Songs of Revolution, Protest, and Solidarity

Music has been used since the dawn of history to express the entire range of human emotions. With the rise of a distinct popular culture in the late Nineteenth Century, music was increasingly used for social and political commentary. Music can be an especially effective means for raising conscoiusness, changing minds, and influencing the political process. For example, music was critical to the '60's Counterculture movement, which led to the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, the passage of environmental laws, and the establishment of Civil Rights protections for African Americans.

You can find a great essay on the power of music at the New Socialist Youth homepage (You don't have to buy into Marxism to get his point!)

The Task

You are a travelling musician. Pick a contoversial issue and write a song about it. You may choose any issue in any time period, subject to limitations of civility and good taste. (i.e. you may not write a song advocating racism, sexism, violence, and so on!) Once you have written a song, we will put it to music. At the end of the project, the class will choose a song or songs for the teacher to play and sing!

The Process

There are an infinite number of songs waiting to be written. In order to write a song you need to research a couple of things.

1. Pick an historical time frame within the subject of this class. You could pick a major event, such as a war, or election. Or you may want to pick an "Era" such as the Roaring Twenties, the Gilded Age, or the Reagan Years.
2. Pick an issue of personal importance. Current popular music deals with issues like abortion, racism, homosexual rights, immigration, sexism, police brutality, gun violence, and nearly anything else you can think of. You can literally write a song about anything that is of importance to you.
3. Research the time and issue using the WorldWideWeb.
4. Look at some famous songs of protest and think about how they are written.
5. Write the lyrics to your own song.

Resources

There are thousands of websites devoted to historical events and politics. Try the History Matters pageto find ideas. The History in Song site is a great plact to investigate social music from the last two centuries. You may also find the banned music page to be helpful in your investigation of protest music.

You may also want to look up any of your favorite musicians using a search engine. Many popular artists today spend a great deal of time on social issues. Rage Against the Machine, Ben Harper, Ani DiFranco, and the Indigo Girls devote nearly all of their music to activism. You may want to look them up! You can find lyrics for most artists at the online guitar archive.

Advice

So, to get started on your webquest...

1. Pick out a historical period or event that interests you.
2. Pick out an issue or event that you think is important.
3. Look, listen, and sing some protest songs.
4. Write a song.
5. Mr. Popiel will sing the songs in class.

Conclusion

Think about the songs you read and listened to. What issues did they pertain to? What did the music say about class, race, and gender issues? Were the songs usually liberal or conservative? What does this tell you about popular culture and popular artists? What does it tell you about music and society?

Will you keep these questions in mind next time you listen to a new CD?