MASARYK UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Department of English Language and Literature

The Reflection of American History in Bon Jovi

Songs

Master Thesis

Bc. Radka Šimková

Supervisor:

Ailsa Marion Randall, M.A. Brno, 2020

1

Declaration

I hereby declare that I have worked on this thesis independently and that the

information I used has been fully acknowledged in the text and included in the list of

references.

Brno, December 2020 ...............................................

Bc. Radka Šimková

2ii

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to my supervisor

and adviser, Ailsa Marion Randall, M.A., for her continuous and unwavering support and

never-ending faith in my abilities to finish this work.

Further I would like to thank my parents for their unconditional love, confidence and

trust in my decisions.

I am obligated to express many thanks to some of my dearest friends. Namely,

Melanie and Kathleen, for their ceaseless friendship and abundance of motivation. Robert,

because he never failed to make me laugh and make my day better, even at my worst. Jana,

who threw some helpful thoughts my way when I least expected it. Anna, who has always

believed in me. Mark who stood by my side and provided endless support. Cloé and Bailey

because they are goofy and lovely and I love them very much. And last but not least, Casen,

who pulled me out of the dark hole of self-pity and misery, brought me out into the light and

showed me that I can, in fact, do it if I stop whining.

Thank you, for you all made this possible.

3iii

Annotation

The thesis “The Reflection of American History in Bon Jovi Songs” deals with the

connection of Bon Jovi music to American history, culture and religion. It addresses the

historical, cultural and religious background of not only the period that Bon Jovi was creating

in but also from other earlier times which influenced their music. The thesis discusses ideas

and expressions in three different songs in relation to three different topics tied to America.

The song Dry County mainly connects to settlement issues, mostly the struggles of

immigrants and their relatives when arriving in America, living in a new environment as well

as the stress of tearing family bonds when moving and of poverty tied to lack of money. The

second song, Living in Sin, expresses the battle that the further generations had to face in

order to validate themselves as true part of the society and their confusion with the rules set

within the family. The third and final song, Livin’ on a Prayer, describes the struggles of

young people who were trying to make a living for themselves. All three songs are connected

by the topic of religion and its influence on the unity of the population as well as what

religion meant to each generation. The last part of the thesis considers the information found

in the research and applies them to educational environment.

Key Words

American culture, American Dream, American history, American migration, Bon Jovi,

faith, music, music in curriculum, religion, song lyrics.

4iv

Abstrakt

Diplomová práce “Odraz Americké Historie v Písních Bon Jovi“ se zabývá

propojením hudby Bon Jovi s americkou historií, kulturou a náboženstvím. Diskutuje o

historickém, kulturním a náboženském prostředí nejen z doby, ve které Bon Jovi tvořili, ale

také z dřívějších časů, které ovlivnily jejich hudbu. Práce pojednává o myšlenkách a výrazech

ve třech různých písničkách v souvislosti s třemi různými tématy, které se vážou k Americe.

Píseň Dry County se převážně spojuje s problémy osídlování, hlavně obtížemi imigrantů a

jejich příbuzných při příchodu do Ameriky, žití v novém prostředí stejně jako stresem z

rozvrácení rodinných pout při stěhování a z chudoby spojené s nedostatkem peněz. Druhá

píseň, Living in Sin, vyjadřuje boj, se kterým se následující generace musely potýkat, aby se

osvědčily jako opravdová součást společnosti a jejich zmatek z pravidel, která byla v rodině

nastavena. Třetí a konečná píseň, Livin‘ on a Prayer, popisuje obtíže mladých lidí, kteří se

snažili vydělat si na živobytí. Všechny tři písně jsou propojeny motivem náboženství a jeho

vlivem na jednotu obyvatelstva, jakož i co náboženství znamená pro jednotlivé generace.

Poslední část této práce uvažuje o informacích, které tento výzkum našel a aplikuje je na

vzdělávací prostředí.

Klíčová slova

Americká kultura, americký sen, americká historie, americká migrace, Bon Jovi, víra,

hudba, hudba v kurikulu, náboženství, texty písní.

5v

Table of Contents

1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................1

2 Theoretical Part.......................................................................................................................3

2.1 American History...........................................................................................................3

2.1.1 The Vision before the Move..................................................................................3

2.1.2 Settling and Living in the New World...................................................................8

2.1.3 Second Generation...............................................................................................11

2.1.4 The Culture Changing.........................................................................................13

2.2 Religion and Belief.......................................................................................................16

2.2.1 Religion...............................................................................................................16

2.2.2 Beliefs of Further Generations and the Secular Hymn........................................21

3 Practical Part..........................................................................................................................26

3.1 Connection to Dry County...........................................................................................26

3.1.1 Title of the Album...............................................................................................27

3.1.2 Title of the Song..................................................................................................28

3.1.3 The Lyrics............................................................................................................29

3.2 Connection to Living in Sin.........................................................................................57

3.2.1 Title of the Song..................................................................................................58

3.2.2 The Lyrics............................................................................................................59

3.3 Connection to Livin’ on a Prayer.................................................................................68

3.3.1 Title of the Song..................................................................................................68

3.3.2 The Lyrics............................................................................................................69

3.4 Application in Teaching................................................................................................74

4 Conclusions...........................................................................................................................76

6

Works Cited.............................................................................................................................78

List of Songs............................................................................................................................80

Appendix A: Dry County.........................................................................................................82

Appendix B: Living in Sin......................................................................................................83

Appendix C: Livin’ on a Prayer...............................................................................................84

Appendix D: 99 in the Shade...................................................................................................85

Appendix E: A Teardrop to the Sea.........................................................................................86

Appendix F: Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll................................................................87

Appendix G: Hey God.............................................................................................................88

Appendix H: I Believe.............................................................................................................89

Appendix I: It’s My Life..........................................................................................................90

Appendix J: Living With the Ghost.........................................................................................91

Appendix K: My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms...............................................................92

Appendix L: The Devil’s in the Temple..................................................................................93

Appendix M: These Days........................................................................................................94

Appendix N: We Weren’t Born to Follow...............................................................................95

Appendix O: Work for the Working Man................................................................................96

7vii

1 Introduction

Music as well as many other forms of art is one of the things that many people reach

for when they want to express their feelings, may they be good or bad, about love or sorrow

or about general thoughts and life. As painters broadcast their feelings through colours,

shapes and objects, writers put their ideas into stories whether fictional or based on real

events, so do musicians reveal their deepest thoughts and concerns through the art of melody

and lyrics.

Music has served many different purposes since the time when humans realised that

different tools make different sounds and discovered that they can create a beat. From the

first documented tribal songs and different musical instruments, people have been able to

discover a lot of history that might have never been documented otherwise. There can be

great amount of knowledge hidden in different forms of art.

Most bands no matter the style, the time they created and performed music or the

place where they achieved and spread their success have at some point in their career drawn

inspiration from their lives and the situations they might have been in at that moment.

Therefore the main idea is that taking a band that has become famous and created a lot of

music during a certain time period will lead to a neat outline of what might have been

happening in the person’s life or in the world in general during the time that they were

performing.

Bon Jovi is a well known American band formed in 1983 playing primarily rock

music although their discography consists of several different genres. They have been said to

be glam rock at times due to their lead singer’s extravagant clothing and crazy hair but it is

never possible to connect one artist with exactly one description in any genre. They are most

recognised for their lyrics about love and relationships but amongst those there are songs with

plenty of references to American history, the American Dream, American culture and religion

1

as well as politics. Even those songs that seem like they are purely focusing on love and the

likes can have hidden references to other important events.

This thesis attempts to discover the connection between Bon Jovi, their music and

major as well as minor events that occurred in America. It explores several significant topics

that are closely tied to the history of the USA. It mainly analyses the subjects of immigration,

struggle to make ends meet connected with poverty and lack of money, land and support. It

also mentions the obsession over the American Dream, further also talks about how the next

generations felt about the previous ones, mostly their parents’ views of the world. Further it

addresses religion of American immigrants as well as their children and what it meant for

them as it has always been a fundamental part of the USA. The main focus of the thesis is on

the topics that have been discovered and reoccurring in Bon Jovi music and further

connection of the lyrics to other events.

This text is divided into two mains parts, the theoretical part which discusses

American events, mainly migration, culture and religion and their significance on the

different generations, and the practical part which attempts to analyse the lyrics of three

chosen songs, Dry County, Living in Sin and Livin’ on a Prayer and connecting them to the

historical events whilst also reaching to other musical pieces that are beneficial to this

research and support the hypothesis. The practical part also includes ways how to use this

information in teaching.

The lyrics which are discussed within each section are always mentioned at the top of

that section with links to the full lyrics which are attached in the attachments. Each song has

an assigned number by which it is addressed and identified, the main three songs go by 1, 2,

and 3, the rest is ordered alphabetically. The identification of each song and lyrics line is

always in curly brackets, first mentioning the song number followed by a dot and the range of

lyrics lines quoted, e.g. {5.28,30} would identify song number five, line 28 and 30.

2

2 Theoretical Part

2.1 American History

This chapter focuses on the history of American people. It mainly talks about early

American immigrants who came from European countries. The first part of this chapter

focuses on topics about the struggles of early American immigrants which started with living

in Europe, then moving to America and finally living there and the problems they had to

manage. Further this chapter talks about the battles that next generations had to fight in order

to feel like they were a validated part of society and the disruptions it caused between the

generations and how it affected their family lives.

2.1.1 The Vision before the Move

Before people fled to America with the vision of a better life, they lived in a place

where they had strong family bonds. There was enough property to own and they belonged to

a society that was well functioning and self-sustainable, they had a place to live and plenty to

eat all year round. Some people owned their own land and they, with their families, lived a

peaceful life and did not have to worry about not having enough sustenance. Their land fed

them and provided all necessary commodities for as long as they kept the family structure

unchanged. Even marriage had very strict rules and connecting two families by the bonds of a

marriage was usually arranged so that both families came out of it better than they were

before because their successfulness depended on the quality of the marriage (Handlin 228). A

person could not simply marry for love. Sons usually inherited the land of their fathers when

they came of age and became the head of the family and daughters were frequently married

into families that could in some way benefit from the connection because being part of

3

society gave everyone a status and based on this status people were connected and part of the

village life. Children and those who were single without a household to manage still had to

work for their parents or work for someone else and bring money into the common household

as nobody in the village was an individual but a part of the community (Handlin 241). This

was simply the rules of the village and trying to disrupt them by trying to work as an

individual was very much frowned upon, especially considering the children who were

supposed to stay obedient and the parents as well as the village were there to enforce these

rules. People who were the owners of the lands and the stock that was grown there were

usually more wealthy and therefore belonged into a better class and did not have to live in

poverty. They were happy with what they had and were prosperous and appraised.

With coming progress in various fields, living was about to get difficult. New

medicine allowed for longer lifespan, and fewer offspring dying prematurely. This led to

more family members to feed and due to living a longer life, when the fathers passed the land

on to the sons, either because of not being able to care for it any more or because they passed

away, not even the sons had the strength to care for the land due to older age (Handlin 25-26).

Rotating their land in seasons to always keep one part empty for it to rest became impossible

for they needed more food to grow and big corporations were developing new fertilisers to be

able to keep the land fertile every season without having to let it rest (Handlin, 30). People

were losing the ability to make the most out of the land they owned and a lot of it also started

getting taken over by “England’s expanding woolen industry [which] demanded an ever-

increasing supply of wool to keep the looms running, and sheep-raisers began to encroach on

soil hitherto given over to farming” (“An Outline of American History” 3). This forced

landowners to either sell their property for money with which they could then buy the goods

grown on the land or live in hunger with too little land to grow enough food. Either way land

owners and their families were losing property, food and peace of having a house to live in.

4

There were various different reasons as to why people chose to leave their homes and

live elsewhere with the possibility of being happier and more successful. Land and business

owners wanted to seize the opportunity to start their career in a place where there was

supposedly an abundance of everything they could ever need, without the burden of severe

lack of land on which to work or mouths to feed. For them it was the perfect moment to make

their name be seen instead of being just a small family or company who owned very little to

nothing compared to others. On the other hand not all people who have come to America

made the decision themselves. A lot of people were made to leave because of political,

religious or other conflicts or were given the choice to either be imprisoned for life in their

homeland or live in a place where they had a very small chance of surviving. They “had the

misfortune to be members of a minority race, religion, or ethnic group facing persecution—or

even extermination—at the hands of the majority. Others belonged to the “wrong” political

party, or social class, or backed the losing side in war” (Wills). People facing imprisonment

were encouraged by the judges to migrate to America rather than serving prison sentences

(“An Outline of American History” 5). Some people left because they disagreed with how

religion was run. They wanted a more puritan take on it and so they went to America to

practice their believes freely there and “several ministers who were no longer allowed to

preach joined” (“An Outline of American History” 4). Many people had to live in poverty due

to losing their property and they could not see their situation ever getting better again. They

believed that starting afresh on their own and proving to themselves and their family, who

they very often had to leave back at home, that they had the capacity to create a new and

better living for themselves was the right way to go. Back home there was very little to no

chance of ever moving up the social class and losing one’s resources to support their family

would often throw those people down. As Handlin mentioned “it was not fitting to thrust

oneself ahead, to aspire to a life above one’s rank, to rebel against one’s status; that was to

5

argue against the whole order of things” (23), therefore it was easier for a lot of people to find

a new place and start anew. The main issue was that there was no place in their homeland to

do that because every inch of land had already been owned by someone and the rent was too

high for a regular person to be able to afford it as only a “few grew wealthy as they rose to

the status of farmers. Many more became poor … and sank helplessly into the growing class

of landless peasants” (Handlin 21).

These people’s vision was that they would be able to free themselves, become new

and complete human beings and experience the best in life if they left everything behind,

separated themselves from places that they have known their whole lives, became foreigners

in a new land and terminated their sense of belonging (Handlin 4). At the moment of moving

they usually did not have much to lose in a sense of property, their only concern was mostly

their family who either could not or did not want to go with them and their heritage which at

the point of their leaving was not worth much. These thoughts were implanted in their brains

from letters of their family relatives who had gone to America prior to them as well as

promoters who were paid to advertise America as the land of prosperity waiting for

newcomers to be seized. The promoters made profit from the people they convinced,

sometimes even forced to board the ship and put as many people on a single boat as possible

therefore their motivation to make people go was strong. When the younger generation

“learned with hope that the portions which at home would not buy them the space for a

garden, in America would make them owners of hundreds of acres” (Handlin 32) they

thought the prospect was so tempting that one could hardly refuse it especially when in a

difficult situation that seemingly had no end. This vision helped people remember that life

was not all bad and hurtful and gave them a promise, a dream to chase. They were promised

land to live on, jobs to work at and opportunities to seize.

Many of the people who went to America to get a new life were losing their positions

6

already in their old homes and they were desperate to do something about it. When the

situation in Europe got so bad that their only option was either living on the street starving,

dying or going, they chose to go. “Year by year, there were fewer alternatives until the critical

day when only a single choice remained to be made – to emigrate or to die. Those who had

the will to make that final decision departed” (Handlin 37) They had absolutely no idea that

the hard life that they were living was about to get a lot harder the moment they decided to

pack up and leave. They were lucky that they had this vision that they could look forward to

and had absolutely no idea what was awaiting them not only on their journey across the ocean

but also in the land in which they were about to arrive. Many people were so quick to make

the decision to go that they did not have the time to think ahead which saved them from

changing their minds because of how scary it all in fact sounded (Handlin 37).

It could be said that the troubles they started encountering on the way not even yet

across the ocean but just getting to the closest port which were few and far between were a

very accurate projection of what was lying ahead. Many more people from inside of the

continent, that were nowhere close to the ocean, started hearing about the magical land that

lay beyond as the news spread. Some people had to cover a stretch of land that was

sometimes over three hundred miles long and it took people from one to a couple of months

to cover it, many a time losing beloved family members and friends on their way because of

extreme exhaustion and starvation (Handlin 39-40). The conditions were harsh. Only the

strong bodied and strong minded people could survive such journey across such a big part of

the world and successfully start their new life as independent individuals.

Once they arrived at the port to finally begin their journey across the ocean they were

faced with additional problems of securing a passage. Because the money they were able to

put into the trip was very tight and the port lodging was only “a penny a night” (Handlin 44)

all they really cared for was to have a roof over their head. The conditions were very poor.

7

They slept on straw beds and sometimes there were up to about forty people in a room that

was about three and a half by four and a half metres (Handlin 44). Eventually, sometimes

after months of waiting, the light shone through and they were able to board a ship and set off

on their journey.

Slowly but steadily people were leaving Europe to chase their visions and dreams of a

better life. Handlin claims that “in less than a century and a half, well over thirty-five million

of them from every part of the continent” (35) of Europe fled to seek happiness and

prosperity in America.

2.1.2 Settling and Living in the New World

Most people who were coming to America from Europe were used to living their lives

as a part of a community because the position they had was closely tied to it. This; however,

made no sense in the new life. Their positions in their communities meant nothing in the new

world. The characteristics that people had, that were appealing in the old world, such as

“neighborliness, obedience, respect, and status” (Handlin 61) were insignificant. They had to

fend for themselves. None of the other people coming with them knew who they were in their

world and most of all they did not care. The person to which everyone could go for support

was themselves and themselves only. Status all of a sudden did not mean anything. They had

to make a new name and it was hard for a lot of them to be able to properly adjust to their

new way of living. As it was mentioned by Handlin the “hardier survived the dangers and the

difficulties, the weaker and more dependent fell by the side” (61). It is also important to note

that it was not just the physical struggle that divided the people, they had to be very strong

mentally as well. Some people just could not cope with the separation from their families and

from the lives that they were living before and therefore struggled in a lot of different ways

8

than many of their peers.

