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Essay / Frank Sinatra's Come Fly with Me and its significance in American culture to connect with his audience through the use of highly developed song lyrics. The 1950s were generally considered a time of suburban expansion, family-oriented lifestyles, and career prospects. Additionally, the song's release in 1958 took place at a time when the United States of America was struggling to endure the beginnings of the Vietnam War. Therefore, the success of Sinatra's "Come Fly with Me" is clearly explained by how it masterfully gave the listener an escape to an exciting alternative lifestyle. “Come Fly with Me” achieves this effect through a variety of lyrical themes that lifted the morale of the American people during tumultuous war times. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay The release of Frank Sinatra's “Come Fly with Me” in 1958 coincided almost perfectly with the height of the baby boom American. Therefore, the culture of this era is generally considered one in which building the family was central to the typical way of life. According to a history.com article, "After the end of World War II, many Americans were eager to have children because they were confident that the future would bring them only peace and prosperity (history .com, 1950s). At first glance, then, it may be difficult to pin down the reason for the success of “Come Fly with Me,” which emphasizes themes of flight, adventure and romance – none of which are themes strongly associated with the family culture of the country. decade. However, a closer analysis makes it clear how these themes could contribute to the song's success. In “Come Fly with Me,” Sinatra implores the listener to follow him around the world by flying with him. He begins by suggesting: “If you can use exotic alcohol | There is a bar in faraway Bombay” (ll. 2-3). An “exotic” location as far away as Bombay, India, can only be explained by the desire to be as geographically distant from the United States as possible. This desire to travel reveals a seemingly popular sense of boredom among the American people; the 1950s tired them of a lifestyle based on habit and the home. Additionally, Sinatra's offer of "exotic alcohol" to the listener clearly suggests romantic interest. Taking someone to a bar and offering to buy them an “exotic drink” isn’t just a platonic gesture. Sinatra's offering reveals yet another hidden aspect of the feelings of late 1950s America; the desire for romance, at a time when hard work and family-building had likely diminished the romantic life of the average American. The themes of travel and romance continue to recur throughout the song. In the second verse, Sinatra sings: “…let's float to Peru | In the land of llamas, there is a one-man band | And he will play his flute for you” (ll. 5-7). In doing so, Sinatra places the listener on a pedestal by promising a personal flautist – another charming gesture. After the second verse, Sinatra introduces the chorus of the song. He sings: “Once I bring you up there where the air is thin | We'll just glide, starry-eyed | Once I get you up there, I'll hold you so close | You might hear the angels cheering because we are together.” Often people experience shortness of breath when confronted with someone they love, andSinatra's use of "thin air" alludes to this common human experience. Through this masterful and subtle yet clearly intentional rhetoric, Sinatra manages to simultaneously illustrate magnificent landscapes of heights and views with deep feelings of nervous infatuation. The last lines of the chorus say: “Once I get you up there, I'll hold you so close | You will perhaps hear the angels applauding because we are together” (ll. 11-12). In case the listener has any lingering doubts about the singer's romantic intentions, Sinatra's romantic desire for the listener is undeniably revealed when he proclaims how he will "hold you [the listener] so close", and that even the angels will celebrate their romance by "clapping because we are together." Sinatra begins the second verse of the chorus with a description of the weather. He sings: “Weather wise, it’s such a beautiful day | Just say the words and we will beat the birds | To the bay of Acapulco” (ll. 21-23). It is certainly no accident that Sinatra chose the weather of this story as "such a beautiful day" – surely Sinatra's intention is that the beautiful weather should parallel the beauty of his date with the woman who he is with. Sinatra ends the chorus by saying, “It's [the] perfect weather for a flying honeymoon, they say | Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly | Pack your bags, let’s fly! (ll. 24-26). This quote is therefore perhaps the most critical group of lines in identifying the theme of the song; the abandonment of mundane, suburban life for a lifestyle of adventure and romance in a faraway land. Sinatra, not for the first time, urges his listener to come and fly with him. Her urgent desire to join her listener in romance could not be more evident; he urges them to pack their bags and fly away with him. Packing your bags and “flying away” with someone is not a choice made lightly and without truly romantic feelings. To embark on such an adventure with a romantic interest requires a lot of confidence, attraction and desire. These necessary traits support the contention that the enormous commercial success of “Come Fly with Me” is due, at least in part, to a deeply underlying desire to escape the monotony of suburban family life. Listeners, just as Sinatra intends, are forced by the song's lyrics to imagine their own lives changing so drastically. Listeners imagine the beauty of the descriptions and escape from their own reality. The listener's mind constructs what it must be like to fly across the Atlantic to a bar in Bombay; see a one-man band playing his flute in Peru; to beat the birds to Acapulco Bay and to hold a starry-eyed lover in the sky. The success of "Come Fly with Me" therefore clearly demonstrates the banal existence of these desires for adventure and romance in the mind of the typical American. The success of Sinatra's "Come Fly with Me," however, was not limited to mid-century. twentieth century. Artists continued to recognize the success of the song and worked to make it part of their own success as well. According to an article from songfacts.com, some of the artists who have covered the song include Michael Bublé, Count Basie, Dean Martin and Lou Rawls (Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra, songfacts.com). Michael Bublé's cover, like Sinatra's original, was the name of his 2004 album Come Fly with Me, certified gold by the Australian Charts (ARIA) according to aria.com.au. These widespread and repeated successes of Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly with Me" indicate a deeper rapprochement among the American people over the years. To understand the continued success of “Come.
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