Wilco and Personal Narrative

[mollyegan]

I'm teaching personal narrative in my 8th grade writing class. Their first assignment is to pick a song from their own music collections that fits those criteria. We'll be listening to several examples in class. Wilco is always part of my agenda in my instruction- I'm a pusher. The problem is that this is basically my first year teaching and I'm too tired to think. Any English teachers out there? Help! Thanks!

[Head in a Guillotine]

Via Chicago- It fits the guidelines and will be fun for them to dissect.

 

You could also use Hotel Arizona or Lonely 1.

[badger]

No-one's helping you, are they? (Except Head in a Guillotine). I'm an English teacher, but I'm English, so I can't guarantee I'll be of much use, being unfamiliar with your High School English syllabus. However, by "personal narrative", I'm assuming you're talking about songs in the first person which describe the writer's story or feelings. As far as Wilco goes, ie Jeff Tweedy's lyrics, that's a tricky one. Although most of the songs seem to be from a personal perspective, often the narrative is too abstract or oblique to suit your purposes.

 

As has been pointed out many times on these pages, AM and SBS are the most direct, lyrically, of Wilco's albums and I think that's where your material can probably be found. Songs such as SBS, Please be Patient with Me and Leave Me Like You Found Me could be useful. Alternatively, my choice would be Box Full of Letters, which tells a simple story, without being explicit (in a non-parental advisory way).

 

Outside of Wilco, most of the Lennon songs pre-Revolver (particularly Rubber Soul) are good.

[uncool2pillow]

I really like the idea of lonely 1 for this type of assignment.

[Beltmann]

"Hate It Here" might work.

[barbkm]

I think Heavy metal Drummer tells a great story of recalling the easier times of youth, plus the power of music to help your fre yourself. Althought "And stoned" is not a good example for kids.

[H.Stone]

I think Hate It Here is a good suggestion.

[jesus et cetera]

This is a great idea.... I wish I'd had you as an English teacher in the eighth grade.

[markosis]

I think "Via Chicago" could get a little sketchy, especially if a dorky kid goes home and tells their parents they dissected a song with the lyrics "I dreamed about killing you..."

[mollyegan]

Thanks, everybody! Yeah, I think this lesson will be Wilco-free. Damn! At least I still have alliteration coming up! Thanks again for the input. I'm sure I'll be soliciting more advice later on. Be well. Molly

[dondoboy]

Silly as it sounded when it first popped in my head, I think that "Box Full of Letters" may be a not-so-straight forward love letter type lesson. Displaced anger or disappointment are the basis of many great works of writing.