Vincent Starry Starry Night

"Vincent" is a song by Don McLean written as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. It is also known by its opening line, "Starry Starry Night", a reference to van Gogh's painting The Starry Night. The song also describes different paintings done by the artist.

Listen to the song and do the tasks below.


Task 1. Listen and fill in the gaps in the lyrics.


Full lyrics


Task 2 Read the lyrics and Van Gogh's biography and discuss the following questions.

1. What do the following words in verse two refer to?
flaming flowers
swirling clouds
field of amber grain
weathered faces

2. What does the third verse imply to?

3. What message do the last lines carry?

Answers:
1. The words refer to Vincent van Gogh's paintings

flaming flowers The Sunflowers


swirling clouds Starry Night



field of amber grain Wheat Fields in Crow



weathered faces The Potato Eaters
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Kartoffelesser-1-F082_supF77-L-hell.jpg

2. Van Gogh attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest.

3. Realizing Van Gogh's eternal struggle with insanity.

Task 3

Choose one of Van Gogh's paintings and describe it in detail paying attention to the mood and colours.