When people arrived in the land of the promises they had to face so many problems

they have never even dreamed of in their worst nightmares. Not only they had to deal with

the new and unknown environment, many different people some of which did not even speak

their own language and finding a place to stay, they most importantly had to accept their

individuality and that their own actions were their only chance at getting by. They came there

under the impression that everything would be going in their favour and they were blinded by

the vision of endless land available for purchase and work. People that did not already have a

family there and had no place to go would only make it as far as the closest city and what was

supposed to be only a temporary solution for the time before they could find a proper land to

own and live off became months spent at a place that was fairly comfortable and suitable for

living but not appropriate or fitting for moving anywhere more prosperous (Handlin 63-64). .

If one did not fight for what they believed in and became overly comfortable they would end

up being captured by the city. One would wonder at which point these people started losing

their hope of the prosperous world. A certain immigrant supposedly described what he

experienced when he first arrived in America by these words: “I came to America because I

heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things. First, the

streets weren't paved with gold; second, they weren't paved at all; and third, I was expected to

pave them” (qtd. in Popik).

There were very few people who were strong enough and had enough resources to

make it any further than the closest city. Handlin very truthfully talks about how “only a few

… of these eager hands were destined ever to break the surface of the waiting earth [and]

those who were finally able to establish themselves as the independent proprietors of farms of

their own made up an even smaller number” (63). It was only the very few who were able to

adjust to the new life so fast and well that managed to make the American Dream come true

9

for themselves. The American Dream was very well summarised by Adams who describes it

as a land of equal opportunities where each person can do what they wish to do based on their

abilities and achievements and where social status is not something that is determined by

one’s family or position but by one’s individual accomplishments and expertise (214-215).

Many immigrants were too poor, unprepared, unable to adjust to the new situation or too

exhausted by all of the events that they did not make it very far. The promise of a new and

prosperous land was indeed a true promise, but only for the most hard-working few.

Many of the new people were struggling to understand the rules of the new land, there

were very few to no jobs available and nobody knew how to make that any better. Working

positions were very infrequent and many of them only temporary. They could work outside of

the city on building the developing roads and train tracks, living on the build site far away

from anyone that they knew and getting paid money that was “close to the cost of subsistence

[which] never rose to a point that permitted a man to accumulate the stakes of a fresh start”

(Handlin 68). They would constantly be afraid of the day they finished their portion of work

and would have to look for something new. There was no vision of a stable income or stable

living for many of the new immigrants and at that point would not be for many years.

The jobs they had were very demanding with very uncertain results. Not only was

there no job security, very little money and harsh hours, the lack of any sort of employment

laws made for very unforgiving employers and therefore they could hire as many people as

they wanted and simultaneously fire as many people as they did not need (Handlin 74). More

and more immigrants were coming in and begging for jobs so it became very easy for

employers to rotate their working force if they so preferred which also caused people to

extremely underrate their worth and take jobs for a lot less money than they otherwise would

(Handling 75-76). People ended up being willing to work for less rather than not work at all

as there were no minimum wage laws. In these times people started seriously regretting

10

coming to this new land in which none of their previously imagined situations were coming

true. They were not skilled enough for the jobs that they wished to have, some positions just

simply did not exist in this world at all and the jobs that were available were seriously body

and soul crushing. With no contracts people were being laid off when they were not needed,

nobody had to pay them any compensation for losing income and many times the immigrants

themselves were too proud to ask for support due to unemployment. Such things as receiving

food stamps was supposedly very shameful and the men would “rather starve to death than go

on welfare” (Agueros 98). When the people from the old world decided to come to America

they all imagined this land of opportunities and dreams but it was such only “as long as there

was work, but without work it was worth nothing” (Handlin 75).

2.1.3 Second Generation

As second generation Americans were coming into the world, they were being born

into the land that their parents came into as foreigners. For them the land was not foreign, but

their homeland and growing up they had much better chances at learning how the country

was supposed to work and knew how to work the system that came so unknown to their

parents. They walked in it since being born and had the time to learn it and understand it

slowly. They grew up with the mindset that everyone had to make their own happiness and

that it did not come for free with living in the country. Many of their parents did not know or

did not realise this back when they decided to emigrate because they were told that the land

came with happiness and riches if you moved there and it was supposed to be this magical

land of dreams. Although living in this new land, that had its own new rules, they worked

hard not to forget their family ties and bonds and how important they were to their heritage.

This directly links to Jon Bon Jovi himself due to the fact that “[a]s a second generation

11

Italian-American, the basic human values of loyalty, faith and the sanctity of friendship are

deeply ingrained in him” (Jackson 2).

America was still perceived as the land of opportunities as a consequence of people

being able to do whatever they wished to do, which was completely unacceptable and

unavailable in their home lands where people lived in serious poverty under rules that they

could not break. Some part of not being able to do what one wanted was unfortunately

transferred over to America with the immigrants for reasons of serious illiteracy in the first

generation people. A second generation Italian-American writer, Puzo, talks about how for

over a millennium most of his ancestors were very likely to have been illiterate due to the

reasons that the government did not support poor people even though its upper classes were

taken very good care of and offered the most prestigious education (44). In America the

opportunities arose for people to be able to get some sort of education. Although it might

have been too late for the parents to gain any consequential advantage on the job market from

getting educated and therefore have more opportunities in the world, their children were right

there when it was the most crucial for them. Puzo very clearly describes his view on this

situation:

What has happened here has never happened in any other country in any other

time. The poor who had been poor for centuries … whose children had inherited their

poverty, their illiteracy, their hopelessness, achieved some economic dignity and

freedom. You didn’t get it for nothing, you had to pay a price in tears, in suffering, but

why not? (46)

This statement also particularly reflects in Jon Bon Jovi’s life. Jackson specifically

describes him as not the only working-class person to eventually become a well pronounced

ace in his field but “[e]ntitled to feel himself the embodiment of the American Dream, he

12

never fails to stoke self-belief in others, a legacy of the sturdy belief imbued in him from a

young age by his supportive blue-collar parents that he need not be just another face in the

crowd” (3). Ever since his youth he has been heading towards making his own success and

going his own way as he was convinced that with hard work and dedication he would be able

to do anything in the world and that eventually turned out to work in his favour. He, together

with his band, worked through times of desperation and exhaustion as they believed that

making it out there on their own terms was the best way to go, they would refuse to get much

important visibility in magazines with which they did not agree because they wanted to do it

their way and be taken seriously as opposed to getting objectified. This opinion of Jon’s was

specifically aimed at “fluff, teenybop magazines” (Jackson 45), which focused primarily on

Jon’s looks, those being a big head of crazy hair and tight leather trousers, as opposed to his

music for which he wanted to be known; this lead to declining requests for interviews, that

might have helped them in the short run but would not be something the band could be proud

of and use as a long term root, because it was not something they wanted to be known for.

This caused Jon to become a dangerous and potentially life-threatening, not only to the band

but himself as well, workaholic. He knew that he had to work for his fame and he got to the

point in his career where he was afraid that if he stopped he would never be able to catch up

and get back on the tracks. The frontman’s life and his as well as his family’s past seems to be

the first and most important inspiration to the songs that were found be reflecting America as

we know it as well as to the various remarks throughout their other songs.

2.1.4 The Culture Changing

Just like with any two generations there will always be differences that seem

unreasonable to the other party. This can happen between any child and their parents just as it

13

is portrayed in the situation of American immigrants and their offspring even more so

because they did not have any real roots on the American land and change was essential for

the evolution of the population.

In the old world in Europe the only appropriate way to live was as a part of the

community because that was the only way which could guarantee that the community was

stable and whole and as Handlin states “[n]o one could live except as the member of a

family” (227). This sentiment was one of the most important things that started to change in

the new world, often people would try to continue living this way because it was what they

were used to and what they knew but it was impossible to create such a tightly knit

community again on a land that was unpredictable and where nobody knew how to work it.

Plants that grew on European soil, either died or did not grow well enough in America and

therefore it was impossible for a single family to live off the land and they had to get jobs to

be able to eat. Overall it was the work of an individual that was valued here and being a part

of a family had no significance on a persons well being.

As the immigrants’ customs were falling apart they were trying to hold on to anything

they could to keep them connected to who they were. This would affect their children and the

following generations because they grew up in two completely different settings. On one end

it was the community oriented parents, on the other it was the children who grew up into an

individual focused world. In the old world the children were to respect their father and work

on the land, and it was the same everywhere in the village, they had their future carved out

for them, they would grow up and get married to someone the family chose for them, but now

they grew up as individuals instead of family pieces and they did not fit together because

everything was different. The children went to school which was full of children in the same

situation as they were and therefore they adhered more to their school mates because they

could relate and talk about the same struggles. In school they could be themselves but at

14

home they were made to be just like their parents were as children and it did not make any

sense to them. The parents recognised that the children were different than they were in their

youth and even though they were trying their hardest to lead the children through this new

life in ways that were similar to them, they realised that the children would eventually “cease

to follow [and] take it into their heads to march off in some altogether strange direction”

(Handlin 243).

As the children were growing up in their own worlds they steered yet further apart

from their parents’ traditions and the ways that they wanted to keep the households. Boys and

girls went to the same school and interacted on regular basis which would not happen in the

old world as girls would learn how the kitchen worked and boys would learn how to work the

garden tools. In America they grew up together as a part of one social group and were doing

the same things, they had similar goals and learnt to work next to each other. Even though the

parents often tried to keep the girls shut off from the world and have them become

housewives, they already knew too much about the outside world and it was impossible to

keep them at home (Handlin 254-255). These relationships between boys and girls would

eventually develop into more intimate relations as they would fall in love and experiment

which the parents could never understand because they did not marry for love, they married

because of rules and the children could do nothing but try to explain why they wanted to

marry the person that they chose. For the children “marriage was an act of liberation by

which they cast off the family ties and expressed themselves as persons through the power to

love” (Handlin 256). This eventually lead to parents continuously fighting this new situation

and trying to keep their children from marrying whomever they wanted and consequently to

the children running away to start their lives together somewhere else.

This difference between generations is extremely well observed in the current cultural

differences between America and Europe. Whilst it is customary in Europe to stay close to

15

the family and be in regular contact with your parents as well as grandparents, in America it

is traditional for the offspring to move across the whole country or even to a completely

different continent to live their lives as individually as they can.

2.2 Religion and Belief

This part of the chapter will try to communicate the importance of faith to American

Immigrants. It will explain the beginnings and developments of Religion throughout the

immigrants’ journey to freedom and happiness and explain the most important aspects that

connect to Bon Jovi. It will also express how not only specifically Religion is crucial to

American citizens but generally belief which developed from generation to generation as

children grew up and found their own heroes and did not always want to follow their parents

beliefs. This is also connected to the idea of Secular Hymn being of importance to second

generation Americans.

2.2.1 Religion

Religion has been in the lives of people since way before the beginning of history

being recorded and many people have always believed in a higher mighty being that has

control over their lives. It is a big part of American history and therefore its culture. Due to it

existing for such a long time and because different parts of the world view religion differently

it has gone through many transformations, migration does not only spread religious

denominations across the world but also changes it as people grow and learn. With time

people often start doubting their ancestors’ beliefs, question the supporting stones of their

world and want to follow their own paths whilst finding people who have similar views with

16

whom they can form a group and where they can feel like they belong.

It has been attempted many a time before to unite people of the same place with

religion and to make them believe in the same thing, to pray to the same God and to support

the same cause so as to create a uniform community. This has never worked as people have

their own minds and their own opinions which they want to follow. These groups of people

that were made to practice religion in a particular way were not for everybody and there were

always people who wanted to take a different approach.

This was the case for most of Europe in the 16th century as for over a thousand years

the religion that most peasants followed was Roman Catholic Christianity and by that time

they started to question the teaching of the Church and they were unhappy that the leaders

were too wealthy and proud (O’Callaghan 16). In the 16th and 17th century the Church of

England was run by the monarchs and all people were expected to have the same religion as

their ruler; this specifically started when Henry VIII decided to create a national church with

himself as its head (O’Callaghan 16). This had very severe consequences as nobody was

allowed to practice their own denomination of Christianity let alone a different type of

religion all together.

This started severe disagreements between the citizens of the lands and their leaders

who became too powerful to have their minds changed and therefore those who refused to

conform did not have any other option but to leave and practice their beliefs elsewhere as

they could face severe consequences such as imprisonment or death if they stayed. The first

small group to start this move were so called Separatists–“a radical sect, mostly humble

country folk who did not believe the Established Church could ever be reformed to their

liking”–who left for Holland, where they knew they would be allowed to practice their own

religion as they wanted (“An Outline of American History” 4). This move never really

satisfied their needs and it was never a home for them and therefore eventually they decided

17

to make the big move and leave for America where they hoped they would be able to start

their denomination anew the way they wanted it and they believed that they could bring more

people to realise that this is the correct way to look at Christianity (O’Callaghan 16). These

people were called the Puritans as they wanted to practice the “pure” form of religion. There

were several different groups who went to America to practice their preferred form of religion

and therefore several different settlements each with similar goals but different ideas about

how to achieve them were created. Throughout the years, groups of people were tearing apart

from their homes to escape their rulers’ closed-minded ideals about religion and with new

kings came new even less tolerant rules (O’Callaghan 17).

The problems began when these runaway Puritans, who were running away from their

leader’s believed wrong teachings, because they thought that religion should be taught in its

pure form, started governing their new settlements in similar ways to what they ran away

from and “[t]he very practices that stirred them now reached back to the earliest times”

(Handlin 119). Only this time these runaway puritans were the masters so they did not see the

wrong in their ways because they truly believed that their way to preach faith was the correct

one and the one that everyone should follow. As O’Callaghan states in his book “[t]he

Puritans of Massachusetts believed that governments had a duty to make people obey God’s

will. They passed laws to force people to attend church and laws to punish drunks and

adulterers. Even men who let their hair grow long could be in trouble” (18). This motion was

in a very dangerous way similar to how Charles I. ran his country when these people escaped.

It could be said that they did not learn from their past in any way as they repeated the same

mistakes that they should have learnt from. And so the banishing and running away continued

as people kept trying to get away from the tyranny of their own leaders who were originally

hoped to make things better.

Even though people kept fleeing to find new and better things, as had been their

18

nature since they decided to run away to America in the first place, the circle of trying to

practice religion in a pure way and hitting a wall continued. People in power started getting

arrogant when they realised that they could lead the religion any way they wanted and that

many of the things they did went unnoticed or went by without repercussions and so their

arrogance kept piling on itself until the common folk got tired of it and the process started

over.

Still these groups wanted things to be run purely yet they could never properly

separate state from church. Church was still supported by state and state still depended on

church because it united people and made them feel like they belonged. People needed a

place to belong and practice their faith. Religion “gave these people a reassuring conviction

that they belonged, were parts of a whole, insiders not outsiders” (Handlin 118). Therefore it

always came down to having to choose the lesser of the evils.

People held onto their beliefs because it was the only thing that these immigrants had

left from their home country, the only thing that linked them to who they truly were. As they

kept getting further away from anything that was familiar to them, by getting entangled in the

immigrant’s way of life, they latched more and more onto their faith and held on tight in

order to still be able to be connected to their past (Handlin 117). In the end those who did not

have the guts to run away any more had to conform to the ways things were run because they

had no other choice than to accept the authority of the Church because giving up on their

religion would mean giving up on their families back in Europe and giving up on what they

believed in. As Handlin very appropriately expresses “[i]t was unthinkable not to be a

member; it demanded a considerable feat of the imagination to conceive of what it would

mean to be excluded, to draw down the censure of the entire community, to be barred from

every social occasion” (119).

These people had to hope that faith would be their saviour, they had to have certainty

19

in the fact that there was order and that their place within the community was secure even

though they were afraid that religion in this new land could be exactly the same thing as is

had been back in their homes before they decided to cross the ocean (Handlin 120-121).

Since America became a land of many mixed nationalities and cultures a lot of the times

church in the new land was unpredictable and it was different from what it used to be back in

Europe. Unless these people already had someone from their old place to connect with, they

had to find something similar to what they believed in. Often those people who ran the

church came from a different European country than the peasants who wanted to come to

practice their religion and both were used to a different form of preaching, they had different

beliefs and therefore also different ways to interpret God’s word. This new church was

something unknown for many immigrants and therefore it was something that nobody was

sure if they could trust. They could never be sure whether this church was just as bad as the

one that was run by the state back in their home land and whether these people could be

trusted. Sometimes they did not even speak the same language but they still needed their

place in the community. They had a continued desire to follow their beliefs that they had

always had, that they brought with them from their families but when the only community

option was to follow what was preached that was what they went with. They were happy for

the little they had even if it was uncertain at times.

