Jestice/English 3

Review for Final Exam on American War Stories

50 questions—100 points

Directions:

1. Read about the following war songs, musicians, and music.

2. Analyze the song lyrics. Primary source material.

Use the TPCASTT graphic organizer to help in your gathering.

Summarize information using Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

3. Gather information from the biographies and commentaries on the songs. Secondary

source material. Document by marking the text.

4. Use this information to help you study for the final exam.

5. The poems/song lyrics (only) will be provided on the final exam. 50 questions; 100

points

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Civil War Period

Song “Buffalo Soldier” by Bob Marley

Buffalo Soldier

Bob Marley

Buffalo Soldier, dreadlock Rasta

There was a Buffalo Soldier

In the heart of America

Stolen from Africa, brought to America

Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival

I mean it, when I analyze these things

To me, it makes a lot of sense

How the dreadlock Rasta was the Buffalo Soldier

And he was taken from Africa, brought to America

Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival

Said he was a Buffalo Soldier, dreadlock Rasta

Buffalo Soldier, in the heart of America

If you know your history

Then you would know where you coming from

Then you wouldn't have to ask me

Who the heck do I think I am

I'm just a Buffalo Soldier

In the heart of America

Stolen from Africa, brought to America

Said he was fighting on arrival

Fighting for survival

Said he was a Buffalo Soldier

Win the war for America

Said he was a, woe yoy yoy, woe woe yoy yoy

Woe yoy yoy yo, yo yo woy yo, woe yoy yoy

Woe yoe yoe, woe woe yoe yoe

Woe yoe yoe yo, yo yo woe yo woe yo yoe

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Buffalo Soldier, troddin' through the land woo ooh

Said he wanna ran, then you wanna hand

Troddin' through the land, yea, yea

Said he was a Buffalo Soldier

Win the war for America

Buffalo Soldier, dreadlock Rasta

Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival

Driven from the mainland

To the heart of the Caribbean

Singing, woe yoy yoy, woe woe yoy yoy

Woe yoy yoy yo, yo yo woy yo woy yo yoy

Woy yoy yoy, woy woy yoy yoy

Woy yoy yoy yo, yo yo woe yo woe yo yoy

Troddin' through San Juan

In the arms of America

Troddin' through Jamaica, a Buffalo Soldier

Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival

Buffalo Soldier, dreadlock Rasta

Woe yoe yoe, woe woe yoe yoe

Woe yoe yeo yo, yo yo woe yo woe yo yoe

Songwriters: Bob Marley / Noel Williams

Buffalo Soldier lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Music Sales Corporation

Biography information from Biography.com

Synopsis

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica. In 1963, Marley and his

friends formed the Wailing Wailers. The Wailers' big break came in 1972, when they landed a

contract with Island Records. Marley went on to sell more than 20 million records throughout his

career, making him the first international superstar to emerge from the so-called Third World. He

died in Miami, Florida, on May 11, 1981.

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Early Life in Jamaica

Born on February 6, 1945, in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica, Bob Marley helped introduce reggae

music to the world and remains one of the genre's most beloved artists to this day. The son of a

black teenage mother and much older, later absent white father, he spent his early years in St.

Ann Parish, in the rural village known as Nine Miles.

One of his childhood friends in St. Ann was Neville "Bunny" O'Riley Livingston. Attending the

same school, the two shared a love of music. Bunny inspired Bob to learn to play the guitar.

Later Livingston's father and Marley's mother became involved, and they all lived together for a

time in Kingston, according to Christopher John Farley's Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob

Marley.

Arriving in Kingston in the late 1950s, Marley lived in Trench Town, one of the city's poorest

neighborhoods. He struggled in poverty, but he found inspiration in the music around him.

Trench Town had a number of successful local performers and was considered the Motown of

Jamaica. Sounds from the United States also drifted in over the radio and through jukeboxes.

Marley liked such artists as Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and the Drifters.

Marley and Livingston devoted much of their time to music. Under the guidance of Joe Higgs,

Marley worked on improving his singing abilities. He met another student of Higgs, Peter

McIntosh (later Peter Tosh) who would play an important role in Marley's career.

The Wailers

A local record producer, Leslie Kong, liked Marley's vocals and had him record a few singles,

the first of which was "Judge Not," released in 1962. While he did not fare well as a solo artist,

Marley found some success joining forces with his friends. In 1963, Marley, Livingston, and

McIntosh formed the Wailing Wailers. Their first single, "Simmer Down," went to the top of the

Jamaican charts in January 1964. By this time, the group also included Junior Braithwaite,

Beverly Kelso and Cherry Smith.

The group became quite popular in Jamaica, but they had difficulty making it financially.

Braithewaite, Kelso, and Smith left the group. The remaining members drifted a part for a time.

Marley went to the United States where his mother was now living. However, before he left, he

married Rita Anderson on February 10, 1966.

After eight months, Marley returned to Jamaica. He reunited with Livingston and McIntosh to

form the Wailers. Around this time, Marley was exploring his spiritual side and developing a

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growing interest in the Rastafarian movement. Both religious and political, the Rastafarian

movement began in Jamaica in 1930s and drew its beliefs from many sources, including

Jamaican nationalist Marcus Garvey, the Old Testament, and their African heritage and culture.

For a time in the late 1960s, Marley worked with pop singer Johnny Nash. Nash scored a

worldwide hit with Marley's song "Stir It Up." The Wailers also worked with producer Lee Perry

during this era; some of their successful songs together were "Trench Town Rock," "Soul Rebel"

and "Four Hundred Years."

The Wailers added two new members in 1970: bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his

brother, drummer Carlton "Carlie" Barrett. The following year, Marley worked on a movie

soundtrack in Sweden with Johnny Nash.

Big Break

The Wailers got their big break in 1972 when they landed a contract with Island Records,

founded by Chris Blackwell. For the first time, the group hit the studios to record a full album.

The result was the critically acclaimed Catch a Fire. To support the record, the Wailers toured

Britain and the United States in 1973, performing as an opening act for both Bruce Springsteen

and Sly & the Family Stone. That same year, the group released their second full album, Burnin',

featuring the hit song "I Shot the Sheriff." Rock legend Eric Clapton released a cover of the song

in 1974, and it became a No. 1 hit in the United States.

Before releasing their next album, 1975's Natty Dread, two of the three original Wailers left the

group; McIntosh and Livingston decided to pursue solo careers as Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer,

respectively. Natty Dread reflected some of the political tensions in Jamaica between the

People's National Party and the Jamaica Labour Party. Violence sometimes erupted due to these

conflicts. "Rebel Music (3 O'clock Road Block)" was inspired by Marley's own experience of

being stopped by army members late one night prior to the 1972 national elections, and

"Revolution" was interpreted by many as Marley's endorsement for the PNP.

For their next tour, the Wailers performed with I-Threes, a female group whose members

included Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt and Marley's wife, Rita. Now called Bob Marley & The

Wailers, the group toured extensively and helped increase reggae's popularity abroad. In Britain

in 1975, they scored their first Top 40 hit with "No Woman, No Cry."

Already a much-admired star in his native Jamaica, Marley was on his way to becoming an

international music icon. He made the U.S. music charts with the album Rastaman Vibration in

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1976. One track stands out as an expression of his devotion to his faith and his interest in

political change: "War." The song's lyrics were taken from a speech by Haile Selassie, the 20th

century Ethiopian emperor who is seen as a type of a spiritual leader in the Rastafarian

movement. A battle cry for freedom from oppression, the song discusses a new Africa, one

without the racial hierarchy enforced by colonial rule.

Politics and Assassination Attempt

Back in Jamaica, Marley continued to be seen as a supporter of the People's National Party. And

his influence in his native land was seen as a threat to the PNP's rivals. This may have led to the

assassination attempt on Marley in 1976. A group of gunmen attacked Marley and the Wailers

while they were rehearsing on the night of December 3, 1976, two days before a planned concert

in Kingston's National Heroes Park. One bullet struck Marley in the sternum and the bicep, and

another hit his wife, Rita, in the head. Fortunately, the Marleys were not severely injured, but

manager Don Taylor was not as fortunate. Shot five times, Taylor had to undergo surgery to save

his life. Despite the attack and after much deliberation, Marley still played at the show. The

motivation behind the attack was never uncovered, and Marley fled the country the day after the

concert.

Living in London, England, Marley went to work on Exodus, which was released in 1977. The

title track draws an analogy between the biblical story of Moses and the Israelites leaving exile

and his own situation. The song also discusses returning to Africa. The concept of Africans and

descendents of Africans repatriating their homeland can be linked to the work of Marcus Garvey.

Released as a single, "Exodus" was a hit in Britain, as were "Waiting in Vain" and "Jamming,"

and the entire album stayed on the U.K. charts for more than a year. Today, Exodus is considered

to be one of the best albums ever made.

Marley had a health scare in 1977. He sought treatment in July of that year on a toe he had

injured earlier that year. After discovering cancerous cells in his toe, doctors suggested

amputation. Marley refused to have the surgery, however, because his religious beliefs

prohibited amputation.

Redemption Song

While working on Exodus, Marley and the Wailers recorded songs that were later released on the

album Kaya (1978). With love as its theme, the work featured two hits: "Satisfy My Soul" and

"Is This Love." Also in 1978, Marley returned to Jamaica to perform his One Love Peace

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Concert, where he got Prime Minister Michael Manley of the PNP and opposition leader Edward

Seaga of the JLP to shake hands on stage.

