Ji, Mary
8East, Humanities
March 10, 2003
Mini-Web Quest on Social Commentary Through Music
What’s With Society?
Imagine there's no heaven/ It's easy if you try/ No hell
below us/ Above us only sky/ Imagine all the people/ Living for today... –John
Lennon, 1970.
Without a
doubt, throughout history, everything from people to countries is displayed
through the use of music. Many musicians’ lyrics imitate their own personal existence
and encounters throughout history. Through the process of music facts, we
become more aware of important social issues people have tackled and will
continue to confront during the years. Lyrics written and song’s song by widely
spread artists from different eras create a more forceful understanding of the
many former issues that historical text undoubtedly cannot present. Many
artists from the past and through the current present their own political and
social aspects through the use of music they carry out. They present the people
with social aspects that they had undoubtedly encountered during their years of
entertainment towards the common people, in which created a stronger vibe
between the issues in society and the issues dealing with offensive, inequality
and sexist views portraying different alleged groups of musicians. It finds a
way to interpret what life dealing with counter culture was really about and
how musician’s such as Woody Guthrie, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Rage Against the
Machine, Eminem and NWA dealt with the fact of the situation by expressing
themselves using the voice of what they stand up for.
A legend of his time,
Woody Guthrie struck out the controversial ideas and commented on society and
political issues that relates to everyone’s personal view of the influx of
situations during the Dust Bowl era. An illustration demonstrating this is the
album cover you see on the right; it shows how lonely it is to be living in the
Dust Bowl thus showing you as the reader to “image.” Chris (2003) amends
Guthrie, “having lived through some of the most significant historic movements
and events of the Twentieth-Century—the Great Depression, the Great Dust Storm,
World War II, the social and the political upheavals resulting from Unionism,
the Communist Party and the Cold War—Woody absorbed it all to become a prolific
writer whose songs, ballads, prose and poetry captured the plight of every man.
Woody’s observations of what he saw and experienced has left for us a lasing
and sometimes haunting legacy of images, sounds, and voices of the
marginalized, disenfranchised, and oppressed people with whom he struggled to
survive despite all odds.” At this juncture, it outstands with pride what
Guthrie faced through in life and rising through it every step of the way to
obtain his now known fame. This leads to the conclusion that Guthrie was a man
who fought against all comers to reach his ambition.
Guthrie’s music had began to get censored,
thus not allowing him to have “freedom of speech” which has been stated in the
Constitution, so you can conclude that the government is going against what
they have been trying to get the public to notice and follow. Guthrie was known
to be a man who spoke out about the current issues dealing with society. He
centers his main point on the fact that most people didn’t get what they were
told. Guthrie (1937) explicitly points this out through his song “Do Re Mi (If
you Ain’t Got The) by presenting this in the following lyrics:
Oh, if you ain’t got the do re mi, folks, you ain’t got the
do re mi,
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee.
California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or
see;
But believe it or not, you won’t find it so hot
If you ain’t got the do re mi.
Here, Guthrie is pointing out that, it is impossible to go
to California if you ain’t go the do re mi, in other words known as money. Back
then it was unachievable to get to California because the farmers where very
impoverished. Guthrie didn’t believe in what the government was saying so he started
sharing his political and social aspects in his songs which spread controversy
around the block. Woody Guthrie was known for his precedent of how different
people lived and about the different types of acts. His social commentary that
had been mentioned quite a couple of times in his songs is that he believes
that people should have a right to express themselves, so that’ why he himself
is expressing what he sees’ the society and the different political views, he
stammers in his songs that people don’t’ have the will power to fight back and
even when his songs were censored, he had been admired throughout his journey
through fame so that’s why he is honored and respected because he sang about
the truth that happened in society.
John Lennon, another infamous social
commentary musician addressed his own personal beliefs relating to the different
social and political point of views of society, thus deciding how this specific
each artist is faced in life. The album cover you see on your left shows how
lonely and mystical life could be when you’re outside of the boundaries. He was
a man who went against the war which makes him a controversial objector. He
didn’t believe in fighting the war 
because he didn’t believe in fights, he was a man who protested against
wars and fought for the people. He didn’t believe in violence for no obvious
reasons such as the hippies. He was well known as a person who sings and
expresses his true feelings about his community around him through his
intellectual side in songs. John Lennon’s song “I don’t want to be a Soldier,”
serve as a social commentary because the song was released at the time of the
Vietnam War, which makes it stand out more because it spreads his disagreeing
idea about he war. Lennon (1971) unambiguously expounds this in his song “I
Don’t Want to Be a Solider” when he sings:
Well, I don't wanna be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Well, I don't wanna be a sailor mama, I don't wanna fly
Well, I don't wanna be a failure mama, I don't wanna cry
Well, I don't wanna be a soldier mama, I don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
Here Lennon is pointing the finger to show that people didn’t
want to become soldiers, in whom it points out that people also die, so that’s
why he had been repeating, “I don’t want to be a soldier mama.” He is opposing
the Vietnam War through his choice of words which makes him degrading to the
government and the people who are with the war every step of the way. This song
affirms that people have many points of views on how the war is bad, the pros
and cons of a war. John Lennon was influenced to serve social commentary
because of the ways people were ignoring what they should understand, because
many people were enslaved by following other people’s remarks despite their own
beliefs. His encounter with social commentary enraged him into being someone
who stands up for beliefs and current issues and to put his own judgment into his
renowned songs.
