Vincent (Don McLean song)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vincent
Don McLean
publication 1971
Genre (s) Rock music
text Don McLean
music Don McLean
Starry Night , Vincent van Gogh , 1889

Vincent is a song by Don McLean , which he wrote in 1971 as a homage to the painter Vincent van Gogh . The piece is also known by its first line of text, Starry Starry Night . The song first appeared on the album American Pie , released in October 1971, and became the singer's second most successful piece after the title song of the same name . Vincent was number 1 in Great Britain for two weeks in June 1972 , and it reached number 12 in the American charts .

The basic key of the piece is G major . The vocals are initially only accompanied by a guitar , towards the end a soft tremolating xylophone and a group of strings are added in the background . The chord progression of the stanzas and the chorus is varied during the repetitions.

References to Vincent van Gogh

McLean reports in an interview that he composed the song inspired by reading the artist's biography and thus expressed his admiration for the painter. The lines of the song are reminiscent of several pictures by Van Gogh, for example the starry night ("Starry, Starry Night"), the self-portraits ("Weathered faces lined in pain") and his landscapes ("Morning fields of amber grain"). The text also refers to van Gogh's depression and the painter's suspected suicide (“You took your life”). The lyric I describes Van Gogh as suffering ( "And how you Suffered for your sanity") and misunderstood ( "They would not listen, They did not know how").

reception

The song has inspired various musicians to make cover versions, including Passenger , Josh Groban , Ellie Goulding , Ed Sheeran and James Blake . A cover by the English singer Lianne La Havas served as the musical background for the credits of the Polish-British film production Loving Vincent , released in 2017 .

The piece is also part of the repertoire of numerous instrumentalists. Well known is the guitar version by Chet Atkins , which appeared on his album Pickin 'the Hits in 1972 and most recently in 2013 in Playlist: The Very Best of Chet Atkins .

Web links

Individual proof

  1. ↑ a b Author search at GEMA
  2. ↑ Helen Brown: Don McLean interview: why I had to write 'Vincent' . February 24, 2010, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed December 14, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Why did Don McLean write a song about Vincent? - Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved December 14, 2018 (Dutch).
  4. ↑ a b c Don McLean - Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) Lyrics. Retrieved December 14, 2018 .