Bosnia
Bosnia
Lyric of "Bosnia"
Like the title of this album "To the faithful departed," Cranberries
sympathetically deals with the conflict and violence in Sarajevo, Bosnia. This
song states at the beginning that the speaker is not blind to fragile lives
and the departed in Bosnia:
I would like to state my vision, Life was so unfair
We live in our secure surroundings
And people die out there.
`Life was so unfair` seems to indicate the speaker`s incapability to help `people
die out there.` It is just like the following the speaker said, "and we
call out in despair." Surely, the speaker points out the difference between
over here and `out there.` In other word, the distance or the spatial difference
manifests the miserable condition which represents in negative words, such as,
`unfair,` `die,`
unkind,` `despair,`
`tomb,` `fear,` `terror.`
Moreover, we could make a list of the contrast between here and there:
Here (Dublin, Ireland) |
There (Sarajevo, Bosnia) |
secure surroundings |
people die out there |
sing song in our room |
erects another tomb |
In addition, we could listen carefully the transition of this song from the
despair to the hope. In the last two part of this song, we could hear "When
do the saints go marching in?" which seems to reveal some possibilities
out there. The question "When do the saints go marching
in?" sounds like "when this war and violence will end."
We have no idea for this question, but the children sing this repeated line
which reveals the hope, peace, and a little bit joy. In the very end, the melody
of a lullaby apparently soothes the departed and "babies in their beds,
terror in their heads."
Study
Questions to "Bosnia"
1. Read the lyric of "Bosnia" and look up via the Net and find out where is Bosnia and what happened in Sarajevo?
2. Try to listen to the song "Bosnia" and discuss the arrangement of music and its implication
3. Make a list of contrast between `over here` and `out there.`
4. Read the lyric alound and try to find out its rhyme within.
5. Discuss the meaning of "When do the saints go marching in?" in the lyric and the song.
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