This city, this setting is of great importance to the song we are analyzing today.
"Streets of Philadelphia"
Slide 3 - Tekstslide
Question the students whether they know this song? Whether they know what it is about
If not, move on to the next slide: context of composition (the movie "Philadelphia")
If yes, build on their reply. Move from context of interpretation to context of composition. Important to know more about the composition to analyse the words.
Philadelphia (1993)
Slide 4 - Tekstslide
song was written for this movie, for this event, which is now a historical event; the AIDS epidemic
Context of composition
Written in 1993
Written for an American legal drama film
One of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, and homophobia.
Slide 5 - Tekstslide
The disease AIDS first appeared in the early 1980s, and rapidly became an epidemic among homosexual men. Intravenous drug users who shared needles, blood transfusion patients, and women with infected sexual partners were also at risk of contracting AIDS.
Context of interpretation
What do you know about AIDS?
Have people changed their view/opinion/behavior towards infected people since the 80s?
Would this film/song be written in 2021?
Slide 6 - Tekstslide
Used to be a diseases for homosexuals, now known as an African disease.
Verse 1
I was bruised and battered, I couldn't tell what I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
I saw my reflection in a window, I didn't know my own face
Oh brother are you gonna leave me wastin' away
On the Streets of Philadelphia
Slide 7 - Tekstslide
Analyze together
"Oh brother..."
Despite an entire generation of young men being killed by AIDS, the government and medical community were slow to react to the crisis because it mostly killed gay men.
Here Springsteen is asking how society could turn its back on those who need help the most, made especially potent because he is in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. (Philadelphia has long been nicknamed "The City of Brotherly Love" from the literal meaning of the city's name in Greek)
Verse 2
I walked the avenue, 'til my legs felt like stone
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
It was just as black and whispering as the rain
On the Streets of Philadelphia
Slide 8 - Tekstslide
Assignment: Analyze these lines on your own. Write something about each line. (5 minutes)
Share answers with class and have a look at Genius
Bridge
Ain't no angel gonna greet me
It's just you and I, my friend
My clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles
Just to slip this skin
Slide 9 - Tekstslide
Deze slide heeft geen instructies
Verse 3
The night has fallen, I'm lyin' awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me brother with your faithless kiss
Or will we leave each other alone like this
On the Streets of Philadelphia
Slide 10 - Tekstslide
"Brother" = could refer to a lover, friend/family, society
- the protagonist is asking whether society will help its brothers or let them die in the streets. A powerful message to end on; a call to arms.