Today, I will be doing an in-depth analysis of some popular songs and what the music means. The songs I will talk about today are Blackbird, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Don't Stop Believing.
Blackbird
The Beatles were well known for wanting equality for everyone and in 1964, they refused to play a show in Jacksonville, Florida because the audience was going to be segregated. They threatened to not perform and got the people in charge to make it unsegregated.
In 1968, the Civil Rights movement was booming and Paul McCartney wanted to write a song about how it's going to be OK. After returning from India with the group, Paul wrote Blackbird as a message to the African American community. More specifically, he wrote it about the female African Americans.
In a 2014 interview, Paul says "I had in mind a black woman, rather than a bird. Those were the days of the civil-rights movement, which all of us [The 4 members in the group] cared passionately about, so this was really a song from me to a black woman, experiencing these problems in the States: 'Let me encourage you to keep trying, to keep your faith, there is hope." Blackbird, one of the most recognizable songs ever written, has a very special meaning behind it.
In 1968, The Beatles were reaching the end. In August of 1967, their manager, Brian Epstein died of an overdose, and it all went downhill from there. The Beatles started to come into Abbey Road Studios on different days and record. They didn't get along as much anymore and the iconic Lennon-McCartney writing duo was over. Paul wrote this song all by himself, but Lennon claims one line as his own. In July of 1968, Paul played and sang this song alone in a different studio than the band usually recorded in. This kept getting worse and worse until they publicly announced their breakup in April of 1970.
Bohemian Rhapsody
When Freddie Mercury began writing Bohemian Rhapsody in 1968, he did not really know what it was going to be about. As it progressed, it became more clear in his head. Mercury never shared in detail what the song was about, and neither did the surviving members of Queen. It is known, however, that Bohemian Rhapsody was about Freddie's private matters.
The extremely well-known introduction has a little more that meets the eye. The beginning of this song is a mixture of feelings and emotions. It shows his feelings about his sexuality (he was homosexual) and how he can express all his thoughts.
The next part, or the Ballad portion, is Freddie's way of saying he killed his former self. When he says "I sometimes wish I'd ever been born at all", he is saying that he does not want to disappoint his mother and he is ashamed.
The following part, with all of the gibberish, is really just that. It is all "just a bit of nonsense in the middle." There is no meaning behind it.
The hard rock part that follows is a way for Mercury to escape from all of his struggles, which is one reason why he wrote the song. He is talking to himself in this section, which is a major theme of the song.
The finale of the song, the reflection of himself, is a part where Freddie reflects on himself and returns to his 'original state'. He reflects on everything he has ever done and is uncertain what the future holds for him.
All in all, Bohemian Rhapsody is a masterpiece of a song and captures Freddie Mercury's feelings and emotions.
Don't Stop Believing
Journey's 1981 hit Don't Stop Believing was not an instant hit like it is today. It took some time for it to reach the top, but it all came from a phone call from Journey's keyboardist Jonathan Cain's father. Cain was not making it in Hollywood as a musician, his dog got hit by a car, and he needed a $900 loan for the vet bill. Cain called his father and asked for a loan and asked if he should come back home. His father told him to stay put and gave him the words "I'll give you the loan... you gotta stay put. Son, don't stop believing".
Cain then wrote that in his lyric book for later use. In the late 70's, Journey asked Cain to join and were going to work on an album called 'escape". Before this, he had hardly played a note with Journey, and then they asked him to make a record with them. After they had recorded 17 songs, Steve Perry said the producer needed one more. Perry said to go home and see what you've got. Cain went home and found his lyric book and sat down at his piano. All he had were the chords and two lines: "Don't stop believing" and "Hold on to that feeling"
He took in to the group an they all loved it. The next day, Cain went to Steve Perry's flat and they wrote the iconic lyrics. Later, they recorded the instruments and overdubbed the vocals. After some mixing, the song became what you hear today. 39 years later, it still remains one of the greatest songs ever written.
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