Brooke Kelsberg

13 September 2015
Professor Malvin
English 115
Songs of Los Angeles
Los Angeles is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. From the diversity of the
people, to the weather most people can only dream of having, the city is among the most unique.
However, there is one quality that especially stands out from all the rest; the sounds of the city.
Los Angeles is never silent, each area of the city has its own distinct and unique song.
In Gary Snyders Night Song of the Owl Basin, Snyder describes the songs of Los
Angeles to be made up of all the different classes and people in Los Angeles. He compares the
homeless people to lizards, saying where the river debouches the place of the moment of
trembling and gathering and giving so that lizards clap hands there saying please give us
health and long life (Snyder 711). These so called lizards are at the bottom of social classes,
and at the top, there are dragons. The dragons gold bellies roil, mouth-bubbles they tangle
and tumble (Snyder 711). The lizards, mice, hawks, and dragons all come together to form a
perfectly harmonized song. Each persons background, personality and existence are what makes
the song come together in such a unique and beautiful way. Without all of the people, regardless
of social class, the song of the Los Angeles Basin would never sound the same.
The most serene song the city will play for you is reserved for 3 A.M on a peaceful
winter night. The birds have stopped chirping, the cars have stopped running, and mostly
everyone is asleep in their beds. The only sounds are the faint and delicate whispers of wind

through the trees, crackling of the fireplace, and the occasional sound of a metro passing by. All
of these sounds are set to the beat of rain gently pounding on the roof. To me, this is the most
simple yet beautiful of all the Los Angeles songs. It represents the city at its most natural and
peaceful state.
To hear the loudest, most upbeat song, travel downtown to the corner of Hollywood and
Vine. Here is where one will hear a song composed of dragons yelling at their interns on cell
phones, lizards begging for change; perhaps even playing guitar to draw in attention and
change. Honks from aggressive drivers, and the screeches of tires will fill your ears. One will
hear the chatter of hundreds of different voices, all of varying ages, genders, ethnicities, and
backgrounds. Each voice is particularly unique to the song, and they are all apart of what makes
the song so distinctly appealing. Listen closely enough, and you will hear the individual
messages they all have. The diversity in all its voices is what makes this chaotic song so
beautiful.
For one to listen to the saddest song of Los Angeles, a dismal song filled with sorrow and
heartbreak, they must travel to a local bar at around 4 A.M. Past the sounds of the wild people in
love and enjoying themselves, you will hear the cries and sighs of the lonely people, looking to
drown their sorrows. One can hear the heavy breathing of a bartender, tired but working hard to
pay his rent. The sound of a woman crying who has just had her heart broken, played in harmony
with a mans phone ringing. It is his wife eagerly calling, wondering when he will be home.
However, he is too busy flirting with another woman to hear his phone ring. In this bar, one will
find dragons, lizards, mice, and hawks. However different their status of wealth and class, they

are all one and the same in this bar, lonely and suffering. They all make up the heartbreaking
song of the bar at 4 in the morning.
Being a citizen in Los Angeles, I have traveled near and far to hear these different songs,
each classifying to its own distinct genre. I can safely say they have shaped my view of Los
Angeles, and the people who occupy it. They have made me appreciate the quiet serene
mornings, the exciting nights out on the town, and the uplifting simplicity of days spent with
family. Put simply, they have made me thankful for the life I was given. These songs are what
makes life in Los Angeles so inspiring. They drive me every day to be the best I can be, and
motivate me to create my own song, specific to my life. All of the different songs are reminders
of how I live in such a diverse city, where it is important to be yourself, and add a personalized
new and unique sound to the extraordinary songs of Los Angeles.
Today, the people of all social status, gender, ethnicity and personality traveling around
Los Angeles are oblivious to the different songs they are apart of. The dragons believe the
lizards are useless and a waste of space. The mice curse the hawks for their slightly better
living conditions and wealth. The lizards are hurting and jealous of the mice, hawks and
dragons, as they lay cold and hungry on the streets, begging for help. What all of them are
forgetting, is that without one another, there would be no unity. There would be no music.
Without every single human being, regardless of status or wealth, there would be no unique and
different songs in Los Angeles, which are what makes LA the most incredible experience.

Works Cited
Snyder, Gary. "Night Song of the LA Basin /Los Angeles/. Singapore: APA, 2006. N. pag. Print.