Blues lyrics are just as much literature as the lyrics of any other song genre. However, I wouldn't consider Blues lyrics to be "literary masterpieces". One must bear in mind that there is a stark contrast between what is widely accepted as a classic "literary masterpiece" and Blues lyrics. Take Shakespeare works or Troubador poetry for example. Both Shakespeare and the Troubadors referenced a greater, often more epic theme such as fate or noble love. Throughout their works there are many metaphors and symbols that enhance the "depth" of the reading, whereas Blues are mmore casual stories about the everyday lives of common people.
The authors that wrote the introduction to "Slave Songs of the United States" seemed to be mystified by the "soul" of the negro songs. They viewed the songs as something original in its purest form, and hard to imitate by anyone "foreign".
On page 285, paragraph 1, we see the authors commenting on the originality of the songs by saying that a number of negro songs "...have been succeeded by spurious imitations, manufactured to suit the somewhat sentimental taste of our community..." In other words, the negro versions of the songs were the originals, everything else was a spinoff.
On page 286 paragraph 1, the author describes seeing renditions of negro spirituals filled with soul and emotion, or as he put it, "...zest and spirit, a swaying of the bodies and nodding of the heads and lighting of the countenances and rhythmical movement of the hands, which I think no one present will ever forget>"
On page 287 paragraph 3, the author tells of how the negroes have mastered such a musical skill, that anyone other than them could not adequately reproduce their performance. This is evident with the quote, "The best that we can do, however, with paper and types, or even with voices, will convey but a faint shadow of the original. The voices of the colored people have a pecuiliar quality that nothing can imitate..."
Needless to say, I think these authors were trying to portray the African Americans and their music in the most positive light possible. They even go to say on page 285 that "...the fact that these were called 'negro melodies' was itself a tribute to the musical genius of the race." Allen, Ware, and Garrison were probably hoping that other Northerners would take the same positive stance toward African Americans that they did.
One of the most obvious explanations for Edna's ability to separate herself from the social expectations of the "mother-woman"is the fact that Edna's husband is doesn't care much about what Edna does or is not interested. Thus, he pays little attention to things that might have raised a red flag in the time period. This is evident when he goes out on the town to play billiards, and leaves Edna all to herself.
Edna's husband is even oblivious to the times when Edna could very well be cheating on him with Robert. Such as when Edna and Robert are first coming back from the beach on page one of the story. Mr. Pontiller casually exclaims after letting his wife and Robert out alone together, "What folly! to bathe at such an hour in such heat!"
Edna and Roberts beach trip also serves as a recurring theme which alludes to Edna's interest in Robert. This symbol's (the beach's) meaning is very evident when it conjoins with the "force" of the Chopin music which is being played. The music brings Edna a vision in her mind of a naked man on a desolate rock on the SEASHORE. (As found on page 187) The naked man is obviously referring to Edna's sexual interest in Robert, because no other man joins her on the beach.
My favorite section of the movie would have to be #2, the Nana/Soleas for "the woman". This song's simplicity carries just as much or more meaning than all of the other more complex songs within the show. The eerieness of the vibrato partnered with the darkness of the lyrics foreshadow the tragedy to occur at the end of the show. An example of lyrical foreshadowing within this song would be:
"My baby is still. His cradle is of steel."
The stillness is a reference to death itself. The steel is a reference to the knives that kill the bridegroom and Leonardo at the end.
This song fits the official description of a solea as definied by Wikipedia:
"When singers sing soleá, as with most palos, they normally choose different stanzas, with different melody, and combine them according to the inspiration of the moment or to a previous plan. Even if the singer has a previous plan, he often alters it on the spur of the moment. These stanzas are independent in subject matter from one another.
The content of the lyrics is generally serious in nature, as appropriate to the solemn air of the music. They often have a sententious tone and convey a feeling of intimate pain."
The freeness of the singing of this song would fit the definition, as well as the "intimate pain" emotion clearly portrayed on the actress's face.
The passage: When Leonardo, the bride's ex husband comes for a surprise visit before the bride's wedding he says (in Act II, Scene 1):
"Tied up by you, done with your two hands. Oh they can kill me but they can't spit on me. But even money, which shines so much, spits sometimes."
Leonardo is referring to the bride's latest marriage about being only for money and land, and not love. Being that Leonardo himself has not much money or property himself, he feels that the new bridegroom's money has insulted him and "spit" upon him and his love for the bride.
The marriages to acquire money, property, and social status were a very common tradition in the olden days. However later in Act II, scene 2, we see the notion of modern romantic love when right after the wedding, the bride runs off with Leonardo, as evident by this passage:
"LEONARDO'S WIFE: They've run away! They've run away! She and Leonardo. On the horse. With their arms around each other, they rode off like a shooting star!"
Discovering new "foreign" music can expose a musician to new ideas and interpretations of their own music. This is a positive effect. However, sometimes if a musician hears something so radically different from the structure that they're used to hearing, the musician that is listening may question everything that they have learned thus far (thats about the only hypothetical con I can come up with).
Otherwise, it is a very good thing for musicians to be exposed to elements outside their own "box". For example, this summer I worked at Idlewild amusement park doing all the shows. I didn't usually listen to country up until the rehearsals started. But after I had listened to the songs we would be doing for the country-themed shows, I became a pro at getting that Johnny Cash and Big & Rich sound. Learning new styles as a musician can only make you more marketable, which can only make you more money.
When a reader knows of a particular creator of a piece, the vagueness of the way the piece is to be interpreted decreases. Even if the reader does not directly know the author, the reader can look up information about the author and draw conclusions about what the story means based on that author's life experiences and philosophy. For example, after a reader reads a piece they know to be from Edgar Allen Poe, they can more easily conclude that the story might have been a way for Poe to express the dark moods he felt due to the tragedies in his own life. If the reader had found that same piece to be from an anonymous author, however, they might just suspect that they are crazy incoherent ramblings of a madman.
Not that anonymous authorship is a negative thing though. Lots of times its the vagueness of the story and the openess for interpretation that keeps audiences interested and coming back for more answers. I don't believe either kind of authorship is more significant than the other. I just believe that there are certain situations where it can be beneficial to have a name to something, and other times its better to be anonymous. Anonymous authorship is very well suited for oral tradition and songs of the troubadors. In these performances, an authors name could easily get in the way of allowing a troubador to "make the story his own." If there is no author, then one does not feel the need to do the author justice. Thus, taking certain liberties in "editing" the text of the song to fit more current events or more personal situations is done with ease. When the performer feels comfortable with their own version of the song or story, it is more likely to be repeated and become a standard in the performer's repertoire. The more repetition, the more likely the story is to carry itself through the years and stand the test of time.
The sound of the spoken word or sentence, also known as the inflection, is crucial to the interpretation of text. For example: The statement "That's a nice shirt." can have a sincere compliment inflection, a sarcastic inflection, or be phrased as a question just to name a few ways to interpret it.The same goes for music or poetry.
This presents a challenge when poetry or music lyrics are translated into another language because the nature of syllables, alliteration, vowels, and consonants are changed along with the words. Sometimes an exact word-for-word translation doesn't present the same feel that the piece did in its native language. Not that its impossible, mind you, well-trained lyricists do this all the time with Operas translated into English. The English versions have the same amount of syllables to fit the musical structure and still tell the same story, evoking practically the same emotions.
Alliteration is one of the hardest things to translate from one language to another. Imagine if you had to translate this from "Langue d'Oe":
"when the nightingale to his MATE
sings day-longs and night LATE
my love and I keep STATE
in BOWER
in FLOWER
till the watchman on the TOWER..."
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