Monday, October 29, 2007

And Such Was Life in Leningrad...



I wonder if you can guess what this song is about? =P Well, here's my quick summary: Written by Billy Joel, the song Leningrad is about a man named Viktor who (surprise!) lived in Leningrad. Joel sings about how depressing Viktor's life was growing up during the Cold War and compares it to his own childhood living in the United States. He makes references to many historical events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Korean War, and McCarthyism, all of which show the tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The lyrics were inspired by a Russian man Billy Joel had actually met while on concert tour of the Soviet Union in the 1980's (there is a reference to this tour in our textbook in one of the dialogues. When Lena asks Vova what he is listening to he says "An American Rock Concert in Moscow" and he says his favorite artist is Billy Joel) I couldn't really find a better quality video but this one is good, I guess....Alright, that's it for the summary. Enjoy the song!

1 comment:

Ri3mannZeta said...

OMFG BILLY JOEL!! B] Leningrad is one of definitely one of his best songs (and one of several of his songs to, oddly, feature city names - "Vienna" is great, as is "Allentown", and "New York State of Mind", and "Goodnight Saigon", and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", and...)