This approach of the immigrants to stick to their guns and not change their ways

would cause issues in the future with other people and with future generations. They wanted

this new land to be exactly the same as the old one because that was the one they knew and

that was the one that they could trust. Whilst some were trying to restore the church in its

original form, others were hoping to develop a new way of preaching that would suit

everyone and it caused a lot of discontent among worshippers. In order to persuade new

generations as well as the young people to switch to their type or religion they had to make

20

changes and meet the needs of everyone which was difficult as older immigrants did not want

change. Handlin summarises this issue very well:

This point of view also gained some adherents among the second generation,

among the children of the immigrants who had never lived the life of religion in the

Old Word, who were impatient of their fathers’ ways, and who valued the approval of

the American society within which they had grown up. The obstacle was the dull,

inert conservatism of the immigrants, their blind adherence to tradition and obedience

to the hierarchy. (133)

2.2.2 Beliefs of Further Generations and the Secular Hymn

Following generations of children of immigrants did not understand the ways of their

fathers and did not recognise why they were being forced to follow in their footsteps and

expected to do whatever their parents laid out in front of them. The parents of these children

were bringing their customs from their old land, where it was not only expected but

extremely important for the working of the community to follow these rules that had been set

generations and generations before that. Without these rules the old land would have fallen

apart but they meant very little in this new world.

This did not only apply to the general workings of the household but also religion.

These children grew into a place that was their own from the moment they were born into it

and their only connection to the homeland of their parents was a mere second hand

experience, which they did not always understand. These children were ultimately way more

free than their parents could ever think of being and there were many more doors open for

them since they had no direct ties that held them down to customs of their parents and there

were way less language barriers for them to break down.

21

The children felt that their parents were still enslaved to the old system and even

though they tried to make life better for themselves and their children they still could not cut

themselves free from the chains that tied them to their previous lives in Europe. The children

realising this knew that they would eventually have to take the situation into their own hands

and staying home and leading the family life their parents thought was the only way was not

possible any longer.

For many families the children of the second generation would become the ones who

would go on to achieve the American Dream. It would often be heartbreaking for the parents

and it would sometimes destroy the family ties due to the parents believing in one thing

whilst the children wanting to live life their own way hoping to sever themselves from these

old rules.

For the children of American immigrants, traditional religion was not enough as it did

not satisfy their needs of belonging and understanding the world. The way people lived was

confusing because the second generation children never knew why life was lead the way it

was and so they desired to find their own outlets and connect with other people who felt the

same and with whom they could share their experiences. Popular music would become one of

these outlets for many a second generation American and for more people in the future

generations as well. People could share thoughts through music as the people who wrote such

music were often in similar situations especially within America and they could connect

through the lyrics. Music can express so many different emotions and mean great numbers of

different things to each listener and that is why it is extremely important to look at it from

different views when trying to understand it. Song lyrics are often composed to be figurative

in meaning in order to make them applicable to not only one situation but to be versatile. That

is also why music can connect people so easily; different people can connect over the

similarity of their feelings through the music.

22

This especially connects to Bon Jovi music as Jon himself expressed that sometimes

when he was writing lyrics he was not exactly sure whether what he was writing about was

only expressing his feelings and whether anyone would ever understand what he meant by the

words that he wrote; he thought that his experiences were too unique for many people to find

themselves in the lyrics but he eventually found out that many of the lyrics would permeate

the lives of many common people and that they would be thought of as being about everyone

("Bon Jovi Popularity Soars in Germany").

This sentiment comes out especially during very difficult times in American history.

The first big event like this, where music connected people across the world, was during the

Cold War. Due to the fact that America and Russia were claimed to have been eternal enemies

during this time and popular music was heavily controlled it was extremely important for Bon

Jovi to present their culture in a way that would appeal to the Russian youth as well as the

leaders and when they managed to secure a concert in the Lenin Stadium in 1989 they took

great care handling it with respect (Austerlitz; Jackson 93-94). The first concert was so

successful that the album New Jersey, which was in progress of being released during that

time, would become to be the very first American rock album to be released in Russia. Jon

saw this event as a history writing opportunity and hoped that maybe an event on a bigger

scale could help “open up a better understanding between the youth of both cultures”

(Jackson 94). With that goal on his mind, Jon was set on organising a two-day festival during

which other big American names made an appearance such as Ozzy Osbourne or Scorpions

and which eventually got named “The Moscow Music Peace Festival” because it ultimately

became the event that helped end the Cold War (Austerlitz).

Another such extremely important event was the terrorist attacks of September 11,

2001. Bon Jovi were in the process of writing their eigth album when they were swamped by

the events of that year. The band were asked to take part in many charity concerts and events

23

in the days following this disaster and their songs brought people together and brought them

some sort of reconciliation with many of their lyrics. One such important song was Livin’ on

a Prayer from the album Slippery When Wet as it became a healing anthem for many people

during the crisis of 9/11 (Jackson 207). The album that was created and set on getting

released in the early months of 2002 was consequentially named Bounce, and it is claimed by

Jackson that it could be understood as a reference to the ability of American people to bounce

back after a disaster like this (210). On this album there are three songs that are directly

linked to the events of 9/11 and written by the band to show support and express their

sympathies to the people who lost their family members and friends. Those are Undivided,

Everyday and the title song Bounce. All three of these deal with the loss of loved ones, unity

which people found over these devastating events, the need for people to live their lives to the

fullest because one might never know which day will be the last, and lastly the capability of

people to get up off their knees and continue with their lives with the experiences they got.

Bon Jovi songs becoming important to American people and spreading across the

world joining people together ties into an idea of the Secular Hymn. People in every corner of

the Earth have been finding each other and building bridges across countries and cultures

over popular music, because many different people of different cultures can find themselves

in the lyrics and connect through its meaning. Thomsen et al. describe in their paper the true

meaning and purpose the Secular Hymn has had for the youth as one of the main ideas of the

paper is that people started rejecting “traditional cultural, political, and religious values”

(148) and started turning to popular music to bring them the sort of spiritual feelings of

belonging and connecting to something bigger than themselves, as they believed that this sort

of music would bring them “self-reflection, healing, redemption, deliverance, and temporal

salvation” (148-149).

It is important to still include religion as we know it in this part of the chapter as it can

24

never disappear and it stays a big part of people’s lives. Since new generations started finding

their own spiritual belonging they also believed that Christianity does not always have to be

what their parents once believed it was. They believed that finding their own interpretation in

it was just as important and being able to question the words of the bible would become a lot

more important than just blindly following what other people said. This sentiment can be

found in a lot of Bon Jovi music as Jon himself has always claimed that even though he was

born into the Catholic faith he is not religious himself and he has always stood by his own

values and has always believed that people need to follow their hearts and go after their

dreams to be able to achieve what they desire (Jackson 5). This reflects in their music as there

are often religious remarks hidden in the lyrics and therefore it could be discussed that they

were possibly meant to be taken with a grain of salt as an expression of mockery of the

traditional church because Jon has been known to despise the church and he also confirms

this in an interview where he says that “I think I find more strength in faith than I do in

organized religion” (Bon Jovi). On the other hand they could be perceived as suggestions to

the people listening to understand that even though Christianity does not always have the

cleanest past we should be trying to find new ways to look at it and see it with our own eyes

and our own critical thinking.

25

3 Practical Part

3.1 Connection to Dry County

This chapter is mostly going to focus on the song Dry County as it is found to be the

one that radiates the situation of early American people the most, particularly when

considered within its album. It comes from the very influential album Keep the Faith which

came out in late 1992. The album was released after a two year period of the band taking a

break caused by utter exhaustion from their previous tours. Due to the frontman Jon being too

deep in his addiction to work the band faced a breaking point. When they got back together to

work on their new album they wanted to take things differently. The album is definitely one

of the creations that was more influenced by the members’ individual experiences, partly due

to each of them being exposed to life separately whilst not writing or performing together, but

also due to what was happening in America in those years. The years when the band was not

working together allowed for them to grow each as a separate person as opposed to the

constant race as a band to perform and chase fame. During this time “the uneven path of life

had changed all five men substantially, and these experiences had an impact on the

songwriting” (Jackson 128). Jackson also truthfully states that “as a citizen of a country

scarred by frightening race riots, in deep economic crisis with rising unemployment, and

where crack cocaine sold on street corners was a deadly scourge, [Jon] was not going to write

about how sunny life was” (128). Jon has never wanted his music to be mundane and many of

his song titles and lyrics point to not only his situation or how he feels about the world, but

also voices the fears and uncertainties of his audience. Coming from an immigrant family,

Jon knows the struggles and the effort one has to put into achieving something in life and that

is why his music has such an impact on several different generations.

26

3.1.1 Title of the Album

Coming from the title of the album itself, Keep the Faith, it can be safely assumed

that Bon Jovi wanted to tell the listeners as well as themselves as a band to not lose their

confidence in what they could accomplish and their devotedness to one another. The title of

any album, as well as the picture on the cover (see fig. 1), is the first thing the listeners see

and the first thought it can bring them, therefore it initiates the thought process as to what the

album might be about.

Keep the Faith was more than likely meant to be a message to all the people to not

give up hope not only concerning the band (as they were as good as broken up at that point in

time) but also in life in general which is also something that is featured on the cover of the

27

Fig. 1. Keep the Faith (1994) Album Cover from: "Bon Jovi -Keep the Faith [2LP]." Amazon. www.amazon.com/Keep-Faith-LP-Bon-Jovi/dp/B01GTQZNPK.

album. Hands connecting together as a symbol to show that people should stick together and

stand for what they believe in. Times were especially tough as people were at a very uneasy

period in their own country. There were Los Angeles riots at the end of April in 1992 over

racial issues during which many people died and buildings were burnt in several cases of

arson, and also the presidential elections turned out so that the country had their first

democratic president in 12 years as Bill Clinton beat George W. Bush and promised the

people an era of transformation and hope (Jackson 127).

3.1.2 Title of the Song

There could be several interpretations to the title, Dry County, in regards to the

meaning that is trying to be conveyed here. First of all “Dry” could be taken literally to mean

“something that has no water or other liquid” (“Dry”) as described by the Cambridge

Dictionary. It is also very well confirmed by the lyrics “I begged the clouds for rain, I prayed

all night for water” {1.47-48} which suggests the literal meaning of the word “Dry”. This

could be linked to the fact that a very large portion of America was a wasteland with barely

any conditions appropriate for living. Although people have been able to adjust to such

conditions, there are still parts of the USA that become a desert during the summer months

with unfixable water shortages. There is another line of the song that could be linked to this

situation which is “They're swimming in the sand” {1.30}. If taken literally it could be

assumed that people are living on a land that is dry, there is no rain and all they can do is pray

and beg those clouds to come and bring that water, which is so much needed. Other

interpretations of the word “Dry” from the title of the song could be meant as in dry of jobs,

opportunities, money and faith. Once new immigrants started arriving in America they

quickly began realising that the dream was not much more than a lure. This is specifically

28

mentioned in the line of the song that reads “The promise has run dry” {1.34} which

particularly points to the promise that has been mentioned several times throughout this

work; the promise of jobs, land, money and most importantly faith. In this expression the

word “Dry” points to the land being dry of everything they were expecting to find. Going into

further detail and connecting the title to some of the song’s lyrics the word “Dry” could be

linked to both lack of water as well as lack of faith as it can be seen on the line “Praying for

some holy water” {1.31}. Here the person not only wants water because the land is parched

but also prays for holy water specifically, which could be considered a religious remark of

which there are countless throughout most of Bon Jovi’s work. Reading this, it could be

assumed that the person is looking to find some faith in a place where there’s a lack of it.

3.1.3 The Lyrics

The lyrics will be analysed by dividing them into clusters that try to convey one idea

or that connect to the same thought and will immediately be put in place with their link to

American history, specifically the era of immigration but also the view on religion and faith

connected to this part of American history. The lyrics that are mentioned in each part of the

analysis will be written directly above the paragraph for easier orientation within the thesis

and understanding of the paragraph and then mentioned within the paragraph so that they can

be put in their corresponding place and meaning.

29

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 1-4}

Across the border they turn Water into wine Some say it's the devil's blood They're squeezing from the vine

Bon Jovi – The Devil’s in the Temple (This House Is Not For Sale, 2016) {Song 12.lines 2, 3, 5, 9}

This was a churchA house full of prayerThere's thieves at the altarLook what they've done to this house of love

The opening line of the song “Across the border they turn, water into wine” {1.1-2}

points back to America being the land of miracles. Some people from Europe might have

believed that on the other side of the ocean (the border) they were able to turn water into wine

which is a very famous religious remark linked to Jesus who is believed to be able to do just

that (Jon 2.1-10). People coming to America believed anything was possible there, they put

hope into their faith because that was the only thing they could carry across the ocean and

something they could cling onto in the new land, and so they went to find their luck, they

believed that God gave them this opportunity and would guide them. Yet the next line of the

song “Some say it's the devil's blood, They’re squeezing from the vine” {1.3-4} points to the

findings of some people who might have believed that maybe the water that they turned into

wine was not in fact as holy as everyone else believed it was. It points to the Devil, being the

opposite of God and standing for everything but belief, possibly meaning that the idea behind

water being turned into wine was not as incredible as one might have thought. It is possible

that this part of the lyrics links to people who were still in Europe holding out for a place on

the boats to be able to cross the ocean and all they looked out for was this miracle of the new

land. Being worshippers of Jesus they thought that they could put their lives in his hands and

30

he would lead them to salvation and they would be able to find their faith in the new land and

pick it back up from where it was left.

As America became the land of desperation, people in power would start trying to do

anything they could to stay alive and to support their families and because they had the

authority many of their doings went unnoticed. They could pay merchants, who were

travelling there and back across the ocean regularly, to advertise America and to make sure

there were more people coming to the land to work for a very insignificant amount of money.

Since it is “water turned to wine” that is being talked about in this paragraph it may

also all point to the system of religion. At this time it was very unstable and untrustworthy as

none of the immigrants really understood it; just as anything else in America as it was all new

to them. Peasants’ faith might have been used by manipulative people who needed something

to lure people in, because they knew that religion was extremely important to these people

and it was something on which they thought they could rely. These people’s only option

became to lie and steal from other hopeless people whilst making them believe that it was the

right thing to do in God’s name. This idea is further supported in the song The Devil’s in the

Temple from the album This House Is Not For Sale where the lyrics talk about how the

church was supposed to be this “house of love” {12.9} and “house full of prayer” {12.2} yet

he says that “it ain’t that now” {12.3} because “there’s thieves at the altar” {12.5} meaning

that religion was run by people who cared only about making money. This concept could be

extended to not only the church but also many other industries that were running their

business this way. Caring only about the money they can make out of people and if only they

had more people who they could break into working for them. Just like in the old land where

people were not allowed to practice any other religion because the state could not allow

people to give their money to anyone else and with the King as the head of church it was sure

that all the contributions went to the state.

31

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 5-8}

Some say it's a saviour In these hard and desperate times You see it helps me to forgetThat we're just born to die

Further the lyrics of Dry County continue developing on this idea and go on to say

“Some say it’s a saviour, in these hard and desperate times” {1.5-6} as many people turned to

religion to help them through the tough times the song develops with “You see, it helps me to

forget, that we’re just born to die” {1.7-8}. These people knew that their lives all lead to one

and only end and because their living situation was not so good and their lives were not as

happy as they wished for, they accepted, again the only thing they had left, and believed that

religion could save them, possibly not knowing that maybe religion could be the thing to take

them down just as much as anything else would.

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 9-16}

I came here like so many did To find a better lifeTo find my piece of easy street And finally be aliveI knew nothing good comes easyAll good things take some timeI made my bed I'll lie in it To die in it's the crime

In the second verse of the song some remarks about the desperate people who were

coming into the land were made. Some very generic lines connected to happier living such as

“I came here like so many did to find a better life” {1.9-10} followed by “to find my piece of

easy street” {1.11} and finished with “to finally be alive” {1.12} which pointed to so many

32

people coming over to America all having one and the same goal; believing that in this place

they could have a better life than the one they were forced to live in their old homes. They

believed in being able to steer their own lives onto the path that they wanted to be on in life

and they believed that the path was going to be “a piece of easy street”. Taken literally it

could be said that those people thought that they could walk through life easier than they

could back in their old homes in Europe and that they had a choice as to where to go. They

did not have this option back in Europe because their lives were prepared for them and their

whole family was dependent on their compliance with the rules. On the one hand, some

people went to America to escape those rules because they did not agree with them, on the

other hand, some people had to go to America because those rules no longer held the family

up as money was scarce and land was being taken away from them. “Easy street” could also

be taken as its idiomatic meaning described by the Collins English Dictionary as “a condition

of ease, usually one marked by financial security” (“Easy Street”) pointing to all the

immigrants believing that there was an abundance of money available for taking and they

would have enough finances to take care of their families.

Even though the word easy has been included in the song to point to something for

which one does not have to work or put as much effort in, it is clarified within the next two

lines “I knew nothing good comes easy, all good things take some time” {1.13-14}, that the

author realises that good things are not easy and that they do not come instantly, but one must

work for them. These two lines connect well to those immigrants who struggled to live in

their old homes in Europe, where the hierarchy started breaking down and they could not feed

their families any longer because their property was being taken from them, so they set on a

long journey that was not easy and took a lot of time. Their final goal being to find a land that

would offer a better life. Additionally these two lines could be connected to immigrants

starting to live in America. Not only was getting there not easy and took a long time, but also

33

finding jobs and making enough money to be able to support themselves and their close ones

was a strenuous task that was in no way instant. This also shows extremely well how Jon was

using his own life experience to appeal to a large audience and to give them something to

cling onto. He was a child of a working class family and as such he was destined to graduate

high school, get married and find a job to support his family. He decided he wanted his life to

go differently and so after he graduated high school he decided not to continue with his

education and instead put all his time and effort into making it as a musician. This was not

going to be easy or come instantly, which he very well knew and also commented on by

saying that instant fame was something that was not going to last when compared to hard

earned fame and lasting influence. It has already been commented on how he was not going

to take the easy way out just because it was offered to him. He wanted to work for his money

and “he was going to do whatever necessary to achieve that goal [and] however long it took

him” (Jackson 19).

