Vincent (Starry Starry Night)

This song still brings tears to my eyes. McLean actually wrote a biography of Van Gogh in this song. McLean captured the essence of Van Gogh's struggles to be recognized and appreciated. Van Gogh's brother, Theo, was the only person who loved and understood Vincent.

"Starry, starry night / Paint your palette blue and grey"

References van Gogh's most famous and recognizable work, "The Starry Night" which incorporates his techniques of swirls and a very vivid yet somber blue-gray pallet.

Look out on a summer's day/With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.

Both a reference to the dark themes in van Gogh's paintings and to the artist's struggles with depression.

Shadows on the hills / sketch the trees and the daffodils

All references to famous van Gogh works.

Catch the breeze and the winter chills / in colors on the snowy linen land.

Van Gogh is notable for his ability to imply movement and flow. The snowy linen land may refer to a snow-covered landscape, but doubtless also represents his blank canvass.

I think the chorus speaks for itself, expressing the writer's appreciation for the artist's frustration at his inability to express his feelings completely and the failure of society to appreciate his art.

Flaming flow'rs that brightly blaze / Swirling clouds in violet haze Van Gogh painted many still lifes with flowers in vibrant colors, but this may refer to the stars in the painting "The Starry Night," surrounded by the swirling clouds of the painting's iconic night sky.

Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue / colors changing hue

Van Gogh's self-portraits show him with bright, lively, blue eyes. His use of color and gradation are also notable.

Morning fields of amber grain / weathered faces lined in pain

Both reference paintings and themes of his. In his last weeks, van Gogh painted many canvasses in local wheat fields. Among his earlier works "The Potato Eaters" reflects an appreciation of weathered faces.

Are soothed beneath the artist's Loving hand

Van Gogh's empathy for such subjects is reflected in his paintings, which capture not (only) their likenesses, but the emotions.

For they could not love you / But still your love was true

Again refers to the painter's lack of success among his contemporaries.

And when no hope was left in sight / on that starry, starry night / you took your life As lovers often do

A bit of poetic license, here; after years of mental illness, van Gogh attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest during the day.

But I could have told you, Vincent / this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.

Again the writer empathizes with van Gogh's feelings of being misunderstood and unappreciated.

Portraits hung in empty halls / frameless heads on nameless walls with eyes that watch the world and can't forget

Van Gogh's paintings are his (somewhat empty) legacy; although they stand as a testament to his genius, they are a pale reflection of the artist's personality.

Like the stranger that you've met / the ragged men in ragged clothes

Again expressing van Gogh's empathy for his subjects and the similar empathy we can feel for him when viewing his work.

The silver thorn of bloody rose / lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

By allusion to Oscar Wilde's short story about a lover's unappreciated token, the writer both invokes van Gogh's famous act of cutting off his own ear to present to a prostitute and sets up his artistic works as the unappreciated gift of van Gogh to the world.

They would not listen / they're not listening still / perhaps they never will

The writer suggests that, for all the appreciation expressed for van Gogh's art by modern audiences and collectors, we still do not fully understand what van Gogh was trying to express through his art. And perhaps that is the ultimate fate of all art…to be misunderstood.

I agree with you stringofpearls. The song clearly depicts the struggles Van Gogh experienced as an artist and as a human being struggling with depression. When I listen to this song, especially the lines "And how you suffered for your sanity And how you tried to set them free" I can clearly feel the artists angst. Don't we sometimes go through a Vincent stage of our own in our own lives??? I think so. Great song, one of the best.

I can't find a single mention of this reference on Google, so I thought I'd post it here for posterity:

The "silver thorn" line is referring to Oscar Wilde's short story "The Nightingale and the Rose", in which a nightingale <spoiler alert> pierces its heart with the thorn of a rose in order to turn it red, so that a student may give it to a girl he likes. However, the girl rejects him, and the boy angrily throws the rose into the gutter.

this song means so much to me...recently someone i knew took their own life, and my english teacher read this verse at his funeral:

For they could not love you But still, your love was true And when no hope was left inside 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.

all i know is that i have never cried so much in my entire life...but it meant so much.

lol @ kspencers review: "I like songs"

I always love this song, but I never really understood it until today. I went to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and understood exactly where McLean is coming from.

This work by Mclean was created out of his deep love of art, humanity and Vincent is probably the finest musical tribute to an artist in existence. I was fortunate enough to see Don perform this live a year ago at the Florida Theatre. This song, like few others, tuggs at my heart in a powerful way. Watching the famous Youtube video presentation is something everyone should experience, at least once. I am greatful to have had the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful music Don McLean has contributed over the years. Mclean is an absolute perfectionist both as a wordsmith and as a performer. This level of talent is something rarely seen an a lifetime.

"Starry Starry night Paint your palette blue and grey Look out on a summer's day With eyes that know the Darkness in my soul" This lyric is referencing the fact that Vincent Van Gogh painted his famous piece "starry night" while in a psychiatric facility. The piece is thought to be a representation of his view out his hospital window, although the scene is exaggerated in his painting. "With eyes that know the darkness in my soul" alludes to the depression that Van Gogh experienced, in addition to other mental illnesses.

"And when no hope was left in sight on that starry Starry night. You took your life As lovers often do"; This lyric is calling attention to Vincent Van Gogh's suicide in 1890 which was after years of being in various mental institutions. The suicide rate among individuals after leaving a psychiatric hospital is relatively high. A meta-analysis of 100 studies published from 1946-2016 found that the post discharge suicide rate is 100 times the global suicide rate during the first 3 months after discharge. (Chung DT, Ryan CJ, Hadzi-Pavlovic D, Singh SP, Stanton C, Large MM. Suicide Rates After Discharge From Psychiatric Facilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(7):694–702. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.1044)