Protest Songs

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

1900's- African-American Anthem

Even after emancipation life was still horrible for African-Americans. At least one to two African-Americans were lynched weekly from 1900-1910. In the United States in 1900 there were roughly 76 million people and roughly 9 million of them were African-American. On February 12th, 1909 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed to convince the courts to give African-Americans equal rights. Many African-Americans have a very strong spiritual faith. Their spirituality is what helped guide them through the oppression of the slave trade and the segregation of the south.

1900's- Artist James Weldon Johson

In 1900 the poem "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was set to music by John Rosamond Johnson. John was born on August 11,1873. He was the brother of James Weldon Johnson who had written the poem originally. James Weldon Johnson was born James William Johnson on June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville Florida. He changed his middle name to Weldon in 1913. He received his A.B. from Atlanta University in 1894, and while he was attending college he taught in Hampton, Georgia. For the first time in his life he witnessed poor African-Americans. This was because he was from a middle-class family and was sheltered from this extreme poverty. James Johnson did not like the stereotypes of blacks in popular music. The song "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was first sung in February of 1900 by the children of Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida. Stanton School was the first African-American school in Florida.

1900 "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

1900- Analyzing "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

http://www.ez-tracks.com/SongLyrics-Lyrics-125.html
"Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet, Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?" What this quote of the song says is that although the African-Americans are beat by rods they are proud of their heritage and will not give up without a fight. This song makes me feel like I should have hope no matter what the conditions are. For African-Americans at the time it told them that things would get better in the future.

Monday, January 26, 2009

1910's- International Workers of the World

In 1905 the International Workers of the World (IWW) was founded in order to fight for the rights of Union Workers. The union known as the Wobblies was made up of mostly of immigrant workers from Europe. Their motto was "an injury to one is an injury to all." In 1910 companies started using machines more and more and workers were losing their jobs because the machines were faster and more efficient. Workers needed these unions in order to keep their jobs and the unions were able to keep their jobs even with the technological advances because it used the age old theory "strength in numbers".

1910's Artist: Joe Hill

Born in Sweden Joe Hill emigrated to America in 1902. He moved from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio and than to San Fransisco, California. Wile he was traveling he wrote many protest songs. In 1910 he joined the Wobblies and was a driving force in the workers unions. In 1911 Hill was in Tijuana, Mexico fighting for industrial freedom and to dethrone the Dictatorship of Porfino Diaz. On the night of January 10, 1914 Hill reportedly knocked on the door of a doctor in Salt Lake City asking for treatment for a gunshot wound. On that same night a grocer and his son were murdered but the son was able to injure one of the perpetrators before he died. The reports from two eyewitnesses matched with he wound on Hill which helped lead to his arrest and later conviction. Hill was executed on November 19, 1915 by firing squad in Utah. His body was then sent to Chicago were many mourners turned out before it was cremated and mailed to IWW locals in every state but Utah.

1910's Song: Analyzing "The Preacher and the Slave"

http://www.bloomington.in.us/~mitch/iww/preacher.html
The song is a parody of "In the Sweet By and By." "If you fight hard for children and wife, Try to get something good in this life, You're a sinner and bad man, they tell, When you die you will sure go to hell." The first stanza of the song is saying that every night the preachers come out and give a sermon to those who ask about food. Hill is trying to say that religion is not meeting the immediate needs of people. Hill also is saying that religion is on the side of the corporate heads.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

1920's: Jazz Age Defiance

In the 1920's we see the rise of jazz. Also we have prohibition. Many Gangsters led rings of bootleggers who would bring alcohol into the taverns. Not many people focused on protesting but the ones who did were radicals in this time. The Harlem Renaissance exposed more people to African-American literature and art because it was being taken more seriously. Harlem's cabarets and speakeasies were attended by African-Americans from Harlem and whites from New York. This was a change from the way things were before.

1920's Artist: Abel Meeropol aka "Lewis Allan"

In the 1920's we see the rise of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The membership peaked around 4.5 million which was nearly half of the African-American population at this time.

During this time many people were beat, lynched, shot, etc. by the Klan for a variety of reasons (being black, remarrying, coversion to a different religion, etc.)Abel Meeropol taught at a Jewish High School in the Bronx, New York. He loved to write poetry. One of those poems was "Strange Fruit" an anti-lynching poem which was later turned into a song which was made famous by Billie Holiday. In the 1950's Meeropol addopted the children of Ethel and Julius Rosenburg after the executions.

"Strange Fruit" as performed by Billie Holiday

Analyzing "Strange Fruit"

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/billie+holiday/strange+fruit_20017859.html
"Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees."
This song is about the lynchings in the south. The strange fruit are the bodies of lynched African-American's swinging from the tree. Meeropol seems to have a dark sense of irony when he says "Pastoral scene of the gallant south, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh." This song paints a picture of horror.