This idea is further developed with the next line “I made my bed I’ll lie in it” {1.15}

which is yet another expression pointing to the immigrants’ situation. Generally speaking the

phrase “you’ve made your bed, now lie in it” points to something negative. The Cambridge

Dictionary describes it as “said to someone who must accept the unpleasant results of

something they have done” (“You’ve made your bed”). If we consider American immigrants

in this situation, it could be connected to the fact that they decided to move across the ocean

and therefore they should now stick with it and fight for what they chose as opposed to

running away from it and going back home even if they had had the chance. It lines up with

the previous two lines which played with the idea that creating a new and better life is not

easy and follows up with the thought of not letting go and not giving up. The song is trying to

nudge people to stick to their guns because it is their situation that they made. This could be

further confirmed with the next line “To die in it’s the crime” {1.16} that could very well

34

suggest that it would be a crime for the people to give up on what they have done and run

away from it as opposed to facing the consequences. To die in the bed they have made would

mean to abandon their dreams because they might not have turned out as they envisioned

them. Again, even though any person can find themselves in this situation at any point in their

lives, it also fits very well with the position that Bon Jovi were in. Jon made some harsh and

stubborn decisions together with the band that threw them into a rough spot. They were set on

making it out there in the world of music on their own conditions so much that the first two

big world tours they had they went without stopping as they feared that if they ever stropped

they would not be able to start back up and this determination to keep going took a toll on all

the band members. They started to get sick of each other, Jon was having a hard time singing

as his voice was getting strained due to no breaks and as soon as the tour ended the band

members went each their own ways hoping to take a break from one another; It took a long

time for the band to reunite and Jon believed that fighting for it and sticking with the mess

that they had made was the only option they had and thanks to his determination and belief in

the right thing, they managed to work through their issues and not abandon the band (Jackson

123).

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 17-24}

You can't help but prosper Where the streets are paved with gold They say the oil wells ran deeper here Than anybody's known Now I packed up on my wife and kidAnd left them both back homeSee there's nothing in this paydirtThe ghosts are all I know

35

Bon Jovi – We Weren’t Born to Follow (The Circle, 2009){Song 14.line 5}

This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungry

Bon Jovi – Living With the Ghost (This House Is Not For Sale, 2016){Song 10.lines 9-11,49}

I ain't living with the ghostNo future living in the pastI've seen what hate has done to hopeI've seen what hurt has done to hope

Taking a look at the following verse it could be assumed that it points to the situation

of European people before the move. Specifically the first three lines point to some of the

advertising that American merchants could have brought with them from America. The two

lines “You can’t help but prosper, where the streets are paved with gold” {1.17-18} sound

exactly like something that might have been written on a poster advertising the land across

the ocean. It is showing how those poor people were lured into America under the pretence

that a person who comes there will definitely be prosperous in the land where the streets were

paved with gold. Just as it has been mentioned previously, the streets turned out not to be

paved with gold, they supposedly were not paved at all and the immigrants were expected to

be the ones who paved them. This thought also reflected and further confirmed this

hypothesis in another song from the album The Circle which came out in 2009. In the song

We Weren’t Born to Follow the very first verse mentions how “This road was paved by the

hopeless and the hungry” {14.5} which explains how it was in fact the people who were

losing hope and really needed a job to feed their families that ended up paving those streets.

The thought of European people being advertised that the land was a miracle is

communicated in the next line of the song Dry County “They say the oil wells ran deeper

here, Than anybody’s known” {1.19-20} which could point to many people who left their

families because they thought they could make money and become rich off something that

36

had been thought to have been siphoned out of the Earth. It does not necessarily have to point

only to oil specifically but generally money and resources. Oil is also sometimes nicknamed

Black Gold. So it could be argued whether it was actually oil itself that the song was

referencing or whether it was all an elaborate ruse to point back to money.

In the following four lines the song appears to speak about the traveller’s difficult

choice in his decision to leave his country and possibly leave his family behind as well as the

conditions in which these immigrants lived back in their European homeland. The first two

lines read “Now I packed up on my wife and kid, And left them both back home” {1.21-22}

which clearly points to the fact that many people could not afford to take their families with

them and had to make the decision to pack their bags and leave them behind hoping that they

could make enough money and to get their wives and children to come live with them in

America as soon as possible. The next line “See there’s nothing in this paydirt” {1.23} hints

at the state of the places they lived their entire lives until that point. The Cambridge

Dictionary defines “paydirt” as an informal way to say “to get something that will make a lot

of money” (“Paydirt”) therefore it can be assumed that the song is trying to say that there was

nothing out of which money could be made in his old home. Even though the lyrics write

“paydirt” as one word there is also a definition for “pay dirt” which the Cambridge

Dictionary defines as “something very valuable or very useful that is found after searching or

effort” (“Pay Dirt”). As it cannot be confirmed with certainty which version of this word the

writer had in mind in his original writing both versions should be considered. In the case of

“pay dirt” it could mean that there was nothing valuable that could be obtained even with

searching and effort, not only taking material possessions into account but also spiritual well

being. Specifically this definition could tie into the whole idea that in America after searching

and effort one could come to possess something very valuable or useful. Further the line “The

ghosts are all I know” {1.24} possibly points to all the past events and issues that a person

37

kept in their mind. The past that they had to go through to arrive at the breaking point, at the

decision to flee the country and their family. It also hints at the desperation and no vision of

the future because the past was the only thing they knew and there was no longer any future

to look forward to. The future certainty of having a property to inherit, a house to live in and

a job to work to earn enough money to feed their family was taken away from them and all

that they had left were these ghosts of the past misfortunes. On the other hand, many of these

people turned to faith to look towards the future and leave the past behind. They could not

simply keep living in the past and hoping that the past would be of any benefit to them

because they had no chance of returning back to their home and even if they wanted they

knew that they left that country behind for very good reasons. This idea is very well

developed in the song Living With the Ghost from the album This House Is Not For Sale

where the author talks about how living in the past will not bring anyone the future and it is

much better to look ahead. The lyrics say “I ain't living with the ghost, No future living in the

past” {10.9-10} where the ghost is meant to signify the past and further specifies that a

person cannot possibly have a future if they keep living in the past as the past cannot be

brought back. This can be linked to the peasants and their approach to religion at the time of

the immigration. Some of them ran away due to religious reasons and they wanted to practice

whatever they desired in this new land. It was difficult as there were so many different people

mixed together in one city and those people could not possibly be unified by one religion.

The church leaders wanted to practice religion the way religion was run in their homeland but

so did the common people. The song here can directly be linked to this situation but not only

religion as many of those people were trying to resurrect the way that communal life was lead

back in their home land. With villages all working as one big group and everyone could rely

on each other in case of need.

The following line of this song “I've seen what hate has done to hope” {10.11} and

38

again repeated near the end of the song as “I've seen what hurt has done to hope” {10.49}

directly links to people’s hope for a future and how hate and hurt were the main devices that

would potentially destroy peoples faith in a better tomorrow. These two lines could in the

overall mood of this song relate to the past and the hate and hurt that these people lived

through in their former homes in Europe. They hated their rulers, they hated the laws of the

land as they stopped being beneficial to them and they were hurt because the land could no

longer feed them and their families.

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 38-45}

In the blessed name of Jesus I heard a preacher say We are all God's children That He'd be back, back someday Hoped that he knew Something as he drank his cup of wine I didn't have too good a feeling As I head out to the night

Bon Jovi – Living With the Ghost (This House Is Not For Sale, 2016){Song 10.line 6}

Till I can find a way to turn all tears into wine

Further into the song there are several more references to religion that need to be

assessed. The author specifically mentions Jesus whose messages preachers were spilling out

into the world for people to take as the holy word and to believe. Even though these

immigrants did not have a chance to choose which religion to follow in their home land and

therefore had some security in something that united the whole country, here in the new

world even though they could choose a church of their own preference to an extent, none of it

39

was what they were used to. The first line of the next verse “In the blessed name of Jesus, I

heard a preacher say” {1.38-39} introduces a sort of situation in which a person might find

themselves if they went to a Sunday sermon. Preachers’ job has always been to interpret

God’s word to common folk and bring everyone on the same wave about what it means to

believe and why it is important to listen and to stay faithful. This line is specifying that

preachers do not preach their own words, they preach the word of Jesus (or other prophets

depending on the religious group), they decipher the Bible and they give the people faith and

bring them together. The song is possibly trying to say that the preacher is speaking on behalf

of Jesus and therefore the word is holy and should be trusted. Even though the author of the

song, as well as other songs that reference religion in some way, mentions specifically Jesus

here, it is known that different religious groups worship different Bible characters with

different views on life and that was possibly one of the issues that would arise among the

immigrants. America is called a melting pot for a reason which was that many people coming

to the rising new country were from so many different places of the world, in this case so

many different European countries, which were trying to become one group and

accommodating for every person’s needs but still believing in one thing as a community. It

was impossible to combine every persons individual demand for their specific type of belief

so they just went with whatever was available. They could not exclude themselves from the

communal life as it was the only thing they knew.

In the following two lines the words “We’re all God’s children, That He’d be back,

back some day” {1.40-41} are still connected to the previous two lines that were mentioned.

This part of the song very strongly reflects the Bible in which it is said that everybody is a

child of God but we do not yet know what will become of us, and one day when Jesus Christ

comes back we will be able to recognise him for what he is in his pure form and become pure

ourselves thanks to our hope in him (1 Jon 3.2-3). This is a very strong biblical mention

40

specifically due to the fact that the lyrics spell “He” with a capital letter. The only times when

the word “he” is spelled with a capital letter and is not at the beginning of a sentence is in

case when it is the pronoun for God or Jesus Christ. Therefore it can be said that the author is

suggesting that some day Jesus will be back and if we take a hint from the Bible itself it could

suggest that the day that He comes back, the people who kept their faith will be reunited with

Him and become pure and they will finally be happy. Until this day comes religion gave the

immigrants hope in the future and some sort of a drive to not give up and to keep on fighting

their battles.

If we connect the four lines together and assume that they do not have to necessarily

go chronologically to send a message to the listener they could say that “In the blessed name

of Jesus, We are all God’s children” {1.38,40} which suggest that in Jesus’s name we can all

be god’s children and that we all deserve to be rescued from all the bad in the world. This can

also be particularly seen in New Testament where Jesus says that if we ask for anything in his

name it will be given to us on the premise that we love him and believe that he comes from

God (Jon 16.24-27). The same part also talks about how through pain will come joy which is

very interesting that it should specifically mention this whilst the immigrants’ pain and

suffering is being talked about in this thesis. Many of the immigrants arriving to America had

to suffer through several different kinds of misfortunes thrown their way and therefore this

remark being discussed here only confirms that religion was a very strong part of the

immigrants’ journey across the ocean and possibly the one thing that kept these people going

because they believed that they had to suffer first to get to salvation.

The following pairing of the other two lines in this part of the song would be “I heard

a preacher say, that He’d be back, back someday” {1.39,41} which only adds to the previous

statement which said that the preacher’s duty was to translate God’s word and give it to the

church goers. Therefore the preacher here is trying to assure the people that Jesus will indeed

41

come back one day and bring those people to their happy endings which seemed nowhere in

sight at that time.

Even though most of the immigrants kept their faith and turned to it whenever they

were struggling in life because they believed that faith would come to their aid, there were

still plenty of times that were extremely uncertain and unstable due to many reasons

discussed earlier. This inconsistency was there not only in religion but in financial security as

well. Jobs were often fluctuant and irregular therefore income could not be depended on. This

is something that can be picked up in the next part of the song that continues talking about

this preaching and how the peasants felt about it “Hoped that he knew something as he drank

that cup if wine, I didn’t have too good a feeling, As I head out to the night” {1.42-45}. It

points again back to the wine that they were drinking, which was nicknamed devil’s blood

earlier in the song, therefore it was possibly meant to be something that was not good. It was

all the uncertainty over this incomprehensible new land that people felt. They put their faith

into religion and hoped that the preacher knew something that maybe the regular person did

not and as he drank the same wine as everyone else.

The wine could very well be used here as an allusion to the situation that everyone

was in. First the immigrants, at this point still living in Europe, were told that in this land of

magic someone can turn water into wine, which meant that there were miracles in this new

land and they could take something that was just “water”, meaning bland and tasteless and

miserable into something better. They thought they could throw away this bad and desperate

place that was falling apart and make better somewhere else. The whole idea behind

everyone, the preachers, business owners, contractors as well as the peasants, drinking the

same wine would link to the fact that everyone in this new land was in the same situation and

all of their only choices were to make do with what they had. So even though everyone’s well

being was very uncertain they could rely on each other because they knew that everyone was

42

in the same place. This idea can be supported by another song which has already been

mentioned previously as a reinforcement to the claims of this thesis. In the song Living With

the Ghost the lyrics say “Till I can find a way to turn all tears into wine” {10.6} where tears

could be interpreted as the immigrants suffering and misfortunes, and wine could be again

taken as the miracle, the dream that America was supposed to be. The immigrant’s goal

would forever be to search for stability in life and happiness and that is exactly what this line

can mean – until that day that all this misery is turned into the miracle that was meant to be.

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 46-49}

I cursed the sky to open I begged the clouds for rain I prayed all night for water For this burning in my veins

Bon Jovi – Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 6.lines 7-8}

I got this boogie woogie feverThat's burning in my veins

Bon Jovi – My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms (These Days, 1995) {Song 11.line 25}

And I can't fight the feelings, that are burning in my veins

In this part of the song the author is expressing some detest towards his situation but

he is also turning to begging as he wishes and hopes for his misery to get better and in the end

all he finds comfort in is prayer. These four lines are directly related to the name of the song

as well as some part of the lyrics that mention the words “dry county” and their meaning

which conveys the idea of this new land being dry of jobs, opportunities and faith. The author

43

uses alliteration here starting with the same letter “I cursed, I begged, I prayed” {1.46-48} as

he strives to escalate the need for water to fall from the sky. In this case it is not water that is

being directly asked for since the land is lacking many resources as it has been explained

before therefore it can be assumed that by water the writer wants to express the immigrants’

need for a job, for security and certainty and for his life to have a meaning.

One thing that needs to be noted here is that because the song started with cursing and

ended with praying it could very possibly be taken as an expression of losing the strength to

fight the system. Before this part of the song the author talked about the uncertainty that

people had in everything but also about how they kept their faith because they hoped that

faith would save them. Following this part of the song there will be some more references to

immigrants losing their drive to defy all odds and stand by what they believe in. Usually

when a person wants something that is unattainable and out of reach they start with praying,

if praying does not work they continue on to begging God to help them with what they need,

and if until now no change has been achieved, their prayers have not been heard and they still

have not got what they prayed for then they could possibly get angry and outraged at the

unfairness of this world and start cursing. Taking into account that the song’s lyrics do it in

exactly the opposite order it could be assumed that immigrants were losing hope and giving

up.

The last line of this set “For this burning in my veins” {1.49} is tying this part of the

song back to the family bonds. Within a person’s veins runs blood which has always had the

meaning of family as it shares DNA with your family members as well as your ancestors. It

can also have a deeper meaning which also ties back to how the old world was run with

classes and positions in society. One person’s blood defined where they stood within the

society and way back in the past mixing blood was not something that was appreciated or

sometimes even allowed. For example it would be forbidden to mix royal blood with the

44

blood of a peasant by procreating meaning a member of a royal family could have been

condemned for wanting to marry someone from a lower class. If they went against the rules

of the land which were strict and unforgiving, their child would forever be looked at through

the fingers and would not have the same opportunities as either of the parents. Within one’s

blood runs the blood of the family and family bonds were something very important in the

old world. Therefore it is possible to attach the meaning of burning in one’s veins to the

family blood bubbling over, catching on fire as the immigrant is not able to achieve what he

once wanted.

Bon Jovi lyrics contain the words “burning in my veins” in multiple songs and

therefore it seems that these few words must be very important for the writers especially it

could be assumed that Jon himself had something to do with that. It also appears in the song

Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll from the album Keep the Faith in line 8 “I got this

boogie woogie fever, That's burning in my veins” {6.7-8} and in the song My Guitar Lies

Bleeding in My Arms from the album These Days on line 25 “And I can't fight the feelings,

that are burning in my veins” {11.25}. Even though the words on their own in English only

confirm the previous statement about royal blood, that being either gold running through the

veins or blue running through the veins, there could not be anything found specifically on

burning in the veins. The author of this thesis stumbled upon the Italian saying “Fuoco Nelle

Vene” which is supposed to be a famous Italian saying meaning “Fire in the veins” which is

an expression of a person who has got fire running through their veins meaning that they have

passion and determination to go after what they want in life and achieve their goals. It is a

very interesting find as we know Jon is a second generation Italian American and therefore

there is Italian blood running through his veins. His parents were Italian immigrants and

therefore it can be assumed that Jon himself knew some Italian and it is possible that this

saying has some deeper meaning in his life. After all Jon is a prime example of a person who

45

has got fire running through his veins as he has built up his success from the ground up with

very little to no help from his family as he was not born into much wealth. So it can be

assumed that the phrase “burning in my veins” links to not only Jon’s passions and

perseverance to do what he really desired to do in life but also the immigrants’ need for what

they wanted to do considering that they went on a journey across an ocean to be able to do

something more with their life than just conform to rules.

