Paige Kaltenbach
Blog #1
September 12, 2015
Travelin' Soldier by The Dixie Soldier
Travelin' Soldier is a heart wrenching song about a young
boy going off to the Army. Before he got on the bus to leave he stop at a diner
for a meal. He's shy but asks the waitress with a big pink bow to sit with him
because he's lonely. She takes him to a pier and they sit and talk. The boy
tell the girl, " I bet you have a boyfriend, I got no one to send letters
to, would you mind if I sent one back here to you?"
He sends letter to her from all over the world, California,
Vietnam. He tells her in the letters he thinks he might be in love with her. He
writes that it's getting tough but he always thinks about that day on the pier.
Next in the letters he says that he doesn't know when he'll be able to write
her again. "Don't worry but I won't be able to write for a while"
Little did she know she wouldn't be hearing from him again. A few weeks later
at a High School football game the announcer read off a list of recent Vietnam
dead. Everyone cried and cried until one name was read off that no one
recognized except that girl in the stand with the big pink bow. The song says
"I cried, never gonna hold the hand of another guy." and "Our
love will never end."
Listening to this song anyone would get a rush of emotions
but when The Dixie Chicks released it the song spoke to so many people. The
Dixie Chicks released this song on February, 20, 2002, just five months after
the 9/11 terrorist attacks and after the United State declared war. Just a few
months after the song came out it hit number one. It seemed that everyone could
relate with this song because of the tragedy of the World Trade Center’s is
attacked. Being so closely released after 9/11 many people thought of it as an
anti-war song. I believe everyone can feel from this song but the audience most
effected would be people that were getting deployed and leaving their loved
ones behind with only letters to write back and fourth. Travelin' soldier had a
steady spot at number one for a very long time due to all the country was going
through. The Dixie Chick preformed it everywhere from football games, to music
award, and all over the world on tour. This song was all over until over a year
later when the group performed it in while on tour in Europe. As the song
started playing the lead singer, Natalie Maines, said that her and the band
were ashamed that the President of the United State, George Bush was from Texas
like they were. The US marines made a comment back so many stations refused to
continue playing the song. In one week Travelin' Soldier went from number one
to number 3, and the following week it was completely off the Billboard Top 100
Chart. With the Nation in such a bad place at the time, many people were very
upset that Natalie Maines would say that, especially on foreign soil. With such
controversy behind it, many stations wouldn't play them anymore and people
stopped going to their concerts. Many people believe that is what ruined their
career because after that comment in 2003 they never had a number one song
since. The song and The Dixie Chicks went from number one to being completely
ignored. I think that this happened because people felt the comment was
anti-American ad after 9/11 people wanted to all stick together and be strong
as a Nation.
Yes, I remember this controversy, although I was unfamiliar with this particular song. The Dixie Chicks became political victims because of the way they expressed themselves publicly. Consider the surrounding events when analyzing the rhetorical force of the song - as public perception changed dramatically because of circumstances, not because of the actual song.
ReplyDeleteThis is an intriguing choice, as the actual artifact almost seems secondary to the larger context. I remember there being a great deal of public outcry - some of it very extreme - after Ms. Maines' comments. I would imagine their sincerity was likely questioned; and so it can be very significant to examine public response to this song before and after the public eruption. Remember, though, sometimes politics can make for scapegoats and media-driven scandals. Was this outcry justified or overblown? Was it a matter of real public scorn or just anger stemming from a criticism made "too soon" by the singer?
Interesting stuff here! Keep working.