I was interested in taking MUS 300 because I love Political Science and music (predominantly Classical, Jazz, and Experimental Hip Hop), so when this course entitled “Music of Resistance, Revolution, & Liberation” came up I jumped for it. I had never heard of a broadside ballad before taking this course, so I’m excited to learn about it more in depth.
Pete Seeger has been a legendary folk singer for generations. He was schooled (before dropping out before finals) at Harvard and was drafted during World War II, before joining the Communist Party while the Cold War heated up. At that time, he focused on major labor issues of the day and was a successful musician until he was blacklisted by rumors of his Communist ties and was tried by the House Un-American Activities Committee and sentenced for ten years. After which, he joined the civil rights movement and Vietnam protesting. At this point in his life, he was a mature adult and well out of the “mainstream” hippy movement which sets the tone for this song, in particular.
Seeger’s “Bring Them Home” was written as a protest song of the Vietnam War. Unlike many of his fellow musicians, his song embodied the “moderate” American-a war weary citizen disenchanted with the system. His song was truly an example of a broadside ballad, with an easy repetitive beat simple lines and speaking for the “average” guy in America. He declares that even though he is not a pacifist, or a radical, but he wants the soldiers sent off to war to come back home because going to war was the wrong way of attacking the social issues. What was needed was love and understanding, instead. It’s a powerful message, yet a simple one to relate to as it has vibrations of relevance in even today’s times with our current “war for oil”.
As a current Political Science student at Westminster grappling with the issues of today, it is crucial to understand the “moderate” voice of the people in the midst of the partisan power plays and war. I think that Seeger’s work, while originally intended to reflect the mood of America during Vietnam, still has a place in today’s anti-war protesters.
Well done. I like your final paragraph, in particular, and I agree!
ReplyDelete