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LAURA'S CLASS PROJECT ABOUT A GINO VANNELLI SONG:
This is an e-mail the editors received on Wednesday 6 December 2006 with the subject : The Gino Vannelli short stories web page...
Dear B & T: Courage: The power to let go of the familiar. --Raymond Lindquist-- My project is based on a Gino Vannelli song from the CD “Canto.” If you’ve never listened to this singer, songwriter, composer, I recommend checking out his website. This particular song is sung in English. However, this Canadian born artist is multi-lingual (on the CD “Canto” he recorded songs primarily in Italian but includes other tracks in French, English, and Spanish) and multi-talented. His songs are distinctively poetic and highly symbolic. I will illustrate the speech code of this song utilizing Philipsen’s five propositions. “Last Days of Summer” Music by Gino Vannelli, lyrics by Gino Vannelli and Glenn Morley
The trees are full and green
Her sundress, pink and white
Thinking the unthinkable
My father warned of the waning years
Strange that my eyes should gain more sight
We wrestle in the grass
Just how much I truly love him Proposition 1: Wherever there is a distinctive culture, there is to be found a distinctive speech code: This poetic song is about a man coming to terms with middle age and the loss of his father. The summer season is symbolic in describing the ending of another year or life cycle. A garden is the perfect summer setting for the song. Proposition 2: In any given speech community, multiple speech codes are deployed. The song expresses thoughts about a young man believing time would never caught up with him. Now that he is of a middle age, the words his father spoke to him about aging, life and death bring new meaning to his own life. The middle age man writes about his own son growing quickly and his awareness of his feelings toward him. We have multiple speech codes being deployed with this multi-generation story. Proposition 3: A speech code involves a culturally distinctive psychology, sociology, and rhetoric. The speech code of this song is symbolic rhyming prose about a man who views himself almost invincible compared to his father. The middle age man in the song is remembering the young man he was and how he viewed himself and his life. In recalling the words of wisdom his father passed on to him, he now sees he is inextricably interconnected to time, his father, aging, and his own son’s life. The psychology, sociology, and rhetoric employed in this song are aimed at linking oneself to our past, present, and future. Proposition 4: The significance of speaking depends on the speech codes used by speakers and listeners to create and interpret their communication. The singer/songwriter engages us in thinking about a precious commodity – time and the value of our relationships, in this song, that of father and son. Most audience members can relate with their own personal experiences of growing up, having retrospect in our lives, and how we seek out our parents for wisdom on life. Proposition 5: The terms, rules, and premises of a speech code are inextricably woven into speaking itself. The terms, rules, and premise of this song are dramatic and thematic. Our singer takes us on a journey from an “unsinkable ship” referring to his strong and youthful self, to an introspective middle age man coming to terms with the inevitable – aging process, to the passing of his own father.
 Go to the CANTO web pages and click around!!! You can surf on 35 Gino Vannelli CANTO web pages... Go to the CANTO lyrics web pages... Or go home again to the index web page... You can also go to the top of this page... But back to the fan stories web page is also possible...
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