That same year, Marley made his first trip to Africa, and visited Kenya and Ethiopia—an

especially important nation to him, as it's viewed as the spiritual homeland of Rastafarians.

Perhaps inspired by his travels, his next album, Survival (1979), was seen as a call for both

greater unity and an end to oppression on the African continent. In 1980, Bob Marley & The

Wailers played an official independence ceremony for the new nation of Zimbabwe.

A huge international success, Uprising (1980) featured "Could You Be Loved" and "Redemption

Song." Known for its poetic lyrics and social and political importance, the pared down, folk-

sounding "Redemption Song" was an illustration of Marley's talents as a songwriter. One line

from the song reads: "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free

our minds."

On tour to support the album, Bob Marley & The Wailers traveled throughout Europe, playing in

front of large crowds. They also planned a series of concerts in the United States, but the group

would play only three concerts there — two at Madison Square Garden in New York City and

one performance at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—before Marley became ill.

The cancer discovered earlier in his toe had spread throughout his body.

Death and Memorial

Traveling to Europe, Bob Marley underwent unconventional treatment in Germany, and was

subsequently able to fight off the cancer for months. It soon became clear that Marley didn't have

much longer to live, however, so the musician set out to return to his beloved Jamaica one last

time. Sadly, he would not manage to complete the journey, dying in Miami, Florida, on May 11,

1981.

Shortly before his death, Marley had received the Order of Merit from the Jamaican government.

He had also been awarded the Medal of Peace from the United Nations in 1980. Adored by the

people of Jamaica, Marley was given a hero's send-off. More than 30,000 people paid their

respects to the musician during his memorial service, held at the National Arena in Kingston,

Jamaica. Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt sang and the Wailers performed at the

ceremony.

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Commentary provided by ancestry.com

Behind the Music: The True Story of Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier"

Ancestry.com Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Marley's Album by Opening Military

Records of the Real Buffalo Soldiers Who Inspired the Song

PROVO, UT--(Marketwired - May 23, 2013) - Ancestry.com, the world's largest online family

history resource, is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bob Marley's hit song "Buffalo Soldier."

The song commemorates African American soldiers' important part in expanding the American

territories via their admirable "fight for survival." The family history site is making its records of

these actual Buffalo Soldiers who inspired the song, available to the public, free of charge.

While the song was hugely popular, the men behind it were not. As the first African American

U.S. Army units after the Civil War, the Buffalo Soldiers were some of America's unsung heroes

until Bob Marley made their story famous.

"Bob Marley was obviously moved by the important role these first African American troops

played in the history of America," said Dan Jones, VP of Content for Ancestry.com. "The

30thanniversary of the song's release is a perfect time to reflect on what their hard work did for

this country and how their struggles inspired musical legends like Bob Marley."

Handwritten records reveal that life for the soldiers was difficult -- even by military standards.

The troops were given used uniforms, guns that didn't always work and were not even issued

shoes. When they arrived at the western battlegrounds, the troops found the forts to be in great

disrepair, in need of rebuilding before the troops could even fight in battle. The records track the

soldier's special assignments, promotions, reassignments, sicknesses and more.

Though African American regiments have existed since the Revolutionary War, it wasn't until

the 9th

and 10th

Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army that they would receive the

nickname of Buffalo Soldiers. During a skirmish with the Native American tribes the Buffalo

Soldiers received the moniker that Bob Marley would later commemorate in his song. Although

the tribes fought ferociously against the U.S. soldiers, almost the entire company of soldiers

survived the battle. The Native Americans were impressed with the Buffalo Soldiers' tenacity,

and as a sign of respect, they likened the Army units to a buffalo that will keep charging despite

injuries or circumstance.

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"We are happy to be able to bring to life the history behind the iconic song," Jones said. "By

being able to shed light on the 'Buffalo Soldiers,' we hope to inspire more people to look into

where they come from."

These regiments would remain intact until the start of WWII, when they were disbanded and

reorganized into other regiments. The name of Buffalo Soldiers would follow over with some of

the men, but the name traditionally belongs to those men who fought with tenacity and bravery

in the 9th

and 10th

Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army.

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World War I Period

“Goodbye Alexander, goodbye honey boy”

Recorded by Marion Harris, July 22, 1918.

Lyrics by Henry Creamer; Composed by Turner Layton

http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/6760 (Library of

Congress).

Good-bye Alexander (Good-bye Honey-Boy)

http://imagesearchnew.library.illinois.edu/cdm/ref/collection/myers/id/1162

Verse:

Alexander Cooper was a colored trooper, with his regiment he marched away,

Bands were gaily playing, colored folks were swaying, on Emancipation Day.

Dinah Lee so proud, hollered to her sweetie good and loud.

Refrain:

Goodbye Alexander, goodbye honey boy,

Dressed up in that uniform you fills my heart with joy.

You ain’t born for mopin’, boy you sure can laugh,

But you left that window open and they got you in the draft.

Alexander, I’ll save my loving for you, I’ll be waiting like Poor Butterfly.

So get busy with that gun and don’t come back here till you’ve won,

Alexander goodbye.

Verse:

Brave old Alexander, he could understand her, he knew Dinah Lee was really blue,

Yet he kept on smiling, while his troop went filing proudly down the avenue,

On the pier, ev’ryone could hear Dinah calling to her sweetie dear.

Refrain:

Goodbye Alexander, goodbye honey boy,

Dressed up in that uniform you fills my heart with joy.

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You ain’t born for mopin’, boy you sure can laugh,

But you left that window open and they got you in the draft.

Alexander, I’ll save my loving for you, I’ll be waiting like Poor Butterfly.

If you want to see me grin, bring me a pig foot from Berlin,

Alexander goodbye.

Marion Harris

http://www.jazzage1920s.com/marionharris/marionharris.php

Born Mary Ellen Harrison, March 1897, in Vanderburgh County, Indiana (near but not in

Henderson, Kentucky as commonly referenced - see editor’s note below), Marion Harris’

recording career began in 1916 with “I Ain’t Got Nobody Much” (“Much” was subsequently

dropped from the song title) for Victor Records.

The songs that Marion Harris introduced or popularized include such standards as “After

You’re Gone” (1918), “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” (1919), “Look For The Silver Lining”

(1920), “I’m Nobody’s Baby” (1921), “Carolina In The Morning” (1922), “It Had To Be You”

(1924), “Tea For Two” (1924), “I’ll See You In My Dreams” (1925) and “The Man I Love”

(1927) just to name a few.

In 1910 a 13-year old Mary Ellen and her mother, Gertrude Harrison, a stenographer, were living

near Kansas City, Missouri. Mary Ellen’s father James was not with them at the time leading to

speculation that he has died before their move to Missouri or the parents were divorced so

mother and daughter moved on.

Miss Harris (sometimes mistakenly spelled “Marian” Harris - click on “Sweet Daddy” sheet

music to the right for example) begin her career in the 1910’s by singing with colored slides used

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by motion picture houses of the day. She was discovered by the famous Fred Astaire mentor,

dancer Vernon Castle. She was brought to New York by Broadway producer Charles Dillingham

and opened in his production of “Stop! Look! Listen!” [Ed.: unable to verify].

After three years of recording with Victor from 1916 to 1919, Miss Harris left for Columbia

Records recording there from 1920 to 1922. In late 1922 Marion Harris went to Brunswick

Records and remained with Brunswick until 1930. From 1931 to 1934 Miss Harris recorded for

Columbia Records in London producing her last side, the appropriately titled “Singin’ The

Blues” (Decca F-5160).

A very popular singer in the 1920’s, Marion Harris recorded into the 1930’s with over 130

recordings to her credit. She performed with the Isham Jones Orchestra and at the Cafe de Paris

in London in the early 1930’s.

Marion became a very popular vaudeville performer playing numerous engagements at the

Palace in New York during the 1920’s.

In 1927 Marion could be seen in Broadway productions of “Yours Truly” and “A Night In

Spain”. Marion made numerous appearances at the Palace in New York during 1926 to 1931. In

1929 she sang Vincent Youman’s “More Than You Know” in the musical play “Great Day”

which opened in Philadelphia.

Marion Harris’ first husband was actor Robert Williams (1897-1931) who starred opposite of

Jean Harlow and Loretta Young in “Platinum Blonde”. A gifted actor with great potential,

Williams died after an appendicitis operation just three days after the film was released. This

union produced a daughter, Marilyn (Mary Ellen) Williams, who had a singing, acting career in

the late 1940’s and early 1950’s billed as “Marion Harris, Jr.”.

Marion Harris was married in 1923 to Rush Bissell Hughes, son of Rupert Hughes, the famous

novelist and playwright (and uncle of Howard Hughes). Together they had one child Rush, Jr.

They divorced in 1928 following allegations in May 1927 involving a sixteen-year-old chorus

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girl Adele Smith who accused Rush Hughes of attacking her at the Hughes’ home in Long

Island. Miss Smith had a part in the Broadway play “Yours Truly” along with Marion Harris.

Rush Hughes was later acquitted by a grand jury but this event took its toll on their marriage.

Divorce was granted on January 5, 1928 in Chicago. Custody of their two-year-old son, Rush Jr.,

was granted to Miss Harris.

In 1929 Marion Harris plays Ramon Novarro’s cousin in “Devil-May-Care” her first and only

full-length motion picture. During this same time period she also did a MGM Movietone short

“Song Bird of Jazz” featuring two songs “Afraid of You” (click here to play) and “We Love

It”.

