Little Boxes Analysis
Little Boxes is a protest song written by Malvina Reynolds as a wake up to Americans, who were becoming homogenous and losing their individuality in the post-war era. Folk singer Pete Seeger made the song famous after singing it in 1963. It is mainly a song about the countless cookie-cutter houses that were built in the suburbs after World War II due to the housing crisis. The listener can tell the writer has no love for suburbia and one might say she feels sorry for the people in the houses.
The first verse begins to discuss the little houses, “Little Houses on the Hillside.” Most people think this is an allusion to “Levittown,” four large areas of suburban housing built around the country by William Levitt in 1951 (Hales). However, it was written after Malvina Reynolds drove through a housing development called Westlake in Daly City, California. The “made of ticky-tacky” lyric in the first verse refers to the cheap and shoddy building materials used in these houses to cut corners and lower costs (Blackwell). The lyric “There’s a green one, and a pink one, and a blue one and a yellow one” mentions that they all look just the same, except they are different colors, which lets the listener know there is still a bit of diversity, maybe even a bit of rebellion on the part of the owners, though the houses are of nearly identical build.
The second verse starts to discuss the people who have bought the little houses. They all went to the University, which is not a bad thing in of itself. The post-World War II era was the first time the average person could afford a college education. The GI Bill helped the returning soldiers find normal, non-military lives, so they bought into the American Dream and became “doctors, lawyers, and business executives”, as mentioned in the song. The song talks about the University putting people in another kind of “Little Box.” If one is a doctor, they have to live their live in a certain way. They join a country club, play golf, go to cocktail parties or dances with the wife, schmooze with established business men, get new clients and make more money. The concept of “see, and be seen by, the right people” is alluded to in the song by the verse, “and they all play on the golf course and drink their martini dry.” This is followed by talking about the pretty children that they will raise in the “little boxes.”
The last verse is all about perpetuating the cycle of normalcy in the suburbia of the 1950s and 1960s. Once the children arrive, they do what their parents expect of them. They go to school in the fall and winter and spend time with the right kind of friends. Then, once school is out for summer vacation, their parents ship them off to summer camp, sometimes for the entire summer do they can make more of the right kinds of friends, ones that live in other areas of the country. Once primary school is over, they follow their parents by going into Universities and also follow them into business, law or medicine. The children then live out the same regimented lives as their parents. They find the right spouse, usually meeting in a college class since, at that time, many of the women in the universities went to find a good husband. They continue the cycle by having a family, raising them with the same values, and keeping to how their parents raised them. This is a good example of the “If it was good enough for me, it’s good enough for you,” mentality many people entertained prior to the cultural revolution of the late 1960s. The final part of the verse talks about how they are also put in “little boxes” made of ticky-tacky. Most people believe that the verse is talking about them finding houses, and living in the suburbia of their parents, though there could be a different meaning. At that time most people, when they died, were put in coffins, which are another type of Little Box. Some feel that the last part of the final verse talks about death, which is sometimes called the great leveler. Death happens to everyone and they all end up in the same place. The only difference in modern times is the different types and colors of the coffins one can choose. The person can also choose to have their possessions, such as cars, pets and knick-knacks buried as well. That is where the green one, pink one, blue one etc. comes in. It might be a little morbid, but that is where the song seems to lead.
When one looks at the song as a whole, the music is fairly upbeat. The tune seems similar to some of the children’s songs of the era, some of which were still being played and sung into the 1970s and 1980s. In fact, the very first verse of the song seems very innocent and childlike. It is not until one hears the rest of the verses that the heavier meaning comes to the forefront. Even worse is when the listeners hear the live version on Pete Seeger’s Greatest Hits album. They can hear the audience laughing at the song in various places, which is something that is very confusing, and seems counterintuitive to the meaning behind the song. One wonders if they were laughing at themselves because they believed in the American Dream they were promised in that era, or maybe the audience was comprised of the children who grew up in the “little boxes” and were laughing at their parents. These are the children who started the revolutions of the 1960s; the ones who questioned everything and did not trust anyone “over age 30.” They were the kids who, in many ways, fought against the beliefs of their parents. Are they laughing because they think how their parent’s lived was funny? Are they laughing because they did not fall into the same trap as their parents? Or perhaps the laughter is there for another reason, one someone not of their generation could not begin to understand?
“Little Boxes” gives one a look into a part of America’s past that some people still try to reach for in their daily lives. Like many folk songs of the 1950s and 1960s, parts of it are still relevant today. Though the children of the 1970s and the even younger generations are less likely to follow the conformity that people wanted in the 1950s and 1960s, there are still people out there who look back on that time and wish that time could return. This song shows everyone that the “Good Old Days” were not that good; they are just remembered that way.
Works Cited
Blackwell, Jon. “1951 American Dream Houses All in a Row”. The Trentonian. Unknown. Web 1 Feb. 2015.
Hales, Peter Bacon. “Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb”. University of Illinois at Chicago. Unknown. 1 Feb. 2015.
Seeger, Pete. “Little Boxes by Pete Seeger”. Online Video Clip. YouTube. YouTube 19 July 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.
Unknown. Levittown, New York. 1949. Photograph. Levittown Public Library via Bloomburg Business.
