Rhetoric Of Protest Songs Essay Example For Students

Rhetoric Of Protest Songs Essay Rhetoric of the protest songs has a very extensive history. The oldest protest song on record is The Cutty Wren from the Peasants Revolt of 1381 against feudal oppression, nearly six hundred years ago (Songs of Work and Protest 9). Protest music has developed over the years and has made its presence in history. The protest music of Vietnam War is the concentration of this paper. The two main artists of focus are Bob Dylan and John Lennon. Their songs will be analyzed and criticized naritively. Bob Dylan was one of the most influential musicians of the time. Dylan was born in the fine town of Duluth, Minnesota on May 24, 1941. He grew up in Hibbing, My life in a stolen minute, Dylan wrote, Hibbings a good ol town. I ran away from it when I was ten, twelve, thirteen, fifteen, fifteen and a half, seventeen an eighteen. I been caught an brought back all but once.(Dylan Songs 12). He taught himself how to play the guitar, piano, autoharp, and harmonica. Throughout his experiences he absorbed many different styles of music. Open up your eyes an ears an yer influenced an theres nothing you can do about it . . . I just seem to draw into myself whatever comes my way and it comes out me.(12) He graduated from high school in Hibbing and attended the University of Minnesota for about six months than left for New York and began writing comical-satirical talking blues songs. Next, he moved into a deeper view, of the world through his protest music. Later in his career he entered the int egration movement with the song Blowin in the Wind. His biography can be told through his songs, they have always reflected his thoughts, emotions, and life. Dylans lyrics not only express his personal thoughts, they also relate to the people in the country, mostly the youths in the sixties, and to the soldiers that fought in the war. One of the main songs that rallies against Vietnam is A Hard Rains A Gonna Fall. The song is depicting the atmosphere and experiences of the soldier in Vietnam. My blue-eyed son symbolizes the United States soldiers in Vietnam. Each verse appears to contain a correlation to events over seas. I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken, this coincides with the numerous failed peace talks. I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children, most of the men fighting were very young, sixty-one percent of the men killed were twenty-one or younger (War Information and Statistics). I heard the sound of thunder, it roared out a warnin This directly refers to the massive amount of bombs being dropped. During the entire war, the United States dropped nearly eight million tons of bombs, four times the tonnage dropped during all of World War II. It is the largest display of firepower in the history of warfare (War Information and Statistics). The section of the song in which he sings of who did you meet covers the different plights the troops faced. The young innocent children that died, the racial tension between soldiers, missing their families and being consumed by hatred because of the death they were surrounded by. Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters vividly images the use of Napalm, a petroleum based anti-personnel bomb that showers hundreds of explosive pellets upon impact (War Information and Statistics). The chorus of the song, And its a hard rains a-gonna fall is interpreted by the many men that fell to the war and lost their lives. A total of 58,202 men lost their lives in Vietnam. The most s ignificant metaphorical phrase in this piece of rhetoric is contained in the last two verses of the song. Then Ill stand on the ocean until I start sinkin, But Ill know my song well before I start singin He is telling the story of all the soldiers who understand they were going to loose their lives. Teamwork EssayThe song of importance is Imagine. It was a passion of John Lennons. It crystallized his dream for the world and his idealism. It was something that he really wanted to say to the world. Imagine was the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed of all John Lennons post-Beatles efforts. During a period of civil unrest and war a song to influence peace could not have come at better time. The ultimate testimony to the influence and spirit of this song can be seen in how it helped stop the Vietnam War, says Paul McCartney (Thompson 63). The main theme is the unification of people under common ideals. Its message also focuses on peace. It depicts it as the greatest factor of our world we live in. It is an inherent virtue of civilization. Without peace there is chaos, hatred, and eventually, nothing. It encompasses all values: without peace there is no love, without peace there is no friendship, without peace there is no life or will to live. Lenin wants us to i magine that there are no countries to segregate us, no possessions to validate us, no greed to corrupt us, No hunger to anguish us. The song itself is asking that we see the world consciously, and dont just coast by on what others have established as right. It wants you to invoke thought upon life as your own person to decide what it is you believe in. It has an imperative message of peace. Lenins melodic style conveys a poignant innocence, which complements the theme of the song perfectly. The music stays simple and seems to grasp the lyrics without a seam. It is the type of song that will appeal to almost anyone who hears it because of its rhythmic, almost hypnotic sound. It is the type of song that touches a persons heart, the kind of music we listen to because we can feel it. This song is truly a tribute to great music, and has been likened to the twentieth centuries answer to Beethovens Moonlight Sonata and Bachs Fantasia. The idea of this song is one that could easily be throw n out as a contradictory if it werent for the way Lennon portrays it. Lennon explains: My role in society, or any artists or poets role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all. (Thompson, 65) That is exactly how Lennon was able to relate and draw in his audience so well. Most of the elements in the song are hypothetical, it is not feasible that such a utopian system would take place, it is simply an ideal for the present and future. Nor are their any specific people mentioned or targeted, it is directed at the entire population. This rhetoric has the highest of ethic values, the ideals that we hope to reach one day. The song inspired many people and gave them hope. Lennon will always be remembered for his inspirational and idealistic music that changed the way the world looked at things. Together these two songs had a great impact on the peoples views toward the war. The reflected the thoughts of some and inspired others. In different ways they both contributed to helping bring Vietnam to an end by inspiring protesters and soldiers. Music Essays