Change

Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major
I selected this classical melody because of the type of music it was. Pachelbel’s Canon is known as a round. It slowly builds and builds as new instruments are added, but all the instruments are playing the same melody. It will keep continuing and repeating until the composer tells the instrumentalist to stop. This is very similar to the message in Our Town that tells us that unless you change you cannot grow. The text explained that this small town had remained the same for many years and it was still the same town then as it is now. The pattern that Our Town tells us causes unchanging behaviors is each generation is swept up into the ways of the town. In the canon, each group of instruments is perfectly combined, but out of all of the instruments, there is always one group that sticks out and can always be heard. In Our Town there are many people that harbor varying opinions, but there is always one view that is much more prominent that the others and that is what allows people not to change.

For Good from Wicked

Because I knew you
I have been changed for good

You are changed by the people around you. In this song, Glenda and Elphaba are expressing the fact that their lives are completely different because of each other and they have been permanently changed forever. Antigone portrays the same message as this song: that you can change those around you. She believes that her brother should receive a proper burial and not be left to be eaten by the crows, so she covered her brother’s body in dirt so he could move to heaven. When she is discovered she doesn’t deny her actions and accepts here punishment, but her bravery and strong will influenced her to be husband who then influenced his father, the king. Then king then decided to spare Antigone, who was already dead. Both show the power that people have to change those around them. Another important lesson that can be learned from both media is beautifully summarized in the lyrics.

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good

You can affect people in both positive and negative ways, but changes will influence you for the rest of your life.

The smooth gentle notes, strengthened by the lack of instrumental back-up, brings you into a tranquil state that allows you listen to the beautiful, powerful voice that keeps resonating in your ears. The pattern of the two voices alternating and finally merging in to a gorgeous harmony towards the end makes you believe in the good that people are capable of and power that it controls. The power to influence those around you. It prevents a stray thought about the evil that man can commit from wandering into your mind.

Revolution by the Beatles

This is an ideal example of changing the world which meshes smoothly with the teachings in Ishmael. Ishmael believed that in order to change the world you must first understand how the world functions through mother culture. One must be proactive. One cannot make a difference in the world by having conflict fester throughout. The lyrics mirror what Ishmael was teaching us.

Well you know
We'd all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out

Ishmael also believes that the people that don’t contribute to the survival of the world, the people that the world feels they need to take care of, shouldn’t exist. This is an extreme of the idea that everyone must participate in the solution, and if you don’t, you are also responsible in part for the problem.

You ask me for a contribution
Well you know
We're all doing what we can

The rock guitar in the background has a very coarse sound to it that reminds you of the destruction in the world, but the almost mocking tone of the vocalist leads you to believe that the way people have been approaching the issue by “blaming the institution” and how all solutions are not thought out is a reflection of the stupidity of man and how if we plan to change the world we are approaching the issue from the wrong direction.

Some People Change by Montgomery Gentry

Here's to the strong; thanks to the brave.
Don't give up hope: some people change.
Against all odds, against the grain,
Love finds a way: some people change.

A major theme that occurred in Romeo and Juliet was that both of them were willing to give up many things that were important to them in order to be with each other. Now Romeo’s and Juliet’s love may not have changed them, but their mutual love caused their families to end the feud between them and live peacefully. In the song, the man’s love for God caused him to dispose of his prejudices and the woman’s love for all the people that she cares about and holds close to her causes her to end her drinking. If you care about something strong enough, love will find a way to make everything work out in the end.

The song has a very exuberant overall tone to it. The almost lack of instruments during the stanzas forces you to focus on the lyrics and the powerful meaning behind them, and when all the people join in on the chorus, you just can’t help but be filled this positive attitude that makes you believe the words without question.

Desperado by the Eagles

The song Desperado is telling the story of a man who has messed up his life and he needs to change now because if he doesn’t, he will never be able to revert back to who he was.

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
You been out ridin’ fences for so long now
Oh, you’re a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin’ you
Can hurt you somehow

His actions that have always brought him pleasure coupled with his obstinate attitude that he won’t receive the consequences and feels that he doesn’t need help has prevented him from realizing that he needs to change. This lesson that sometimes we need to change was revealed in Life of Pi. Pi was forced to change. Had he failed to change his beliefs, he would have died out at sea just a few days after the ship sunk. Pi extreme situation allowed Pi to forfeit his vegetarian habits and even cause him to have second thoughts about his religions that he had loved. The reasons behind the necessity of changing will vary, but no one is ever forced to change until the situation is desperate.

The melancholic tone of sing helps to open up your mind and really see that the person the song describes is in desperate need of help, but is too strong will to acknowledge their problems. There being only one instrument also adds to the overall tone and helps you to sympathize with the person and desire to change with them. The downtrodden voice of the singer aids in your understanding of the severity of the situation.

Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

Landslide is a song about changing your identity, who you are, because your entire life you have determined your identity by the one you love, and you want define who you are. The following lines are a fair synopsis of what I just said.

Well, I’ve been afraid of changing
’cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I’m getting older too

This same theme of redefining yourself because you want to is abundant in Siddhartha. Siddhartha leaves his castle and realizes that the world is not like his palace with servants waiting on him. So, he goes on a journey to discover truth behind the world and changing because he wants to. Each time he changes in the novel it is in order to create a more enjoyable life to make his life closer and closer to what he wants it to become. He didn’t want to live with his twisted version of the world. Siddhartha’s thirst for change was the effect of the truth being hidden and he needing to redefine himself based upon the truth of the world. Whereas in the song Landslide, the person wants to change their identity because they don’t feel that they have been able to be who they truly wanted to be.

The gravelly tone of the singers voice allows you to comprehend the determination that the person obtains, but the joyous sound of the instrumentals strongly aids the lyrics message of how the person will still return to the one that they love. Once her journey concludes, she will return and still love. The uplifting tone of the lyrics however gives hope towards the idea that people really can change.