Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Sex and Sexuality in the Lyrics Of

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Josef Bock Sex and sexuality in the lyrics of Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith Bachelor's Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. 2019 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. Josef Bock I would like to thank Jeffrey Vanderziel for his time, patience and valuable advice he offered me during the writing of this thesis. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Lyrics as a form of literature 4 3. Robert Johnson's lyrics and analysis 7 4. Bessie Smith's lyrics and analysis 18 5. Comparison 31 6. Conclusion 34 Works Cited 36 Summary 40 Resume 41 1. Introduction Song lyrics are usually the medium through which artists express themselves that is the most comprehensible for the listeners. They have been used in the past to comment on various political, cultural and social issues which tend to resonate with audiences the most. Singers, composers and lyricists always attempt to induce an emotional response from their audiences with their artistic choices and there are countless ways in which they can do it. The main question that this thesis will attempt to find the answer to is how two artists approach one specific subject matter that is often explored in lyrics of songs and specifically songs of the blues genre. The topic of the lyrics that will be examined is sex, sexual desire or romantic relationships of partners together with their stances on or demands regarding sex. Writers often tend to employ uninspired or overused wordings in their lyrics through which they articulate their feelings and opinions to their listeners. However, in blues songs the use of creative metaphors, symbolism and idiomatic language is very common especially in relation to topics that are naturally filled with tension like violence, drugs and sex. Lyrics in blues music, although they might seem simple and straightforward, usually have much more depth and meaning in them. The purpose of this thesis is to compare song lyrics that explore mainly the theme of sex and sexual desire written or performed by two immensely influential American blues artists, singers and composers of the 1920s and 1930s, Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith, who, along with their highly acclaimed musicianship, prove to be skilled composers and lyricists as well. These artists are now considered to be pioneers of their craft and they are widely followed and respected as musicians and performers. There are similarities in their lives that may have played a role in their musical career to a certain extend like their social background, ethnicity or the rural environment they both come from. Also, in their writing, for both Johnson and Smith the topic of sex was very much present. The value of their 1 musical contributions has been recognized ever since their first recordings but their work as writers is equally as important as their singing skills or the ability to play an instrument. Both of the selected authors are undoubtedly among the most important figures of their era and possibly even of the entire history of recorded blues music. Many different artists who came after them were in one way or another influenced by their music as well as their writing. The aim of this thesis is to understand how these performers approached the question of the topics of sex or sexual desire in their lyrics. Specifically, it attempts to find out if there is any substantial difference in their attitude to the topic and whether their own gender may have been in any way reflected in their writing during their careers during the period in between the two World Wars. The point of view from which a character in their songs recounts a story and his or her apparent mood during the telling will also be taken into consideration. Variations are expected of how the artists refer to sexual intercourse or how they describe the state of their relationships they are in. They are also likely to differ in the perspective from which the teller of the story is looking at sexual activity or romantic relationships and their aspects depending on their gender as men and women were more likely to think about sex differently at the time adhering to a socially acceptable standard. The argument for suggesting that there is a difference between the writing methods that both artist chose to express themselves will be supported by literary analysis of lyrics that deal with those topics since lyrics are one of many forms of writing. The different styles of expression of each artist will be analysed and compared with the other one. Word choices and the use of slang language will be among the main points that make their works different. The sources for the analysis will be exclusively their song lyrics since in this thesis their performance of a song is completely disregarded because they will be considered a piece of literature. Of course, those lyrics with some kind of sexual undertone will be analysed but, as mentioned above, the analysis will not concentrate only on sexual activity as such. Some 2 attention will be paid to their views on relationships of romantic partners and their stances within those relationships as expressed in their lyrics. Those stances might have been influenced in some way by their respective genders particularly due to more rigid upbringings of children in the early twentieth century in the American South however the role of their gender will not be basis for any argument presented in this thesis. After the introduction, the first chapter of the thesis provides some information on how lyrics are viewed by scholars as a form of literature and the importance of song lyrics in literary analysis as well as the main difference between lyrics and traditional poetry. In the second and third chapter specific song lyrics of both artists are analysed as a literary form of art concentrating on how they achieve an emotional response in their audience and how exactly they use various techniques to suggest or present delicate topics with mostly metaphoric language. Then in the following chapter the findings from the analysis of the sets of lyrics are compared to one another and the differences between the two performers are determined based on the findings from the previous two chapters. The final chapter is the conclusion of the thesis that summarizes the results and methods that have been used to reach them. 3 2. Lyrics as a form of literature As difficult as it may be to define literature, one acceptable definition would be that it is "a set of texts . whose purpose includes, but extends beyond, communication, in which the language itself is as much a part of the end product as is the content" (Kusch 3-4) as it has been written by professor Celena Kusch in her book Literary Analysis: The Basics. What Kusch says is essentially that literature is any text that uses language in such a way that its form is as important as its message and its function is therefore more than to simply inform. Such text can be perceived as a work of literature be it poetry, novels, theatrical plays or indeed song lyrics. Although it is quite a broad definition it encompasses what the key aspect of literary expression is which is that the form in which it is presented is as important as the content. Lyrics have been historically a relatively overlooked subject in terms of literary analysis compared to the other forms of literature although they certainly have been an important tool in verbal expression that deserves attention from scholars. Lars Eckstein in his book Reading Song Lyrics even argues that: "[a]ny literary or cultural history that excludes lyrics from its scope presents a dramatically lopsided view of verbal art, and, by extension, modern culture" (14). The biggest recognition of song lyrics as a form of literature in recent history is probably the Nobel Prize in Literature won by Bob Dylan in 2016 for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition" (The Nobel Prize). Despite the apparent resemblance of song lyrics and poetry, there is, of course, a significant difference between those two forms of literature which Eckstein explains when he remarks that "while the voice in poetry is generally perceived as an internalised one encoded in the medium of writing, the voice of lyrics is by definition external" (10). He later summarizes the most evident difference between lyrics and poetry when he says: 4 The most distinctive marker that distinguishes song lyrics from written poetry, after all, is that they are sung and that the verbal meaning of the words is set in relation to the musical meaning of their vocal embodiment and, if applicable, musical accompaniment. The words of songs, that is to say, are always doubly encoded, as both verbal and musical referents (67). With this statement he supports the idea that song lyrics should be considered a work consisting of two parts and that the performative aspect separates it from poetry which is meant to be interpreted solely internally by the readers. The object of analysis of this paper is, of course, lyrics of particular blues songs and when dealing with compositions of the blues genre the claims made by Eckstein apply even more as Ralph Eastman suggests when he argues that the "blues was a folk art form that was a product of the oral tradition designed for the accompaniment of dancers and the delight of live audiences.

Load more