Song Analysis – Interdisciplinary Project – History HL & Language A: Language and Literature

11th Grade

Name: Tomas Jimenez Course: 11-A

 Time: 3 hours (1 hour to search on the internet and choose a song - 2 hours to do analysis line by
line.)
 Individual work

Song Title: ‫وطن عشق تو افتخارم‬/Watan Ishq Tu Iftikharam

Artist Name: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

Composer Name: Mikis Theodorakis

Genre: Anthem/Patriotic

Setting: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

Historical background:

The song was published in 1980 by the government of the newly formed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan remained under British influence from the XIX century until 1919 when the Afghan people revolted and
kicked them out: proclaiming the Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1926. During the 1950s, Mohammed Daud Khan became the
Prime Minister who started a diplomatic relationship with the Soviet Union by signing the Afghan-Soviet Alliance in 1955.
In 1963 king Mohammed Zahir Shah expelled Prime Minister Daud. But, ten years later, Daud came back to Afghanistan
and organized a coup to overthrow the monarchy, establishing the Republic of Afghanistan. This time Daud approached
diplomatically to Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Middle Eastern countries, disassociating from the Soviet Union. In 1978 an
important member of the Communist Party of Afghanistan was assassinated, sparking the Saur Revolution, where
multiple socialist leaders overthrew the republic, establishing the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. However, the
new government under Hadizullah Amin established agrarian, religious, and social reforms but especially approached
western powers, which was against the aim of the Soviet Union. As an effect, on the 24th of December 1979, the Soviet
Union invaded Afghanistan to "secure" its ally. But the Afghan people considered this invasion a complete violation of
their religious beliefs and formed different guerrilla groups known as the Mujahideen to fight the Soviet invasion,
scintillating the soviet-Afghan war.
 Song Analysis – Interdisciplinary Project – History HL & Language A: Language and Literature
11th Grade

Guiding questions:

Why did the artist create the song?

What is the song`s message?

Who is the intended audience?

What is the style and structure of the song?

Do a literary analysis of the song line by line using the chart below.

Homeland, I am proud of your love,

Homeland, through the path of my life.

Homeland, I am proud of your love,

Homeland, through the path of my life.

5 The Homeland’s soil is the cradle of heaven,

The Homeland is a rich, flourishing garden.

The Homeland’s soil is the cradle of heaven,

The Homeland is a rich, flourishing garden.

Homeland, I am proud of your love,

10 Homeland, through the path of my life.

My Homeland is filled with glory,

In every stone and mountain.

My Homeland is filled with glory,

In every stone and mountain.

15 With me wherever I go,

You are my soulmate.

With me wherever I go,

You are my soulmate.

Homeland, I am proud of your love,

20 Homeland, through the path of my life.

Homeland, I am proud of your love,

Homeland, through the path of my life.

 Song Analysis – Interdisciplinary Project – History HL & Language A: Language and Literature
11th Grade

Homeland, you are always in my heart,

Your blood runs in my veins.

25 Homeland, you are always in my heart,

Your blood runs in my veins.

My heart blossoms like a flower

Whether it be autumn or spring.

My heart blossoms like a flower

30 Whether it be autumn or spring.

Homeland, I am proud of your love,

Homeland, through the path of my life.

Homeland, I am proud of your love,

Homeland, through the path of my life.

35 Homeland, I am proud of your love,

Homeland, through the path of my life.

Part 1 = Lyrics (Literary analysis- Individual)

Lines Literary Device Example (Relationship Impact on the

with the Cold War) audience
Homeland, I am proud Personification Refers to the patriotism Tells the audience to be
of your love the population had proud of Afghanistan
towards its own nation. and how the nation has
“love” and take care of
them.
Homeland, through the Anaphora The patriotism the Tells the audience that
path of my life. population had Afghanistan and the
towards their country. government will always
be in their life, to help
them.
The Homeland’s soil is Allegory During the Cold War As Afghanistan was a
the cradle of heaven they wanted to relate Muslim and theocratic
religion, divine and country, the song
God with the nation wants to claim that the
greatness. new Democratic
Republic of Afghanistan
The Homeland is a rich, Metaphor The communist nations It transmits to the
flourishing garden. gave the ideal that audience that the
their territories were country is in good
special, beautiful, and shape and flourishing
 Song Analysis – Interdisciplinary Project – History HL & Language A: Language and Literature
11th Grade

abundant in resources, from the ashes of the

for the population and old republic thanks to
their needs. its resources and the
people.
My Homeland is filled Idiom The glory a specific Signifies that
with glory, In every population had over Afghanistan brings
stone and mountain. their nationality to the glory to its population
point to defend it from in all its territory. Being
aggressors. a message for them to
fight against the Islamic
insurgency.
With me wherever I go, Anthropomorphism During the Cold War The land, the
You are my soulmate. people were so fanatic government and the
that even thought that country always are for
their country was a the people, they are
human being and a their “soulmate”.
God.

Homeland, you are Parallelism After WW2 multiple It portrays the

always in my heart, countries collapsed or population that their
Your blood runs in my were unified. But the nation will always be in
veins. population always their hearts and in their
remember that body.
patriotic and self
determination ideal.
My heart blossoms like Simile People during the Cold I transmit to the
a flower War were happy to audience that they
Whether it be autumn defend their country at must be always loyal to
or spring. all costs and wanted to their country.
give glory to it. For
example, during the
Vietnam War, many
young Americans listed
to the war for bringing
glory back home.

Part 2: Structure of the song – Musical analysis: genre, musical instruments, the rhythm and tone and
other elements you consider necessary to include.

Genre: Anthem

Instruments: Trumpets, Drums, The Tula, The Rubab, The Tamboor and flute

Rhythm: The rhythm is classified as Tertiary and the metric of the verses are 6/8 like a jazz timing. The
percussion is timed in 3 compasses.

Tone: Patriotic
 Song Analysis – Interdisciplinary Project – History HL & Language A: Language and Literature
11th Grade

Part 3

Once you have done the previous analysis, answer the questions below.

 Why did you get interested in this song? Explain

I really like the anthems of the communist states, as they feel so vivid, patriotic and they
composition of the song is beautiful. The song was published in a time of high tensions when the
country was under a civil war between Islamic rebel groups, the soviets, and its own government.
Hence, the song gives a feeling of nostalgia because Afghanistan was a prosperous country before
the Taliban take over and the song was used for the people to protect the revolution and defend the
country from the aggressors.

 What do the lyrics mean? (Keep in mind the context of the song.)

Most of the song refers to the country and how it will always be for the people, defend and take care
of them. It transmits to the audience to feel patriotic for Afghanistan as it has always helped its
people and is a prosperous country where they protect each habitant of the territory.

 Describe the music.

The music has a traditional and cultural feeling, as it used customary instruments of the country.
Also, the chorus of the song was done by different people, giving it the patriotic tone. The beat of
the song signifies the culture and type of music seen in Asia, which differs from the western music.
In addition, the music gives a feeling that you are in a military parade, due to the background
instruments and the multiple people singing between men and women.

 How could you relate the message of the song with any facts of recent history?

As it is a patriotic anthem the message of the song could relate to the recent wars, for example the
Ukrainian anthem which has become a symbol for resistance against the invasion done by Russia.
The message wants to unify the population to defend their land and the glory of the country.

 Personal reflection: explain what you learned from the analysis and the music of your songs.

I learned precisely how to explore a song and analyze each aspect from it. Also, I manage to identify
different literary devices and learned new ones for the song. Additionally, I manage to learn how to
identify the timing and metric of a song for understanding the beat of the music.