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The Political Influence of Music In America
Music and politics are subjects that are not often associated with each other; however, they have influenced each other in many ways in America. According to Bruce Horner "Politics" in popular music is commonly understood to mean "political songs"-songs which either serve or struggle against dominant institutions like the state and economic system (Horner 57)." Throughout the history of The United States, whenever the country has experienced political controversy, music has been used to influence public opinion on issues. In the 1930’s, with the coming of the great depression, Woody Guthrie expressed his political opinions through folk songs. In the 1960’s many songs were written in response to the Vietnam War. Bob Dylan sang “Masters of War ” and “Blow'n in the Wind ”. Jimi Hendrix played a distorted version of the national anthem at Woodstock, and John Lennon sang “Power to the people” and "Imagine" . After the invasion of Iraq, Toby Keith sang “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)”, “The Taliban Song”, and “American Soldier” in support of the war, while many others, such as Bruce Springsteen, Barbara Streisand, Dave Matthews, and the Dixie Chicks sang songs in protest. It is obvious that music and politics have influenced each other. Politics influence music by providing the material for songs and giving a reason to make music in support or protest of an issue, while music influences politics by getting the artist’s viewpoint out to the public.
The mixture of politics and music has had many effects on culture in the United States. Before the 1930’s the political influence of most songs was mainly limited to patriotism. When stocks crashed signaling the start of the great depression, the mood of the country changed. It was around this time that the folk singer Woody Guthrie became one the first politically active singers. According to Guthrie, in his autobiography, he and a few of his friends help stop a mob that was attacking any Japanese people they came across in the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor (Guthrie 265-267). Although he spoke out strongly against fascism during World War II, he was not entirely happy with the direction things were going in America and as a result he was blacklisted by the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Instead of being silenced, Woody sang- I don't like the way this FBI's a treatin' me/ I don't like the way the spies are treatin' me/ I just don't like the way these guys are treatin' me,/ Poor me, it's the lockup if I speak my mind about it. Guthrie also had a strong influence on later artists who sang politically motivated songs, such as Bob Dylan and Country Joe and the Fish.
In the 1960s many people were unhappy with the situation in Vietnam. Not only were many people unsure of exactly why the war was being fought, there seemed to be no end to it in sight. This frustration was the subject of many songs of the 1960s. One of these was a song by Country Joe and the Fish called “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag”. The band of Country Joe and the Fish only became a band after the popularity of the song, which was originally written by the lead singer, Joe McDonald, for his magazine, Rag Baby. In the chorus he sings “And it's one, two, three, What are we fighting for? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam; And it's five, six, seven, Open up the pearly gates, Well there ain't no time to wonder why, Whoopee! We're all gonna die.” The song came at exactly the right time. People were frustrated with the way things were going in Vietnam and the song's anti-war lyrics and disillusionment with the government fit the mood of that time so well that it is sometimes called the anthem of the 60s.
The invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 brought controversy over whether we should have sent troops, and what the real reasons were for the war. This controversy led to many new songs with political messages. The country’s opinion was very evenly divided over the war and there were songs both for and against the war in Iraq. Since the war also came shortly before the presidential election of 2004 many musicians took positions either supporting George Bush or trying to get someone else elected. Country singer and registered democrat, Toby Keith was one of the most outspoken musicians in favor of the war singing lyrics like “Now they attacked New York City cause they thought they could win/ Said they would, stand and fight until the very bloody end/ Mr. Bush got on the phone with Iraq and Iran and said "Now, you sons-of-bitches you better not be doin any business with the Taliban"/ So we prayed to Allah with all of our might/ Until those big U.S. jets came flyin one night/ They dropped little bombs all over their holy land/ And man you should have seen em run like rabbits, they ran. The Taliban”. Keith's lyrics reflect the views of many conservatives who supported the attack on Iraq. His views, although extreme, are not far from that of many other country singers. While popular music and rock tend to be more liberal, country music, as a whole, tends to be more conservative than any other genre.
There were many other musicians, however, that were not in favor of the war. On October 12, 2004 Bruce Springsteen, REM, Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks tried to gain support for Presidential candidate John Kerry by holding the five hour final of the Vote for Change Tour in Washington D.C. Springsteen's political affiliation has been the source of controversy since Ronald Reagan's presidency. His album "Born in the U.S.A." was used by both Democrats and Republicans. According to Glenn Altschuler, Springsteen believed that his message was misunderstood only by Republicans (Altschuler 190-191).
Political music is written to stir our emotions and motivate us. Music, as a social commentary expresses political and social views (Music for the Mind). Music captures feelings and opinions that often are held by many people and gives them a voice. Music becomes politcal when those feelings and opinions are about politics. There has been debate about whether musicians should use their celebrity status to get their point of view out. One argument often used is that they are no better qualified to know about politics than the average person, however, as long as there are controversial political issues, music and politics will be connected.