Billy Joel Leningrad Poem Meaning

790 Words4 Pages
The source that I chose for this project was the song Leningrad written and played by Billy Joel in 1989. The song Leningrad is a primary source because it is written by Billy Joel who grew up during the Cold War. The song Leningrad is about the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. Therefore, the song Leningrad depicts the Cold War and its misconceptions. First, some background knowledge of the song Leningrad and the song’s writer Billy Joel. First, some background knowledge of Billy Joel is that he grew up during the fifties and sixties because he was born in 1949. So Billy Joel grew up in the mist of the Cold War with the fear of Communism, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. Next, some more background…show more content…
First, an analysis of the song is that it shows the tension between Russians and Americans. An example of this from the song is the line “Blast those yellow reds to hell”, showing the hatred between the two nations and people. Next, another analysis from the song is that the Americans are paranoid with the red scare and war. An example of this is the line “Under their desks in an air raid rill”, showing that Americans at this time were paranoid of attacks from the Soviet Union. In addition, an analysis of the song is that the Russian children were living poorly. This is shown in the song when they talk about Viktor (Russian person in the song). According to the song Viktor lost his father and was forced to serve the corrupt state. Another analysis of the song is that Russians aren’t all bad. The song line “The greatest happiness he’d ever found was making Russian children glad”, supports that Russians aren’t all bad. Lastly, the most important analysis of the song is that it shows that he and Viktor are friendly to each other. This is shown when Viktor and the guy in the song meet and enjoy each other’s presence. Overall, there are many analyses of the song

    More about Billy Joel Leningrad Poem Meaning

      Open Document