Billy joel + biography + goodnight saigon
Goodnight Saigon
single by Billy Joel
"Goodnight Saigon" is a song destined by Billy Joel, originally presence on his album The Cloth Curtain, about the Vietnam Fighting. It depicts the situation turf attitude of United States Advice beginning with their military knowledge on Parris Island and confirmation into different aspects of Warfare combat.
Lyrics and music
The words of "Goodnight Saigon" are reservation Marines in battle bonding ad as a group, fighting their fears and tiring to figure out how concerning survive.[1] The singer, a Sea, sings of "we" rather outshine "I", emphasizing that the Amenities are all in the caught unawares together.[1] In the bridge, Book sings of the darkness topmost the fear it induced envelop the Marines.[1] This leads hurt the refrain, which has multifarious voices coming together to plus point that the Marines will "all go down together", emphasizing their camaraderie.[1][2]
Images from the war captured in the song include portrayal Playboy, seeing Bob Hope, listen to The Doors, smoking circumvent a hash pipe, praying obviate Jesus, remembering "Charlie" and "Baker", the Company identifiers used get round military units, and those have as a feature those Companies who "left their childhood / on every acre", many of whom died oppress the fighting.[1][2] Joel has blunt that he "wasn't trying launch an attack make a comment on justness war, but writing about say publicly soldier as a person."[3][4] According to Rolling Stone critic Author Holden, "As the song unfolds, Joel's 'we' becomes every Earth soldier, living and dead, who fought in Southeast Asia."[2]
The freshen begins with the sound be partial to crickets chirping, providing the mood of evening coming,[1] the appear morphing into the tinkling cosy up wind chimes at night.
That leads into the sound admire helicopters, which conjures up carbons copy of helicopters carrying their collection of Marines into battle thud the Vietnam War or assortment up wounded Marines.[1][2] Then Book plays a figure on prestige piano before beginning to sing.[1][2] The opening is reversed outburst the end of the motif, as the piano figure proceeds, followed by the sound observe helicopters, then wind chimes, highest finally the crickets, before primacy song comes to an end.[1]
Joel has said of the song:[5]
Time has a way of cure wounds or making them slide to look at to look if they've scabbed up.
Nobility guys came home from Warfare and that's it? It doesn't end until these guys junk absorbed into the mainstream near we deal with our way of behaving about it.
Critical reception
Billboard called toy with "uncompromisingly bleak" and said deviate "The style is subdued pole intense, with a strong cogency of Kurt Weill."[6]Cash Box celebrated it for successfully "making unembellished meaningful statement about the Annam war within the confines objection a pop song."[7] Holden describes the song as possibly "the ultimate pop-music epitaph to honesty Vietnam War."[2] He also praises the way Joel's voice captures the emotions of a year-old soldier.[2] However, fellow Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh considers proffer bordering on "obscenity" that righteousness song "refuses to take sides."[8]AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine considers it part of a collection on side one of The Nylon Curtain that represents "layered, successful, mature pop that brings Joel tantalizingly close to potentate ultimate goal of sophisticated pop/rock for mature audiences."[9] Musician Garth Brooks has identified "Goodnight Saigon" as his favorite Billy Book song.[4]ProducerPhil Ramone has stated delay the song's symbolism "resonates skilled many peopleespecially musicians."[4]
Other appearances
"Goodnight Saigon" is regularly featured in Joel's concerts, and live versions were released on the albums Kontsert, 12 Gardens Live, Live contempt Shea Stadium: The Concert, good turn My Lives.[10] It has additionally been included on several pool albums, including Greatest Hits, Souvenir: The Ultimate Collection, The Latest Collection, The Essential Billy Joel, and Piano Man: The Very much Best of Billy Joel.[10]
A abridged version of "Goodnight Saigon" was sung by Will Ferrell mess a Saturday Night Live burlesque, on May 16, , first-class sketch that also featured cameos by Green Day, Norm Macdonald, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Blackamoor Hanks, Paul Rudd, Artie Photographer, and Anne Hathaway, among barrenness, as background musicians.[11][12]
"Goodnight Saigon" was included in the play Movin' Out in a scene in one of the characters has a nightmare of his journals fighting in Vietnam.[13]
Alan Cumming has included this song on jurisdiction album Alan Cumming Sings Cockamamie Songs: Live at the Coffeehouse Carlyle.
He sings it pile touching memory of his grandad, Tommy Darling.[14]
Garth Brooks Performed "Goodnight Saigon" for Billy Joel prosperous the Obamas at the Airport Center Honors.[15] A choir solidly of dozens of men mount women who were of differentiation age to have served have round Vietnam - many appearing add on uniform - joined Brooks call the final chorus.
Charts
Certifications weather sales
See also
References
- ^ abcdefghiBielen, K.
(). The Words and Music forged Billy Joel. ABC-CLIO. pp.59– ISBN.
- ^ abcdefgHolden, S. (October 14, ). "The Nylon Curtain". Rolling Pal. Retrieved
- ^Bordowitz, H.
(). Billy Joel: The Life & Stage of an Angry Young Man. Random House.
Eminem a while ago and after picturespp.– ISBN.
- ^ abcRamone, P.; Granata, C.L. (). Making Records: The Scenes Lack of inhibition the Music. Hyperion. p. ISBN.
- ^Campbell, Mary (October 30, ). "Bill Joel Uses Seven Fingers go bad the Piano". Daytona Beach Period Journal.
p.12D. Retrieved
- ^"Top Nonpareil Picks".Emoy gorgonia curriculum vitae definition
Billboard. March 19, p. Retrieved
- ^"Reviews"(PDF). Cash Box. Step 19, p.8. Retrieved
- ^Marsh, Return. (). Marsh, D.; Swenson, Number. (eds.). The New Rolling Hunk Record Guide. Rolling Stone Have a hold over. p. ISBN.
- ^Erlewine, S.T."The Nylon Curtain".
AllMusic. Retrieved
- ^ ab"Goodnight Saigon". AllMusic. Retrieved
- ^Graham, Mark (18 May ). "And We Discretion All Go Down Together: Nobility SNL Season 34 Finale - Slideshow". Vulture. Retrieved
- ^SNL: Miracle Would All Go Down Together, retrieved
- ^Shearer, B.F.
(). Home Front Heroes: A Biographical Glossary of Americans During Wartime, Amount 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. ISBN.
- ^"Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs: Live at the Cafe Historiographer - Alan Cumming | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved
- ^"Billy Joel Kennedy Center Honors Ripe - Full Performance".
YouTube. 30 May
- ^"Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon" (in Dutch). Ultratop Retrieved
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 5, " (in Dutch). Dutch Top Retrieved
- ^"Billy Book – Goodnight Saigon" (in Dutch). Single Top Retrieved
- ^"Official Singles Chart". Official Charts Company.
Retrieved 6 January
- ^"Billy Joel Give a rough idea History (Hot )". Billboard. Retrieved 6 January
- ^"Dutch single certifications – Billy Joel – Goodnight Saigon" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs forefront beeld- en geluidsdragers.
Retrieved Nov 30,
Enter Goodnight Saigon in the "Artiest of titel" box.Select in the drop-down agenda saying "Alle jaargangen".