Elise: A Don McLean opus on mental health still rings true today
Have you ever listened to a song more than dozens of times, only to have it evoke a completely different meaning or response during a recent listen?
Don McLean’s 1971 anthem, “American Pie,” is considered by many to be equivalent to the great American novel. While I agree that the paean, part heartbreak at Buddy Holly’s death and part lament to the loss of innocence of the era (and specifically to music), is magnificent, I also turn to another brilliant Don McLean piece, “Vincent,” as being even more relevant today.
“Vincent” was written in 1971 and artfully describes Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting, “Starry Night,” and the artist’s deteriorating mental health.
This year Mental Health Awareness Month was in May. In 1971, there was no such designation. In fact, mental illness was rarely discussed openly and, when analyzed, was riddled with stigma.
The term “bipolar” was not even used widely until 1980 when the third edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was re-released. Until that time, the condition was known as “manic-depression.”
During Van Gogh’s lifetime (1853-1890), medications and a plethora of other treatments for individuals who lived with bipolar illness were nonexistent.
The lyrics of “Vincent” begin with the words, “Starry, starry night.” The painting to which it refers bursts with over 20 different shades of blue and yellow and reflects Van Gogh’s observations of nature from a countryside window in France where he was seeking treatment.
It has been noted that the swirling brushstrokes in the painting may also have been an indicator of his state of mind.
The cypress trees in the painting are sometimes posited as a link to death, and other times spoken of as immortality. In the latter case, the tree reaching high into the sky may indicate a connection between earth and heaven.
As with all art, every viewer’s reaction is a valid take-away. Don McLean had a powerful receptivity to “Starry Night,” so much so that he wrote the chorus in first person:
“Now I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free…”
Van Gogh once noted, “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” The artist, only 37 years old when he died, summed up his life’s works by letting us know that the images came from within him, from his emotions and dreams. The images are him.
Imagine if there had been the kind of mental health treatment available in the 19th century as there is now. Imagine, too, if the lingering stigma of mental illness in the country and world were as absent as anything related to diabetes, heart conditions and other ailments we accept.
We must work harder to make that happen. There are too many individuals who continue to suffer, as Van Gogh did, without acceptance by his family and contemporaries (“they would not listen, they did not know how”) with conditions that are not character flaws.
It may not be merely lore that some of Vincent Van Gogh’s last words were: “The sadness will last forever. There may be a great fire in our soul; yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.”
Of course, there is deep sorrow in these words, but if we spend a few minutes listening to “Vincent” on YouTube or another music platform, we may reach a cathartic understanding like Don McLean did in 1971.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Elise commentary: An opus relevant after 52 years
