Bruce Davidson

Bruce Davidson
Brooklyn Gang 5

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Two Books, Ten Songs!


Photo by Zack Sokol 
1.     Mother – Pink Floyd.

It is heartbreaking to see to what point Baby needs a mother in her life. She lacks of love, care and everything that a mom provides to her child. The lines “Momma, do you think she's {he} good enough, for me? Momma, do you think she's dangerous, to me? Momma, will she tear your little boy apart? Mother, will she break my heart?” represents questions that Baby never could ask to anyone when she met Alphonse. It is sad to know that a mother could have answer all those questions and as the songs says “Mamma's going to check out all your girlfriends for you, and mamma won't let anyone dirty get through. Mamma's going to wait up until you get in” those are crucial things that mothers generally do. Baby did not have any of those. Baby met Alphonse, he pushes her into the world of prostitution and drugs. All these things could have been avoided with the presence of a mother in the house, but with the presence of a responsible father as well.

2.   Mad World  – Gary Jules

“I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take. When people run in circles it's a very mad world” I feel that these words clearly represents the way that Baby feels surrounded by all these negative people.  As readers, we can see that she is brilliant and very optimistic child, but the lack of attention and love is there. The loneliness and sadness is present. She feels helpless seeing the uncontrolled vicious circle of drugs of Jules. At the end of the day, she is too young to express how she feels about this situation or to even fight against this.

3.     Dumb – Nirvana

Taking drugs is a way of coping with the world around her. It is her way of escaping from the fear and uncertainty of her future. Taking drugs is her only way to forget that her body is being sold, and that she is touched by men’s dirty hands every day. She did not chose Alphonse, he chose her. She just accepted everything that came with him because she had no choice. My heart is broke, but I have some glue. Help me inhale, and mend it with you. We'll float around, and hang out on clouds” are the lines of this song that makes me think of Baby trying to cope with all her problems.

4.     NegativeCreep – Nirvana

The lyrics of this song make a global description of the situation of Baby. I associate the lines “This is out of our reach and it's grown. This is getting to be a drone. I'm a negative creep, I'm a negative and I'm stoned” with the situation of both, father and daughter throughout the story and their addiction to drug, the poverty and the unstable life that they got. There is also a part of the song that says “Daddy little girl aint a girl no more” this reminds me of the Baby first sexual encounter with Alphonse, her first time doing drugs and her first time prostituting herself. The song mainly describes the negative points of their life.

 5.     Just Breathe – Pearl Jam

I chose this song because I feel that it goes well with the end of “Lullabies for Little Criminals”.  The rhythm is slow and the tone of the music is pretty down. The line “Stay with me, let’s just breathe” and the chorus of the song “Did I say that I need you? Did I say that I want you? Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see, no one knows this more than me” bring me back to the page 313 of the book, where Baby and Jules meet up after a long while without seeing each other. Jules, not having the words to express his feelings to her daughter, tells her that he worried so much about her that “it’s taken a year off of my {his} life” and also whisper to her an “I love you” which is something that he rarely does. Things in general seem much better for both characters; they are moving away from a place that does not help them go forward in life. Jules also seems to be more aware about Baby’s need of parental figures and at the same time, he is a lot more caring and positive about their future.

6.     Seasonsin the Sun – Nirvana (Lyrics by Terry Jacks)

“Goodbye Michelle, my little one. You gave me love and helped me find the sun, and every time that I was down; you would always come around, and get my feet back on the ground” are the lines that represents for me, Robert’s goodbye to Patti in the book “Just Kids”. These words describe in a very clear but at the same time poetic way the support given by Patti to her trusted friend.  The lyrics of this song are definitely a very special way to say goodbye to a strong and intense friendship as Patti and Robert’s one.
7.     Something – The Beatles

This song makes me think about Robert’s unconditional love towards his life partner Patti. “Something in the way she moves, attracts me like no other lover” are words that make me realize the immense love that he had for her. He was homosexual but there was only one woman who was able to attract him and make him happy as no one else, and that was Patti. Their love was so pure and unique that no one could ever change that. The rhythm and tone of the song go along with the romantic lyrics. The sound of the guitar and the piano makes the song very deep.

8.     Blackbird – The Beatles

Blackbird is for me Patti Smith saying goodbye to Robert. “Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise” the lyrics are powerful and I see it as a very appropriate song for saying goodbye to Robert after all the moment they spent together. It is a sad song but at the same time it shows that the death is something that we got to learn to accept.

 9.    Because the Night  – Patti Smith

“Because the night belongs to lovers, because the night belongs to lust, because the night belongs to lovers, because the night belongs to us” These lyrics make me think about the early days of Robert and Patti. It reminds me of the nights they spent together fooling around, loving each other and creating art. I see the lyrics as something positive and motivational; those are two characteristics they always had with them.

10.  Gravity –  Coldplay


This is a very romantic song and its main instrument is the piano which is accompanied by the singer’s voice. “And then I looked up at the sun and I could see, oh the way that gravity pulls on you and me” are the lines that represents this couple love and mutual support during their personal life and professional career.

No comments:

Post a Comment