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Analyzing Bing's Song '500 Miles'

Decent Essays

To pair with the events following Bing’s death, the song “500 Miles” would greatly complement the overall tone of the scene. The song emanates the vibe of a person yearning for something lost. Therefore, the song “500 Miles” matches perfectly with the situation in the story. An-Mei’s effort to bring Bing back from the ocean (his death) is a prime example of a mom longing for her child to come back home to her. Thus, the theme of loss in both works of literature, make the song tie-in exquisitely with the novel. As Rose helplessly watches Bing fall into the water, the opening lyrics “If you miss the train I’m on, you will know that I am gone/You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles” would be playing in the background. The train signifies Roses’ opportunity to help save Bing, but since she misses it like the train in the song, Bing is now “gone”. Moreover, the whistle of the train signifies departure, or in this case, Bing’s departure from life. The …show more content…

As An-mei beseeches God to return Bing, and begins to have doubts about her faith, the second verse would start to play “Lord, I’m one, Lord, I’m two, Lord, I’m three, Lord, I’m four/Lord, I’m five hundred miles from my home”. Both the scene and the lyrics take an unconventional turn from the previous verse. Now, instead of just the loss of a person, they both begin to focus on the loss of faith. Usually, the repetition of a word means the gradual growing of doubt. Therefore, the repetition of “Lord” in the lyrics means doubt in “Lord”. That precisely constitutes what is going on in the story. Then the song would continue, ending when An-Mei and Roses’ seemingly endless search for Bing results in failure. The last verse “If you miss the train I’m on, you will know that I am gone/You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles” further justifies that Bing is “gone” and cannot be “brought

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