blog assignment 2

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.