Little Boxes is a protest song written by Malvina Reynolds as a wake up to Americans, who were becoming homogenous and losing their individuality in the post-war era. Folk singer Pete Seeger made the song famous after singing it in 1963. It is mainly a song about the countless cookie-cutter houses that were built in the suburbs after World War II due to the housing crisis. The listener can tell the writer has no love for suburbia and one might say she feels sorry for the people in the houses.
The first verse begins to discuss the little houses, “Little Houses on the Hillside.” Most people think this is an allusion to “Levittown,” four large areas of suburban housing built around the country by William Levitt in 1951 (Hales). However, it was written after Malvina Reynolds drove through a housing development called Westlake in Daly City, California. The “made of ticky-tacky” lyric in the first verse refers to the cheap and shoddy building materials used in these houses to cut corners and lower costs (Blackwell). The lyric “There’s a green one, and a pink one, and a blue one and a yellow one” mentions that they all look just the same, except they are different colors, which lets the listener know there is still a bit of diversity, maybe even a bit of rebellion on the part of the owners, though the houses are of nearly identical build.
The second verse starts to discuss the people who have bought the little houses. They all went to the University, which is not a bad thing in of itself. The post-World War II era was the first time the average person could afford a college education. The GI Bill helped the returning soldiers find normal, non-military lives, so they bought into the American Dream and became “doctors, lawyers, and business executives”, as mentioned in the song. The song talks about the University putting people in another kind of “Little Box.” If one is a doctor, they have to live their live in a certain way. They join a country club, play golf, go to cocktail parties or dances with the wife, schmooze with established business men, get new clients and make more money. The concept of “see, and be seen by, the right people” is alluded to in the song by the verse, “and they all play on the golf course and drink their martini dry.” This is followed by talking about the pretty children that they will raise in the “little boxes.”
The last verse is all about perpetuating the cycle of normalcy in the suburbia of the 1950s and 1960s. Once the children arrive, they do what their parents expect of them. They go to school in the fall and winter and spend time with the right kind of friends. Then, once school is out for summer vacation, their parents ship them off to summer camp, sometimes for the entire summer do they can make more of the right kinds of friends, ones that live in other areas of the country. Once primary school is over, they follow their parents by going into Universities and also follow them into business, law or medicine. The children then live out the same regimented lives as their parents. They find the right spouse, usually meeting in a college class since, at that time, many of the women in the universities went to find a good husband. They continue the cycle by having a family, raising them with the same values, and keeping to how their parents raised them. This is a good example of the “If it was good enough for me, it’s good enough for you,” mentality many people entertained prior to the cultural revolution of the late 1960s. The final part of the verse talks about how they are also put in “little boxes” made of ticky-tacky. Most people believe that the verse is talking about them finding houses, and living in the suburbia of their parents, though there could be a different meaning. At that time most people, when they died, were put in coffins, which are another type of Little Box. Some feel that the last part of the final verse talks about death, which is sometimes called the great leveler. Death happens to everyone and they all end up in the same place. The only difference in modern times is the different types and colors of the coffins one can choose. The person can also choose to have their possessions, such as cars, pets and knick-knacks buried as well. That is where the green one, pink one, blue one etc. comes in. It might be a little morbid, but that is where the song seems to lead.
When one looks at the song as a whole, the music is fairly upbeat. The tune seems similar to some of the children’s songs of the era, some of which were still being played and sung into the 1970s and 1980s. In fact, the very first verse of the song seems very innocent and childlike. It is not until one hears the rest of the verses that the heavier meaning comes to the forefront. Even worse is when the listeners hear the live version on Pete Seeger’s Greatest Hits album. They can hear the audience laughing at the song in various places, which is something that is very confusing, and seems counterintuitive to the meaning behind the song. One wonders if they were laughing at themselves because they believed in the American Dream they were promised in that era, or maybe the audience was comprised of the children who grew up in the “little boxes” and were laughing at their parents. These are the children who started the revolutions of the 1960s; the ones who questioned everything and did not trust anyone “over age 30.” They were the kids who, in many ways, fought against the beliefs of their parents. Are they laughing because they think how their parent’s lived was funny? Are they laughing because they did not fall into the same trap as their parents? Or perhaps the laughter is there for another reason, one someone not of their generation could not begin to understand?
“Little Boxes” gives one a look into a part of America’s past that some people still try to reach for in their daily lives. Like many folk songs of the 1950s and 1960s, parts of it are still relevant today. Though the children of the 1970s and the even younger generations are less likely to follow the conformity that people wanted in the 1950s and 1960s, there are still people out there who look back on that time and wish that time could return. This song shows everyone that the “Good Old Days” were not that good; they are just remembered that way.
Works Cited
Blackwell, Jon. “1951 American Dream Houses All in a Row”. The Trentonian. Unknown. Web 1 Feb. 2015.
Hales, Peter Bacon. “Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb”. University of Illinois at Chicago. Unknown. 1 Feb. 2015.
Seeger, Pete. “Little Boxes by Pete Seeger”. Online Video Clip. YouTube. YouTube 19 July 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.
Unknown. Levittown, New York. 1949. Photograph. Levittown Public Library via Bloomburg Business.