Many people come to California with their dreams and hope. In their mind, California is beautiful state with full of charm. Big Hollywood sign is a symbol of hope. Sunshine and opportunities is the “sate weapon” of California (Kirse Granat Max. Golden State, Golden Youth. Suburban Eden, 12) to promise for a better life. And yet, after came to this promise land, the dreamers have to wake up and face the reality. Like Natalie Merchant sings in her song “San Andreas Fault”, the dreams were so beautiful, but the reality was so harsh..The song was divided to two sections. The first couple verses describe all the beauty of the California dreams, from basic living to being rich. In contrast, in the second section, it uses metaphor to show the dreams are very easy to be broken, just like San Andreas divided California to North and South.. Agree with Natalie Merchant, many people start to realize that California dreams do not always come true, and the “promise land” might become “wicked ground”.
In the first verse, Natalie sings many people dream about coming to the “west”, because they think here is the “paradise”. Kirse Grant May even says, in his novel “Suburban Eden”, “It’s only because the place called California, like in Garci Rodriguez Ordonez De Montalvo’s novel ‘The Queen of California’. People think the life might be better.” (Suburban Eden, 9). “You'll have all that you can eat/of milk and honey over there”, Natalie sings in her song, “Milk” is metaphor for foods and basic living condition.. The sunshine, the advantage of the weather, makes California crop and fruit farm thrive beautifully. The farms do not have to face the challenge of the weather, such as snowing, tornado and storm. People should always have food because of the up growth of California agriculture. Natalie also used “honey” to symbolize the sweetness of the west coast dream life.
The second paragraph of lyric emphasizes that many people come to California, especially Southern California - Los Angeles, to achieve their big Hollywood dream. Attracted by the fame, they want to be “brightest stars”, see the world that they “have ever seen”, and be beautiful as “sun-baked slender heroine”. Those are the images everyone would love to see themselves in the mirror. They got these ideas from well established multimedia, such as news paper, magazines and television. Beautiful women and talented artists come to California, wish one day they may get lucky to be picked up by a Hollywood agent then become a superstar. Being in the center of the entertainment industry of American, they might become famous just overnight; possibly shimmer at the Academy Awards night. It’s “quintessentially California phenomenon” (Exporting Culture, 317).
After became superstars, under the “brightest light”, people’s life will be changed dramatically. Natalie sings in the next stanza, the life should be as “dizzy height of a jet-set life”. Referring to the “jet-set”, it actually is journalistic term of lifestyle. It usually uses to describe some international social groups of wealthy people, who are organizing and participating around the world in social activities which are impossible to reach by ordinary people. This lifestyle indicates the riches and money. People who are able to travel, from one stylish or exotic place to another, via jet airplanes must be rich to have this kind of luxury lifestyle.
In addition to this luxury lifestyle, within the main stream, on the promise land, among the superstars, their friends must be fabulous too. According to Natalie’s song, the friends should have “blue eyes”, “strawberry hair”, with “sweet lips” and “firm skin”. These images might come from the California surf culture and the Beach boys as youth culture icon. The song is narrative about rich people and celebrities, because usually they put their appearances at first priority. Moreover, it is also allusion of white people and upper society as well, since only Caucasians have blue eyes and red hair. The song also raises the racialism issue by using metaphorical form. Why the friends in the dream do not have black eyes or darker hair?
Having all these fabulous friends and being a big star, the life must be better and brighter. Comparing the old lifestyle to the life in California is just like “rags to riches”. Getting rich is an easy thing.The lyric implies the different, between the old lifestyle and the California dream lifestyle, is rich and poor. World War I brought growth to California, and World War II just push it to the Center stage (Suburban Eden, 10). The fast development of Californian real estate and freeway helps building up many jobs and other opportunities. People vision California was “a place of adventure and opportunity, a place where their lives could be different.” (Denise S. Spooner. A new Perspective on the Dream, 45) Many people want to relocate to California, get better jobs to support themselves or raise a family. They think it’s a good chance to become rich, and get rid of the poverty.
The pomposity of California dreams make people tremble their knees. However, from the seventh stanza, Natalie suddenly wakes up the audience from the beautiful dreams, and draws them back to the reality. In the real world, California isn’t that perfect, and the dreams are easily to be broken. The song blames the San Andreas Fault, which was discovered by UC Berkeley geology professor Andrew Lawson in 1895, for the broken dreams. In fact, after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the professor also discovered that the San Andreas Fault stretched the earth southward into Southern Calfornia. The song personifies the Fault, such as “moved its fingers/ earth divided”, and blames this geographical division. It complains that because of the land split, all the California dreams were “shattered” along with the earth. It was ironic, but sad at the same time.
In the real world, the basic living is not that easy to make. Some people, who came to California with their dreams, are end up living under the bridge, and sleep by a campfire. Not everyone is able to find a good job and make enough money to eat all the “milk and honey” they want. Even though they really became Hollywood superstars, some of them still have to pay their surgeon to keep their faces look younger. In another words, their appearance are all fake, or maybe so as their spirit. The new lifestyle may not be glorious as jet-set. People still have to work hard to achieve their goals to get rich. Pretty beach boys are not in every corner. In California, there are many migrations with various nationalities. Not everyone has blue eyes, red hair and glamorous skin. Beside the looks, the sunny and health images of the youth may be also shuttered by “juvenile delinquent problem, young murders and violent criminals” (Suburban Eden, 22). And don’t be surprise if we see “teenage bride with baby inside” (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Californication). Although the promise land – California is myth of “golden land”, during the slow economic, having the high unemployment rate, it is losing the title as “a place of adventure and opportunity”. Many people lost their jobs, houses and what they fought for. Being desperate, people are depressed, they cry out “no job, no home, no peace, no rest, NO REST!” (Bruce Springsteen, the Ghost of Tom Joad)
Natalie’s song - San Andreas Fault makes the theme of the broken dreams more imagery. The dreams were broken as the ground “collided” during San Andreas Fault. The Fault tapped its figures on the ground, and made the “awful sound” which sounds like the dreams were smashed into pieces. In audience’ imagination, they can even hear that shrill noise. This promise land didn’t keep much of its own words, but gave people terrible experience. “Build a dream” like a tower or wall, is high and spectacular. Though, reality may “tear it (the dream) down”, and people have to “watch it (their dreams) fall down”. “Promise land” might become “wicked ground”. Who knows? Maybe one day the Hollywood big sign will be tore down like California dreams. Natalie’s song, “San Andreas Fault”, is full of disappointment and heart broken.
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