Playlist link: http://www.playlist.com/#!/playlist/23917169675 

Pip:
For Pip, I chose the song, "Englishman In New York," by Sting.  The song is about a man from England who travels to New York and is horrified by everything that he sees.  It is not what he is expecting, and the surprise is not exactly pleasing to him.  This has to do with Pip in a few different situations in the book that are significant.  First, is when Pip moves to London to become a gentleman.  Pip's image of London is a beautiful place, with nice houses, clean streets, and finely dressed men and women.  What he finds is almost exactly the opposite.  London is dirty and smelly and crowded and there are animals everywhere.  He is disgusted and shocked at this as soon as he arrives.  The event of Pip arriving in London is important because it is a huge step on his journey from innocence to awareness.  The other situation that is similar to the song is whenever Pip returns home from London.  Each time he returns he is surprised by something new, most often having to do with the way people treat him.  The first time he returns home, people treat him with a fake sort of respect and pretend like they always liked him.  They do this because they know he has a lot of money.  On the other hand, the last time Pip returns home at the end of the book, people treat him coolly because he no longer has money.  Returning home also relates to the song, because the life at home is so different and less luxurious compared to his London home that he really dislikes coming home.  Because of this, he usually did not stay for long.  Since the song "Englishman in New York" is very similar to a few important situations involving Pip in the story, I chose it to represent him.  

Estella:
For Estella, I chose the song "Heartless," by Kanye West.  The song is about a girl in a relationship who is very cold and mean, even after everything the couple has been through together.  The song goes, "I mean after all the things we've been through...How could you be so heartless?"  The parts about how this girl is so terrible and evil shows how Estella acts towards most boys, because that is what Miss Havisham taught her.  The parts, though, that talk about "all the things we've been through," are very similar to how Estella acts towards Pip.  Pip does so much for her, and they both have been around each other for a very long time, and they have done so many things together that it is hard to believe that Estella still treats him the way she does.  It is certainly as if she really does have no heart!

Miss Havisham:
For Miss Havisham, I chose the song "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele.  This song is about betrayal and and anger.  A major theme is that the couple could have had everything, but since he betrayed her, he left her feeling defeated and broken down, and she is saying who he really is.  This portrays Miss Havishams story in the book because she is betrayed by a man she is in love with and supposed to be married to.  He leaves her at the altar and she is left feeling broken down and loses her trust in many people.  She is so depressed that she does virtually nothing the rest of her life.  It also seems that she often imagines how her life with him might have been like.  One can see this especially with how she still wears her wedding dress, has her cake, etc., and how she is often found daydreaming or gazing off into her dark room and house.  The song "Rolling in the Deep" is very similar to Miss Havisham's story, and that is why I chose it to represent her.   

Abel Magwitch:
For Abel Magwitch (Provis), I chose the song "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi.  The reason I chose this song is fairly simple.  It is about a man who is a criminal and is constantly being hunted and chased.  His life is very hard; a constant struggle, and this is very relate-able to most of Provis's life in the story.  Provis is a convict, so he is wanted by the authorities of the time.  He has done many bad things, and probably deserves to be in jail.  But, most of all, life is just a constant struggle for him.  He is always on the move and is usually hungry, cold, and tired.  In this way, he is very similar the the main character in the song.   

Biddy:
For Biddy, I chose "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye.  The song is about a couple who are having issues with their relationship and decide to separate.  The boy wants to be friends, but they drift apart.  I chose the song because it kind of describes Pip and Biddy's relationship.  They are good friends, maybe even a little more, and there is a potential for much, much more. But, when Pip moves to London, they slowly drift apart.  Pip is obssessed with his money and they don't even talk for years.  It is surprising how fast that happens, and it is pretty much the same way in the song.  The situation in "Somebody That I Used to Know" is very close to that of the relationship between Pip and Biddy in the book.

Joe:
For Joe, I chose the song "I Will Wait" by Mumford & Sons.  I chose this song because in the story, Joe is always there for Pip, no matter what happens.  When Pip is mean to him, Joe is even nicer back.  When Pip is ashamed of him, Joe loves him even more. When Pip leaves, Joe waits for him.  This shows the kind of person Joe is throughout the story.  He is very kind and loving, and cares for Pip even when Pip does not care for him.  I chose the song because Joe will certainly always wait for Pip, no matter what he does or where he goes. 

