American Dreams
"America the Beautiful" is a very positive and patriotic song.
Katherine Lee Bates is the songwriter and she puts a lot of emotions and truths in this important song. She describes the prettiness and the fascinating things of this `beautiful` country.
The poem "The New Colossus", written by Emma Lazarus, is also very positive. The text represents the `Statue of Liberty` as a symbol for maternal love and of hope for millions of immigrants.
"Dirty Blvd.", written by Lou Reed, is a remarkably empirical access, which represents the negative side of the `American Dream`. The attitude towards the `American Dream` in this song is very serious.
The Band `Bad Religion` represents the song " American Dream" , through the pessimistic and angry tone, the negative and sad side of the `American Dream`.
'Pedro lives out of the Wilshire Hotel. He looks out a window without glass. The walls are made of cardboard newspapers on his feet. His father beats him 'cause he's too tired to beg. He's got 9 brothers and sisters. They're brought up on their knees. It's hard to run when a coat hanger beats you on the thighs. Pedro dreams of being older and killing the old man but that's a slim chance he's going to the boulevard. This room cost 2.000 dollars a month you can believe it man it's true. Somewhere a landlord's laughing till he wets his pants. No one here dreams of being a doctor or a lawyer or anything they dream of dealing on the dirty boulevard. Give me your tired your poor I'll piss on 'em. That's what the Statue of Bigotry says. Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death and get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard. Outside it's a bright night, there's an opera at Lincoln Centre. Movie stars arrive by limousine. The klieg lights shoot up over the skyline of Manhattan. But the lights are out on the mean streets. A small kid stands by the Lincoln Tunnel. He's selling plastic roses for a buck. The traffic's backed up to 39th street. The TV Whores are calling the Cops out for a Suck. And back at the Wilshire Pedro sits there dreaming. He's found a book on Magic in a garbage can. He looks at the pictures and stares at the cracked ceiling. 'At the count of 3,' he says, 'I hope I can disappear.' And fly fly away'
The main fact in the song `Dirty Blvd.` is experiencing of homeless-ness and the discourse led over it in the world-metropolis is component of an everyday experience. What I want to say is, that Reed informs the audience about the problem of metropolitan ways of life. This text is so realistic and serious. But there is also ironic in this song " Statue of Bigotry". They destroyed the idealized symbol of the `Statue of Liberty` and this differs from Lazarus`s poem " The New Colossus". The Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus saw the `Statue of Liberty` as a beacon to the world. A poem she wrote to help raise money for the pedestal, and which is carved on that pedestal, captured what the statue came to mean to the millions who migrated to the United States seeking freedom, and who have continued to come unto this day. "As many modern scholars have noted, these words have an air of condescension, but the fact is that many native-born Americans and immigrants at the time did see themselves just as Lazarus portrayed them -- wretched, nameless," 'tempest-tost.' For them Europe meant poverty and persecution, and America meant democracy and opportunity. '
"Bad Religion's " view of the `American Dream` is extremely pessimistic and negative, especially at the beginning of the song, " I Hate my family, hate my school. " The angry and negative mood is indicated by the many repetition of the strong word "hate". Through the choice of words and the ironic way they sing this song becomes obvious that the `American Dream` in the Band's eyes is the worst that could possibly happen to a person. They pretty much warn us, the audience, to become obsess with this `Dream`. That's why this song is ironic and provocative.
The belief on this `Dream` is " gonna swallow you whole, it`s bursting at the seam." This quote suggests that the band wants to tell us how dangerous the belief on the ` American Dream` is. The message in this song is that the band wants to warn us of ruining our precious life and that the result of this `Dream` is to lose our personal dignity. That we could become some mean and lonely people, who won't believe on anything else then on the famous `American Dream` .
There are some passages that let suggest the pride of the `Dream`
" American dream.. American dream, that's ok, cause no one dare give you away, American dream!
