Blog #3
Paige Kaltenbach
November 3rd, 2015
Travelin' Soldier
Travelin' Soldier is a tragic love song about a boy who goes off to war
and right before he's shipped off he leaves an impact on a local girl. They
fall in love and write letters back in fourth before the boy dies in combat.
This song was written originally in 1996, and throughout the
years had a couple covers done. In 2002 The Dixie Chicks did their own version
of the song and the world was taken over by storm! The song was number one on
the charts for many weeks! My research
question is, why after years of being out, did The Dixie Chicks version of
Travelin' Soldier top the charts unlike the other versions?
The method I will be using to analyze this question is the
Fantasy Theme method. The fantasy theme method provides insight into groups,
using either setting theme, character theme, or action theme. Fantasy theme
helps get a collective understanding of symbols, which this song is. Instead of
listening to the song as individuals, the nation came together and listened to
it as one. Instead of "I" "Me" "My", this song
brought out the "Us" "Our" "We". This song
captured a group which is fantasy chain.
This song came out during the perfect setting. Travelin'
Soldier came out just a few months after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. It was
seem as a kind of anti-war song, which related to many people due to the
situation of the nation. I believe that this is why the song did so well, it
was very relevant. This song unified people and made them no feel as alone
making it a fantasy chain. The song was a symbol
While on tour in England the lead singer of The Dixie
Chicks, Natalie Maines, made a comment that not many people liked. She said
that she and the other girls in the band were ashamed that the president,
George W Bush, was from Texas like they were. A lot of people were mad about
this causing interpretive validity. The way people reacted to this, really gave
you insight into who they are. This is also another example of fantasy chain,
because it sparked a negative reaction to many groups of people. Some people
were scared of not agreeing because they didn't want to be an outcast, so they
just go with what everyone else thinks, even if it’s not 100% their views too.
I am very happy about the artifact I've chosen because I think
there is a lot of stuff going on with this song. It went from number 1 on the
charts to practically ban and ignored over one comment. This song has a whole
lot that you can analyze so I think my essay will be good!