Wemmick:
For Wemmick, I chose the song "Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry.  I chose it because it is about someone with two different personalities, who is always changing his mind.  Wemmick might not always be changing his mind, but he definetely has two different personalities.  When he is at work he is very cold and stern, but when he is home he is very warm and loving and takes good care of Aged Parent, his father.  He has different characters depending on who is is associating with.  For example, at the jail he is very proffessional and bitter, but when he talks to Pip he is kind and friendly.  Wemmick has two different peronalities in Great Expectations.

Mrs. Joe:
For Mrs. Joe, I chose the song "Face Down" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.  The song is about domestic abuse.  Even though it is a man who is hurting his girlfriend, it is similar to the situation with Pip and Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations.  The obvious connection is that Mrs. Joe abuses Pip, even when he does things quite normal for a boy his age, such as eating his food too fast and not including her in conversations with her husband, Joe.  She hits him with a cane ironically called, "Tickler" and forces him to drink a nasty concoction of tar and water.  Another connection can be made to the song is because the song also talks a lot about "karma" and how actions all come with a consequence.  This can be found similar to the situation in the story because Mrs. Joe always treats Pip very badly and then suddenly, one night, she is attacked in her home and dies not long later.  This could be considered "karma" or "the ripple effect" because her death may have been a consequence of her beating Pip and just being and evil woman.  Therefore, the situation between Mrs. Joe and Pip is close to the situation in "Face Down." 

Pip and Estella:
For the relationship between Pip and Estella throughout the book, I chose the song "Grenade" by Bruno Mars.  The song is about a guy who will do absolutely anything for a girl, even "jump in front of a train," but the girl won't do the same for him.  She is mean and heartless and only takes, never gives.  This describes the relationship between Pip and Estella perfectly because he would do anything for her but she is selfish and doesn't care for him.  He is always on high guard, worried that she might see him doing something like blacksmithing, and just wants to impress her.  He tries so hard but she does not even really notice because she is cold and heartless.  It may not be her fault because Miss Havisham taught her to do this, but she is certainly not a nice girl.  The relationship in the song "Grenade" is almost a perfect match to the relationship in Great Expectations between Pip and Estella.

Pip and Herbert:
For the relationship between Pip and Herbert, I chose the song "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers.  The song is about friendship and it talks about how one will always be there for the other, to help them and pick them up when they fall.  This pretty much describes Herbert and Pip's relationship.  They are always there to help each other, and would do anything for each other.  Herbert always provides good advice for Pip and nice company, and Pip wants to help him out by getting him a job so he can pay off his debts.  After Herbert gets this job, he offers Pip a job to work right alongside him.  This shows how they each yearn to help one another, just like is explained in the song, "Lean On Me."

 
Mr. McClintock
Harry McClintock, otherwise known as "Haywire Mac," was a man famous for letting his life as an adventurous hobo influence his style of music.  As a country singer in the depression era, he wrote much about the everyday lives of laborers during his time.  As an artist, he was a dreamer.  This style can be found in his popular song, "The Big Rock Candy Mountains."  This was a song about McClintock's dreams of a land "fair and bright," with everything a hobo like him hoped to have.  As a poet, his songs have rhythm and although the lyrics to his songs seem sad, the way he sings them is perky and happy.  His songs are also very real, and it is clear that he is not ashamed of his life.  He states it as it is and makes it fun.  How he does this, though, is unclear.  Some of McClintocks songs are silly, which could mean that he is trying to make a joke out of his life, as to not make his songs depressing.  This shows a lot about his character.  It shows that he was a most likely a silly person, and it can also be inferred that he was not embarrassed about his lifestyle and he wasn't greatly affected by what others may think of him.  To conclude, he is not exactly an optimist, but he is fine with his life, which is a great quality, as far as most are concerned.  So, as McClintock might say, "Hallelujuah! I'm a bum!" and "I'll see you all, this coming fall, in The Big Rock Candy Mountains."

