Music from the Margins

Music from the Margins
by Dwight A Moody

Sixty years ago we were singing our way to social change, led by Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul, and Mary.  We, as a nation, were pushing back against government structures and stipulations as they bore upon the war in Vietnam and segregation across the South. 

John Prine rose to fame with his powerful “Sam Stone” and “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” with its haunting lyric, Now Jesus don’t like killin’ no matter what the reason’s for.

And, of course, who can forget hearing and singing the greatest of them all, “We Shall Overcome.” It was Mahelia Jackson and Joan Baez that led that anthem at the 1963 March on Washington. 

Protest music makes a difference. Then and now, what we write, recite, and sing shapes our own souls and also shapes the nation. We are now in another great period of protest. Not since those heady days six decades ago have so many people gathered in streets and on corners to push back against government policy and state sanctioned violence. We have watched in horror as authorities bombed other countries (Nigeria, Iran, and Nicaragua) and invaded our own cities (Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis). 

Resistance is growing, and one stream of energy and inspiration is music. Take, for instance, the grass roots folk revival typified by singers such as Jesse Welles. He was born Jess Allen Breckenridge Wells in Arkansas in 1992. But he has hit the big time with a stage name and a strong word of rebuke. None stronger than his recent song, “Join Ice.” Here are two verses and the chorus;

Well, if you’re lookin’ for purpose in the current circus
If you’re seekin’ respect and attention
If you’re in need of a gig that’ll make you feel big
Come with me and put some folks in detention

       Just last week was kind of tough, I put a kid in cuffs
       I zip-tied a lady to a van
       We can sneak around town, hunt workin’ folks down
       I hear they got a great benefit plan

Join ICE, boy, ain’t it nice? Join ICE, take my advice.
If you’re lackin’ control and authority
Come with me and hunt down minorities.  Join ICE!

Another example is Jax the Bard. With American and Irish folk influences, she has penned such sharply written lyrics as “Cold as Ice:  

You’ve heard about the new regime, Probably seen ‘em once or twice.
They’re dressed in black from head to toe with hearts as cold as ice.
      They’re taking people off the street but it won’t affect you, right?
      Don’t you mind me officers,  can’t you see my skin is white? 

But that skin it won’t protect you. This is everybody’s mess and
The best thing you can do is pray you ain’t the one who’s next.
      Enjoying lower taxes? Do your groceries cost you less?
      That’s only for the rich folks and your bracket don’t impress.
Now you done sold out your neighbor for nothing more than lies,
And now the law upon this land is you must comply or die.

       And I feel inclined to help you. Will thoughts and prayers suffice?
      Dear lord, I pray you find a way to thaw your heart of ice.

Perhaps the most appealing is the worldwide network of Raging Grannies.  Launched in Canada in the 1980s, it has gained fame and influence in pushback to the authoritarian policies and practices of the current political regime. Their pattern is to sing new lyrics to familiar tunes, as this Carolina chapter, known as the Piedmont Raging Grannies, sings “Hey, Mr Tangerine Man” sung to the tune of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.”

Hey, Mr. Tangerine Man, What’s that on your head?
Is it alive or is it dead? Do you keep it on in bed?
How often is it fed? We’re dying to take a peek
To see what’s under it.

Hey, Mr. Tangerine Man, Waving at your fans
It’s all about those little hands And your nonexistent master plan
And on a cold November morning No one’s following you

And in case there’s any question, I’m a white man just like you
Not a black man or a Jew or a Muslim or Hindu.
But I’m scared of what you’d do. You’d blow us all to Timbuktu
Please bid the phone adieu, Well, it’s time to stop the insults
And the tweeting It’s not hard to kill an elephant

And that’s just what you did like your inbred rat-tooth kids
It’s fair game, you’re pure id
Well, who are you trying to kid, with your presidential bid?
You’re either gonna flip your lid Or shut down the whole grid
‘Cause even rich men get outbid And you’ll claim it’s rigged
Before you take your beating.

Sometimes humor is the best pushback to people in power who think they are so great. 

Meanwhile, I am in upstate South Carolina, around Greenville, the epicenter of the worst measles outbreak in decades. Symptomatic children are being triaged in parking lots to prevent spread of the disease to other children in waiting rooms.  Will somebody please write a song about this sad state of affairs?