During World War II Miss Harris was living in London with her theatrical agent husband

Leonard Urry. She was bombed out of her home in London. She returned back to New York and

was a patient at the Neurological Institute a few weeks before she death. Marion Harris died on

April 23, 1944 at the Hotel Le Marquis, 12 East Thirty-first Street in New York. She had gone

to bed with a lit cigarette that ignited her bed.

Today Marion Harris rests in the Actors Fund of America section of Kensico Cemetery (grave

855), Valhalla, New York as “Marion Harris Urry”. Note the incorrect “1906” birth year on her

headstone. Marion’s is just one of hundreds of non-descript headstones neatly lined-up in rows

of forgotten theater people. Broadway comedienne Fay Templeton occupies an adjacent grave.

Nearby lies Sergei Rachmaninoff. The cemetery is also home to Lou Gerhig, Tommy Dorsey,

Danny Kaye, and Flo Ziegfeld.

Henry Creamer

https://upclosed.com/people/henry-creamer/

Henry Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was an African American popular song

lyricist. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular

songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, often collaborating with Turner Layton, with whom he

also appeared in vaudeville.

CAREER

Jestice/English 3

Henry Creamer was a singer, dancer, songwriter and stage producer/director. He first performed

on the vaudeville circuit in the U.S. and in Europe as a duo with pianist Turner Layton, with

whom he also co-wrote songs. Two of their most enduring songs, for which Creamer wrote the

lyrics, are "After You've Gone" (1918), which was popularized by Sophie Tucker, and "Way

Down Yonder in New Orleans" (1922) which was included in the soundtrack for one of the

dance numbers in the Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers 1939 movie The Story of Vernon and Irene

Castle.

Success on Broadway arrived in 1922 when Creamer’s Creole Production Company produced

the show Strut Miss Lizzie, and in 1923 to seal their success, Bessie Smith recorded their song

"Whoa, Tillie, Take Your Time". His other Broadway stage scores include Three Showers.

Creamer and Layton disbanded as a duo in 1924, when Layton relocated to Europe after which

Creamer continued his songwriting with pianist James P. Johnson. In 1924, Creamer joined

ASCAP.

In the fall of 1926, Creamer was commissioned to direct the Cotton Club revue, The Creole

Cocktail. The show featured Lottie Gee, Loncia Williams. Henry and LaPearl, Louie Parker,

White and Sherman, Eddie Burke, Ruby Mason and Albertine Pickens.

Also in 1926, Creamer and James P. Johnson wrote "Alabama Stomp". In 1930 they achieved

another hit with "If I Could Be with You" which was recorded by Ruth Etting. The song also

became the theme song for McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and was also a hit for Louis Armstrong

(Okeh 41448).

Creamer was a co-founder with James Reese Europe of the Clef Club, an important early African

American musicians and entertainers organization in New York City.

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World War II Period

“When the Tigers Broke Free” by Pink Floyd

It was just before dawn

One miserable morning in black '44

When the forward commander

Was told to sit tight

When he asked that his men be withdrawn

And the generals gave thanks

As the other ranks

Held back the enemy tanks for a while

And the Anzio bridghead was held for the price

Of a few hundred ordinary lives

And kind old King George sent mother a note

When he heard that father was gone

It was, I recall, in the form of a scroll

With gold leaf and all

And I found it one day

In a drawer of old photographs, hidden away

And my eyes still grow damp

To remember

That his majesty signed

With his own rubber stamp

It was dark all around

There was frost in the ground

When the tigers broke free

And no one survived from the Royal Fusiliers, Company see

They were all left behind

Most of them dead

The rest of them dying

And that's how the high command

Took my daddy from me

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Written by Roger Waters • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Biographical information about Roger Waters

Source http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2452473/Pink-Floyd-star-Roger-Waters-

soldier-fathers-final-hours-WW2-revealed-dramatic-dispatches.html#ixzz4gjtabmyC

PUBLISHED: 12:21 EDT, 10 October 2013 | UPDATED: 09:24 EDT, 11 October 2013

This is the touching moment Pink Floyd star Roger Waters visits a cemetery near where his

soldier father died in the final months of World War II.

Eric Fletcher Waters was serving as a second lieutenant with the Royal Fusiliers as they

advanced through Italy in 1944 when he was killed in action.

His newborn son Roger was aged just five months when he was killed on the battlefield near

Cassino.

Earlier this year, the Pink Floyd musician made an emotional journey to visit the battlefield

where his father was killed along with thousands of other Allied troops.

He was able to pinpoint the exact spot where he died and also visited a graveyard where his

death is marked on a memorial.

The second lieutenant's remains were never found.

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Graveside: Roger Waters of Pink Floyd visits a cemetery in Cassino, Italy, as he makes an

emotional journey to visit the battlefield where his father was killed along with thousands of

other Allied troops

Now, War Diary documents unearthed at the National Archives in Kew by former veteran Harry

Shindler, paint a clear picture of the final 24 hours of Lt Waters and the brave men of Z company

(coy) who were with him at Anzio in February 1944.

The first line dated February 17 records how at 11am 'intensive shelling and mortaring' took

place in the area where Lt Waters, commanding officer John Oliver-Bellasis and the rest of Z

company as they tried to advance on a heavily defended German position.

Later in the day, an entry timed 1745, describes colourfully how the Germans called on Lt

Waters and his comrades to give up: 'Z coy reported an attack on the left forward platoon. The

bosche called on them to surrender but were answered with all available SA (semi automatic)

fire. Casualties were inflicted.'

The diary, which documents dramatic dispatches from Mr Waters' time in service

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Just over an hour later, the entry adds: 'Situation well in hand, enemy decided to withdraw.

'Prisoners from Z coy said they had recently marched from Rome and were told they would not

be used in an attack. Had also been told that b'head was almost finished.'

The report goes on to record a quiet night but then in the early hours of the morning at 1.45am,

the day Lt Waters was killed, describes an 'enemy concentration reported on the rt of 7th Oxf &

Bucks, which is followed by an entry at 0630 of how the Oxf and Bucks troops are being

attacked 'and sounds of tracked vehilces heard to their front.'

At 7.15am 'Z coy reported attack by approx 50 Bosches. Successfully dealt with.' More than two

hours later at 0945am it adds: '5 enemy killed and several spandaus captured as result of above.'

Then 30 minutes later the battle which will claim Lt Waters life begins.

On the offensive: This picture shows troops landing in Anzio, on the Italian coast, in 1944

It reads: 'Further attack on Z coy. This time in greater strength than previous attack. Enemy in

close contact with forward positions. Unable to send assistance as Z coy having trouble on their

rt.'

An hour later the Diary records: 'Z coy reported enemy all round their positions, very stiff

fighting going on.' Then at 1130am the final report reads: 'Lt Waters killed and Lt Hill wounded,

situation now critical. Message received over air that assistance would now be too late.'

Lt Waters was killed in the first wave of fighting as the Allies attempted to secure the beach head

at Anzio, south of Rome.

Lt Waters name is on a memorial at the nearby Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Cassino

but his remains were never found.

Eric Waters' death provided the inspiration for several songs and it is commemorated in

particular with When The Tigers Broke Free, which also appeared in the film The Wall.

In the song, Waters describes how he feels that his 31-year-old father died because of foolhardy

generals.

The last verse has the lyrics 'It was dark all around. There was frost in the ground When the

tigers broke free. And no one survived From the Royal Fusiliers Company Z. They were all left

behind, Most of them dead.

'The rest of them dying. And that's how the High Command Took my daddy from me.'

Emotional time: The film and album The Wall tells the story of how a troubled rock star called

Pink, who is said to be Waters, is left psychologically scarred by the loss of his father in the war

Jestice/English 3

He also describes coming across a letter of condolence from George V as he tried on his father's

uniform, adding how he found it disturbing that it was rubber-stamped and not actually signed.

After visiting the cemetery at Cassino in March, Waters, 70, told a local Italian TV station: 'I'm

on a journey through Europe, my grandfather was killed in 1916 and my father was killed down

the road in Anzio. This is the end of my journey.

'Some of my past is in my music and so is my future. I'm making a film that won't be aired in

public.'

Speaking of his father, Waters recalled in an interview his childhood and how his father's death

had affected him. He said: 'When men in uniform came to collect their children, that's when I

realised I didn't have a father anymore.

'I was very angry. It took me years to come to terms with it. Because he was missing in action,

presumed killed, until quite recently I expected him to come home. The sacrifice of his life has

been a great gift and a great burden to me.'

The film and album The Wall tells the story of how a troubled rock star called Pink, who is said

to be Waters, is left psychologically scarred by the loss of his father in the war. The film opens

with scenes of a solider - Eric Waters - along with his comrades, storming a beachhead.

Mr Shindler, 93, a veteran who fought in Italy during Word War Two and is in charge of the Itay

Star Association which represents former soldiers, said: 'I started to dig around on the story when

I saw a report of this man on the TV.

'I was very moved that he wanted to find out more about his father's death and the circumstances

of how he was killed. I don't know who Pink Floyd are, my music stops at The Beatles.

'The report describes the events leading up to his father's death and how they were surrounded

and outnumbered but despite putting on a brave fight their was nothing they could do.'

Mr Shindler adds that he had been in touch with Roger Waters agent but had no direct contact

with the musician who recently completed a successful tour of Europe.

On his official website Waters has posted a tribute to his father and urged fans to send in photos

and stories of their 'Fallen Loved Ones'.

He writes it 'is a request, from me, reaching out to ask you to provide a photograph and personal

details of a "Loved One" lost in war. Your "Loved One’s" pictures and details would be

included, along with those of my father Eric, in my up coming show THE WALL, as an act of

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remembrance. The "Fallen Loved One" does not have to have been a soldier. Civilian deaths are

equally, if not more, harrowing.

