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INTRODUCTION
Much like Billy Joel's song "Goodnight Saigon","Leningrad" is both a history lesson and a morality play covering 43 years and three major wars along with the Cold War using just 249 words.
The song opens and closes with musical references to a classical work by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, called "Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35". Click the link below to hear it.
While in the then Soviet Union, Billy and his family visited a circus called the Gorky Park Circus. There he met a circus clown named Viktor Razinov.
Viktor's father died in the second world war during the German attack on Leningrad. An estimated 750,000 Soviets died defending the city, and estimates give the number of total Russian civilian and military deaths of 24,000,000 during WWII. By comparison, American deaths totaled 418,500.
He later became a soldier in the Red Army, and eventually became a circus clown.Billy went on describe his childhood life as being "born in '49, a Cold War kid in McCarthy time". He briefly describes his life living in Levittown, and the fear of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Billy also makes a reference to the Korean War, as well as the Vietnam War.
Viktor told Billy, "You coming here, it's not just music, it will be a bridge. It will bridge the gap in the relations between our countries."
"Both men had been bombarded with propaganda throughout their life, which made them see one another as enemies. Americans and Russians hated each other, they felt their differences were so big that they could not be put in the same room as it would cause disaster... Billy and Viktor realized the differences they saw in each other were unsubstantial, nonexistent, and therefore could be broken easily if they wanted to. It was a division set by governments that disliked each other and could not seem to stop their thirst for power, for being the strongest."
A story behind Billy Joel's "Leningrad"
Now please click the audio link below, listen to the song, acknowldge the pure genius of Billy Joel, and try to comprehend the millions of deaths and unbelievable suffering brought about by an endless series of wars between nations and people who could be friends, if they only gave peace a chance...
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