Song Project Traveling Soldier by: the Dixie Chicks

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Song ProjectTraveling Soldierby the Dixie
Chicks

• By Katie Bernard
• Mrs. Turner
• Block 1

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• Two days past eighteenHe was waiting for the
  bus in his army greenSat down in a booth in a
  cafe thereGave his order to a girl with a bow in
  her hairHe's a little shy so she gives him a
  smileAnd he said would you mind sittin' down for
  a whileAnd talking to me, I'm feeling a little
  lowShe said I'm off in an hour and I know where
  we can go
• So they went down and they sat on the pierHe
  said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't careI
  got no one to send a letter toWould you mind if
  I sent one back here to you

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• I criedNever gonna hold the hand of another
  guyToo young for him they told herWaitin' for
  the love of a travelin' soldierOur love will
  never endWaitin' for the soldier to come back
  againNever more to be alone when the letter
  saidA soldier's coming home
• So the letters came from an army campIn
  California then VietnamAnd he told her of his
  heartIt might be love and all of the things, he
  was so scared ofHe said when it's getting kinda
  rough over hereI think of that day sittin' down
  at the pierAnd I close my eyes and see your
  pretty smileDon't worry but I won't be able to
  write for awhile

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• Chorus I criedNever gonna hold the hand of
  another guyToo young for him they told
  herWaitin' for the love of a travelin'
  soldierOur love will never endWaitin' for the
  soldier to come back againNever more to be alone
  when the letter saidA soldier's coming home
• One Friday night at a football gameThe Lord's
  Prayer said and the Anthem sangA man said folks
  would you bow your headsFor a list of local
  Vietnam deadCrying all alone under the
  standsWas a piccolo player in the marching
  bandAnd one name read but nobody really
  caredBut a pretty little girl with a bow in her
  hair (CHORUS x2)

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The Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks is a country band that was started
in 1998 and has been winning gold albums and
music awards ever since. Sisters Emily Robinson
and Martie Maguire used to play for tips on a
corner of a Dallas street when they were little.
One day, they received 375 in one hour and
someone on the street asked if they could hire
them for group gatherings and parties. After
that, they became one of the regions favorite
country groups. The Dixie Chicks got their name
from listening to Little Feats Dixie Chicken
but Martie Maguire said that she didnt want to
be a chicken so the name was shortened to Dixie
Chicks.
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Army Green
Camouflage is what soldiers where to blend in
with the environment that they are fighting in.
It helps disguise the soldiers so they can hide
and attack their pray without being noticed.
Their suites involve tricky patterns to trick the
eye. There are all different types of camouflage.
People in the Vietnam War wore forest camouflage
because Vietnam was covered in tall grass and
forests. nature. Different countries have
undergone different evolutionary stages towards
the development of military camouflage because
every environment is different.
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Send a Letter
Letters from home always helped a soldier carry
on, whether it be from Mom or Wife, they meant a
lot. Vietnam was a horrific place. There were
dead bodies everywhere and the soldiers never got
a break. Some soldiers looked forward to the end
of the day when they could sit down in bed and
read a letter to their wife. Many soldiers never
even got a chance to write back. Some army camps
were being attacked so much that they couldnt
receive mail or send it. Its easier to write
letters to troops today because they have guarded
fortresses and buildings where they have
computers to write an e-mail. They didnt have
all that back them. A soldier only had his tent,
a blanket to sleep on, his canteen, and maybe
another pair of dry clothes. They had to carry
their stuff every time they moved so they
couldnt really bring a lot with them.
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Too young for him
The draft was made to serve as a back up
system for the US military. It was used to fill
open spots in the military that couldnt be
filled by volunteers. Back in the 1950s and
60s, it wasnt really that important to many
teenage boys. They would sign up right when they
turned 18 and most of them were shipped out to
war right away. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the
man who came up with the Selective Training and
Service Act of 1940. On December 1, 1969, the
first draft lottery was held. A large glass tub
held 366 blue rubber balls containing every birth
date from any man that singed up from the age of
18 to 26. The draft ended in 1973 and then came
back in April 1975 because Soviets were invading
Afghanistan.
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Traveling Soldier
There were many army bases all over the
Southeast Asia during Vietnam. During the Vietnam
War, many American military civilian personnel
were stationed at bases throughout Thailand and
also in the neighboring countries such as Laos
and Cambodia. This war saw the most
participation of African Americans to serve in
any American War. They made up 12.6 of the
soldiers in Vietnam. From the Civil War through
the Korean War, segregated African American units
performed in both combat and support capacities.
In 1948, President Harry Truman ordered the
military establishment to desegregate. The Navy
and Air Force accomplished integration by 1950,
but the army did not achieve desegregation until
after the Korean conflict.
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California
California is one of the largest and most
popular states in the United States. It is
located on the West Coast bordered by Oregon to
the north and Arizona to the south. Its four
largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San
Jose, and San Francisco. During the Vietnam
War, California was the epicenter of the wars
national front. Within its boundaries were most
of the nations defense contractors and military
centers from which troops were trained.
California was also the state where everyone
could voice their opinions. It was a place of
activism. Activism means the direct use of
confrontational action, such as a demonstration
or strike, in opposition to or support of a cause.
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Rhyming Scheme
eighteengreen  therehairsmilewhilelowgo 
A Rhyming Scheme is a regular pattern of rhyme,
one that is consistent throughout the extent of
the poem. In this song, the rhyming scheme is aa,
bb, cc, dd, and so on. Rhyme is determined by
sound, not spelling.
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Repetition
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Chorus I cried Never gonna hold the hand of
another guyToo young for him they told
herWaitin' for the love of a travelin'
soldier Our love will never endWaitin' for the
soldier to come back againNever more to be alone
when the letter saidA soldier's coming home
Repetition is when you have a word and use it
more than once. Repetition is a major rhetorical
strategy for producing emphasis, clarity,
amplification, or emotional effect.
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Theme
I believe that the Theme of this song is that
people are sent off to war and die too young. My
song talks about a young love that was brought on
my a young soldier and a waitress. The soldier is
sent off to war and the two teenagers keep in
touch by writing letters back and forth. Things
start to get rough in Vietnam and the soldier is
killed. His name is read a loud at a football
game and no one cries except the waitress and a
piccolo player.
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Verse
A Verse is a line of lyrics from a song or poem.
Example
Crying all alone under the stands
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Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing means that the lyrics show hints
of what is coming. The lyrics in the example
below foreshadow that the soldier is going to
die.
Example
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for
awhile
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Cited Sources
Everett, Glenn. "Technical Tips for Reading
Sonnets and Early Modern Poetry."
     http//faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/ENGL201/
rhyme_schemes.htm. Al      Felreis, n.d. Web. 24
May 2010. Holdorf, Dave, and Luis Cantu. "1969
Draft Lottery."      http//www.landscaper.net/dr
aft.htm. Frank Baker, 24 Mar. 2010. Web.      28
May 2010. "Animal Defense." http//chalk.richmond
.edu/education/projects/webunits/
     adaptations/camou1.html. Education
Department at University of      Richmond, 25
Jan. 2006. Web. 28 May 2010. Fabian, Shelly.
"Biography of the Dixie Chicks."
     http//countrymusic.about.com/od/dixiechicks
/p/dixiechickspr.htm.      N.p., 28 May 2010.
Web. 28 May 2010.