'I make this request to you in light of my belief that many of these tragic losses of life are

avoidable. I feel empathy with the families of all the victims and anger at "THE POWERS

THAT BE", who are responsible, in equal measure. Please join me in honouring our dead and

protesting their loss.'

Commentary

Excerpt from http://www.thewallanalysis.com/when-the-tigers-broke-free-part-1/

It’s interesting that the tone of the first “Tigers” is so very detached and observational,

considering that second half of “Tigers” (featured later in the movie) is much more personally

and emotionally charged. Detached though it sounds, there is still a hint of flesh and blood in the

lyrics, namely in the subjective adjectives such as “miserable,” “black,” and “ordinary” used to

describe the morning just before the battle that will take Pink’s (and Roger Waters’) father’s life.

Because the song is so straightforward, the lyrics should need little explanation: the action takes

place in a trench at the frontline of the Anzio bridgehead in 1944. Waters states on the movie’s

DVD commentary that his father, who served as the model for Pink’s own dad, was 2nd

Lieutenant of the 8th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers Company C. The company held the front

line in February 1944 when the Germans launched a counterattack against the Allies in an

attempt to drive them back to the sea. The fate of the men is still undetermined at this point in the

film / album, as is that of the still unborn Pink. Yet history reveals that the Royal Fusiliers

Company C was completely destroyed by the counterattack, taking a “few hundred ordinary

lives,” among which was Roger’s (and, fictitiously, Pink’s) father.

There are quite a few interesting cinematic touches at this early point in the movie, among which

are the numerous extreme closeups. The movie opens with a gorgeous long shot of the hotel

hallway, at once ghostly and sterile in its absolute barren grayness. The shot is rather evocative

of the birth canal leading to the womb/room that Pink currently occupies. From here the viewer

is treated to one closeup after another, from Pink’s father lighting his lantern with Lions matches

(perhaps suggesting the noble cause and hearts of the Allied forces) to Pink sitting catatonic in

his hotel room with a cigarette burned down to his fingers. Every scratch on the glass of Pink’s

Mickey Mouse watch is visible (the watch serving as a reminder of the childhood he feels he

never truly had) as is every hair on his arm. The effect is both intimate and unnerving; we feel

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an immediate closeness with Pink’s father as he lights his lantern and a cigarette, utterly alone in

a cocoon of darkness as sounds of bombs and guns fire sporadically all around him. Yet at the

same time we feel a sense of paranoid scrutiny as the camera details every pore and hair of

Pink’s arm. In an instant we become both the rabid media and fans obsessively observing every

facet of Pink’s life as well as Pink himself under the world’s microscopic eye as a result of his

fame.

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Vietnam War Period

Song “Orange Crush” by R.E.M.

(Follow me, don't follow me) I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush

(Collar me, don't collar me)

I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush

(We are agents of the free)

I've had my fun and now it's time to serve your conscience overseas

(Over me, not over me)

Coming in fast, over me (oh, oh)

(Follow me, don't follow me)

I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush

(Collar me, don't collar me)

I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush

(We are agents of the free)

I've had my fun and now it's time to serve your conscience overseas

(Over me, not over me)

Coming in fast, over me (oh, oh)

High on the booze

In a tent

Paved with blood

Nine inch howl

Brave the night

Chopper comin' in, you hope

We would circle and we'd circle and we'd circle to stop and consider and centered on the

pavement stacked up all the trucks jacked up and our wheels in slush and orange crush in pocket

and all this here county, hell, any county, it's just like heaven here, and I was remembering and I

was just in a different county and all then this whirlybird that I headed for I had my goggles

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pulled off; I knew it all, I knew every back road and every truck stop

(Follow me, don't follow me)

I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush

(Collar me, don't collar me)

I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush

(We are agents of the free)

I've had my fun and now it's time to serve your conscience overseas

(Over me, not over me)

Coming in fast, over me (oh, oh)

High on the booze

In a tent

Paved with blood

Nine inch howl

Brave the night

Chopper comin' in, you hope

High on the booze

In a tent

Paved with blood

Nine inch howl

Brave the night

Chopper comin' in, you hope

(Ah, oh)

Written by Peter Buck, Michael Mills, Michael Stipe • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music,

Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group

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Biographical information provided by http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/r-e-

m/biography

One of the best bands the American underground kicked up in the Eighties, R.E.M. were a group

of arty Athens, Georgia guys who invented college rock and went on to huge mainstream

success. They brought a cagey mix of attitude and poetry to an idiosyncratic sound built around

jangling guitars and hazy vocals of frontman Michael Stipe. Relentlessly touring clubs around

the country for the first few years, R.E.M. consistently refined their sound: They could be

dreamy, abrasive, circumspect, mischievous, and eggheaded. Their 1988 signing with Warner.

Bros. netted them $10 million dollars for five records. Fortunately for the band and their fans, the

same kind of creative gambits that marked their early days were still in place during the 1990s.

Born in 1960, Michael Stipe was an introverted child who spent much of his time hanging out

with sisters Lynda and Cyndy. By 1975, he had begun reading articles about Patti Smith and the

burgeoning New York punk scene, and while in high school in St. Louis, he joined a short-lived

punk rock cover band. In 1978 Stipe enrolled at the University of Georgia at Athens, where he

majored in painting and photography. While shopping at the local record store, he met its

manager Peter Buck, a native Californian and avid pop fan who shared Stipe's interest in

adventurous music. They decided to form a band, and within a year had connected with fellow

students Bill Berry and Mike Mills, childhood friends from nearby Macon who had played

together in various Southern rock groups. In April 1980 the four formed R.E.M. (named for the

dream state "rapid eye movement") and began rehearsing in a converted church. In July the

group played their first out-of-state gig in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where they met future

manager Jefferson Holt.

Though influenced by punk and the DIY aesthetic, R.E.M. began to develop their own energetic

folk-rock style. Their signature sound was a blend of Buck's chiming guitar and Stipe's cryptic

vocals. In 1981 the group recorded a demo tape of original music at Mitch Easter's Drive-In

Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Two songs from those sessions, "Radio Free Europe"

and "Sitting Still," were released as a 7-inch single in July on the homegrown Hib-Tone label.

The driving "Radio Free Europe" earned positive notices, and in October the band returned to

Easter's studio to record its first EP. R.E.M. signed with the I.R.S. label in 1982 and released

the Chronic Town EP to overwhelming critical praise.

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The band's first full-length album, Murmur (Number 36, 1983), was an instant classic, containing

everything its supporters had hoped for: more layers of ringing guitar, more passionate and

vague vocals, more atmospheric melodies and more seductive pop hooks. It also included a new,

tighter version of "Radio Free Europe." The follow-up, Reckoning, failed to break new ground

but managed to reach Number 27 on the charts, spawning the minor hit "So. Central Rain (I'm

Sorry)" and garnering favorable reviews. The group enlisted London-based folk producer Joe

Boyd (Fairport Convention, Nick Drake) for Fables of the Reconstruction (Number 28, 1985),

which featured a mildly psychedelic setting. Life's Rich Pageant (Number 21, 1986) took that

experiment further, but with more of a sheen, courtesy of producer Don Gehman (John

Mellencamp), who encouraged Stipe to sing more clearly; its single was "Fall on Me," whose

video was directed by Stipe. R.E.M.'s first major hit, "The One I Love" (Number Nine, 1987),

from the band's first Top Ten album, Document (Number 10, 1987), was a song of betrayal that

was almost universally misinterpreted as a tribute to romance. The band then signed to Warner

Bros. and their debut for the imprint, Green (Number 12, 1988), yielded a hit single, "Stand"

(Number Six, 1988), that was the simplest, most hummable song of their career; the album's

other single, "Pop Song 89" (Number 86, 1988), was a minor hit that made fun of the music

business. Dead Letter Office (Number 52, 1987) is a collection of B-sides and outtakes,

and Eponymous (Number 44, 1988) is a greatest-hits album. Following Green, R.E.M. went on a

touring hiatus.

It took three years for the band to return with the highly anticipated Out of Time, which rocketed

to Number One, went quadruple platinum and included both "Losing My Religion" (Number

Four, 1991) and "Shiny Happy People" (Number 10, 1991). The video for the former was banned

in Ireland for allegedly homoerotic imagery; the latter was a duet with Kate Pierson of the B-

52's. Out of Time also featured an expanded instrumental palette of horns and mandolins. The

album and its songs won three Grammys that year. The somber Automatic for the

People (Number Two, 1992) featured string arrangements by former Led Zeppelin bassist John

Paul Jones. Its hits were "Drive" (Number 28, 1992), "Man on the Moon" (Number 30, 1993), a

tribute to the comedian Andy Kaufman, and the mega lament "Everybody Hurts" (Number 29,

1993).

During the latter part of the Eighties, R.E.M. became activists, inviting Greenpeace to set up

booths at their concerts and becoming involved in local Athens politics. On his own, Stipe spoke

Jestice/English 3

out on such issues as the environment, animal rights and the plight of the homeless. He also

ushered other artists into the public eye, including folk painter the Rev. Howard Finster,

filmmaker Jim McKay (with whom he set up the film company C-Hundred, noted for its series

of public-service announcements), and edgy artist Vic Chesnutt. Stipe also worked with rapper

KRS-ONE of Boogie Down Productions and Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs. Meanwhile,

Buck produced music by such artists as Kevn Kinney of Drivin' N' Cryin' and Charlie Pickett. In

1990 Buck, Berry, Mills, and singer-songwriter Warren Zevon formed a side band, the Hindu

Love Gods, which released a self-titled album on Giant-Reprise.

