"Rock n' Roll Band" VS. "Have a Cigar"



Pink Floyd

 
 




Boston

 

            Though both “Rock n’ Roll Band” by Boston and “Have a Cigar” by Pink Floyd deal with the topic of rising to fame, “Rock n’ Roll Band” incorporates an enthusiastic tone as well as reminiscent imagery in order to anticipate “love and music,” while “Have a Cigar” integrates a cynical tone as well as the symbol of a cigar with the aim of exposing the corruption of recording managers who claim that they know “the name of the game.”

            The differing tones of both “Rock n’ Roll Band” and “Have a Cigar” depict both ways one could feel while rising to the top of “the chart.” In “Rock n’ Roll Band,” Boston repeats the words “play” and “yeah” four times in the chorus, and every time the lines are repeated, they become more and more passionate; however, in “Have a Cigar” when the chorus is repeated, and Pink Floyd’s line “Riding the Gravy Train” recurs, it becomes more pessimistic with each repetition. Therefore, it can be determined that Boston’s rise to fame was an enjoyable one, whereas Pink Floyd’s was filled with more bad times than good.