Travelin’ Soldier – Dixie chicks.

1. Travelin’ Soldier – Dixie chicks. . A personal favourite.

2. Title - “Travelin’ Soldier”. • The title suggests that the song is about a soldier. • My initial impression about the title was that it is about a soldier travelling around the world. • I didn’t think that it was going to be this sad.

3. Paraphrase. • Two days past eighteen He was waiting for the bus in his army green Sat down in a booth at a cafe there Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair He's a little shy so she gives him a smile And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while And talking to me, I'm feeling a little low She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go • A boy that just turned 18 was passing his time sitting in a café, and gave his order to a girl. He asked her to sit down and talk, she said she was off in an hour, so they went somewhere.

4. Paraphrase • I cry Never gonna hold the hand of another guy Too young for him they told her Waitin' for the love of the travelin' soldier Our love will never end Waitin' for the soldier to come back again Never Born to be alone when the letter said Soldier's coming home So the letters came from an army camp From california then vietnamAnd he told her of his heart It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of He said when it's getting kinda rough over here I think of that day sittin' down at the pier And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile Don't worry but I won't be able to write for a while. • They fell in love, and it was sad because he had to go away to war. She waited for his letters. They came from California then Vietnam, which shows that he’s travelling. They love each other, he thinks about her all of the time. She worries about him.

5. Paraphrase. • One friday night at a football game The lord's prayer said and the anthem sang A man said folks would you bow your heads For a list of local vietnam dead Crying all alone under the stands Was a piccolo player in the marching band And one name read and nobody really cared But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair • One night at a football game, they were singing the anthem, then they listed names of local soldiers who were killed in Vietnam. Her boyfriend’s name was called, and she was very sad. That’s really sad.

6. Connotation. • “So they went down and they sat on the pier” – Allusion. • “Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair” – Imagery. • “And one name read and nobody really cared But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair” – Point of view. • “The lord's prayer said and the anthem sang” – Symbolism. • “He was waiting for the bus in his army green” – Imagery. • “And one name read and nobody really cared” – Could be an understatement.

7. Attitude • The speakers attitude is remorse, and sorrow. Yet, it’s kind of happy. • The speaker thinks remorseful for the pretty little girl with a bow in her hair, it’s a sad story. • They don’t really show any emotion but the attitude given off by the song is calm.

8. Shifts • There is a slight shift of the attitude in the last verse, it goes from being faster and louder, to quieter and more sad. • That shift contributes to the feeling of the song, it really sets the mood and makes you want to cry. • There's a shift in time, the beginning is when they first met, then it shifts to when he’s at war.

9. Title “Travelin Soldier”. • The title shows that the soldier really did travel all over. • The title pretty much explains the whole song. • It interprets the title very well.

10. Theme • Subjects: war, love, sadness, a love story. • Theme statements: • War makes one sad. • Love can lead to sadness. • Sadness is an impact of war. • This is a love story between two regular teens.