R.E.M. returned with Monster (Number One, 1994), which combined fierce rock songs featuring

guitars with heavy reverb (including that of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore on one track) and

distorted vocals, as well as the band's more traditional-sounding fare. Its first single, "What's the

Frequency, Kenneth?" reached Number 21, while "Bang and Blame" reached Number 19. Soon

after, the band commenced its first world tour in five years. Within two months, Berry suffered a

double brain aneurysm onstage in Switzerland and underwent emergency surgery. He recovered,

and the shows resumed two months later, but more medical emergencies interrupted the tour

when Mills needed abdominal surgery and Stipe had surgery for a hernia. Two weeks after the

tour ended, Buck came down with pneumonia.

In 1996 New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Number Two) was released and R.E.M. re-signed with

Warner Bros. for a reported $80 million. But the new album, recorded largely on the road during

sound checks, was considered a commercial disappointment. In 1997 Berry left the band after 17

years. R.E.M. chose to continue and released the moody Up (Number Three, 1998), recorded

with drummers Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees) and Joey Waronker (Beck), along with drum

machines, sequencers and tape loops.

By now Stipe was working as a filmmaker, having already appeared as a 1940s hermit in the

1996 film Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day. He then formed a production company, Single Cell

Pictures, which enjoyed a critical success in 1999 with the surreal Being John Malkovich. He

also released a book of photographs taken of Patti Smith on tour, while Buck began recording

with an improvisational side project called Tuatara. In 1999 R.E.M. recorded the score to the

Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon, a title taken from the band's own tribute song to the late

comedian. The movie soundtrack included a sequel to the original song, "The Great Beyond."

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The next year R.E.M. traveled to Vancouver to begin work on a new album, Reveal, which

debuted at Number Six in 2001.

R.E.M. toured and recorded over the next three years, releasing the compilation In Time: The

Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003, which included two new songs, "Animal" and "Bad Day." In 2004,

the band released Around the Sun (Number 13) to mixed reviews, and toured with former

Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin. Later that year, the band joined Bright Eyes, Pearl Jam and Bruce

Springsteen on the Vote for Change tour. The band continued performing throughout 2005. The

following year, EMI released two collections of the band's pre-Warner Bros. material: the

CD And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 and DVD When the Light Is Mine:

The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987. In 2007, the band released its first performance album,

the muscular R.E.M. Live, recorded in Dublin, Ireland. It shows exactly how powerful they can

be on stage.

In March 2007, R.E.M. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Berry returned to

play four songs with the band at the ceremony in New York. The band's fourteenth

album, Accelerate, was heralded as a return to form when it came out in 2008, and debuted at

Number Two.

Their latest set is yet another performance date, Live At The Olympia. A DVD of the show

accompanies the two CDs.

Portions of this biography appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon

& Schuster, 2001). Jim Macnie contributed to this article.

Commentary provided by http://americaatwarvietnam.weebly.com/orange-crush-rem.html

Orange Crush is a song by the Georgian rock band R.E.M, about the use of Agent Orange, an

herbicide used to clear jungle during the Vietnam War. The song, seemingly about soda and

spines, has confusing and sometimes unintelligible lyrics. However, several lines stick out in

particular-“follow me, don’t follow me/I’ve got my spine, I’ve got my orange crush”-It has a sort

of conversational tone to it, especially because the bassist sings the repeated lines in

parentheticals, and the front man sings the second line in these lyric pairs. This is a theme

continued throughout the song. “High on the booze/In a tent/Paved with blood”-This is sung in

an almost unintelligible babble, and gives the rest of the song a sort of contradictory feel ( when

compared to “we are agents of the free”), because it gives the image of a disorderly (high on the

Jestice/English 3

booze), savage conflict (paved with blood). The chorus, in which Michael Stipe, the lead singer

of the band, yells into a bullhorn pointed in the microphone, along with the spoken “We would

circle…” section of the song (which is usually omitted during their live performances) is very

hard to understand, and seems to suggest the truth of the Vietnam war, hidden from view of the

public, was a lot uglier and disturbing than most thought about the war. Stipe suggests that even

though we claimed that we were “agents of the free,” more often than not soldiers were “high on

the booze, in a tent paved with blood”. This also suggests an anti-war message to the song, again

highlighting the brutality of it. The song also suggests the use of Agent Orange being out of

control- “Collar me, don’t collar me,” likely referring to any impediments on the use of Agent

Orange. The song also has a bit of a sarcastic tone to it, as can be seen in lines like “We are

agents of the free/I’ve had my fun and now its time to/serve your conscience overseas”. As Stipe

sings “we are agents of the free,” it seems as though they are forcing the opinion on us by

declaring a statement so matter-of-factly, yet later in the song this seems to be contradicted (“in a

tent paved with blood/nine inch howl/ brave the night), sarcastically mocking our involvement in

the war. Since the song is anti-war, it stands to reason that it’s against the foreign policy,

especially because R.E.M seems to reference the Truman Doctrine (which was a policy to

support countries threatened by outside, usually communist, forces) with the line “We are agents

of the free”. However, Stipe goes on to insult this doctrine, or at least America’s enforcing of it

by enacting the draft to commit troops: “I’ve had my fun and now it’s time to serve your

conscience, overseas”. The ‘I’ in the line likely refers to the American Government, while the

‘your’ likely refers to the young American men sent to fight the war. Personally, I agree with the

message of the song. Our use of Agent Orange has caused irreparable damage to Vietnam, and I

believe that our involvement in the war became out of control and overdrawn.

Jestice/English 3

Song Born In The U.S.A. (Remastered)

Bruce Springsteen

Born down in a dead man's town

The first kick I took was when I hit the ground

End up like a dog that's been beat too much

Till you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam

So they put a rifle in my hand

Sent me off to a foreign land

To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Come back home to the refinery

Hiring man said "son if it was up to me"

Went down to see my V.A. man

He said "son, don't you understand"

I had a brother at Khe Sahn

Fighting off the Viet Cong

They're still there, he's all gone

He had a woman he loved in Saigon

I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary

Out by the gas fires of the refinery

I'm ten years burning down the road

Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go

Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A., I'm a long gone daddy in the U.S.A.

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Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A., I'm a cool rocking daddy in the U.S.A.

Songwriters: Bruce Springsteen

Born In The U.S.A. (Remastered) lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

Commentary and Reflection by Bruce Springsteen

Provided by Marc Dolan is author of Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He is

professor of English, Film Studies and American Studies at the City University of New York.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2

014/06/bruce-springsteen-ronald-reagan-

107448?o=2

Born in the U.S.A., which turns 30 this

week, is Bruce Springsteen’s best-selling

album to date, and that should come as no

surprise. Its songs—“I’m On Fire,” “Glory

Days,” “Darlington County” and others—

are FM radio staples, their foursquare

drum, piano, base and guitar parts perfectly

at home in either a Jersey Shore bar or an

East Texas roadhouse. If you hear a

Springsteen song at your local

supermarket, nine times out of 10 it comes

from this album.

Born in the U.S.A. is also the Springsteen

album whose songs have had the longest

half-life in U.S. political discourse, from

President Ronald Reagan’s attempt to co-

opt Springsteen’s popularity right after the

album’s release to John Kerry’s ploddingly

literal use of “No Surrender” in his

presidential campaign 20 years later. Even

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Barack Obama, probably the most broadly

appreciative music fan ever to occupy the

Oval Office, chose a Born in the

U.S.A. track (“I’m On Fire”) for a 2008

playlist of favorite songs.

But the greatest political impact of Born in

the U.S.A. was undeniably on Springsteen

himself—turning him from a relatively

apolitical performer from an avowedly

working-class background to a passionate

advocate for the rights of the

disenfranchised—and that was all thanks to

Reagan.

In 1984, President Reagan was running for

his second term. Early on, his team had

decided that the president’s core supporters

would vote for him no matter what. The

reelection campaign would therefore be

more about wooing moderate and

independent voters than about shoring up

the committed Republican base. It would

be about images rather than issues and

would attempt to co-opt as much of

mainstream U.S. culture as it could. If rock

‘n’ roll had been anathema to an earlier

Republicans like former vice president

Spiro Agnew—or even to then-current,

musically clueless Secretary of the Interior

James Watt—it was perfectly fine with

most of the Reagan re-election team,

particularly if the music in question could

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be viewed as inspirational. “If we allow

any Democrat to claim optimism or

idealism as his issue,” one adviser noted

very early in the campaign’s planning, “we

will lose the election.”

In late August, just after the Republican

National Convention, conservative

columnist—and unofficial Reagan

campaign adviser—George Will attended a

Springsteen concert in Largo, Maryland,

and was highly impressed. “If all

Americans,” Will would later write in his

column about his backstage experience, “in

labor and management, who make steel or

cars or shoes or textiles—made their

products with as much energy and

confidence as Springsteen and his merry

band make music, there would be no need

for Congress to be thinking about

protectionism.”

Perhaps significantly, Will’s fervent ode to

the Springsteen work ethic did not appear

until two weeks after the concert, when the

presidential campaign was in full swing.

Six days after the column appeared,

President Reagan made a campaign

appearance in Hammonton, New Jersey,

and as usual his staff slipped a few local

references into his standard stump speech.