During the
60’s, Bob Dylan was known for his immense outspoken words towards the society
with his social and political notion. He taught himself how to write poems and
taught himself how to play the piano and the guitar. He joined many bands and
traveled to New York to pursue his two main dreams, one was to meet his hero
Woody Guthrie who was hospitalized in New York. He dedicated a song to Guthrie
called, “Song for Guthrie.” Soon after his visit to see Guthrie, he traveled
and booked gigs and was later recognized. He started doing what normal artists
do like construct albums, but he wasn’t like any normal average artist, he
wanted something more, so he worked on films to get his ideas out more visually
and soon he began to fall to the pits in his career. Dylan (ND) explicitly expresses
this in his song “Ain’t No Man Righteous (No Not One)” when he sings:”
Sometimes the devil likes to drive you from the
neighborhood.
He'll even work his ways through those whose intentions are good.
Some like to worship on the moon, others are worshipping the sun
And there ain't no man righteous, no not one.
Here Dylan
is indicating that he concur with the fact that there “Aint No Man Righteous
(No Not One),” submits that people want to gain respect although it isn’t
easily achieved through actions or words. He tells you that as people, you
worship but event though you believe in all the gods; you won’t be considered
someone who praises for higher independence. This song serves as a social
commentary because it argues to you that you can never be a righteous man
because those who intended to be well-known don’t do it for the benefit of the
doubt, they just do it to be looked upon. This serves as a social commentary
because it argues that there isn’t anyone who is righteous in the world because
everyone does encounter many problems dealing with hypocrisy and who they
believe in. Americans everyday act as American’s should be such as raising the
flag, but you can’t get praised because of that because trying hard to do
something well turns out to be exactly the opposite of our deed. Changing your
lifestyle in order to gain respect and become a well known righteous man won’t
be considered. In his stanza, “I never did see no fire that could put out a
flame,” is committing to his belief that even if a man does good deeds, he
won’t be considered righteous because no man could live without sins, such as
no fire could put out a flame. Hakim (1999) demonstrates that, “not everyone
liked rock-in fact, some people hated it. The lyrics were often about sex or
drugs, and the volume of the instruments-which were usually electrically
amplified-could be ear-splitting.” With the following statement, you can
clearly view that not many people enjoyed rock music because of it continuous
outcome of voice.
During the 60’s, Bob Dylan was known
for his immense outspoken words towards the society with his social and
political notion. He taught himself how to write poems and taught himself how
to play the piano and the guitar. He joined many bands and traveled to New York
to pursue his two main dreams, one was to 
meet his hero Woody Guthrie who was hospitalized in New York. He
dedicated a song to Guthrie called, “Song for Guthrie.” Soon after his visit to
see Guthrie, he 
traveled and booked gigs and was later recognized. Well besides the root of what John Lennon
is saying, NWA is also a group who share common beliefs.
NWA is an aggressive and sexist group of gangster rap, which
are made up of members known as Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, RIP Eazy E, MC Ren, DJ Yella
and Snoop Dogg. The group came out of LA and changed rap. They started in the
late '80s, when Public Enemy had rewritten the rules of hardcore rap by demonstrating
that it can be brilliant, revolutionary and socially aware. This album cover
shows how gangsters were portrayed back during the 80’s when rap was not at all
successful such as today. Many people, especially Congress, disagreed with this
type of music and try in everyway to ban this kind of music just because it’s
causing young kids to commit offensive crimes. Parents and Congress blame rap
music for their type of behavior. The group started to break up when Ice Cube
left the notorious group in the late 1989 and producer Dr. Dre left for solo
career in 1992. Although the group itself ended, the influence of their beats
and their lyrics were marked throughout the '90s and had a major impact on the
ways people eye rap music.
NWA made songs that are controversial such as 'express
yourself,' which talks about how different things can express ones true self.
Their song describes to you that everyone express themselves in different ways
choosing different languages and perspectives. They talk about how people
follow others to fit in and "what society wants them to be." NWA (1988)
openly instruct this in their song “Express Yourself” when they sing:
Forget about the ghetto
And rap for the pop charts.
Some musicians curse at home
But scared to use profanity
When up on the microphone.
Yeah, they want reality.
But you won't hear none.
They rather exaggerate a little fiction.
Some say no to drugs and take a stand,
But after the show they go lookin' for the dopeman.
Or they ban my group from the radio.
Hear NWA and say
"Hell no!”
But you know it ain't all about wealth
As long as you make a note to...