In connection to the previous statement that the first three lines could possibly be

taken from last to first and convey more meaning that way it could be assumed that this last

line also joins in with this motion. First the immigrants have this burning in their veins that is

trying to push them forward, it is something they really strive for. Then when they realise that

it was all but an illusion and there are no dreams they start praying, begging and cursing as

nothing is actually working out the way that it was supposed to be and they are getting more

and more desperate.

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 50-53}

It was like my soul's on fire And I had to watch the flames Well, my dreams went up in ashes And my future blew away

Bon Jovi – Hey God (These Days, 1995) {Song 7.lines 2-5}

But I almost lost the houseYeah, I bought into the dreamWe're barely holdin' on, when I'm in way to deepWe're two paychecks away from living out on the streets

46

Bon Jovi – I Believe (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 8.lines 3,19-22}

I've seen the dream, there ain't no land of Oz

You gave it all, then you gave moreYou know what you came here forYou pay the cost, like it's your cross to bearAre we the ones who put it there?

The next four lines keep developing on the idea of this burning and fire within one’s

body as life was being unfair to people. Connecting to the line which was talking about this

burning in someone’s veins, the song goes on to express more heightened feeling of this heat

in the line “It was like my soul’s on fire” {1.50}. It seems to be saying that a person’s soul,

therefore their believes and dreams and everything that is contained within one’s soul, was on

fire, burning and the following line “And I had to watch the flames” {1.51} expressed this

person’s inability to do anything about it but sit there and watch how his soul is burning up in

flames. The final two lines of this set “Well, my dreams went up in ashes, And my future

blew away“ {1.52-53} only complete this thought by going back to this dream, which a

person was supposed to reach upon arriving to this new land. People came to this new

American land with hopes and yearning for something better and these two lines only

confirm the previous assumptions about the burning and the fire that was destroying these

people’s vision of the future, that was running through their veins and soul. Here the dreams

are burning down, falling apart and being destroyed and the immigrants future is blown away

and it goes back to desperation and not having anything, possibly having even less than they

had back in Europe.

The dream in this instance could also mean the American Dream which was possibly

the most important remark, that people were told, about this new land beyond the ocean. Bon

Jovi’s music does not literally mention the American Dream but most often just “the dream”

47

which is undoubtedly supposed to point to the American Dream. The remark can be found in

several songs very often linking it with disappointment. In Dry County the dream “went up in

ashes” {1.52}, in Hey God from the album These Days one of the first lines mentions “I

bought into the dream” {7.3} in connection to “I almost lost the house” {7.2} and “We're

barely holdin' on, We're two paychecks away from living out on the streets” {7.4-5} which

describes immigrants’ life perfectly. The Cambridge Dictionary defines the phrasal verb “buy

into” as “to completely believe in a set of ideas” (“Buy Into Sth”) and that can be applied to

what this particular person did, they completely believed that this dream was true. The other

lines of the song mentioned here express that this dream was not as dreamy as it seemed, that

this specific family was struggling to earn enough money, they were living almost pay check

to pay check and were on the verge of losing their house due to financial issues. Another

mention of the dream can be found in the song I Believe from the album Keep the Faith on

line three “I've seen the dream, there ain't no land of Oz” {8.3} expressing that this person

had seen what the dream actually looks like and linking it to this magical land of Oz which is

a remark connected to the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum in

which the main character Dorothy travels in her dreams to this wonderful land named Oz.

This is a particularly smart comment made reflecting a persons vision of the dream and the

author of the song here wants to say that he has seen this dream and that there is in fact no

such thing as land of Oz, or in this case a land of miracles and magic that would solve

everyone’s issues. Further into this song there are also remarks about how everything was

very hard and how the struggle was only the person’s who lived it and nobody else’s

especially in the lines “You gave it all, then you gave more, You know what you came here

for” {8.19-20}. The first line shows how people were giving everything they could and then

even more to make this dream work for them even though they had no more strength left they

still had to continue fighting to make their own happiness. Following this is the idea that

48

everyone who came to this new land had a goal to achieve, had a reason to make the move in

the first place and they all knew what that was. They knew what they came to America for

and they gave it all. In the next two lines of this part of the song “You pay the cost, like it's

your cross to bear, Are we the ones who put it there?” {8.21-22} suggests that people are now

paying the cost of that decision which they made to cross the Atlantic and start something

new. The cost to pay is associated here with bearing one’s cross. When someone has a cross

to bear it means that they have something really heavy and difficult to achieve, it is described

by the Cambridge Dictionary as “an unpleasant or painful situation … that you have to accept

and deal with, although you find it very difficult” (“A (Heavy) Cross”) and it is another

reference to the Bible in which Jesus had to carry his own cross when he got sentenced to

crucifixion. It was unpleasant and painful for Jesus to have to carry his own cross to be later

nailed to it and die a very slow and painful death just as it was unpleasant and painful for

people to have to figure out how to survive and support themselves and their family even

though they knew that their only way out of this situation was death as it was mentioned

before in the song Dry County that said that people would rather get shot or stabbed than

having to die this slow and painful way, working and worrying about whether they will be

able to afford food the next day.

Bon Jovi – These Days (These Days, 1995) {Song 13.lines 9-11,17-18,20-21,23,29-31}

Everybody's got their cross to bear these daysShe came looking for some shelterWith a suitcase full of dreams

These days the stars hang out of reachThese days there ain't a ladder on the streets

49

These days are fastNothing lasts

There ain't nobody left but us these days

He said, "Momma, I've gotta tryDon't you know that all my heroes died?And I guess I'd rather die than fade away."

Some of the issues discussed in this chapter also appear in the song These Days from

the album of the same name. The main link to the previously mentioned issues is about this

cross to bear that is again mentioned here "Everybody's got their cross to bear these days"

{13.9} which points back to this burden that everyone was carrying around, everybody had

they own problems that they had to deal with and the only person who could help them with

it was themselves. Everyone who wanted any success needed to do it independently and work

on their own as they no longer had the security of the village. The song also discusses the fact

that in this new land everything is going by quickly and is very temporary “These days are

fast, Nothing lasts” {13.20-21} especially if this is compared to how it would have been in

Europe where family ties and communal life were very reliable commodities and always

there but now there was no security of having a job and an income, therefore being able to

afford living and there was also nobody else who could help them but themselves which is

mentioned in the line “There ain't nobody left but us these days” {13.23}. The song also talks

about this idea of dreams which are a repeating motive throughout Bon Jovi songs "She came

looking for some shelter, With a suitcase full of dreams" {13.10-11}, there is this person who

has a suitcase full of dreams, which does not literally mean that her dreams were in her

suitcase but that she had a whole lot of dreams that were travelling with her wherever she was

going and she would not let go of them because they kept her focused on her goals and gave

her some faith in the future. Overall this song talks about how difficult these days are, how by

50

living in this land a person does not automatically become rich “These days the stars hang out

of reach, These days there ain't a ladder on the streets” {13.17-18} and that a person has to try

and put effort into getting anywhere in life because otherwise they might just get forever

stuck where they are. There is a specific comment on this in this song where a certain boy

tries to jump from a window on the second floor in an attempt to learn to fly but breaks his

legs when he falls and he comments on it by saying “Momma, I've gotta try, Don't you know

that all my heroes died? And I guess I'd rather die than fade away.” {13.29-31} which shows

a particular thrive for success even though it looks, and very well might be, impossible but a

person has to try and do it because sometimes it might be doable. The last line also expresses

something that has been seen before and that is that people would rather die than prove

unsuccessful even if the trying leads to utter madness or death.

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 66-74}

Man spends his whole lifeWaiting praying for some big rewardBut it seems sometimes The payoff leaves you feeling Like a dirty whore If I could choose the way I'd die Make it by the gun or knife 'Cause the other way there's too much pain Night after night after night after night

Bon Jovi – Hey God (These Days, 1995){Song 7.line 29}

Seen a dying man too proud to beg spit on his own grave

51

Bon Jovi – Work for the Working Man (The Circle, 2009){Song 15.lines 22-24}

I'm the only one who's got to look my family in the eye

Day after dayNight after night

The last part of the story starts with the first two lines “Man spends his whole life,

Waiting praying for some big reward” {1.66-67} summarising how American immigrants felt

when they were living in this new land. The word “man” at the very beginning of the first

line, bearing no grammatical article, can be taken as a word substituting the entire humanity,

it could be assumed in this particular case that it stands for the people that are being talked

about in this song, the American immigrants. Therefore it can be said that these immigrants

spent their whole lives praying, entrusting their fate to God’s hands as they were waiting for a

big opportunity or a big compensations for all their struggles. The next three lines “But it

seems sometimes, The payoff leaves you feeling, Like a dirty whore” {1.68-70} points back

to how even though the immigrants were praying and waiting for something big, they still

had to support themselves and their families and therefore take whatever jobs were available

and would bring money into the household. These three lines specifically point to the fact that

sometimes people would be able to make some really good money by possibly doing

something that was against their beliefs, not necessarily illegal or wrong, but not something

they would not choose to do if they had the option. This would result in them being way

better off afterwards but on the other hand they would feel wrong and dirty. Sometimes

people just had to take jobs that would help them out but leave them feeling used and empty

as it did not bring them joy but it was necessary for survival.

The following three lines “If I could choose the way I'd die, Make it by the gun or

knife, 'Cause the other way there's too much pain“ {1.71-73} point to of the many instances

52

of American immigrants rather dying than having to endure this pain. They could not just

commit suicide because that would go against their Church and one cannot possibly leave

their family behind but it can be assumed that many struggling immigrants would rather die

then than having to suffer through all their misfortunes until the very end. There was also

another instance mentioning something similar to this in the song Hey God from the album

These Days. In one of the verses the author talks about how he has “Seen a dying man too

proud to beg spit on his own grave” {7.29} which could be understood as a reference to how

some people would rather die than beg for money. It does not directly relate to the previous

statement but it seems fitting to include it as both men would rather die than have to suffer

through life, whatever that life might bring. Taking this sentence as its own element it can be

connected to how some immigrants have been known to rather be miserable than to ask for

help and show weakness. In the old world the fathers were the breadwinners in the family and

they were the ones who were supposed to bring finances home so that they could feed their

them. It was undesirable to struggle with money and anything else as the men were supposed

to be strong and the main foundation of the family. In this new world it was a struggle for

both parents, the mother as well as the father and it was a new and very unknown situation

for both of them. Mothers back in Europe were used to being taken care of and having a

secure income and living, compared to men who were always supposed to be the support for

the family. Therefore it was a lot more difficult for the men to ask for help and it was a very

shameful situation if they were not able to take care of the family, they were too proud to

admit things might not be going the way that they were supposed to. These were the basic

rules of living in Europe and this new American living was breaking them one by one

because they suddenly these rules meant nothing.

The last line of this section “Night after night after night after night” {1.74} expressed

the repetition of the misery, that these people had to go through this over and over again, they

53

had to look their families in the eyes every day and tell them the same thing, that money is

still nowhere to be seen and that their job position is still unpredictable. This must have been

very hard for the men in the family as they had to admit that they were failing to provide for

the family which was unacceptable in their eyes. This thought is also expressed in the song

Work For The Working Man from the album The Circle where the author expresses how “I'm

the only one who's got to look my family in the eye, Day after day, Night after night” {15.22-

24}. Most of this song is focused on man’s struggle to get a proper job and bring home proper

money and especially in these three lines he has to face the consequences of that every day

and every night when he has to come home from work and acknowledge his defeat.

Finally the chorus of this song should be mentioned as it sums up the situation of

American immigrants particularly well.

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 25-28}

Now the oil's gone And the money's goneAll the jobs are goneStill we're hangin' on

In the first three lines of the chorus the author touches on the lack of resources,

mainly oil, money and jobs which were all supposed to have been in abundance in this new

land. It is possible that the remark about the oil being gone points to places which are referred

to as boomtowns. These boomtowns were places that rose from the earth within a very short

period of time to accommodate for a found commodity such as gold or silver, or in this case

oil. Many of these boomtowns were built during the gold rush in California in 1848 and the

following years and some of them eventually developed into massive cities. Many hotels

54

were built for the miners and for people who poured in to get a chance at their piece of

fortune. Whilst some places, such as Denver in Colorado, which was a boomtown during the

gold rush in the west, eventually became big cities, others ultimately turned into ghost towns

as the commodity got exploited and mined out and people no longer had a reason for living

there; an example of this would be the famous Pithole City in Pennsylvania, which became a

boomtown in the 1860s after the discovery of an oil vein and got deserted just as quickly as it

got built (O’Callaghan 58; “Pithole's Rise and Fall”). The three lines of the song “Now the

oil's gone, And the money's gone, All the jobs are gone” {1.25-27} could possibly be hinting

on the fact that everything that people came into America to get was eventually lost, mined

out and exhausted and ultimately gone. Jobs were scarce and situational and so was money

and all the oil got siphoned out and there was not as much of it as everybody hoped.

The last line “Still we're hangin' on” {1.28} is supposed to express that even through

the absence of these resources the people continued holding on to what they had and kept

going after what they believed in.

Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994) {Song 1.lines 29-37}

Down in dry county They're swimming in the sand Praying for some holy water To wash these sins from off our handsIn dry countyThe promise has run dry Where nobody cries And no one's getting out of here alive Not this time

55

Bon Jovi – A Teardrop to the Sea (Burning Bridges, 2015){Song 5.lines 20-21,46}

Nobody grievesA teardrop to the sea

My riches just rags

The last part of the song to be discussed is the second part of the chorus which puts

together the whole idea of American people struggling in the new world and how they knew

that it was their life now and they could not escape it. The first four lines "Down in dry

county, They're swimming in the sand, Praying for some holy water, To wash these sins from

off our hands" {1.29-32} express the American immigrants living in a place which has been

rid of opportunities, money, jobs and faith but still getting through it and trying to stay on top

of it doing the only thing they can do which is to survive. They continue to rely on prayer and

hope in anticipation of a possible opportunity that could arise and flip their lives around but

until then they need to continue doing what they can to keep going.

The line “Where nobody cries” {1.35} could be interpreted as not only that the

immigrants are no longer able to cry because their emotions have been ripped away from

them by the constant misery, but also as meaning that it does not matter any more whether

someone is miserable or not because many people were quite unhappy at that time. This idea

can be further observed in the song A Teardrop to the Sea from the album Burning Bridges

where the writer mentions that “Nobody grieves, A teardrop to the sea” {5.20-21} which

could be understood to mean that one more drop of water does not make a difference in a sea.

The teardrop is meant as yet another miserable immigrant, who is very possibly going to die

in this situation, and the sea is seen as the great amounts of people who are also miserable

and who will not find their happiness in this land. A Teardrop to the Sea also mentions a

further interesting and very important concept that can be found in American history and the

56

immigrants way of life. The line “My riches just rags” {5.46} which can be found in the

chorus of the song refers to a very popular saying “from rags to riches” which is connected

with the idea that in America people can become wealthy and dig themselves out of poverty

with hard work, which also directly links to the American Dream. This line in the song is

taking this phrase and explains with it that this person’s dreams and ambitions, with which

they came to America, have turned to nothing as opposed going the other way round.

Further this part of the song again confirms that the people who came to this land,

where all the promises have been crushed and everyone has grown dull to the pain, are not

able to escape it which is expressed by the line “And no one's getting out of here alive”

{1.36}. It would be extremely humiliating if the immigrants decided to go back to their

homes in Europe. Many of these people did not have a home back where they came from as

they were banished for many different reasons and others simply could not phantom turning

back on their strong decisions to find their luck in this unknown land and return home.

3.2 Connection to Living in Sin

In this part of the thesis the song Living in Sin will be discussed as the continuation of

the previously mentioned immigrants, their children and the outlook they had on life. In this

chapter it will be specifically marriage and family and why the way the offspring wanted to

lead their lives was undesirable to the older generations. This song comes from their fourth

album New Jersey which came out in 1988 and it is the only song on this album that was

written solely by Jon, so it can be assumed that this was the opinion of Jon himself on the

way that marriage and love was handled in immigrant families.

The song is trying to bring the listener to the idea that there were some sort of rules

put down by the community that were meant to be followed and that by not following these

57

strict rules one was being sinful and it was undesirable to live like that. Families who

originally lived in Europe and who had to comply with these rules because otherwise it would

disrupt the hierarchy of the population were now facing difficult times as their children did

not understand these rules, they did not see the significance of getting married to the person

their family chose for them because it did not make any sense in this new land, where

hierarchy meant nothing and what position people had in the old world was discarded with

their arrival. Therefore it was viewed by the older generation as sinful to not follow these

direct rules that were once set in place for good reasons. It caused a lot of family disruption

because one generation believed that marriage was the right thing to do and the only thing to

do if you wanted to live as a family whilst the other wanted to distance themselves from these

rules because they seemed nonsensical to them. From this comes the idea of many young

people who do not want to follow traditional family guidances and get married and rather live

in a partnership. Jackson directly supports this thought in her book where she claims that this

song “was an attack on different generational attitudes to marriage” (89).

The title of this album and the album cover do not carry any significant meaning that

would be beneficial to the research and therefore they will not be given an exclusive chapter.