“America’s future,” Reagan told the small-

town audience, “rests in a thousand dreams

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inside your hearts. It rests in the message

of hope in the songs of a man so many

young Americans admire—New Jersey’s

own, Bruce Springsteen.”

When asked about the president’s

compliment between concerts that week,

Springsteen tried to shrug it off. But when

you have the No. 2 album in the country,

publicity tends not to go away. By the time

the singer next took the stage, two days

after the president’s Hammonton name

check, it was clear that Springsteen would

have to address it head-on and in the only

place where he totally controlled the

message: onstage. “Well, the president was

mentioning my name in his speech the

other day,” Springsteen told his Friday-

night audience in Pittsburgh, “and I kind of

got to wondering what his favorite album

of mine must’ve been, you know? I don’t

think it was the Nebraska album. I don’t

think he’s been listening to this one.”

He then launched into “Johnny 99”

from Nebraska, his last album before Born

in the U.S.A.—much lower profile and

much less “poppy.” It’s an austere set of

songs about loners and criminals that

Springsteen recorded himself in an empty

rented house over a single night in the dead

of winter. The song begins:

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Well they closed down the auto plant in

Mahwah late that month

Ralph went out lookin’ for a job but he

couldn’t find none

He came home too drunk from mixin’

Tanqueray and wine

He got a gun shot a night clerk now they

call ‘m Johnny 99.

This was a big change for Springsteen—

one of the first times he had really

acknowledged his songs’ political roots—

perhaps even to himself.

Aside from a small fundraiser for George

McGovern at a New Jersey drive-in in

1972, months before he even released his

first album, Springsteen had never declared

his support for a political candidate. In

fact, he revealed in an interview published

in December 1984 that he might only have

voted once, perhaps in that election 12

years earlier.

When Springsteen participated in the “No

Nukes” concerts in the fall of 1979, a

series of events held at Madison Square

Garden by the Musicians United for Safe

Energy collective, onstage he was virtually

the least politically vocal artist on the bill.

He pointedly omitted the one song he had

actually written about the dangers of

nuclear energy (“Roulette”). He left that

song off his 1980 album, The River, as

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well as another song (possibly called

“They Killed Him in the Street”) about the

1979 assassination of Archbishop Oscar

Romero in El Salvador, which, had it been

released, would have been one of the

earliest references in U.S. pop music to

right-wing capitalist terrorism in Central

America.

And even on Nebraska, for all that

Springsteen’s stripped-down songs

identified with the downtrodden and

excluded, he never even began to consider

in those songs what could be done to

improve those characters’ lives. No matter

how socially conscious Springsteen’s work

might be, it was never about activism.

In fact, as much as Springsteen wanted to

distance himself from Reagan, there were

some undeniable similarities between

Reagan’s 1984 tour and Springsteen’s.

Both men liked to talk a lot to their

audiences about freedom, and both tended

to define that freedom in terms of the

agency of the individual. Both men

instinctively distrusted structures and

institutions, precisely because they saw

them as limiting individual freedom. If the

title track of Born in the U.S.A. contained

less historical amnesia than the average

Reagan mention of the Vietnam War, the

album’s concluding track—“My

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Hometown”—would not have been wholly

out of synch as a soundtrack for Reagan’s

famous “Morning in America” campaign

ad.

At their most fundamental level, the

president and the rock star shared a

common ideological base: They both

started as New Deal Democrats who didn’t

like technocracy. The real difference

between them was generational: the

difference between a political

consciousness formed by the early Cold

War and one formed by the Vietnam War

at its height. In public, however, the

difference was harder to grasp. In

Maryland the night George Will saw him,

Springsteen spoke about the Revolutionary

War Monument in his boyhood home of

Freehold before performing “My

Hometown” as reverently as the president

had spoken about the Statue of Liberty

when accepting the Republican nomination

in Dallas a few nights earlier.

All that changed drastically after Reagan’s

Hammonton speech. Although the

introduction to “Johnny 99” that night in

Pittsburgh was the only direct reference to

the president that Springsteen made, his

usual story before “My Hometown” about

the Revolutionary War Monument in

Freehold and the two-year-old Vietnam

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Veterans Memorial in Washington became

more explicitly political that night. Rather

than simply mourning two centuries of

dead U.S. veterans, Springsteen now

expressed a sense of dissatisfaction and

even ownership of contemporary America.

“It seems like something’s happening out

there where there’s a lot of stuff being

taken away from a lot of people that

shouldn’t have it taken away from,” the

singer told his audience. “Sometimes it’s

hard to remember that this place belongs to

us, that this is our hometown.”

To anyone listening closely, a lot of what

Springsteen said that night was already in

his songs—and not just on

the Nebraska album. Take, for

example, Born in the U.S.A.’s title track.

George Will might have interpreted the

chorus to “Born in the U.S.A.” as a “grand

cheerful anthem,” but the verse is

something very different:

Come back home to the refinery

Hiring man says “son if it was up to me”

Went down to see my V.A. man

He said “son don’t you understand now”

Had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the

Viet Cong

They’re still there he’s all gone.

Patriotic rallying-cry of a cold warrior? Try

angry, inarticulate wail of a Vietnam

Jestice/English 3

veteran. And not exactly the “idealism and

optimism” that the Reagan campaign was

searching for.

Three nights after the Pittsburgh concert, in

Buffalo, it was the story about Elvis

Presley before “Born to Run” that got

revamped. When George Will had heard it

a month before, Springsteen had spoken

vaguely of Presley that “his music and the

best of rock and roll always said to me

‘Just let freedom ring.’” Now, Springsteen

was careful to add, “but it’s no good if it’s

just for one, it’s gotta be for everyone.”

When his tour resumed in Tacoma after a

two-week break in mid-October,

Springsteen was cracking wise about the

president and arms control before singing

“Reason to Believe,” the final track

from Nebraska, the sort of direct reference

to a contemporary political issue that

would have been unthinkable a month

earlier.

But even late-night talk show hosts can

joke about the president. The more

significant change that Springsteen made

in his concerts starting with that October

1984 stand in Tacoma was to make space

for local, liberal charities, now dedicating

“My Hometown” to them and to their

active attempts to improve local problems.

Perhaps because he had spent significant

Jestice/English 3

chunks of his early twenties as a squatter,

Springsteen often publicized food banks.

He also showed considerable interest in

strike-relief funds, particularly those run by

United Steelworkers Local 1397 in

Pittsburgh and the Steelworkers Oldtimers

Foundation in Los Angeles. Three years

after the president had forcibly ended the

air traffic controller strike, and three years

before the dispossessed of U.S. cities

became so impossible to ignore that the

term “homelessness” was first applied to

them, raising money for food banks run by

unions was one of the least Reaganesque

things that a public figure could do.

And ever since, on every Springsteen tour

for the last 30 years, there have been tables

for local charities at every venue, usually

food banks and other poverty-focused

causes, and the singer has reminded his

audiences to help those organizations with

the work of improving their hometowns.

But it wasn’t until the 1990s that

Springsteen really became a political

singer. As he pursued a more sporadic solo

career, he educated himself, became a

more politically aware human being,

opposing anti-immigrant initiatives in

California, where he was living at the time.

Starting with John Kerry in 2004,

Springsteen eventually began endorsing

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candidates, most notably articulating

Barack Obama’s vision during the 2008

election—for precisely those “swing”

segments of the U.S. electorate that might

be most disinclined to vote for him.

In Kerry’s case, the candidate had

endorsed the singer first, adopting “No

Surrender” as his campaign song months

before Springsteen ever endorsed his

candidacy. By contrast, Springsteen had

looked favorably on Obama as early as

March of 2008, telling a Montreal

audience, “I do feel a new wind blowing

back home.” On April 16, shortly before

the crucial Pennsylvania primary, in which

all polls showed that older working-class

white males in the heart of Springsteen

Country were disinclined to vote for

Obama, Springsteen heartily voiced his

support. Obama, he told fans on his

website, “speaks to the America I’ve

envisioned in my music for the past 35

years, a generous nation with a citizenry

willing to tackle nuanced and complex

problems, a country that’s interested in its

collective destiny and in the potential of its

gathered spirit. A place where nobody

crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.”

(The last line was a quotation from “Long

Walk Home,” one of the strongest tracks

on Springsteen’s most recent

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album, Magic, which was in part a

response to George W. Bush’s U.S.A.)

After the Magic tour wrapped up that fall,

Springsteen played solo sets at a number of

voter registration rallies across the country.

“I’ve spent most of my creative life,” he

told attendees at a rally that fall,

“measuring the distance between that

American promise and American reality …

and I believe Senator Obama has taken the

measure of that distance in his own life and

in his work.”

It is the distance, we might note, between

some of the more optimistic tracks

on Born in the U.S.A. and many of the

songs on Nebraska—between “My

Hometown” and “Reason to Believe.” It is

also the distance measured in both the song

Springsteen performed at all his campaign

appearances that fall (“The Promised

Land”) and the speech on race that Obama

had delivered at the Constitutional Center

in Philadelphia earlier that year (“A More

Perfect Union”). At the time the speech

was delivered, some academics noted the

influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson on

Senator Obama’s ideas about the United

States, but they might just as easily have

looked to Freehold, New Jersey, as to

Concord, Massachusetts.

Jestice/English 3

Some Republicans continue to claim

Springsteen as their own, but it has been

less and less common as time has gone on

and Springsteen has clarified his own

political beliefs. New Jersey Gov. Chris

Christie, the most famous Republican

Springsteen fan, explicitly embraces the

singer’s work without the ideology that

imbues it, specifically rejecting in

particular Springsteen’s frequent injunction

that “nobody wins unless everybody wins.”

