The American Experience: Songs of Protest and Patriotism

The American Experience: Songs of Protest and Patriotism

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  The American Experience: Songs ofProtest and Patriotism LISA D’ADAMO-WEINSTEIN
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  American Songs ofProtest & Patriotism 1768 The Liberty Song - John Dickson 1778 Chester – Williams Billings 1814 The Star- Spangled Banner – Francis Scott Key 1872 Go Down Moses – Jubilee Singers 1900 Life Every Voice and Sing – James Weldon Johnson 1939 Strange Fruit – Billy Holiday 1945 We Will Overcome – Lucille Simmons 1969 War – The Temptation s 1989 Fight the Power – Public Enemy 2004 American Idiot – Green Day 2015 Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) – Lin-Manuel Miranda 2017 Nasty Man – Joan Baez 2018 This is America – Childish Gambino 2020 March March – The Chicks “In harmony with the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom American history, songs have cried out against inequality, poverty and war, and in support of workers, civil and human rights”(Independent Lens).
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  Pre-Revolutionary War THE LIBERTYSONG, JULY 1768 By John Dickinson "Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall!".
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  CHESTER By William Billings AmericanRevolutionary War “Let tyrants shake their iron rod, And Slav'ry clank her galling chains, We fear them not, we trust in God, New England's God forever reigns.” Chester By William Billings
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  Star Spangled Banner ALITTLE HISTORY The words to ‘The Star- Spangled Banner’ come from an 1814 poem, ‘The Defence of Fort McHenry’, composed by American poet Francis Scott Key.
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  Star Spangled Banner WhitneyHouston before Super Bowl XXV in 1991 in Tampa Jose Feliciano performs before Game 5 of the World Series in 1968 The US Army Field Band and Soldiers' Chorus INTERPRETATIONS
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  Star Spangled BannerPROTESTS Protests of the National Anthem • Protest of war • Religious freedom • 1968 Olympics • Athletes protesting police brutality & racism 2020 - Calls for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ to be replaced with a new US national anthem Jimi Hendrix The Star Spangled Banner American Anthem Live at Woodstock 1969
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  Go Down Moses(Let My People Go) LOUIS ARMSTRONG PAUL ROBESON Go down Moses Way down in Egypt land Tell old pharaoh to Let my people go! When Israel was in Egypt land Let my people go! Oppressed so hard they could not stand Let my people go! The lyrics of the song represent liberation of the ancient Jewish people from Egyptian slavery. And, was used as code to help slaves escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad, particularly by Harriet Tubman who was nicknamed Moses.
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  Lift Every Voiceand Sing Lift ev’ry voice and sing, ‘Til earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the list’ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on ’til victory is won. Beyoncé HOMECOMING Lift Every Voice at Cochella (2019) written by James Weldon Johnson and Rosamund Johnson Black National Anthem Kim Weston - 1972 "Lift Every Voice and Sing," performed by Baylor junior Jada Holliday Filmed in Elliston Chapel on the Baylor University campus for Juneteenth 2020 Levar Burton speaks “Lift Every Voice” on the 155th Anniversary of Juneteenth
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  Strange Fruit Southern trees beara 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 Pastoral scene of the gallant South The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth Scent of magnolia, sweet and fresh Then the sudden smell of burning flesh Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop Here is a strange and bitter crop By Lewis Allan (Abel Meeropol) “On August 7, 1930, two African-American teenagers, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, were lynched by a violent mob in Marion, Indiana. Moved by the infamous photograph taken that night, Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high school teacher in New York City, wrote a protest song entitled, "Strange Fruit." The song soon became a signature of a young jazz singer named Billie Holiday, the unforgettable finale of her live performances, inspiring generations to believe in the power of music and the dignity of the human spirit”(SALT Project)
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  We Shall Overcome "We shallovercome someday. Deep in my heart, I do believe." Find out more – click on this link and this link. Pete Seeger, who popularized the song, talks about the history of "We Shall Overcome" (2006) 1963 - Joan Baez performs "We Shall Overcome“ at the March on Washington GOSPEL 1900 - a gospel song "I'll Overcome Some Day" by the Reverend Charles Albert Tindley of Philadelphia. LABOR 1945 - first political use Charleston, S.C. strike against the American Tobacco Co. Lucille Simmons, sang “I Will Overcome – I’ll Be Alright” at the end of each day of picketing, changing the I to We. POPULARIZED 1950s - Zilphia Horton, Highlander Research and Education Center, learning the song from Lucille Simmons, teaches Pete Seeger an early adaptation changing “We Will” to the more well known “We Shall Overcome.” CIVIL RIGHTS 1963 – sung by folk singer, Joan Baez, at the Lincoln Memorial as part of the March on Washington, advocating for civil and economic rights for African Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech.
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  WAR War, huh, yeah Whatis it good for? Absolutely nothing Ah, ha, ha, ha War, huh, yeah What is it good for? Absolutely nothing Sing it again, y'all Temptations - 1970 By Norman Whitfield and Barret Strong Bruce Springsteen - 1985
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  American Idiot Green Day -2005 Don't wanna be an American idiot Don't want a nation under the new mania And can you hear the sound of hysteria? The subliminal mind-fuck America
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  Fight the Power ByPublic Enemy Lemme hear you say Fight the power (lemme hear you say) Fight the power Fight the power Fight the power Fight the power Fight the power
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  "Immigrants, We GetThe Job Done"
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  Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Protest Playlist On Spotify
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  Joan Baez 2017 "Nasty Man"by Joan Baez Sung in protest of Donald J. Trump’s presidency. 2020 “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan Sung for all the heroes of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Here’s a little song about a man gone wrong While building up his evil empire. And after months of ifs and buts The papers got the guts To call the Man of the Year a liar
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  This is America (2018) Childish Gambino(Donald Glover) This is America (skrrt, skrrt, woo) Don't catch you slippin' now (ayy) Look at how I'm livin' now Police be trippin' now (woo) Yeah, this is America (woo, ayy) Guns in my area (word, my area) I got the strap (ayy, ayy) I gotta carry 'em Yeah, yeah, I'ma go into this (ugh) Yeah, yeah, this is guerilla, woo Yeah, yeah, I'ma go get the bag Yeah, yeah, or I'ma get the pad Yeah, yeah, I'm so cold like yeah (yeah) I'm so dope like yeah (woo) We gon' blow like yeah (straight up, uh) Dr. Lori Brooks teaches in the African-American Studies department at Fordham University, and she provides an analysis of the symbolism and meanings in the song.