3.2.1 Title of the Song

The title of the song, Living in Sin, is the first thing that needs to be mentioned in this

chapter as it carries the most significance throughout the song and is mentioned multiple

times in the lyrics. For a person to live in sin they have to go against the bible in some way,

which is another direct hint at religion from Jon. Throughout the song he touches on the idea

of being sinful because the characters do not wish to live in accordance with rules that were

put in place long before they were born and which do not necessarily make sense in their

58

current situation and so they are assumed to be living a sinful life by the people who believe

that to marry and be a family is the only appropriate way to live.

3.2.2 The Lyrics

The lyrics of the song will be discussed in groups of significant thoughts and ideas

that are carried through them and they will be placed within those concepts which are

reflected in American culture of the second and further generations. The verses of the song

will be discussed first as they are what carries the main story and the chorus will be

mentioned last at the end of this chapter.

The song is written from the point of view of a male who fell in love with a female

whose parents disagree with their decision to be together as a couple, because for her parents

it is considered a sin being in a non marital commitment and the author then mocks the

construction of having to be married to be happy and the parents’ view on this situation. The

author effectively compares two generations’ traditions about marriage and criticises one as

outdated and unreasonable and questions its integrity.

Bon Jovi – Living in Sin (New Jersey, 1988){Song 2.lines 1-6}

I don't need no licenseTo sign on no lineAnd I don't need no preacherTo tell me you're mineI don't need no diamondsI don't need no new bride

59

The very beginning of this song starts with the author explaining that there is no need

for him to follow all these socially accepted obligations to have a happy relationship and love

and be loved by someone. He uses anaphora to give the words more weight and to strengthen

the idea that all these things are not needed. The very first verse is mocking the idea of a

traditional wedding, “I don’t need no license, To sign on no line” {2.1-2} points to a marriage

license that people have to get in order to be able to get married, it is usually issued by the

state or church and in order for a marriage to be valid it has to be signed by both parties. The

author here says that he does not have a need for a license and he does not need to sign it

either. This thought is further developed by the next two lines “And I don’t need no preacher,

To tell me you’re mine” {2.3-4} which points to how a preacher would officiate a wedding,

but these two people do not need a preacher to know that they love each other and that they

want to spend their lives together. It was also unthinkable for people who were not married to

each other to participate in coitus because according to their interpretation of the bible that

was a sin and therefore older generations wanted to push their children into a marriage. The

next line “I don't need no diamonds” {2.5} deals with the idea of giving a diamond ring to the

woman as an engagement gift to show people that she belonged to someone which again

points to this specific couple not wanting to conform to the traditional ideas of marriage but

rather follow their own paths. This can be followed in modern couples even nowadays

because this sentiment has continued throughout generations and many couples either do not

want to get married or do not want to participate in the ring giving traditions. The last line of

this part of the verse “I don't need no new bride” {2.6} is possibly trying to express the

parents’ disagreeing with the choices of their children and trying to find the boy a more

suitable wife as in these times the two families often did not know each other and the parents

were still stuck in their ideas that an arranged marriage was the best marriage. In the old

world the marriage was always arranged in order to connect families of similar class and it

60

was unthinkable for the children to find their own partners. The author here expresses his

disagreement with this view saying that the bride that he chose is perfectly acceptable for him

and he does not need a new one.

Bon Jovi – Living in Sin (New Jersey, 1988)

{Song 2.lines 9-14}

I know they have a hard time

And your Daddy don't approve

But I don't need your Daddy

Telling us what we should do

I just need you, baby

To look me in the eye

The following four lines express the authors understanding with the parents of the girl

but also his disagreement with the fact that they wish to steer the lives of their children. He

starts off with “I know they have a hard time” {2.9} which conveys his realising that the

parents are struggling through their lives. The parents are possibly immigrants from Europe

and they have a hard time adjusting to their new lives because the world is new and very

different from what they were used to before. It could also point to the parents inability to

accept their children’s choices of taking their lives into their own hands rather than do what

their parents think is best. The song continues on with the line “And your Daddy don't

approve” {2.10} which connects to the previous thought of the parents not agreeing with the

choices of the children, especially here finding a partner on their own without the parents’

help or permission and potentially deciding not to marry but still live a fulfilling live as a

family. This line can also be a link to how the fathers of the families were usually the ones to

arrange relationships because they were the ones who were in charge of the household and

61

women were not allowed to make decisions. So in this situation the author can be assumed to

be mocking this construction of the daughter having to have her father’s permission to marry.

This notion can still be observed in today’s society as it is a set tradition to go to the father

and ask for his blessing when a person wants to marry his daughter. The word “Daddy” used

in this verse can also be perceived as a mockery of the father figure as it is often used by

small children to refer to their father. It is especially important to mention it as it is written

with a capital letter in the lyrics and therefore it can be taken as the author trying to show that

the father figure is the important one in the household but by expressing his disagreement

with him the author is mocking his position. In this instance the song talks about two adult

people wishing to live their lives together and it is possible that the parents still view their

offspring as little children incapable of making the right decisions, therefore the expression

“Daddy” is used.

The following two lines “But I don't need your Daddy, Telling us what we should do”

{2.11-12} sum up this idea of the couple not needing their parents to arrange a marriage for

them as they are capable of finding their own partners on their own. They do not wish the

parents to tell them what they should do because they want to follow their hearts as opposed

to an outdated social construction that the parents believe is the only way to live. The author

then comments on the only thing he needs “I just need you, baby, To look me in the eye”

{2.13-14} which could be understood as expressing the need for one another as opposed to

some document that tells them they belong to each other. It expresses that as long as they are

there for each other and stand by each other’s side, that should be all that matters.

62

Bon Jovi – Living in Sin (New Jersey, 1988)

{Song 2.lines 13-14}

Now there's a million questionsI could ask about our lives

Within the next part of the song the author touches on his confusion about the way

that their lives are led and he uses a hyperbole to express his misunderstanding by saying

“Now there's a million questions, I could ask about our lives” {2.13-14}. It could be assumed

that the author here is expressing his bewilderment with the way the parents live and

consequentially want the children to live, and he wants to question the practices and possibly

understand them rather than just blindly follow them.

Bon Jovi – Living in Sin (New Jersey, 1988)

{Song 2.lines 22-33}

Is it right for both our parentsWho fight it out most nightsThen pray for God's forgivenessWhen they both turn out the lightsOr wear that ring of diamondsWhen your heart is made of stoneYou can talk but still say nothingYou stay together but alone

Or is it right to hold youAnd kiss your lips goodnightThey say the promise is foreverIf you sign it on the dotted line

In the next two sections of the song the author presents the parents’ way of living and

how they struggle through their relationship from the point of view of the children, who do

not understand why the parents live the way they do. The author begins both sections with “Is

63

it right” {2.22,30} which can be taken as the author questioning the situation that the parents

are in. The children do not understand why the way that the parents live should be right

whilst at the same time the parents want to judge and talk into the way the children wish to

live, why should one way be correct and the other strictly forbidden when neither of them

make sense to the other party.

The first four lines of this segment "Is it right for both our parents, Who fight it out

most nights, Then pray for God's forgiveness, When they both turn out the lights" {2.22-25}

start with the question whether it is justifiable to be fighting most of the time and then pray to

God to forgive them. This is quite possibly pointing to the contrast between the parents and

the children, where one side was made to marry by their parents and it did not matter whether

they liked each other, it only mattered that it was the honourable thing to do and they did not

have much of a choice. In the old world, when they still lived in Europe, it was also easier to

live together, because there were clear roles and each member of the family had their lives

outlined for them, it was almost forbidden for them to step out of the line. The man in the

household was the one who owned the business and brought money home and the wife was

the one who took care of the children, brought them up and attended to the house. Now in the

new world everything was changing, there the wife could no longer depend on the man to

make enough money to get by, their roles shifted and the wife also had to start working for

them to be able to feed themselves and their children. It was tough on the man as he was

losing his position of the breadwinner and on the woman because she grew up believing that

one day she would marry to a wealthy man and be the housewife which was now not true.

This adjustment in their positions was hard on both of them and they sometimes realised that

they were not happy together and therefore it resulted in fighting and hurt. It was unthinkable

for them to divorce because for one, they would go against their conviction that marriage is

forever and second, they were already in a difficult financial situation and could not afford to

64

live separately. This resulted in fighting and consequentially praying to God to forgive them.

The children could not understand this because they never lived in the old world and had no

idea as to why their parents lived like this.

This thought is continued in the next lines “Or wear that ring of diamonds, When your

heart is made of stone” {2.26-27} which go back to the idea of a diamond ring that is given to

a partner as a sign of eternal devotion, but when one’s heart is not beating for the other person

it can be a question as to why one should keep wearing that ring when their heart is already

made of stone. It can be assumed that the author is trying to make a connection between the

phrase “heart made of stone” which expresses a person’s inability to love and the fact that

diamonds are the hardest types of stone on Earth. The following line “You can talk but still

say nothing” {2.28} comments on how sometimes people do not know how to communicate

and even though they are saying words, they do not have any real meaning and do not reach

the other person and therefore they are serving no purpose at bringing two people together or

solving issues. It can be taken as a hint at the fact that the parents started growing apart in

their relationship because they had to start fending for themselves rather than as a couple and

it pulled them apart especially because they were originally made to marry each other and

often they were not compatible as two people. As it has been said previously they often

stayed together in order to be able to pay the bills and put the two paychecks into one, which

the line “You stay together but alone” {2.29} expresses, but even though they were staying

together living under one roof, they were lonely and felt isolated in their own house.

The following part of the song, “Or is it right to hold you, And kiss your lips

goodnight” {2.30-31} in which the author can be understood to continue discussing the

situation of the parents, is introduced with the same question. It seems to be expressing the

question of why it should be fair express warm feelings towards each other when they are not

happy together. The last two lines of this section “They say the promise is forever, If you sign

65

it on the dotted line” {2.32-33} wrap up this idea and are understood as trying to explain the

reasoning the parents might have for their behaviour. It goes back to the idea of a wedding

being a sacred ritual that shall not be disrupted. The promise in this context is supposed to

express their wedding vows and the dotted line refers to the line on the marriage license

which gets signed for the marriage to be valid. This wraps up the main story of the song as it

comes back full circle to the first line of the song which said “I don't need no license, To sign

on no line” {2.1-2} and poses the two views on marriage. The view of second generations

who view it as an unnecessary tradition and do not need it in order to be happy and of the first

generations who believe it is the only way to be a family and is supposed to be taken as the

law.

Bon Jovi – Living in Sin (New Jersey, 1988)

{Song 2.lines 18-21}

Baby, can you tell me just where we fit inI call it love they call it living in sinIs it you and me or just this world we live inI say we're living on love they say we're living in sin

Finally the chorus needs to be discussed as it expresses a great deal of emotion from

the author and summarises the main story of the song. The main idea of the song was the

confusion of the second generation about the way that the parents’ lived and their fight

against the unreasonable standards which were put on them, this idea is shown in the chorus.

In the very first line of the chorus “Baby, can you tell me just where we fit in” {2.18} the

author asks a question about the couple’s belonging in the world and expresses feelings of

being lost and not knowing where there is a place for them as it seems like they are not fitting

in with the general public. They wish to go their way and love each other for who they are yet

66

the older generations are trying to push them into something they do not understand. Further

the author tries to describe his feelings of love towards the other person whilst both of them

are called sinners for following their heart rather than some old customs that no longer make

any sense in America. This is expressed in the two lines “I call it love they call it living in sin,

I say we're living on love they say we're living in sin” {2.19,21} which can be understood as

the couple believing that living in love is the right way of living and the only way to be

happy, but the older generation believes that staying together, especially out of wedlock, is a

sin and they should be shamed for it. With the last line that has not been mentioned yet “Is it

you and me or just this world we live in” the author yet again expresses his bewilderment

with their situation. It is most likely trying to express uncertainty as the author is not sure

whether the way that the couple feels is unique to them or whether the situation that they find

themselves in is at fault and they are possibly doubting their own convictions but they

continue to fight for what they think is right.

The overall idea of the song is also trying to communicate the importance of thinking

for oneself and not just blindly following rules. The couple is trying to make a life for

themselves that is their own and with which they are happy rather than living in the shadow

of their parents and forever associating their success with their parents’ positions, which it is

already known that the positions from the old world in Europe meant nothing in this new one

and everyone had to create their own happiness because it did not come for free with living in

America.

67

3.3 Connection to Livin’ on a Prayer

The final song to be discussed in this thesis is Livin’ on a Prayer which comes from

the third studio album Slippery When Wet released in 1986. This song could be considered a

continuation of the previous two topics that have been discussed. It portrays the everyday

battle of young people who are struggling to make a living in America. Bon Jovi’s music is

filled with references to young people in their efforts to appeal to their audience. This piece is

especially important as it depicts a fictional young couple whose only hope is that with hard

work and endless effort they will be able to get out of poverty. It is described as a “blue-collar

anthem” and is very relatable for younger audiences because it was created from a situation

that is very close to Jon, as he created his own life story with hard work and dedication,

exactly as the couple is trying to do in the song (Jackson 61).

The title of the album and the album cover do not have very much to say on the topic

of poverty or the working class and therefore this part of the chapter will not be included.

3.3.1 Title of the Song

The title of the song Livin’ on a Prayer brings the listener to the idea of someone who

lives their lives praying for something. The first idea that comes to mind in connection to

America is religion, but that does not necessarily have to be the case here due to the fact that

Bon Jovi quite often liked to criticise organised religion. It should still be considered because

faith plays a big role in American lives and people often turn to faith to help them stay

focused and not lose hope when their lives get harder. The title of the song can be understood

as somebody whose only thing left in life is prayer and hope that things will get better and

that is what gets this person through the night and what keeps them going.

68

3.3.2 The Lyrics

The lyrics will be discussed in clusters that belong to each other through meaning and

the story line. First the verses will be addressed as they carry the most information about the

story of the song and they will be placed against their meaning considering American culture

of the youth. The chorus will be discussed at the end of this chapter.

Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a Prayer (Slippery When Wet, 1986)

{Song 3.line 1}

Once upon a time not so long ago

Before the song starts it is introduced with a short line. The first part of this line

“Once upon a time” {3.1} is a traditional saying with which fairy tales are often stared. This

line is supposed to introduce the song and make the listener understand this song as a story.

Fairy tales are often about love, usually two people who are destined to be together but first

they have to fight through obstacles that life throws their way so that in the end they can live

happily ever after. Plenty of TV also portrays some sort of a “from rags to riches” situation

which always has a happy ending, such as Cinderella, who runs away to a ball to find her

prince, or Snow White, who also decides to run away from her step-mother, these characters

always have to get through tough times to arrive at their happy ending. Through this thought

it can be assumed that this story will have a happy ending even though the listener does not

get to hear it. This simple line can give people hope that it will all end well.

The second part of this line “not so long ago” {3.1} brings the story into the current

life of the person listening to it. It says that this story did not happen so long ago and

therefore it makes it more believable and relatable.

69

Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a Prayer (Slippery When Wet, 1986)

{Song 3.lines 2-9}

Tommy used to work on the docksUnion's been on strikeHe's down on his luckIt's tough, so tough

Gina works the diner all dayWorking for her manShe brings home her payFor love, for love

Bon Jovi – It’s My Life (Crush, 2000)

{Song 9.line 17}

For Tommy and Gina who never backed down

Bon Jovi – 99 in the Shade (New Jersey, 1988)

{Song 4.lines 5-6}

Somebody tells me even Tommy's coming down tonightIf Gina says it's alright

The first verse of this song consists of two parts which are discussing the lives of two

people who are in a relationship together and who are fighting the world together. The band

created this fictional couple Tommy and Gina who appear in more than this song. In the song

It’s My Life Tommy and Gina are shown battling through their lives wanting to take control,

whereas in the song 99 in the Shade they only receive a simple note. They are supposed to be

representing the general working class people who fight through life together as one and they

become the relatable role models for many a listener as they are depicted as struggling

through life which many people do and it is important for them to feel like they are heard,

that their lives are valid and most importantly that they are not alone in this fight. The first

four lines "Tommy used to work on the docks, Union's been on strike, He's down on his luck,

It's tough, so tough" {3.2-5} introduce Tommy, a man who had a job on the docks but who

has fallen on hard times because the Union, which he has joined in order to improve the

70

quality of his working conditions, has gone on strike and therefore Tommy now does not go

to work and cannot bring money to support the household. It expresses the inability of a

person to predict what will happen with their job and the uncertainty of whether the next day

will be any better. Tommy was unlucky and is now in a tough spot.

The following four lines "Gina works the diner all day, Working for her man, She

brings home her pay, For love, for love" {3.6-9} introduce Gina, who is a working woman.

Her job is waitressing in a diner and she works long hard hours so that she can bring her

money home and be able to afford the minimal necessities like food and a roof over her head.

She brings the money home to Tommy who is struggling with his employment. She does it all

because she loves his man and holds onto the hope that they will eventually make it together.

The issue here that still prevails to this day is that the salary of one working person in a

household is too low to be able to carry a whole family through the month. In this case it is

only two people but it still is difficult to do especially doing a job such as this where people

are easily replaceable and do not have much certainty.

Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a Prayer (Slippery When Wet, 1986)

{Song 3.lines 18-21}

Tommy's got his six string in hockNow he's holding inWhat he used to make it talkSo tough, it's tough

In the second verse following the chorus the song goes back to Tommy and the story

moves in time to some point in close future from the previous verse. Here the couple is

shown still struggling through their lives due to a lack of money and jobs, issues continuously

linked to topics that were discussed in the very first song Dry County. Tommy has had to

71

pawn his guitar because the money is more important to him and it is something that the

couple needs right now. He is now more reserved and is not holding onto his dreams as much

any more, these two lines “Now he's holding in, What he used to make it talk” {3.19-20}

could potentially be a reference to Jon himself as he was once supposed to have gone to

school and get married but he held onto his dream of becoming a rock star, which in this

instance could be the guitar that Tommy had to pawn. Whilst Jon followed his passion and

did not give up on it, Tommy rather decided to focus on what was right in front of him

because he needed the money.

Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a Prayer (Slippery When Wet, 1986)

{Song 3.lines 22-25}

Gina dreams of running awayWhen she cries in the nightTommy whispers“Baby, it's okay, someday

The second part of the second verse again focuses on Gina who was mentioned earlier

to be working as a waitress. Here the continuation of her story mentions her desire to run

away, possibly hoping that by running away she could find something better somewhere else.

This is another possible reference to when Europeans started running away from their homes

to fight for a brighter future and it can be seen here that this desire still prevails in people.

There are people who often think that by running away to somewhere else life will just

magically get better, but that is never the case, a person’s problems will always be there even

on the other side of the ocean. The last three lines of this verse "When she cries in the night,

Tommy whispers, ‘Baby, it's okay, someday" {3.23-25} show that Gina is struggling to get

through the nights but Tommy is always by her side comforting her because they are meant to

be together, they chose one another and they will get through it as a couple.

72

Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a Prayer (Slippery When Wet, 1986)

{Song 3.lines 10-17}

She says, "We've gotta hold on to what we've gotIt doesn't make a difference if we make it or notWe've got each other and that's a lotFor love we'll give it a shot."

Whoa, we're half-way thereWhoa, livin' on a prayerTake my hand, we'll make it. I swearWhoa, livin' on a prayer

Finally the chorus of Livin’ on a Prayer is discussed. The first chorus starts off with

“She says” {3.10} referring to Gina, whereas the second chorus continues from Tommy’s

comforting words “’Baby, it's okay, someday” {3.25} which are introduced by quotation

marks at the start but never closed again and therefore it can be assumed that it is Tommy

who is saying the second verse back to Gina. This expresses a great deal of connection

between the two characters as they are both struggling through life but they still believe in

each other and support each other through bad and worse. One day it is the man who is

having a hard time dealing with life and the woman is by his side being sympathetic and the

next day it is the woman feeling depressed and her man stays by her side telling her that it

will all get better. It is a sign of a healthy relationship as opposed to fighting and hating each

other when times get tough.

The lyrics of the chorus express that the couple needs to stick together when that is

the only thing they have because even if they do not make it in life at least they have each

other to love, they do not have to fight through life alone and that is all that matters as

expressed by the four lines "We've gotta hold on to what we've got, It doesn't make a

difference if we make it or not, We've got each other and that's a lot, For love we'll give it a

shot" {3.10-13}.

The expression “half-way there” {3.14} could be taken as the couple seeing their

73

progress through life and realising that they are not doing all this work for nothing. Often in

life the most difficult thing is to start and once you start, inertia will keep you going. This

couple has hope that their story will have a happy ending and that together they will make it

if they hold each others’ hand and stay by each other’s side.

3.4 Application in Teaching

One of the main ideas for this thesis was also to find a way to use this research in

teaching and therefore it is important to include some of the most important ideas that can be

conveyed through this.

Music has become a crucial part of any classroom setting of a teacher who wants to

engage their students and create a positive classroom atmosphere mainly due to the fact that

music is something every young person knows and enjoys. With how widespread current

music is, everybody can find something that they will enjoy and relate to. As it has been

mentioned before, music often connects people across generations and cultures because of

how diverse it can be and mainly because people are never alone in experiencing their

feelings and hearing someone else sing about an issue that is familiar to someone else can be

very comforting. Using music to teach a language such as English to students for whom it is a

second language has always been a popular method. It can improve vocabulary, grammar and

most importantly pronunciation and motivates the students and helps them to understand

parts of language which might be otherwise confusing.

This thesis analysed three songs with relations to American history, culture and

religion and has discovered that there are many connections to each and with not much work

they can be extrapolated. It can therefore be assumed that music does not only have to teach

the language but it can also teach the topic through fun and engaging activities. Music in

74

curriculum is often associated with language classes but through this hypothesis they could

very well be used to teach history to native speakers of English.

By selecting an appropriate song for the age and level of our students and creating a

lesson plan around it, even more students could benefit from the use of music in classrooms.

Taking the song Dry County, which has been analysed in a previous chapter, the students,

having already studied the American immigration period, could be asked to find a connection

to an important event in American history and could further learn about some interesting

details from those times through the lyrics. The song could be cut up into verses or lines and

the students could then be asked to put them in order of how they believe the events

happened and then confirm with listening to the song. Some pieces of other important songs

could be provided to the students so that it is easier for them to make the connections that are

important to the topic. The mood of the song could convey the feelings these people in the

song might have had and by singing together with the song they could transport themselves to

those times. The students could further be asked to write some lyrics of their own that would

describe a different era of any historical event.

This thesis focused directly on the music of Bon Jovi but it should be possible to take

popular music from serious artists who have been creating for some time and also connect

them to important events. This could also be something the students work on as a project as

they are usually more knowledgable in popular music as they often belong into a different

generation than the teachers.

75

4 Conclusions

This thesis attempted to analyse Bon Jovi music and find connections to American

history, culture and religion as Bon Jovi are an American band and have been creating music

for almost 40 years and therefore it was assumed that through research there would be

significant links to important American events. The three songs that were chosen for this

research were Dry County, Living in Sin, and Livin’ on a Prayer.

The thesis was written in two parts. The first part discussed the theoretical

background of American citizens, mainly the issues that American immigrants faced in their

new homes. It began with discussing the hardships which European people faced in their

home land and the main reasons for why they wanted to go to America, further it described

how these immigrants felt after arrival and the difficulties with which they had to deal. It also

commented on how the second generation felt when living in the country, and the differences

in generations that families had to fight through as the customs of living were changing.

Another important issue covered in the theoretical part was religion which is a fundamental

part of American culture. It started with what religion meant to American immigrants and

went on to identify the relationship the next generations had to it. It also shortly touches on

the importance of secular hymn and its connection to Bon Jovi music.

The practical part then discusses the three main songs with connection to each of the

issues mentioned in the theoretical part. It starts off with Dry County and connects its lyrics to

the struggles of early American immigrants and what they hoped for that they would find

when they moved to America and the truth of what they actually found. The second song the

thesis considers is Living in Sin, which deals with the second generation children who were

trying to create a life of their own and how the differences between the generations caused

miscommunications and disagreements and often resulted in the family bonds breaking when

76

the children decided to run away and live somewhere else. The third and final song Livin’ on

a Prayer talks about the life of two people who are a true part of American society and who

are struggling to make a living because they have a hard time keeping jobs and making

enough money to get by every day. Overall the practical part covers three phases of American

immigration starting with the actual immigrants who came to America to find their happiness,

continuing with their children splitting off from their parents and the problems it created and

finally discussing the lives of those children and what it was like for them to make ends meet.

Lastly the thesis includes a short chapter about the ways this research could be used in

teaching. It considers the information that has been explored throughout the thesis and

attempts to find situations in which it could be used to enhance the learning of American

history in schools.

Even though the specific struggles that are being talked about in this thesis are the

struggles of immigrants to America, many of these struggles still prevail to these days and are

still relevant. They are after all problems in which the immigrants lived and brought up their

children and so they continued existing throughout time. Bon Jovi music might be expressing

the anguish of American immigrants or possibly Jon’s own hardships but it is very applicable

to today’s American people of any age and that is why their music has become such an

important part of people’s lives.

The thesis only scratched the surface of what Bon Jovi means to American history. It

mentioned that the three songs studied here are not the only three songs that have a

significant connection to American events as Bon Jovi have been writing music for such a

long time. There are several more pieces throughout their discography that are said to have

been written about a specific period or event that affected the band and therefore their music

would need more research to get a proper understanding of how American events affected

Bon Jovi’s writing and how their music could be further used in teaching.

77

Works Cited

“A (Heavy) Cross To Bear.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press,

www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/a-heavy-cross-to-bear.

Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. Little Brown, 1931.

Agueros, Jack. “Halfway to Dick and Jane.” The Immigrant Experience: the Anguish of

Becoming American. Edited by Thomas C. Wheeler, Penguin Books, 1992.

An Outline of American History. United States Information Service, 1993.

Austerlitz, Saul. “Moscow Music Peace Festival: How Glam Metal Helped End the Cold

War.” Rolling Stone, 22 Sept. 2017, www.rollingstone.com/feature/moscow-music-

peace-festival-how-glam-metal-helped-end-the-cold-war-201218/.

Bon Jovi, Jon. “10 Questions for Jon Bon Jovi.” Time, Time Inc., 25 July 2007,

www.content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1647476,00.html.

“Bon Jovi Popularity Soars in Germany.” Deutche Welle, 12 Oct. 2005,

www.web.archive.org/web/20071004211411/http://www.dw-

world.de/dw/article/0,5830,1738112,00.html.

“Buy Into Sth.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press,

www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/buy-into-sth.

“Dry.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, www.dictionary.cambridge.org/

dictionary/english/dry.

“Easy Street Definition and Meaning.” Collins English Dictionary, HarperCollins

Publishers Ltd, www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/easy-street.

Handlin, Oscar. The Uprooted: the Epic Story of the Great Migrations That Made the

American People. Grosset & Dunlap, 1971.

78

Jackson, Laura. Jon Bon Jovi: the Biography. Piatkus, 2010.

O'Callaghan, Bryn. An Illustrated History of the USA. Longman, 1998.

“Paydirt.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press,

www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/paydirt.

“Pay Dirt.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press,

www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pay-dirt.

“Pithole's Rise and Fall.” The New York Times, 26 Dec. 1879,

www.timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1879/12/26/80704720.pdf.

Popik, Barry. “When my father came to America he was told the streets were paved with

gold….” The Big Apple, 17 Jan. 2018, www.barrypopik.com/index.php/

new_york_city/entry/when_my_father_came_to_america/.

Puzo, Mario. “Choosing a Dream.” The Immigrant Experience: the Anguish of Becoming

American. Edited by Thomas C. Wheeler, Penguin Books, 1992.

The Bible. New International Version, Biblica The International Bible Society, 2011,

www.biblica.com.

Thomsen, Steven R., et al. “Pop Music and the Search for the Numinous: Exploring the

Emergence of the ‘Secular Hymn’ in Post-Modern Culture.” Journal of Media and

Religion, 2016, doi:10.1080/15348423.2016.1209392.

“You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press,

www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/you-ve-made-your-bed-now-lie-in-

it.

Wills, Charles A. “Destination America . Freedom from Fear.” PBS, Public Broadcasting

Service, www.pbs.org/destinationamerica/usim_wy_04.html.

79

List of Songs

Main Songs

1. Bon Jovi. “Dry County.” Keep the Faith, 1994. AZLyrics,

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/drycounty.html

2. Bon Jovi. “Living in Sin.” New Jersey, 1988. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/livinginsin.html

3. Bon Jovi. “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Slippery When Wet, 1986. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/livinonaprayer.html

Supporting Songs

4. Bon Jovi. “99 in the Shade.” New Jersey, 1988. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/99intheshade.html

5. Bon Jovi. “A Teardrop to the Sea.” Burning Bridges, 2015. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/ateardroptothesea.html

6. Bon Jovi. “Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll.” Keep the Faith, 1994. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/blameitontheloveofrockroll.html

7. Bon Jovi. “Hey God.” These Days, 1995. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/heygod.html

8. Bon Jovi. “I Believe.” Keep the Faith, 1994. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/ibelieve.html

9. Bon Jovi. “It’s My Life.” Crush, 2000. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/itsmylife.html

80

10. Bon Jovi. “Living With the Ghost.” This House Is Not for Sale, 2016. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/livingwiththeghost.html

11. Bon Jovi. “My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms.” These Days, 1995. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/myguitarliesbleedinginmyarms.html

12. Bon Jovi. “The Devil’s in the Temple.” This House Is Not for Sale, 2016.

AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/thedevilsinthetemple.html

13. Bon Jovi. “These Days.” These Days, 1995. AZLyrics.

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/thesedays.html

14. Bon Jovi. “We Weren’t Born to Follow.” The Circle, 2009. AZLyrics,

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/wewerentborntofollow.html

15. Bon Jovi. “Work for the Working Man.” The Circle, 2009. AZLyrics,

azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonjovi/workfortheworkingman.html

81

Appendix A: Dry County

82

1. Bon Jovi – Dry County (Keep the Faith, 1994)1 Across the border they turn I didn't have too good a feeling

Water into wine 45 As I head out to the night Some say it's the devil's blood They're squeezing from the vine I cursed the sky to open

5 Some say it's a saviour I begged the clouds for rain In these hard and desperate times I prayed all night for water You see it helps me to forget For this burning in my veins That we're just born to die

50 It was like my soul's on fire I came here like so many did And I had to watch the flames

10 To find a better life Well, my dreams went up in ashes To find my piece of easy street And my future blew away And finally be aliveI knew nothing good comes easy Now the oil's gone All good things take some time 55 And the money's gone

15 I made my bed I'll lie in it All the jobs are gone To die in it's the crime Still we're hangin' on

You can't help but prosper Down in dry county Where the streets are paved with gold They're swimming in the sand They say the oil wells ran deeper here 60 Praying for some holy water

20 Than anybody's known To wash these sins from off our handsNow I packed up on my wife and kid In dry countyAnd left them both back home The promise has run dry See there's nothing in this paydirt Where nobody cries The ghosts are all I know 65 And no one's getting out of here alive

25 Now the oil's gone Man spends his whole lifeAnd the money's gone Waiting praying for some big rewardAll the jobs are gone But it seems sometimes Still we're hangin' on The payoff leaves you feeling

70 Like a dirty whore Down in dry county If I could choose the way I'd die

30 They're swimming in the sand Make it by the gun or knife Praying for some holy water 'Cause the other way there's too much pain To wash these sins from off our hands Night after night after night after nightIn dry countyThe promise has run dry 75 Down in dry county

35 Where nobody cries Where they're swimming in the sandAnd no one's getting out of here alive Praying for some holy water Not this time To wash these sins from off our hands

In dry countyIn the blessed name of Jesus 80 The promise has run dry I heard a preacher say Where nobody cries

40 We are all God's children And no one's getting out of hereThat He'd be back, back someday Dry countyHoped that he knew No one's getting out of hereSomething as he drank his cup of wine 85 Dry county. No

Appendix B: Living in Sin

83

2. Bon Jovi – Living in Sin (New Jersey, 1988)1 I don't need no license Baby, can you tell me just where we fit in

To sign on no line 35 I call it love they call it living in sinAnd I don't need no preacher Is it you and me or just this world we live inTo tell me you're mine I say we're living on love they say we're living in sin

5 I don't need no diamondsI don't need no new bride Baby, can you tell me just where we fit inI just need you, baby I call it love they call it living in sinTo look me in the eye 40 Is it you and me or just this world we live in

I say we're living on love they say we're living in sinI know they have a hard time

10 And your Daddy don't approve I call it love they call it living in sinBut I don't need your DaddyTelling us what we should do Living in sin

Now there's a million questions I don't know where to beginI could ask about our lives 45 I don't know where we fit in

15 But I only need one answerTo get me through the night Living in sin

So, I say

Baby, can you tell me just where we fit inI call it love they call it living in sin

20 Is it you and me or just this world we live inI say we're living on love they say we're living in sin

Is it right for both our parentsWho fight it out most nightsThen pray for God's forgiveness

25 When they both turn out the lightsOr wear that ring of diamondsWhen your heart is made of stoneYou can talk but still say nothingYou stay together but alone

30 Or is it right to hold youAnd kiss your lips goodnightThey say the promise is foreverIf you sign it on the dotted line

Appendix C: Livin’ on a Prayer

84

3. Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a Prayer (Slippery When Wet, 1986)1 Once upon a time not so long ago We've gotta hold on to what we've got

It doesn't make a difference if we make it or notTommy used to work on the docks We've got each other and that's a lotUnion's been on strike For love we'll give it a shotHe's down on his luck

5 It's tough, so tough 30 Whoa, we're half-way thereWhoa, livin' on a prayer

Gina works the diner all day Take my hand and we'll make it. I swearWorking for her man Whoa, livin' on a prayerShe brings home her payFor love, for love Livin' on a prayer

10 She says, "We've gotta hold on to what we've got 35 We've gotta hold on ready or notIt doesn't make a difference if we make it or not You live for the fight when it's all that you've gotWe've got each other and that's a lotFor love we'll give it a shot." Whoa, we're half-way there

Whoa, livin' on a prayerWhoa, we're half-way there Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear

15 Whoa, livin' on a prayer 40 Whoa, livin' on a prayerTake my hand, we'll make it. I swearWhoa, livin' on a prayer Whoa, we're half-way there

Whoa, livin' on a prayerTommy's got his six string in hock Take my hand and we'll make it, I swearNow he's holding in Whoa, livin' on a prayer

20 What he used to make it talkSo tough, it's tough

Gina dreams of running awayWhen she cries in the nightTommy whispers

25 “Baby, it's okay, someday

Appendix D: 99 in the Shade

85

4. Bon Jovi – 99 in the Shade (New Jersey, 1988)1 I feel I'm burning up with fever

But the fire's feeling really good tonightAnd it's alrightI'm gonna see Sahara Jack and Suntan Sally