In 2000, when Springsteen premiered

“American Skin,” his song about the

NYPD’s shooting of Amadou Diallo, Bob

Lucente of the New York chapter of the

Fraternal Order of Police suggested that

Springsteen’s politics had changed over

time, but they hadn’t really. Springsteen

had never been a yellow-dog conservative

and he would never be a yellow-dog

liberal. After 9/11, he supported military

action in Afghanistan but not Iraq, and

while he could praise Governor Christie for

his actions after Hurricane Sandy, a few

years later he could make fun of him

on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon over the

George Washington Bridge lane closings.

Whatever his ideological beliefs, Bruce

Springsteen is not a creature of party. He’s

a democrat—lowercase “d.”

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Last month, at the Mohegan Sun casino in

Uncas, Connecticut, Springsteen concluded

his most recent tour, which had run for

over two years. Both nights in concert,

Springsteen collected for local food banks

and performed a fiery version of his

Steinbeck-inspired “The Ghost of Tom

Joad,” which declares solidarity with the

homeless and victims of police brutality,

among other disenfranchised groups.He

performed only one song from Born in the

U.S.A. (the unavoidable “Dancing in the

Dark”), but the album’s songs were still in

Mohegan Sun that night, on the music that

aired over the casino’s speakers: “I’m

Goin’ Down,” “Glory Days,” “I’m On

Fire,” the most widely heard music of

Springsteen’s career, all played around the

slot machines and craps tables as the singer

tried to keep his audience focused on his

post-1980s output.

In a moment of serendipity, Melissa

Bailey, a reporter for the New Haven

Independent, noted that Springsteen’s

tour-ending dates at the casino coincided

with the Connecticut State Republican

Convention in the same facility. For the

most part, the two sets of attendees didn’t

overlap, but a few Connecticut

Republicans readily told Bailey that “Born

in the U.S.A.” was their favorite

Jestice/English 3

Springsteen song. “It’s just uplifting,” one

of them noted. “It’s an everyone song.

Next to ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ it’s

next.”

Commentary

Source http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/06/are-politicians-too-dumb-to-

understand-the-lyrics-to-born-in-the-usa

Are Politicians Too Dumb to Understand the Lyrics to ‘Born in the USA’?

Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ is an indictment of the government, the military-

industrial complex, and the way we treat soldiers. Not exactly an election night anthem.

PARKER MOLLOY 11.06.14 3:45 PM ET

On Tuesday night—widely considered a sweeping victory for Republican political candidates—I

sat in my apartment, huddled around my TV, watching as election results rolled in. From my

couch, as the local NBC affiliate called the Illinois gubernatorial race for GOP candidate Bruce

Rauner, I noticed something. As the local news team cut to Rauner campaign headquarters, I

heard something in the background: the familiar drum beat and synth lead of one of 1984's most

popular tunes, "Born in the U.S.A."

In 1984, Bruce Springsteen released Born in the U.S.A. The album became an immediate

success, and it eventually became one of the most successful recordings of all time, selling more

than 10 million copies. This success of both the album and its eponymous single is frequently

attributed to a belief that the song is a pro-American anthem. In reality, it's anything but.

Despite what many have inferred from the title of both the album and its titular track, it is not a

celebration of American Exceptionalism, but rather, an indictment of the government, the

military-industrial-complex, and the way in which we treat those who have risked their lives in

battle.

As a result of this misunderstanding, the song has become the de facto feel-good election season

anthem for politicians nationwide.

"Born down in a dead man's town," the song begins. "The first kick I took was when I hit the

ground. You end up like a dog that's been beat too much; [until] you spend half your life just

covering up," Springsteen growls in the first verse.

Jestice/English 3

"Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A.," he continues into the chorus.

From there, Springsteen continues his narrative of a man sent to fight a war he didn't believe

in—Vietnam—and about the conflict involved with being sent "off to a foreign land to go and

kill the yellow man." That line, focused on "the yellow man," is almost certainly meant as a

reference to the oft-nebulous enemy U.S. soldiers were being sent off to fight, and the typically

racist nature of the conflict, itself.

The character, broke and desperate after being turned away from hiring managers at the local

refinery, reaches to his local V.A. branch, only to be turned away yet again.

Later, the song paints a portrait of the protagonist's post-war, post-job future, similar to that

faced by so many other veterans of the Vietnam war, finding himself "Down in the shadow of

penitentiary, out by the gas fires of the refinery" a decade after returning from service

"Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go," Springsteen sings before launching into the "Born in

the U.S.A." chorus in repetition.

The song—quite obviously the tale of a broken system and of a government that sees its citizens

as disposable cogs in a war machine—is by no means is a pro-America anthem.

In the wake of the album's release, Conservative columnists Bernie Goldberg and George Will

began touting the New Jersey singer-songwriter as savior to the Republican Party.

"[Springsteen's] shows are like old-time revivals with the same old-time message," Goldberg

said during a September 1984 episode of CBS Evening News. "If they work hard enough and

long enough, like Springsteen himself, they can also make it to the promised land."

While the messaging described by Goldberg—of a meritocracy in which anyone can make it if

they just work hard enough—has long been a mainstream Conservative belief, it most certainly

was not one apparent in Springsteen's lyrics.

Will took things a step further, even suggesting that President Reagan formally request

Springsteen's endorsement.

While campaigning for reelection in 1984, President Ronald Reagan included the following in

his stump speech: "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the

message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce

Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all

about."

Jestice/English 3

Whether Reagan was aware of Springsteen's own famously working-class Liberal politics or not,

he began a trend now entering its 30th year: the misunderstanding of The Boss.

At the time, Springsteen's album sat at number two on the Billboard charts. Not particularly

interested in turning down a compliment from a sitting president, Springsteen tried to shrug off

the statement while maintaining that President Reagan had likely mistaken his own messaging,

saying at that Friday's show, "Well, the president was mentioning my name in his speech the

other day, and I kind of got to wondering what his favorite album of mine must’ve been, you

know? I don’t think it was the [explicitly Liberal] Nebraska album, [and] I don’t think he’s been

listening to [Born in the U.S.A.].”

In all, the comment seemed to be a bit of gentle ribbing with the leader of the free world. After

all, it was entirely possible that the president had been simply misinformed about Springsteen's

lyrics.

From gentle ribbing to exasperation, Springsteen employed famed filmmaker John Sayles to

craft a video so obvious, so clear, that President Reagan and others would find it near impossible

to misinterpret.

The Sayles-directed video centered around live concert footage intercut with shots from

predominantly Vietnamese segments of Los Angeles, the video highlights blue-collar workers,

soldiers-in-training, and most heartbreakingly, shots of returning veterans in line for payday

loans.

"It was right around the time that Ronald Reagan had co-opted 'Born In The U.S.A.' and Reagan,

his policies were everything that the song was complaining about," said Sayles in I Want My

MTV. "I think some of the energy of the performance came from Bruce deciding, 'I'm going to

claim this song back from Reagan.'"

"This was when the Republicans first mastered the art of co-opting anything and everything that

seemed fundamentally American, and if you were on the other side, you were somehow

unpatriotic," said Springsteen in a 2005 NPR interview. "I make American music, and I write

about the place I live and who I am in my lifetime. Those are the things I'm going to struggle for

and fight for."

Still, years passed and politicians of all stripes continued to make use of "Born in the U.S.A."

during campaign events, rallies, and victory speeches. In one, final, exhausted attempt to clarify

the song's true meaning, Springsteen began performing the song to crowds with only the

Jestice/English 3

accompaniment of his acoustic guitar. Maybe, just maybe he'd be able to get the message across

if he stripped it down to its bare bones.

In no way is this situation unique to Springsteen. During the 2012 election, Mitt Romney drew

the ire of indie rockers Silversun Pickups for using their track "Panic Switch," and rapper K'naan

for his song "Waving Flag." In 2008, the McCain-Palin ticket received cease and desist notices

from Jon Bon Jovi, John Mellencamp, Foo Fighters, Heart, and Van Halen, among others after

unauthorized use of these artists' songs during public appearances.

In August 2012, Paul Ryan once claimed his favorite band was Rage Against the Machine,

leading guitarist Tom Morello to pen an epic op-ed for Rolling Stone, tearing down the vice

presidential candidate.

"Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the

machine that our music has been raging against for two decades," writes Morello. "Charles

Manson loved The Beatles but didn't understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce

Springsteen but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage

Against the Machine."

Morello continues taking Ryan to task, writing, "Ryan claims that he likes Rage's sound, but not

the lyrics. Well, I don't care for Paul Ryan's sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he

wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical

to the message of Rage."

Much as Springsteen wondered which of his albums made the president's playlist, Morello asks,

"I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of

Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of 'Fuck the Police'?

Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production?"

Admittedly, Rage Against the Machine is not the type of pop-anthem rock generally comparable

to Springsteen (Ryan was not trotting out "Bulls on Parade" or "Guerilla Radio" at campaign

stops, but simply rocking out to the band during his famous P90X workouts), and so it's not

really possible to compare Morello's (seemingly successful) attempt to publicly shame the

Wisconsin politician with The Boss' attempt to educate, update, and elaborate on his own

personal political leanings.

Politicians of both major political parties have employed "Born in the U.S.A." in recent years.

Much as Rauner headquarters blasted the tune while sitting Senator Mark Kirk made his way to

Jestice/English 3

the stage in anticipation of the soon to be governor-elect's speech, in 2008, then-Senator Barack

Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president moments after the song blared across

the public address system at Denver's Invesco Field.

