COMMENTARY

Video: Bang bang bang by Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman was born in 1964, in Cleveland (United States). She was raised by her single mother. The latter had not much money but she recognized that her daughter had music talents, so she decided to by her a little ukulele at three years old. Tracy started composing music and writing song at the age of eight. Bang bang bang is a song about guns violence, from her third album released 1992.

At the beginning of the video there is a golden fish in someone's hand. I think the fish has an important role in this video because it appears several times. According to me this fish has two messages: -Fishes can swim, when you can swim you are kind of free (you can go wherever you want to). That is the reason why I think the fish means freedom. -Gold attracts people because it's is gorgeous, shining and luxurious. So the golden fish might be the image of the freedom people want to catch.
When the music starts a confused face appears first then Tracy comes; she is in a desert singing with her guitar. In the Bible, the Jew people spent about 40 years in the desert looking for God's promised country. In Christianity when you talking about “the desert of your life” it is about a (long) period of your life, full of great hardships. Since she had been raised Baptist, she may use image from the Bible which are deeply rooted in herself. I think teenage is a period of time, people has to faced with (a lot of) troubles and may get depressed. So the only solutions some of them find, to protect themselves or their beloved ones, is violence. In her song, Tracy wanted to talk about guns violence more particularly. Because this subject is a topical one in the USA. That is the reason why a hand holding a gun appears.
Someone who think violence can fix any problem does not feel well. An untidy person is disorganized as well. I think it is what the singer wanted to explain with the houses in total disorder. Then a projectiles