Influences
As evident in many of his songs, McClintock was greatly influenced by events in his lifetime.  His songs go into depth about the life of a hobo and the hardships he had to endure.  When he was a boy, McClintock ran away from home to join the circus.  He also ended up fighting in the Spanish-American War and worked as a railroad brakeman and a miner.  He was very poor and had to even succumb to begging at doorsteps occasionally.  But, instead of dwelling in these experiences, he used them to write some great songs.  It is also said that McClintock was influenced by other songs, too.  These songs include, "Hobo Heaven," "Hobo's Paradise," "Sweet Potato Mountains," and "Little Streams of Whiskey," all popular songs during and before McClintock's lifetime.  McClintocks song, "The Big Rock Candy Mountains" especially bears some resemblance to these four songs.  It is very possible that he used these songs to come up with ideas for his own, as happens often in the music industry.  In conclusion, there were many things Harry McClintock used as inspiration for his music

Song Context
Big events in an artist's lifetime can have a large effect on their music.  A major event in McClintock's life was the Great Depression.  Since "The Big Rock Candy Mountains" was released in 1928, McClintock was almost certainly influenced by it.  His song talks about a hobo's dreams for a better life, and most people had the sames ones during such a hard time in history.  He may have written the song just to cheer himself up, because the song does have a sort of fun and happy vibe to it, or he may have written it so others could relate to it.  Others would be able to relate to it because, once again, they had the same dreams as mentioned in the song, and it would just be something they could laugh at during such a hard time in history.  McClintock's lyrics in the song give many hints about what was going on during that time.  He talks about a place with better weather: "Oh I’m bound to go where there ain’t no snow, where the rains don’t fall; the winds don’t blow, in the Big Rock Candy Mountains.”  This shows how it was kind of a sad and gloomy time, and even though the weather was probably no different than now, it seemed like it because everyone was just very depressed and glum.  Another stanza from the song talks about food: "...And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs.  The farmers' trees are full of fruit and the barns are full of hay..."  When he talks about and abundance of food like he does in the song, it shows that during the time period, many people were low on food and hungry.  In conclusion, McClintock's lyrics reveal much about the events going on during that time period and the Great Depression had a large affect on him as well as many others around him.

Song Analysis
“The Big Rock Candy Mountains,” by Harry McClintock, is a song about a hobo’s dreams of a supposedly perfect life.  Based on the song and some outside information and context, the theme is simply dreams and wishes for a better life.  There is a lot of evidence to support this in the lyrics of the song.  For example, “The Big Rock Candy Mountains” are mentioned often and they could be a symbol of euphoria, judging by how McClintock describes them: “Oh I’m bound to go where there ain’t no snow, where the rains don’t fall; the winds don’t blow, in the Big Rock Candy Mountains.”  This quotation describes a place where everything is perfect, at least in McClintock’s eyes.  McClintock also mentions that this place does not contain any snow, rain, and wind.  The question is: why would he include this?  McClintock most likely got inspiration from the atmosphere and mood of society in his time period.  Since it was during the Great Depression, everything for most people would have seemed kind of dreary, which makes one think of weather such as McClintock describes in the song.  Therefore, he probably included this characteristic in his mountains because he wanted to escape from such a sad and gloomy place.  In the first stanza of the song, McClintock also shows how eager the person portrayed in the song is to get to these mountains.  McClintock showed this when he wrote, “…And he said, ‘Boys, I’m not turning.  I’m headed for a land that’s far away, besides the crystal fountains.  So come with me, we’ll go and see the Big Rock Candy Mountains.’”  This characterization shows how much this person wants to get to the mountains, which, again, shows how wonderful these mountains must be.  Since McClintock was a hobo, everything mentioned in the song has something to do with his life or how he wants his life to be.  Such objects include “handouts,” “empty boxcars,” and “tin jails.”  These are all things that someone else during his time period that does not have a lot of money would want also.  Each of them seem strange to people in the present day, but in his time period they were most definitely not.  Since the song was written in the time of the Great Depression, even more people would be able to connect to this song because almost everyone had the same dreams as McClintock.  These dreams are for a better life, for everything they had to live with out, and this ties back to the theme of the song.  In conclusion, the theme of "The Big Rock Candy Mountains," by Harry McClintock is simply a person's hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow.