Favorite Song: Leningrad

I'm sorry, everyone, but it all goes downhill from here. You are about to hear my favorite song of all time. I am so fond of "Leningrad" by Billy Joel that I have often referred to it as my anthem. This song deals with family, friends, nations, war, and love, all within four minutes. Can you do that, Beyonce?

It sounds like an anthem, that's for sure. Especially the hymn-like piano chords. Right away Joel tells you that his song ain't no tender ballad. It isn't completely his song, either. That piano intro? Sounds like the theme to Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto #6, 1st movement. This is a song about a Russian, after all. Billy Joel was raised classically, and most of his songs actually follow classical harmonies and techniques. That does make some songs sound old, but it also shows that creativity isn't always about breaking the rules.

The verse melody ("Viktor was born...") is simple, focused, and gutsy. It's a beautiful mix of small steps and leaps. The leaps add power to the simple steps up the scale. "Go back to Hymn to Freedom" and hear a similar effect. Folk singers do this all the time, and it makes melody fun to sing. I'll also add that it makes Viktor in the song sound very innocent. He lives his Russian life as best he can, doing little harm to others.

By contrast, the bridge melody ("I was born in '49...") sounds more tense and fearful. The minor key takes us away from Russia to McCarthy's America. Adding a set of minor chords makes Viktor's melody more refreshing when it returns. The melody also uses lots of downward motion, contrasting Viktor's melody, that sounds rising. Billy Joel is careful not to harp on America, just on base fear and hate. The music demonstrates the difference between an innocent citizen and a fear of someone never met.

Perhaps the most clever part about the song happens at about 3:21. The music changes key--after the last verse. Who does that!? I mean, besides Ravel? It does a few things for me: It's like the song reached a conclusion and rose to a new view of the world. Plus, the whole song was very firmly trenched in the key of D, and every verse centered around a D major or minor chord. Changing keys at the end reawakens my ear, and it almost sounds brand new again. Plus, it ends in a key that sets itself up again neatly to be played over again from the beginning.

Of course, Billy Joel doesn't just write the music. His lyrics have a music of their own. Read aloud some of his lyrics and feel the fluidity. He likes to keep his consonants at a minimum to give the notes he sings their star turn. I personally love also to look for sound patterns in the words. Take the end of the second verse:

A Russian life was very sad
And such was life in Leningrad.

"Russian" and "such was" don't rhyme, they come close. Or in the last verse, When Billy Joel meets Viktor "eye to eye and face to face." He's not being repetitive; there's metaphor to be had. The more patterns appear in music or words, the more coherent and strong the song feels, and Billy Joel knows how to design his songs.

Besides patterns and sing-ability, the words are simply beautiful. Phases like "yellow Reds," "Drown the hate," and "Meeting eye to eye and face to face." I still get chills in the last verse: "He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced." This song reminds me that the world is bigger than I realize, and that we should all befriend each other, for we all have similar stories of hardship. Enjoy.