“California Stars”, popularized in the 90’s by Wilco and Billy Brag is a song that uses imagery, symbolism, and repetition to convince the listener of the beauty of the destination to be. Originally written by Woody Guthrie during the 1930’s, the band Wilco and Billy Brag revamped the song and made it into a hit.
The work of poetry that is “California Stars” uses repetition throughout the stanzas to cement the idea of California Stars. To understand the Meaning of California Stars you must look past the words to the time in which they were written. Woody Guthrie wrote this poem during the dustbowl. A movement in which people were fleeing the mid-america plane states west in hopes of achieving their dreams in the west.
The first verse of the song and poem California Stars is an excellent example of repetition when it states,
I’d like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d love to feel your hand touching mine
And tell me why I must keep working on
Yes, I’d give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars
The continued use of the phrase “California Stars” really hammers home the symbolizome of what California was to those destroyed by a storm of dust. People of all kinds were undertaking a mass exodus to the west and the goal of finding farmable land lay in California beneath its stars.
Guthrie further uses vivid imagery when he speaks of,
They hang like grapes on vines that shine
The use of a grape vine creates the image for the listener of an unattainable blessing that tantalizes the onlooker. Captivating their every curiosity with its color and seeming closeness. The Author again uses vivid imagery when he states,
And warm the lovers glass like friendly wine
By using wine or alcohol to illustrate his point he is creating an idea of the almost drunk sensation of the travelers venturing to a second Plymouth Rock in the west.
In conclusion the song continuously uses the idea of “California Stars” and yet the stars that one sees in California are one and the same to that of Colorado, Missouri, Texas, and Nevada. The symbol of the settlers destinations were with them the whole time. By using California Stars as hopes and dreams the author is cultivating a deeper meaning that our hopes and dreams lie with us always, and are not waiting for us anywhere. We will forever be lying on our beds and seeing them in the Stars.