Don McLean – Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)

This beautiful song is about Vincent Van Gogh’s life. While listening to the song you can watch a slideshow of his most famous paintings.

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer’s day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul

Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land

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

They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent’s eyes of china blue

Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand

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

They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now
For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight

On that starry, starry night

You took your life, as lovers often do
But I could’ve told you Vincent
This world was never meant for
One as beautiful as you

Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can’t forget

Like the strangers that you’ve met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free

They would not listen, they’re not listening still
Perhaps they never will
 

Vincent Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853. He started to work when he was 15. He tried a lot of jobs; he worked as an art dealer, a teacher and a bookseller before he became an artist. He had one brother, whose name was Theo. Theo was an art dealer in Paris. Vincent and Theo were very close and they wrote many letters to each other. Vincent wrote over 700 letters to his brother. Theo tried to help him to sell his paintings. But Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings were darker than what was popular among artists in Paris at the time. People didn’t understand his art and didn’t buy his pictures. Van Gogh had no money, no food, no friends. In 1886 he moved to Paris. In Paris he met many famous painters. Paul Gauguin was one of them. They became friends and started to live together. They lived in the Yellow House in southern France for two months. One day Gauguin left and in his anger, Van Gogh cut off his ear. He was mentally ill and was in the hospital for a long time.  When he became ill, Theo found the best doctors for him. Van Gogh painted over 200 pictures in the hospital, including Starry Night. Today Starry Night is one of his most famous paintings. His life ended sadly in 1890. He shot himself in the chest and died at the young age of 37.  His brother, Theo died three months later. Their gravestones are next to each other and people usually put sunflowers on his grave.

Van Gogh sold only one painting in his life. He died a poor, lonely artist. Now his paintings cost millions of dollars and people around the world can see his paintings in the most famous museums. The biggest Van Gogh Museum is in Holland.