5 Somebody tells me even Tommy's coming down tonightIf Gina says it's alright

I'm gonna see those SenoritasLying under the sunThey're greasing it up

10 With know I want to be their blanketGonna tell every girlHey, baby... You're the one...

Oh tell the boys I'm on my wayI got the radio blasting in my old man's Chevrolet

15 I got a party in my pocket cause you know I just got paidAnd I'm feeling fine, it's 99 in the shadeI'm feeling fine, it's 99 in the shade

When the sun goes down that's when the street heats upSenorita Margarita fills your empty cup tonight -

20 She make you feel alright

A good time here don't cost much moneyJust a little sweet talking and a pretty native honeyAnd you're set for lifeOr one hell of a nigth

25 I'm gonna see those sons of beachesOut there living it up the surfAnd the sand,Man that life ain't so toughSo get me in the action so I can tell

30 Every girl she's the one

Oh tell the boys I'm on my wayI got the radio blasting in my old man's ChevroletI got a party in my pocket cause you know I just got paidAnd I'm feeling fine, it's 99 in the shade

35 I'm feeling fine, it's 99 in the shade

Appendix E: A Teardrop to the Sea

86

5. Bon Jovi – A Teardrop to the Sea (Burning Bridges, 2015)1 So this is it 40 It's just broken glass

Here it is Chalk lines on the sceneA pot of gold Move along, move alongA Judas kiss Ain't nothing here to see

5 I got what I wantedI paid every cost Oh, love pick me upI'd give it all back 45 I'm down on my kneesTo get back what I've lost My riches just ragsLike a wave on the beach Wings that don't fly

10 Last leaf on the tree I ain't praying, I'm chokingIt's all just a memory I fix what's been broken

50 Got nothing to hideLove pick me up No bitter goodbyesI'm down on my knees Oh, love pick me upMy treasure just rags Oh, love pick me up

15 Wings that don't fly Nobody grievesI ain't praying, I'm choking 55 A teardrop to the seaI'll fix what's been broken A teardrop to the seaGot nothing to hideNo time for goodbye A teardrop to the sea

20 Nobody grievesA teardrop to the sea

They shake my handPat my backThey know my drink

25 Welcome backThe life of the partyTears of a clownCan't hear a heartbreakThe music's too loud

30 Love pick me upI'm down on my kneesMy treasure just ragsWings that don't flyI ain't praying, I'm choking

35 I fix what's been brokenGot nothing to hideNo time for goodbyeNobody grievesA teardrop to the sea

Appendix F: Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll

87

6. Bon Jovi – Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll (Keep the Faith, 1994)1 First time I heard the music Blame it on the love, blame it on the love

I thought it was my own Dad don't understand what the little girls knowI could feel it in my heartbeat Blame it on the love of rock-n-rollI could feel it in my bones

5 My momma thinks I'm crazy All I wanted, all I ever neededMy dad says I'm insane 40 My guitar gave to meI got this boogie woogie fever Every song I've sung blame it on loveThat's burning in my veins

Every war I've won blame it on loveThey tried to take me to a doctor Everything I've done blame it on love

10 But it's too late for me Blame it on the love of rock-n-rollThen they took me to a preacherThat they saw on their TV 45 It feels so good that it ought to be illegalWho said that for a small donation I got my vaccination from a phonograph needleMy lost soul would be saved I'll never grow up and I'll never grow old

15 I said I don't think so preacher Blame it on the love of rock & rollI'll come back another day

Blame it on the love, blame it on the loveAll I want, is to be a Rolling Stone 50 Dad don't understandThey don't understand what we all know what the little girls know

Blame it on the love of rock-n-roll It feels so good that it ought to be illegal

20 I got my vaccination from a phonograph needleI'll never grow up and I'll never grow oldBlame it on the love of rock & roll

My teachers didn't like me they alwaysTried to put me down

25 'Cause I wore my hair too longI played my music way too loud

Every little boy wants to learn to play guitarSo he can pick up all the chicksAnd be a rock-n-roll star

30 They said it won't last, but they misunderstoodIf people think it's bad then I'll be bad for good

It feels so good that it ought to be illegalI got my vaccination from a phonograph needleI'll never grow up and I'll never grow old

35 Blame it on the love of rock & roll

Appendix G: Hey God

88

7. Bon Jovi – Hey God (These Days, 1995)1 Hey God, I'm just a little man got a wife and family

But I almost lost the houseYeah, I bought into the dreamWe're barely holdin' on, when I'm in way to deep

5 We're two paychecks away from living out on the streets

She's a workin' single mom, like a Saint she doesn't complainShe never says a word, but she thinks that she's to blameHer son just got convicted, he blew some punk awayShe did her best to raise him, but the world got in the way

10 Hey God - Tell me what the hell is going onSeems like all the good shits goneIt keeps on getting harder hanging onHey God, there's nights you know I want to screamThese days you've even harder to believe

15 I know how busy you must be, but Hey God...Do you ever think about me

Born into the ghetto in 1991, just a happy childPlaying beneath the summer sunA vacant lots' his playground, by 12 he's got a gun

20 The odds are bet against him, junior don't make 21

Hey God - Tell me what the hell is going onSeems like all the good shits goneIt keeps on getting harder hangin' onHey God, there's nights you know I want to scream

25 These days you've even harder to believeI know how busy you must be, but Hey God...

I'd get down on my kneesI'm going to try this thing you waySeen a dying man too proud to beg spit on his own grave

30 Was he too gone to save?Did you even know his name?Are you the one to blame, I got something to say

Hey God - Tell me what the hell is going onSeems like all the good shits gone

35 It keeps on getting harder hangin' onHey God, there's nights you know I want to screamThese days you've even harder to believeI know how busy you must be, but Hey God...Do you ever think about me

Appendix H: I Believe

89

8. Bon Jovi – I Believe (Keep the Faith, 1994)1 All I know is what I've been sold 35 I believe, I believe

You can read my life like a fortune told With every breath that I breatheI've seen the dream, there ain't no land of Oz You and me can turn a whisper to a screamBut I got my brain, yeah, and I got a heart I believe, I believe

5 And courage built, I won't let go I believe, I believeWhat we need right now is... soul 40 Three, four

I can't do this, you can't do that I believeThey feed us lines but I won't act Whoa (whoa)And all good things will come to pass Yeah (yeah)

10 But the truth is all you have to have Yeah (yeah)45 I believe

And would you lie for it? I believeCry for it? I believeDie for it? Yeah, yeah, yeahWould you? Woah, woah, woah...

15 I believe, I believeWith every breath that I breatheYou and me can turn a whisper to a screamI believe, I believe

You gave it all, then you gave more20 You know what you came here for

You pay the cost, like it's your cross to bearAre we the ones who put it there?

And would you scheme for it?Scream for it?

25 Bleed for it?Would you?

I believe, I believeBelieve we're still worth the fightYou'll see, there's hope for this world tonight

30 I believe, I believe, yeah

Don't look up to your movie screensYour records or your magazinesClose your eyes and you will seeThat you are all you really need

Appendix I: It’s My Life

90

9. Bon Jovi – It’s My Life (Crush, 2000)1 This ain't a song for the broken-hearted It's my life

No silent prayer for the faith-departed And it's now or neverI ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd 35 'Cause I ain't gonna live foreverYou're gonna hear my voice I just want to live while I'm alive

5 When I shout it out loud (It's my life)My heart is like an open highway

It's my life Like Frankie said,It's now or never 40 I did it my way.I ain't gonna live forever I just want to live while I'm aliveI just want to live while I'm alive

10 (It's my life) It's my lifeMy heart is like an open highway And it's now or neverLike Frankie said, 'Cause I ain't gonna live foreverI did it my way. 45 I just want to live while I'm aliveI just wanna live while I'm alive (It's my life)

15 It's my life My heart is like an open highwayLike Frankie said,

This is for the ones who stood their ground I did it my way.For Tommy and Gina who never backed down 50 I just want to live while I'm aliveTomorrow's getting harder make no mistake 'Cause it's my life! Luck ain't even lucky

20 Got to make your own breaks

It's my lifeAnd it's now or neverI ain't gonna live foreverI just want to live while I'm alive

25 (It's my life)My heart is like an open highwayLike Frankie said,I did it my way.I just want to live while I'm alive

30 'Cause it's my life

Better stand tall when they're calling you outDon't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down

Appendix J: Living With the Ghost

91

10. Bon Jovi – Living With the Ghost (This House Is Not for Sale, 2016)1 Marry me to the blue sky Last night I had this dream

Bury me in that long last drop of hard rain I saw a man wash his feetMeet me where they stop time In the church holy waterThat's you to me on the shovel that's digging this grave 40 He worked up to his knees

5 Till I can waltz on a moonbeam From his arms to his neckTill I can find a way to turn all tears into wine Said I'm in over my headI'll hitch my ride to a day dream He was crying trying to get some reliefCan't unkiss the lips that love is leaving behind Lord, I'm just trying to get some relief

45 I had this dreamI ain't living with the ghost That man was me

10 No future living in the pastI've seen what hate has done to hope I ain't living with the ghostTomorrow wasn't built to last No future living in the pastI ain't living with the ghost I've seen what hurt has done to hopeHow can I scream, I'm scared to breathe 50 I found the tree I cut the rope

15 I wrote each word, you gave the toast Tomorrow wasn't built to lastBut we were fire and gasoline I ain't living with the ghostI ain't living with the ghost How can I scream, I'm scared to breathe

I wrote each word, you gave the toastI set my sails over wheat fields 55 But we were fire and gasolineRode waves of amber, let a new sun shine on my face Now I ain't living with the ghost

20 I dropped the sword, put down my shieldI left your scars for the stars, guiding my wayI traded hurting for healingI must admit that I was reelingNow I'm feeling just fine

25 Traded nightmares for dreamingGo tell your shadows that I got out alive

I ain't living with the ghostNo future living in the pastI've seen what hurt has done to hope

30 I found the tree I cut the ropeTomorrow wasn't built to lastI ain't living with the ghostHow can I scream, I'm scared to breatheI wrote each word, you gave the toast

35 But we were fire and gasolineI ain't living with the ghost

Appendix K: My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms

92

11. Bon Jovi – My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms (These Days, 1995)1 Misery likes company, I like the way that sounds

I've been trying to find the meaning, so I can write it downStaring out the window, it's such a long way downI'd like to jump, but I'm afraid to hit the ground

5 I can't write a love song the way I feel todayI can't sing no song of hope, I got nothing to sayLife is feeling kind of strange, since you went awayI sing this song to you wherever you areAs my guitar lies bleeding in my arms

10 I'm tired of watching TV, it makes me want to screamOutside the world is burning, man it's so hard to believeEach day you know you're dying from the cradle to the graveI get so numb sometimes, that I can't feel the pain

I can't write a love song the way I feel today15 I can't sing no song of hope I've got nothing to say

Life is feeling kind of strange, it's strange enough these daysI send this song to you, wherever you areAs my guitar lies bleeding in my arms

Staring at the paper, I don't know what to write20 I'll have my last cigarette-well, turn out the lights

Maybe tomorrow I'll feel a different wayBut here I'm my delusion, I don't know what to say

I can't write a love song the way I feel todayI can't sing no song of hope, I've got nothing to say

25 And I can't fight the feelings, that are burning in my veinsI send this song to you, wherever you areAs my guitar lies bleeding

I can't write a love song the way I feel todayI can't sing no song of hope, there's no one left to save

30 And I can't fight the feelings buried in my brainsI send this song to you, wherever you areAs my guitar lies bleeding in my armsAs my guitar lies bleeding in my armsAs my guitar lies bleeding in my arms

Appendix L: The Devil’s in the Temple

93

12. Bon Jovi – The Devil’s in the Temple (This House Is Not for Sale, 2016)1 This was a church

A house full of prayerIt ain't that nowI could tear it down

5 There's thieves at the altarA snake wears the crownHanding you coalSwearing it's gold

Look what they've done to this house of love10 It's too late to turn river to blood

The saviors come and gone, we're all out of timeThe devil's in the temple and he ain't no friend of mine

I'd turn things aroundI would if I could

15 Crash through the gatesBreak every chainJail for the jailersSing freedoms songAmazing grace

20 Burn down this place

Look what they've done to this house of loveIt's too late to turn river to bloodThe saviors come and gone, we're all out of timeThe devil's in the temple and he ain't no friend of mine

25 Look what they've done to this house of loveLook what they've done to this house of loveThe devil's in the temple and he's making a messGot the Mona Lisa, got his hands up her dressThe gun is in his hand but he ain't gonna confess

30 He lies

Look what they've done to this house of loveIt's too late to turn river to bloodThe saviors come and gone, we're all out of timeThe devil's in the temple and he ain't no friend of mine

35 The devil's in the temple and he ain't no friend of mineThe devil's in the temple and he ain't no friend of mine

Appendix M: These Days

94

13. Bon Jovi – These Days (These Days, 1995)1 I was walking around 40 I know Rome's still burning

Just a face in the crowd Though the times have changedTryna keep myself out of the rain This world keeps turningSaw a vagabond king Round and round and round and round these days

5 Wear a Styrofoam crownWondered if I might end up the same These days the stars hang out of reachThere's a man out on the corner 45 But these days there ain't a ladder on the streetsSinging old songs about change Oh, no, noEverybody's got their cross to bear these days These days are fast

Love don't last10 She came looking for some shelter It's a graceless age

With a suitcase full of dreams 50 Even innocence has caught the midnight trainTo a motel room on the boulevardI guess she's tryna be James Dean These days the stars hang out of reachShe's seen all the disciples and all the wanna-bes These days there ain't a ladder on the streets

15 No one wants to be themselves these days Oh, no, noStill there's nothing to hold on to but these days These days are fast

55 Nothing lastsThese days the stars hang out of reach There ain't no time to wasteThese days there ain't a ladder on the streets There ain't nobody left to take the blameOh, no, no Oh, no, no

20 These days are fast There ain't nobody left but us these daysNothing lasts 60 Ain't nobody left but us these days In this graceless ageThere ain't nobody left but us these days

Jimmy Shoes busted both his legs25 Tryna learn to fly

From a second story windowHe just jumped and closed his eyesHis momma said he was crazyHe said, "Momma, I've gotta try

30 Don't you know that all my heroes died?And I guess I'd rather die than fade away."

These days the stars hang out of reachBut these days there ain't a ladder on the streetsOh, no, no

35 These days are fastNothing lastsIt's a graceless ageEven innocence has caught the midnight trainAnd there ain't nobody left but us these days

Appendix N: We Weren’t Born to Follow

95

14. Bon Jovi – We Weren’t Born to Follow (The Circle, 2009)1 This one goes out to the man who mines for miracles

This one goes out to the ones in needThis one goes out to the sinner and the cynicalThis ain't about no apology

5 This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungryThis road was paved by the winds of changeWalking beside the guilty and the innocentHow will you raise your hand when they call your name?Yeah, yeah, yeah

10 We weren't born to followCome on and get up off your kneesWhen life is a bitter pill to swallowYou gotta hold on to what you believeBelieve that the sun will shine tomorrow

15 And that your saints and sinners bleedWe weren't born to followYou gotta stand up for what you believeLet me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah

This one's about anyone who does it differently20 This one's about the one who cusses and spits

This ain't about our livin' in a fantasyThis ain't about givin' up or givin' inYeah, yeah, yeah

We weren't born to follow25 Come on and get up off your knees

When life is a bitter pill to swallowYou gotta hold on to what you believeBelieve that the sun will shine tomorrowAnd that your saints and sinners bleed

30 We weren't born to followYou gotta stand up for what you believeLet me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeahLet me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah

We weren't born to follow35 Come on and get up off your knees

When life is a bitter pill to swallowYou gotta hold on to what you believeBelieve that the sun will shine tomorrowAnd that your saints and sinners bleed

40 We weren't born to followYou gotta stand up for what you believeLet me hear you say yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah (2x)

43 We weren't born to follow - oh yeah (2x)

Appendix O: Work for the Working Man

96

15. Bon Jovi – Work for the Working Man (The Circle, 2009)1 I'm here trying to make a living I lost my pension

I ain't living just to die 35 They took my I.DNever getting back what I'm giving These were my friendsCan someone somewhere help me justify These were my dreams

5 Why these strong hands are on the These were my hopesun-employment line These are my streets

Now there's nothing left 40 Can you hear me?But what's on my mindoh ohh oh ohh Who's gonna work for the working man

(Hurt) for the working manWho's gonna work for the working man (Work) Get your hands in the dirt

10 (Hurt) for the working man Who's gonna work off the curse(Work) Get your hands in the dirt 45 (Work) Brother I'll be damnedWho's gonna work off the curse (Work) If I don't raise a hand(Work) Brother I'll be damned (Work) Whose gonna work work work(Work) If I don't raise a hand For the working man, working man,

15 (Work) Whose gonna work work work working man, working manFor the working man, working man These were my friens

50 These were my dreamsEmpty pockets full of worry These were my hopesHad to get two jobs These are my... streets And it was hard enough just getting by

20 With the grace of god I'll get us throughI only know what I know how to doI'm the only one who's got to look my family in the eye

Day after dayNight after night

25 Oh Ohh Oh Ohh

Who's gonna work for the working man(Hurt) for the working man(Work) Get your hands in the dirtWho's gonna work off the curse

30 (Work) Brother I'll be damned(Work) If I don't raise a hand(Work) Whose gonna work work workFor the working man, working man, working man, working man