Friday, January 23, 2009

1930's-The Great Depression and The Dust Bowl

To live in the 1930's was very hard. The decade began with the Great Depression(Wall Street crashed on October 29, 1929). The Dust Bowl, caused by a very dry windy drought in the Midwest. If you had money you were probably going to make it out of the depression. However if you lived in the Midwest chances are you had very little money and you farmed. Many people traveled to the west coast in search of work. One of those men was Woody Guthrie one of America's greatest folk artisits.

Artist- Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie was born in Okemah, Oklahoma in 1912 and went on to write hundreds of folk and protest songs. Early in his life he went through many hardships including the loss of his eldest sister Clara. In 1930 is mother died of Huntington's disease. Woody moved to Pampa, Texas in 1931 and lived there until the Dust Bowl, when he traveled to Los Angeles, California and got a job on KFVD Radio. By the end of the 1930's Woody had embraced communism eventhough he was not given membership because he refused to abandon religion. In the early 1940's Woody moved to New York where he meet a lifetime friend Pete Seeger. He formed a band with Seeger called the Almanac singers. The Almanac singers wrote songs protesting World War 2 and Fascism. Woody wrote an autobiography titled Bound for Glory in 1943.

"Rangers Command" Woody Guthrie Clip

Analyzing Woody's Words

http://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Deportee.htm
This song is protesting the deportation of mexican migrant workers in America. "The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon, A fireball of lightning, and shook all our hills, Who are all these friends, all scattered like dry leaves? The radio says, "They are just deportees." " What Mr. Guthrie is trying to say in this excerpt of the song is that the radio operator has no feelings of remorse for the families that lost a loved one who was being deported. What Woody is protesting here is the unethical treatment of another human being.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

1940's- A World at War

Although World War 2 began in 1939 most of the war was fought in the early to mid 1940's. America was not part of the war effort until 1941 after the attack on Pearl harbor. America developed the first atomic bombs. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball.

Artist- Josh White

Josh White was born in South Carolina in 1914, during the time of the Jim Crow laws. He was an African-American and during the 1940's he made a name for himself with his protest music. Pete Seeger idolized Josh White and looked up to him as "Mr. Folk Music." At this point in the 20th century White was the only African-American Guitarist to have a nation wide tour. He was asked to perform at the inauguration of president Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1950 Josh White was blacklisted due to McCarthyism. this ruined his career but he was able to make a comeback after McCarthyism had ended.

Josh White clip

Analyzing- "Chain Gang Boun"

http://www.laborarts.org/exhibits/laborsings/song.cfm?id=10
The song "Chain Gang Boun" by Josh White and his Carolinians talks about the arrest of an African-American who was arrested and tried. Now whether the man was arrested for a crime or not we don't know but it is safe to assume that it was an unlawful arrest because the group is protesting this arrest with their song. I didn't really like the beat that song was put to, it was to slow for the genre of music. I think he made this song slow though because it is not an up beat happy song.

1950's-A fight for equal rights

In the 1950's we start to see the rise of civil rights cases concerning African-Americans. In 1954 we have the controversial trial of Brown vs. the Board of Education which was a lawsuit that fought the laws that segregated the school systems Brown v. the Board of Education was a pivotal point in the fight for equal rights. Browns legal team was first led by Charles H. Houston and later led by Thurgood Marshall. In 1955 through 1956 we have the Montgomery bus boycott was about the unethical "law" that African-Americans had to ride at the back of the bus. Rosa Parks was arrested for sitting in the white only section and not moving to the back of the bus when a Caucasian gentleman was left standing. Finally in 1957 the Little Rock nine attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The governor of Arkansas called on the Arkansas National Guard to bar the children from entering the school even though there was a court order for the Little Rock nine to attend Central High School. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called upon the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division to escort the children into the school. This military presence remained at the school until the end of the year.

1950's Music of the Civil Rights movement

The most notable song from the civil rights movement is "We Shall Overcome". Performed by many artists was originally titled "I Shall Overcome". After Pete Seeger recorded this song the title was changed and it became the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.

Pete Seeger "We Shall Overcome"

Analyzing "We Shall Overcome"

http://www.ksu.ksu.edu/english/nelp/american.studies.s98/we.shall.overcome.html
The song "We Shall Overcome" was written to inspire African-Americans and any other minority group and to give them hope that one day they will be free of oppression. Also that one day minorities and whites will be equals and "will walk hand in hand". This song is very repetitive by saying "We Shall Overcome" over and over but by doing this the song was engraved in peoples minds. As an example Rosa Parks was being forced to move to the back of the bus but she resisted and even though she was arrested for this she may have been thinking of these lyrics to inspire her.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

1960's- Civil Unrest

In the 1960's protests for the Vietnam War were at there peak and the Civil Rights movement was in full swing. With the March on Washington in 1963 the Civil rights movement was the number one priority in the eyes of the public and politicians. A bill was passed for equal pay for men and women. In 1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. In 1968Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy were gunned down.

