Gin my cotton
Sell my seed
Buy my baby
Everything she need
-Skip James
When I first began
reading “The Piano Lesson” I overlooked the epigraph that is at the very
beginning of this play. An epigraph is typically a short saying or quote that alludes
to the theme of the book or play. We know that the epigraph is a quote from
Skip James, but most people don’t know it is actually a quote from his song
Illinois Blues. August Wilson was highly influenced by the blues and this is
not the first time that he has incorporated the blues into his work.
The purpose of this
epigraph could be perceived in several ways, but after reading and re-reading I
believe that this epigraph alludes to Boy Willie and the route we will see him
attempt to take. After Sutter’s death he is focused on selling the piano so
that he can buy Sutter’s land and begin farming on it. Boy Willie wants to grow
cotton so that he “can stand right up next to the white man and talk about the
price of cotton. . . the weather, and anything else you want to talk about” (Wilson
92). This is just one of the examples that we see Boy Willie referring to
cotton just as in the epigraph. Through this line we can see that Boy Willie’s
goal is to be able to stand equal to the white man and discuss the topics of
everyday life because he is a farmer with his own land just as they are. Boy
Willie wants the land because of pride rather than a bettering of self and
family. The word “buy” in the epigraph is an interesting choice of word
especially considering it opens a play that is centered around a piano that represents
a family who were slaves. The word choice in the song is not abnormal, but
remembering that an epigraph is a quote that alludes to the theme of the play,
it puts an interesting perspective on the word “buy.” The word most definitely
has a double meaning and can be easily taken as buying a gift for his baby and
providing for her, which is how most readers would perceive it considering the
line that follows. However, I think Wilson chose those lyrics for a reason and I
don’t believe that the word “buy” should be over looked.
In addition
to using James’ lyrics in the epigraph Wilson uses the same lyrics when Boy
Willie is talking about obtaining the land and beginning to farm. Boy Willie
says “This time I get to keep all the cotton. Hire me some men to work it for
me. Gin my cotton. Get my seed. And I’ll see you again next year” (Wilson 11). Since
I had originally overlooked the epigraph I also over looked the significance of
Boy Willie continually referring to gin my cotton and get my seed. The correlation
between the lyrics and the play is something that can easily be looked over
because after you read the epigraph you become so quickly engrossed in the
story. The epigraph plays an important role to this play and in the future I will
not take the epigraphs so lightly because they are an insight to the work.
I really like that you brought this point up for The Piano Lesson. I was surprised it wasn't mentioned in class-maybe I should've said something-but I waiting for this to come up because I was confused myself in the beginning. I had to make note to revisit after I finished the play.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I like your point, you didn't really have much to say about it. Not trying to be rude, but you mentioned the correlation between the quote and Boy Willie, but what about the two correlate? I'm actually really interested in how you perceived this quote because it confused the hell out of me, too, but after really looking into each line, I finally got a "clear" interpretation of the quote.
So, I thoroughly read each line and, I agree with you when you say the epigraph sums up Boy Willie's character. "Gin my Cotton[;] Sell my seed," could reference Boy Willie's preparation and thought-out plan of what he wants to do with the money he would make from the piano. By "ginning his cotton," he's thinking about what he's going to with the land he would buy from Sutter? I put a question mark because that's how I interpreted it. And when you move on to "Buy my baby[;] Everything she need," he's buying his baby (land) and doing everything he needs to do for "her". Boy Willie wants to start his own legacy by purchasing this piece of land, so the way I sought through it made sense to me.
I don't about you, but tell me what you think?
I'm really glad you brought up this point in your blog, mostly because it was something that I completely missed while reading "The Piano Lesson". It was especially interesting that the lyrics were referenced again inside the actual play, not just in the epigraph.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I found the most interesting about your post was your focus on the word "buy" in the song lyrics. I think you had a really good idea when you brought that up, but I was left not completely understanding your thought process there. You mentioned specifically that most readers/listeners would interpret the word "as buying a gift for his baby and providing for her", but you also mentioned that the word could have a double meaning. I was disappointed that you didn't touch on what this other meaning was, other than stating that Wilson used it for a purpose. What was this other purpose? I really was intrigued by your thoughts and wanted to hear more.
Just added the song to the class spotify playlist.
ReplyDeleteChanelle: I completely missed it the first time I read it or I would have brought it up in class as well. The correlation that I see between Boy Willie and the quote is how the quote, in my opinion sums up Boy Willie's plan for his life. Boy Willie doe specifically mention wanting to grow cotton on his farm and sell his seed just as it says in the quote. I view the epigraph as a really good insight as to what the reader can expect from Boy Willie. However, I am a little on the fence about the word "buy." Boy Willie comes from a family of slaves, but his motivation is led by revenge and greed so I wouldn't put it past him to literally buy his baby. I am not saying that is his motive because we obviously can't know for sure, but I think it is something Wilson leaves us to think about. Thanks for questions and comments!
ReplyDeleteJulie: The double meaning that I was referring to for the word "buy" was that it could be taken as to buy a gift for his baby or to literally buy his baby. I see Boy Willie's motive for buying the land as an attempt to make himself even with the white man and I wouldn't put the idea of slavery past Boy Willie. If I had just heard this song and never read "The Piano Lesson" I would not have thought twice about the word buy, but since it is an epigraph to a play dealing with slavery it does make the reader think a little deeper. I wasn't super clear in my post I had all of the thoughts in my head so when I read it, it made sense to me. I hope this clarifies. Thanks for your posts!
Olivia: I think that the connection you make between the Skip James lyric and Boy Willie's statement about his potential to own Sutter's land, grow his own cotton, process it himself, sell it, and keep the seed for subsequent planting and harvest is a really great catch in the text. Like Chanelle, I think you might have pushed this idea further in your essay. Do you think that there is significance to both the James lyric and Boy Willie's statements as a commentary on who owns the means of production among both slaves and later sharecroppers? The idea of controlling the means of production rather than simply working for someone else's gain seems to be an important component of the master/slave or landowner/sharecropper system. This component certainly has the potential to inspire lyrics like those from James as an act of rebellion against that system, just as it inspires Boy Willie's desire to own the Sutter's land. Does James's line, "buy my baby/Everything she need," and Boy Willie's desire to own land and participate in those market discussions say about the characters aspirations for themselves or shared aspirations within an oppressed and historically deprived racial group in America?
ReplyDeleteChrisW:I agree that the epigraph did provide a message of what Boy Willie wanted to do with Sutter's land. But I also believe that the word buy was meant very literally, as it would refer to Boy Willie being able to purchase things with the profit he made of of the land. The epigraph contains an outline of an lifestyle that Boy Willie would like to obtain after going through the various stages of acquiring Sutter's land.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the epigraph should not be heavily analyzed to relate to Boy Willies objective(or goal etc) in the play, as was a song written by Skip James as a blues song. I don't think that the specific lyrics relate directly to The Piano Lesson.
I found it quiet interesting ,Thank you for posting the great content…I was looking for something like this…, hopefully you will keep posting such blogs…
ReplyDeletePiano Teacher