A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah: Song Analysis

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” (BrainyQoute, n.d.). This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson demonstrates the theme that it is always important to take your own path and have dreams. This universal theme can be found in many works, including the song “Am I Wrong?” by Nico and Vinz and A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. Personally, I can connect to this theme because I have many dreams and ambitions, and because it is important to me to take your own path. The song “Am I Wrong?” contains the theme of taking your own path and having dreams and ambitions, and this relates to Ishmael Beah in A Long Way Gone because Beah follows his own path by being unique and independent.
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This is demonstrated in two ways: by Ishmael’s unique love of rap/hip hop music, and by Ishmael’s independence. First, one of Beah’s defining traits is his interest in western rap/hip hop music. He falls in love with this type of music after “[sitting] there mesmerized by the song, trying to understand what the black fellows were saying.” (Beah, 2007, p. 6). This trait makes Beah unique because not many Sierra Leoneans are exposed to this kind of music, and also because his music saves his life several times. For example, when Beah and his group are about to be sentenced to death in a seaside Sierra Leonean village, the chief finds one of Beah’s music cassettes and, after listening to them, decides that Beah and his group are just “children looking for safety.” (Beah, 2007, p. 68). Returning to the theme, Beah’s uniqueness through his love of western rap/hip hop music relates to the previously discussed theme. Beah is traveling on his own path because through his love of rap/hip hop music, he is unique and not like everyone else. Second, Beah takes his own path through his independent attitude and behaviour. Throughout his memoirs, he is alone for long stretches of time and, for the most part, does not let others control his decisions. For example, when Beah is on the run, he finds himself in a large forest, and he decides to stay. Beah writes that he “spent more than a month in the forest.” (2007, p. 54). By staying alone in the forest, Beah is taking his own path. Furthermore, Beah’s decision to leave Sierra Leone is another example of how he takes his own path. He concludes that he is done with being stuck in Sierra Leone with the war, and takes the dangerous road out of Sierra Leone and to New York City. His independent journey connects well to the lyric, “I’m walking down this road of mine, this road that I call home.” (Metrolyrics, n.d.). By