A broadside ballad is a topical song intended to reflect certain contemporary events of a political and social nature. Simple examples could include those related to politics, war, executions, economics, and natural disasters. Often times they bring to light injustices that are occurring right under our own feet, such as racism or the women's suffrage movement. The lyrics are meant to reflect the opinions of the masses and are intended to be performed by the masses rather than an individual artist. It means more to sing them and create them, it also involves going out to actually do something about it and take against against the certain injustice that is being sung about. More specifically they are intended to motivate social and political action. Diving a bit deeper, they are oftentimes ephemeral in nature. This simply means they touch on temporary issues thus only speaking to that particular movement during that particular time. Oftentimes these movements will fade away fairly quickly, but the ballad will remain. This allows for a true sense of the people living through things such as the American Civil War. It provides us with a very specific snapshot of what life was truly like at that point in time, rather than just fact after fact of simple textbook knowledge.
The broadside ballad that I have chosen is "Jesus Christ" by Woody Guthrie. A link can be found on YouTube below;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDS00Pnhkqk
Woody Guthrie was a songwriter, singer, and guitarist. Woody often sung about and took activist stances on issues such as the right to unionize, equal rights, and free speech. He experienced great hardship as a kid in losing his mother earlier as well as growing up in a dying town that offered him and the remainder of his family nearly nothing. He could never stay in one place too long and rode trains, borrowed horses, or even walked from city to city including California all the way to New York. His rough childhood and travels provided him with an idea of life that isn't too often common for an average man. From this view his songs often championed the cause of the poor and criticized to opulence of the rich. He was once quoted saying, "A folk song is what's wrong and how to fix it or it could be who's hungry and where their mouth is or who's out of work and where the job is or who's broke and where the money is or who's carrying a gun and where the peace is." At the same time; however, his lyrics expressed the hope for a better day and when the inequalities of the world would be erased. His song, "Jesus Christ," reflects his concern for social justice. The basis for this song was his outrage at the gross inequalities between the wealthy and the poor. It can ultimately be said that this song is a reflection upon life in general as well as the teachings of Jesus.
More information on Woody Guthrie can be found on the link below;
http://www.woodyguthrie.org/index.htm
I am quite fond of this particular ballad due to the fact that it addresses and very simple injustice and problem: the poor and homeless. It addresses more than that by addressing another simple point in helping the poor and helpless. Just because people are poor doesn't mean they deserve to be looked down upon by the rich, nor do the blue collared workers deserve to be looked down up by the white collared workers. It points out the sheriff, the preacher, and the "want to get rich quick" Judas as the oppressors of the working man. Jesus was a working man and became a hero for the working class. He served as a gift of hope to all those who worked for a living. Guthrie is attempting to portray that very same message through this song.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
blog 1
The purpose of this blog is to review a specific broadside ballad artist and how they have affected and changed the movement or issue of which they are an integral part. The course itself will study the role of music and its impact on numerous social and political movements. My reasoning for choosing to take part in this course is firstly that it is required. Secondly; however, I have never studied music in depth enough to understand that possible affects it can have. With that said, I look forward to not only learning about the music itself, but also the movements they have helped shape.
The video I have chosen to review is that by Joe Glazer. Known as the "labor's troubadour," Joe was very closely associated with labor unions. His songs were designed to bring to light the struggles of the working class as well as to bring them hope and lift up their spirits. He joined the labor movement in 1944 and for the next 50 years collected, composed, wrote and sang songs of workers, protests, politics and social commentary. Two of his books; "Songs of War and Protest," and "Labor's Troubadour," are widely known and very popular. Politically, he has shared platforms with numerous highly elected officials such as John F. Kennedy, Harry Truman, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton just to name a few.
As previously stated, he was a part of the labor movement. He success was so great that he was even invited to the White House to play for Jimmy Carter. Later he would join the Kennedy administration as a labor information officer as part of the United States Information Agency.
To better understand Joe, you must listen to his songs. After all, that's what he was, a song writer. One of his more popular is "The Mill was Made of Marble," which has spread not only throughout the nation, but the world as well. A link to this song is below and provides a free listening to this particular song.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/joe-glazer/tracks/mill-was-made-of-marble--176950053
I was particularly drawn to this artist out of the four not only because of his passion for the movement and music, but for he knowledge of music and the power one small verse has. Throughout the interview, he kept coming back to one word: solidarity. For Joe, the songs gave the men and the movement the solidarity it needed to stay strong and continue on. He said you could have the best argument imaginable, but that without solidarity you have nothing. The songs he wrote and helped bring to light were able to give this to the movement. A few hours of singing will lift spirits for months. Rallies may have one or two songs followed by a speaker, but the ballads spoke to the soul and not just to the mind. This is how he viewed his songs and what they could do. It gave the movement a much needed and special extra weapon. It was this love, knowledge, and compassion that drew me to this particular interview. The movement was truly lucky to have someone who did so much.
The video I have chosen to review is that by Joe Glazer. Known as the "labor's troubadour," Joe was very closely associated with labor unions. His songs were designed to bring to light the struggles of the working class as well as to bring them hope and lift up their spirits. He joined the labor movement in 1944 and for the next 50 years collected, composed, wrote and sang songs of workers, protests, politics and social commentary. Two of his books; "Songs of War and Protest," and "Labor's Troubadour," are widely known and very popular. Politically, he has shared platforms with numerous highly elected officials such as John F. Kennedy, Harry Truman, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton just to name a few.
As previously stated, he was a part of the labor movement. He success was so great that he was even invited to the White House to play for Jimmy Carter. Later he would join the Kennedy administration as a labor information officer as part of the United States Information Agency.
To better understand Joe, you must listen to his songs. After all, that's what he was, a song writer. One of his more popular is "The Mill was Made of Marble," which has spread not only throughout the nation, but the world as well. A link to this song is below and provides a free listening to this particular song.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/joe-glazer/tracks/mill-was-made-of-marble--176950053
I was particularly drawn to this artist out of the four not only because of his passion for the movement and music, but for he knowledge of music and the power one small verse has. Throughout the interview, he kept coming back to one word: solidarity. For Joe, the songs gave the men and the movement the solidarity it needed to stay strong and continue on. He said you could have the best argument imaginable, but that without solidarity you have nothing. The songs he wrote and helped bring to light were able to give this to the movement. A few hours of singing will lift spirits for months. Rallies may have one or two songs followed by a speaker, but the ballads spoke to the soul and not just to the mind. This is how he viewed his songs and what they could do. It gave the movement a much needed and special extra weapon. It was this love, knowledge, and compassion that drew me to this particular interview. The movement was truly lucky to have someone who did so much.
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