Artist-Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1941. He attended the University of Minnesota in 1959 with a mind set for rock n' roll but later changed his mind and decided he wanted to focus on American folk music. In the 1960's Dylan became an influential figure in the Civil Rights movement.

Bob Dylan "The Times They are a-changin" 1964

Analyzing "The Times They Are a Changin"

http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/times-they-are-changin
Dylan said in an interview with Cameron Crowe that he wanted to write an anthem for the moment. This song is about how different everything is becoming and how society is changing and that the older generation can either change with society or get out of the way. " Come mothers and fathers, Throughout the land, And don't criticize, What you can't understand, Your sons and your daughters, Are beyond your command, Your old road is, Rapidly agin'. Please get out of the new one, If you can't lend your hand, For the times they are a-changin'."

1970's-Vietnam

In the early 1970's the Vietnam war was in full swing and many people protested day in and day out. Three things that were protested about the war were the reasons for the United States being there, the draft, and how many American soldiers were over in Vietnam. The controversy over the reasons was that the government of Vietnam was a communist regime but there was no direct threat to the United States. Many artists including the Beetles, Black Sabbath, and Marvin Gaye. protested this war with their music. The hippie movement was dying out towards the mid 70's and punk was taking over. Feminism was becoming a large part of society fifty years after the passage of the nintenth ammendment which gave women the right to vote.

Artists-Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath was formed in 1968 under the name Polka Tulk which was later changed to Earth and then finally Black Sabbath in August 1969. "War Pigs" was originally titled Walpurgis and was focused on the witches' sabbath. When the band started recording their album "Paranoid" the song title changed as did the lyrics and focus of the song. The original title of the album was also War Pigs but was changed because the record company thought it receive negative responses from Vietnam supporters. "War Pigs" is a song protesting the Vietnam war and the use of unneeded power.

"War Pigs" Live

Analying "War Pigs"

http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/black-sabbath-lyrics/war-pigs-lyrics.html
"Politicians hide themselves away, They only started the war, Why should they go out to fight? They leave that role to the poor, yeah!" The song "War Pigs" is in protest of the Vietnam war. What Black Sabbath is trying to say in this song is that the people in charge of the war have no idea what is going on in Vietnam. What the above quote is trying to say is that the politicians that started the war were huddled in their offices planing the next invasion while young men were dying on the front lines in a war that was pointless.

1980's-Rising up in numbers

The 1980's saw the emergence of rap and hip-hop. Rap and hip-hop protested the police and their actions against young African-Americans and how their communities were being ruined by poverty and that the rest of society didn't care about what happened in black communities. In 1986 three African-Americans were beat and one was murdered when he was hit by a car in Howard Beach. The Howard Beach story got national attention and was the subject of protests in black communities. In the song "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A Ice Cube raps about how violence is the only answer for a young African-American living in Compton. "Straight Outta Compton" was a huge deal because it talked about life in a black community and the album went double platinum.

1980's The Emergence of Rap and hip-hop

In the early 80's Grandmaster Flash wrote a song called "The Message" which was about growing up in the ghetto. In 1988 NWA released its single "F*** the Police" which was a direct protest of the way young African-Americans living in Compton were treated by the police in Los Angeles. The song got at the fact that young minorities were arrested for crimes they did not commit. In the following year Public Enemy released "Fight the Power" which I will analyze later.

1989 Public Enemy "Fight The Power"

Public Enemy "Fight the Power" What it means

http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/public_enemy_lyrics_1836/power_to_the_people_-_greatest_hits_lyrics_16073/fight_the_power_lyrics_185810.html
"Got to give us what we want , Gotta give us what we need , Our freedom of speech is freedom or death." What Public Enemy is saying in this song is that the powers that are above us need to be fought otherwise the world will be an unjust place and that the populous will be over run by the leaders of the country.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

1990's Social Activism

In the early 1990's many artists including Ani Difranco, Rage Against the Machine, and Sonic Youth fought against different issues in America. Ani took on sexism, homophobia and many other issues. Her work shows that protests songs need not be about only war. Social issues can also be topics. We are reminded of this by Sonic Youth's "Swimsuit Issue" which is in protest of the objectification of women in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. Rage Against the Machines first album had themes of social justice and equality. The second album "Evil Empire" has messages of anti-imperialism with songs like "Bulls on Parade" and "Killing in the Name".

Artist- Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine fought against corporate America, government oppression and Imperialism with songs like "Killing in the Name," "Bulls on Parade," and "Bullet in the Head." All these songs have a point in which they are fighting for.

"Killing in the Name"

Analyzing "Bulls on Parade"

http://www.ratm.net/lyrics/bull.html
"Bulls on Parade" is rallying against the American military industrial complex is where the ammunition's industry urges the government to military action. "Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes. Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal." This line says that weapons are more important to the government than feeding the American public or giving them shelter.

Works Sited