Vincent by Don McLean
Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer’s day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent’s eyes of china-blue.
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand
Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now
For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night
You took your life, as lovers often do
But I could’ve told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for
One as beautiful as you.
Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch this world and can’t forget
Like the strangers that you’ve met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
A silver thorn upon a bloody rose
Lies crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they’re not listening still
Perhaps they never will.
It is without a doubt that few would not consider Vincent Van Gogh to be one of the saddest artistic figures who ever lived. Therefore, it seems a likely deduction that “Vincent” by Don McLean, first published and sung by the composer in 1971, is one of the saddest songs ever written, clearly exemplified by its lovely lyrics and haunting musical melody.
Van Gogh, who suffered for 37 years with mental illness, depression, and poverty, was thought to be a madman and a failure during his lifetime. It was only after his controversial death by suicide or a shotgun wound, that he gained recognition and was considered a misunderstood genius. With his bold colors and dramatic brushstrokes, he is perhaps one of the most famous artists from the Post-Impressionistic and Expressionistic Eras.
All these dynamic aspects of Van Gogh’s pivotal life and his sad, untimely death are noted in subliminal stimuli that flow within the lyrical body of the song, the haunting softness of its melody creating the perfect backdrop for such beautiful prose. As one listens, a permeating sense of loneliness and despair is decidedly felt, and a moving factor for any listener.
For me, there is no question that this song, which is so clearly demonstrative of the artist for which it was named, is one of the most emotional and saddest songs ever written, embodying the scope and depth of Van Gogh’s beautiful work and all too tragic life. It will forever remain one of my favorite pieces of both prose and music.