Often such songs are driven by strong senses of injustice or exasperation. They can pierce your heart more than a dump truck load of soppy love songs.
Four years before I was born, American folk figures Pete Seeger and Lee Hays wrote a powerful yet simple socialist anthem that most readers of this blog will be very familiar with. It's "If I Had A Hammer". Of this song, Pete Seeger once said that it had a message for ordinary working people - "We have got tools and we are going to succeed". He also remarked that back in 1949, "Only 'Commies' used words like 'peace' and 'freedom'". Recordings of the song were blacklisted in America and in 1955 Pete Seeger was summoned to give testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He stood up to them bravely.
If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening, all over this land
I'd hammer out danger, I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land
If I had a bell, I'd ring it in the morning
I'd ring it in the evening, all over this land
I'd ring it in danger, I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring in love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land
If I had a song, I'd sing it in the morning
I'd sing it in the evening, all over this land
I'd sing it in danger, I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land
Well I got a hammer and I got a bell
And I got a song to sing all over this land
It's the hammer of justice, it's the bell of freedom
It's a song about love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land
The song has been recorded by many different artistes, some of whom failed completely to convey the angry political message it contains. It's not meant to be a happy little ditty with you grinning and winking at the camera. It is intended to stir and inspire.
Pete Seeger lived a long and fruitful life, remaining true to his core principles. He died in 2014 at the age of ninety four. The recording I have chosen to end this blogpost with was made five years before his death. Thank you Pete.
I remember that song but only two of the others you have listed, "Imagine" and "Born in the USA"
ReplyDeleteIt's a classic and early protest song. I had no idea about the band and his appearance before the 'Committee'. I am not sure if I've heard his recording of the song. Here goes.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad had a 5" record of this song, but I'm afraid I don't know whether it was sung by Pete Seeger or someone else. I knew the lines from an early age, long before I actually spoke and understood English, and of course had no idea of the meaning until much later.
ReplyDeleteProtest songs inspire the young and give them the strength to march for good causes. There are quite a few protest Canadian video songs which are good. All Canadian animals taking up arms to defend their country against the aggressor.
ReplyDeleteYes. Seeger was subpoenaed by House Unamerica.
ReplyDeleteJohn Steinbeck was frightened by the witch-hunt hysteria.
Irwin Shaw's story *Goldilocks at the Graveside* evokes those times.
See Shaw's book SHORT STORIES : FIVE DECADES. Great reading.
DAN SCHNEIDER VIDEO INTERVIEW #79 : ON IRWIN SHAW. YouTube.
Adam Shaw talking about his father Irwin. Adam is a professional pilot.
There's also my favorite protest song:1939's "Strange Fruit" made famous by Billie Holiday that uses the metaphor of hanging bodies to expose the brutality of lynching in the American South.
ReplyDeleteWritten as a poem in 1937 by Abel Meeropol, a white Jewish high school teacher from the Bronx it was inspired by a haunting 1930 photograph of the lynching of two Black men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, in Marion, Indiana.
It is widely considered one of the first explicit and powerful musical protests against American racism and was named "Song of the Century" by Time magazine in 1999 and added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.
"If I Had a Hammer" is one of my favorite songs. For me, I remember the version by Peter, Paul and Mary. I used to play that song to my students when we were studying the Vietnam War.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie "A Complete Unknown," Edward Norton played Seeger and did a fantastic job. As he does with all of his roles. But I especially enjoyed him in that movie. He really brought Pete Seeger to life. A noble role!
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