in the war, or did his family or friends fight in the war?
Praveen S
This song was clearly explaining what really was going on in the Vietman war and gave a general definition of what war really is.
The song supports the opposition of the Vietman War;it makes the war sound completley pointless from the beginning and how lives were being wasted. This song is being very truthful and is just explains whats going on and why supposely it happened. I dont like how they didnt mention the other side of the war because there IS more to a war than just this. Basically, my opinion is: war is not answer for anything & the vietman war had more drama than what was actually necessary[:
Livi Cabrera.
Period 7 [:
The song created a feeling that shows realiztion how strong the war was on peoples mind. It was a difficult time in their lives. Also that the song shows power of togetherness to stay as one and go down together as said in the lyrics.
I think the song was written to give people the sight of what was happening in the war. To show them the the soldiers feelings.
It was sang as an anthem representing cultural togetherness and strong patriotism despite the circumstance that no matter what the problem the United States citizens and soldiers stand as a corporate unified force against any foe. In the beginning and the end of the song there is a sound of Black Hawk helicopter propellers which seem to symbolize the on going war.
My question is did the people listening to the song when it was written and performed support the song since it was anti-war?
Joshua Howard
This song showed what emotions that were present during the Vietnam War. The song expressed how angry people were that this war was taking place. This song was written, I believe, as a tribute and a rememberance of the past. The composer really tried to make an impact on people with the song.
Kristofer Diaz 902
After hearing this song Goodnight Saigon by Billy Joel, it had made me feel as if he was actually involved in the war and had retold his experiences and etc. However, i think that this song probably serves as a tribute to many of the the brave efforts and courage by the soldiers who had fought in the Vietnam. This composer was trying to communicate with all the people that had served in the Vietnam will all be remembered together. This song had been written in like the 80's style of recording.
JOe B.
Period 2
901
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