A Study of Popular Protest Songs, 1963-1970
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University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Student Work 12-1-1997 The times they were a-changing' : A study of popular protest songs, 1963-1970 Holly Kingsley Miller University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork Recommended Citation Miller, Holly Kingsley, "The times they were a-changing' : A study of popular protest songs, 1963-1970" (1997). Student Work. 2839. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/2839 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Work by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE TIMES THEY WERE A-CHANGIN’: A STUDY OF POPULAR PROTEST SONGS, 1963 - 1970 A Thesis Presented to the Department of Communication and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha by Holly Kingsley Miller December 1997 UMI Number: EP74368 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI Dissertation Publishing UMI EP74368 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. 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Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 THESIS ACCEPTANCE Acceptance for the faculty of the Graduate College, University of Nebraska, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Master of Arts, University of Nebraska at Omaha Committee Name Department/S chool <3 c A — CZx> m m uA I cat ^ '0(\ TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter T Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 U Review of L'terature ............................................................................14 Music as a Tool for Socialization ............................................. 14 Persuasion in Songs ................................................................... 19 Content Analysis of Lyrics ........................................................24 Examination of Musical Elements............................................27 The Structure and Style of Songs ............................................32 Music and Societal Events ........................................................36 Audience Analysis .....................................................................39 Conclusion .................................................................................41 Central Research Questions ..................................................... 42 III Methodology .......................................................................................43 IV Results and Discussion ....................................................................... 50 Lyrical Analysis..........................................................................52 Structure and Style Evaluation ................................................61 Examination of Musical Elements ........................................... 69 Melody Results .................................................................72 Rhythmic Results............................................................. 78 Discussion of Melodic and Rhythmic Results ...............84 Chord Selection ........................................................................ 87 Instrumentation ......................................................................... 89 Song Categorization ..................................................................92 V Summary and Conclusions ...............................................................100 Appendix ............................................................................................................ 113 Works Cited .......................................................................................................... 130 ABSTRACT The 1960’s were very turbulent times in American society. The Vietnam War created battle lines on the home-front between the young and the old, and patriots and the counter culture. During these years, protest songs were evidence of the discontent of American youth. This thesis explored the message content and message structure of popular Vietnam War related protest songs from 1963 - 1970. A sample of sixteen songs were studied through lyrical analysis, structure and style evaluation and an examination of their musical elements. Lyrical analysis revealed that all the sample songs introduced listeners to perceived problems in the status quo. A wide range of societal issues were presented as problems such as cultural conformity, the generation gap, draft resistance, and the morality of war. Problems were presented in an expressive, simplistic manner that did not provide listeners with solutions. Folk and country western style songs focused on a limited number of societal concerns. Rock song lyrics were more complex and referred to numerous social issues. Fifteen of the sixteen sample songs were classified as first stage protest songs that promote ideology. One song, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ was classified as a second stage protest song, used to recruit individuals to a cause. Song message structures and styles blended with the popular music styles of the era The sample included folk, rock and country western style songs. The songs had high ascriptive values associated with their use of major chords, traditional instrumentation and intrinsic and extrinsic redundancy devices. An examination of the melodic and rhythmic elements revealed a correlation between basic syntactic structure and folk songs and embellished syntactic structure and rock music. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 extend my appreciation to the members of my thesis committee To Dr. Michael Sherer for his skillful guidance and encouragement; to Dr Randall Rose and Dr. Mark Rousseau for the generous contribution of their advise and time. Sincere thanks to my husband Duane for his love and support while 1 attended classes, completed assignments and wrote this thesis; and to my children Cara and Matt for their patience and understanding. I Chapter One - Introduction At first there was only the sounds of the crowd Then the music began. It had a rollicking, syncopated ragtime rhythm, in a familiar style. The crowd swayed to the beat, as they listened to the singer and his band. The song was a simple tune that came to life with these vibrant lyrics: First verse: Come all of you big, strong men Uncle Sam needs your help again. He’s got himself in a terrible jam, ‘way down yonder in Viet Nam, So put down your books ‘n’ pick up a gun, We’re gonna have a whole lot of fun Chorus: And it’s one, two, three, what are we fightin’ for, Don’t ask me, — I don’t give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam; 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. As the band, Country Joe MacDonald and the Fish, played on the listeners are struck by the irony of jubilant music accompanied by savage satirical lyrics. Each verse of this song, entitled T-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die-Rag’, attacked an aspect of American Foreign policy. The lyrics ridicule machismo, militarism, war profiteering, and anti- Communist paranoia. The last verse presented an advertisers image of the war:1 Fourth verse: Come on Mothers throughout the land, pack your boys off to Viet Nam ' John Storey, “Bringing It All Back Home: American Popular Song and the War in Vietnam”, The Vietnam Era, ed. Michael Klien (London: Pluto. 1990) 83. 2 Come on Fathers, don’t hesitate, Send you sons offbefore it’s too late. Be the first ones on your block to have your boy come home in a box.2 This song was released in 1967 and soon became the anti-war demonstrator’s unofficial marching song It was performed at the Woodstock Music Festival in August 1969, for a “stoned, dancing, muddy mass of humanity”.3 The audience listened to a wide variety of music that ranged from soulful and pleading, to harsh and critical of the status quo These protest songs spoke for a generation o f‘rock-tongued’ youth facing the turmoil and horrors of a war they felt was unnecessary. The lyrical messages and the music of these protest songs are the focus of this investigation.4 American popular music’s response to the war can be traced to the folk music revival (1958-1964). Concentrated in the coffeehouses of Greenwich Village, this venue nurtured both traditional and topical folk singers. The traditionalists strove to remai'i true to the historical heritage of folk songs, singing old songs exactly as written. The topicalists used the folk song style to address current issues such as the Vietnam War. Prominent singers in the topicalist style were Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Bufly Sainte- Marie, Pete Seeger, Country Joe MacDonald, Phil Ochs, Malvina Reynolds, Tom Paxton, 2 Leo Alfassy ed., The Life. The Times. The Souas of Country Joe and The Fish. (New York: Ryerson Music Publishers. Inc.. 1971 ) 48-50. 3 Anthony M. Casale and Philip Lerman, Where Have All The Flowers Gone? The Fall and Rise of the Woodstock Generation