Now, obviously, then-candidate Obama's campaign was built on the premise of putting an end to

the raging Iraq war, so it's entirely possible that "Born in the U.S.A." was a more appropriate

song choice than it was for Reagan or Rauner. Even so, all these years later, perhaps it's time to

find a new tune for candidates to trot out to. As the country finds itself becoming increasingly

involved in a new military campaign in the Middle East, along with the fact that soldiers

returning from combat are still prone to the same type of mistreatment Springsteen sung about all

those years ago, this song simply doesn't embody the reality of American politics—at least in a

positive way.

So, more than three decades of misunderstanding and willful ignorance later, after spending

countless hours into educating the public about the song's true meaning—ironically, the song's

working title was "Vietnam," which would have likely been explicit enough to sidestep the

headache and fanfare—is it time for The Boss to simply let it go? At what point does his original

intent no longer matter, and at what point does it stop feeling hypocritical when politicians who

stand for everything an artist opposes come marching on stage to a song antithetical to their own

beliefs?

Jestice/English 3

War on Terror Period

Song: Michael Franti – “Light Up Ya Lighter”

It never makes no sense

It never makes no sense

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire

Armegedon is a deadly day

Armegedon is a deadly way

They're coming for you everyday

While senators on a holiday

The army recruiters in the parking lot

Hustling kids, they're juggling pot

"Listen young man, listen to my plan

Gonna make you money, gonna make you a man.

(bomb, bomb)

Here's what you get, an M16 and a kevlar vest

You might come home with one less leg but this thing will surely keep a bullet out your chest

So come on, come on, sign up, come on

This one's nothing like Vietnam

Except for the bullets, except for the bombs

Except for the youth that's gone"

So we keep it on, til you're coming home

higher and higher

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire

So we keep it on, til you're coming home

higher and higher

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire

Jestice/English 3

Tell me president tell me if you will

How many people does a smart bomb kill?

How many of them do you think we got?

The general says we never miss shot

And we never ever ever keep a body count

We're killing so efficiently we can't keep count

In the afghan hills the rebels still fighting

Opium fields keep on providing

The best heroin that money can buy and

No body knows where Osama bin hiding

The press conferences keep on lying

Like we don't know

So we keep it on, til you're coming home

higher and higher

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire

So we keep it on, til you're coming home

higher and higher

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire

So Mr engine, engine, number 9

Machine guns on a New York transit line

The war for oil is a war for the beast

the War on terror is a war on peace

Telling you they're gona protect you

Telling you that they support the troops and

Don't let 'em fool you with their milk and honey

No, they only want your money

One step forward and 2 step back

One step forward and 2 step back

Jestice/English 3

Why do veterans get no respect

PTSD and a broken back

Take a look at where you money's gone (seen)

Take a look at what they spent it on

No excuses, no illusions

Light up your lighter, bring 'em home

So we keep it on, til you're coming home

higher and higher

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire So we keep it on, til you're coming home

higher and higher

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire

So we keep it on, til you're coming home

higher and higher

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire

So we keep it on, til you're coming home

higher and higher

Fire, fire, fire, light up your lighter

Fire, fire, fire

Writer: MANAS ITENE, MICHAEL FRANTI

Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Biography

Source http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608001082/Michael-

Franti.html#ixzz4gk8LnIJb

Born in 1968 in Oakland, CA, to an interracial couple; adopted and raised by white parents;

children: Cappy (son). Education: Attended University of San Francisco, late 1980s.

Jestice/English 3

Michael Franti emerged as one of the most provocative and talented members of the crowded

rap/hip-hop universe in the early 1990s. A musician with a chameleonlike ability to reshape his

musical style from album to album, Franti first garnered attention with an avant-garde funk outfit

known as the Beatnigs. He then moved on to the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, a fiery,

politically charged group drenched in a booming industrial rap sound. After the Disposable

Heroes folded, Franti reinvented his sound once again and in 1994 founded the group Spearhead.

Critics and fans alike were bowled over when their first effort, Home, was released. As reviewer

Ken Capobianco remarked in The Tab, "Nothing in Disposable [Heroes of Hiphoprisy] prepares

you for Franti's new brain-child, Spearhead, a diverse mix of organic hip-hop, pop and Franti's

vivid verse filled with both potent politics and a newfound warmth and whimsy."

Michael Franti was born in 1968 in Oakland, California. Put up for adoption as an infant, he

spent his first months of life in a number of foster homes. When he was still a toddler, he was

adopted by a white family that moved around to various California locales throughout his

childhood. Years later Franti searched for and found his birth parents--his mother was white, his

father black--but he recognized that "when it's all over, it's the people who raised me who are my

parents. You know what I'm saying? They loved me and looked after me all those years," he said

in an interview with Mike Greenblatt for Right On! "So as I've gotten older, digested the

information, thought about it, talked about it, written about it, I have an understanding about who

I am as an individual and where I fit in with my feelings."

After completing high school in northern California, Franti ambled down to San Francisco. He

attended college at the University of San Francisco, having secured a scholarship to play

basketball. A rangy, six-and-a-half footer who loved to play the game, Franti nonetheless found

himself drifting increasingly to music. He soon picked up a bass guitar from an area pawn shop

and began doodling around. At the same time, Franti became acquainted with Dr. Harry

Edwards, a sociologist at the Berkeley campus who, back in 1968, had organized the politically

motivated protests by African American athletes at the Olympics in Mexico City. Edwards urged

Franti to study and investigate the world around him.

Franti subsequently quit the university's varsity team, on which he was a starter, devoting his

energies instead to his newfound passions for music and social issues. He eventually became part

of a band called the Beatnigs, which recorded an album on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles

Jestice/English 3

label. "We started throwing these underground parties in abandoned warehouses," recalled Franti

in a Musician interview with Mark Rowland. "We were combining African drums with poetry

and African and hip-hop dancers, garbage-can stuff." The group attracted some critical attention,

but it eventually broke up.

As memory of the Beatnigs faded, Franti and another member of that band, Rono Tse, formed

the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. The new group began releasing singles in 1991, and it

quickly became clear that Franti and Tse were a twosome that demanded to be heard. Westword

reviewer Michael Roberts recalled that "their opening blast, 'Television, the Drug of the Nation,'

was an immensely powerful warning shot fired across popular culture's bow--and there were

plenty more to follow."

The hip-hop duo received almost universal critical accolades from reviewers who hailed Franti's

"articulate, politically provocative and subtly nuanced raps," wrote Rowland. The Detroit Metro

Times summarized the critical buzz around the band, noting, "Whereas other rap artists indulge

the genre in all its gangsterish trappings, the Heroes use their dense, dense rhythms as an

accessible and confrontational platform for their dense, dense politics," which included

uncompromising stands against the Gulf War, racism, anti-gay violence, and other issues.

After the release of their album Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury on the 4th & Broadway label,

Franti and Tse further consolidated their standing with a series of memorable concerts. Soon the

Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy were asked to tour with music giants Arrested Development

and U2. Ultimately, though, the Heroes fell by the wayside. "When I started Disposable Heroes,

it wasn't intended to be a group. It was just a concept. The truth is that Disposable Heroes wasn't

even a record I would listen to at home," Franti told Rolling Stone contributor David Wild. "The

big problem with Disposable Heroes was that it was a record people listened to because it was

good for them--kind of like broccoli."

After lending a songwriting assist to Hal Wilner in the creation of William Burroughs's Island

Red label release Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales, Franti and Tse got together to record their

second album. They soon realized, though, that the musical paths they wished to explore had

diverged. The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, a group that had blasted into the music world

like a comet, thus disappeared with similar speed, leaving a trail of incendiary and challenging

music behind.

Jestice/English 3

After the Disposable Heroes disbanded, Franti turned for inspiration to the music he'd listened to

while growing up--acts like Marvin Gaye, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bob Marley, and Parliament. His

next project, Spearhead, reflected those influences. "This time around," he explained to URB

Magazine contributor Jazzbo, "I wanted to make music that you could bounce your head to, that

you could enjoy putting on and chill with at your house." Still, Franti's desire to comment on the

world around him had not waned. "It wasn't that I didn't want to make statements anymore," he

told Roberts. "But when I was a kid, I got into the music first, and then later, after I'd listened to

the songs for awhile, I started hearing what the artists had to say. And that's what I wanted to

do."

Franti gathered together a diverse range of musical talent to form Spearhead. He recruited Mary

Harris and Ras I Zulu to share the vocal chores, then rounded out the group's lineup with

instrumentalists Liane Jamison, Keith McArthur, James Gray, and David James. The new group

then entered the studio to record their first album, Home, a work that Jazzbo called "vibrant and

aware seventies soul for today, a sound that is as powerful as it is seductive." The 13 songs on

the album run the gamut both stylistically and lyrically. A seamless fusion of hip-hop, funk,

reggae, and jazz, Home features pointed political commentary next to easygoing affirmations of

the simple pleasures of home and family. Critics note that party songs of a decidedly funky bent,

such as "Red Beans and Rice," complement rather than neutralize powerful militant numbers like

"Dream Team."

Other tracks were hailed as well, among them "Positive," a song described by Vibe columnist

Tricia Rose as "the tension-ridden, soul jazz journey of a young man who's finally decided to be

tested for AIDS," and "Hole in the Bucket," Franti's intriguing version of a bouncy Jamaican

folksong popularized by Harry Belafonte a generation before.

Home enjoyed almost universal critical praise upon its release. West County Times reviewer Tim

Goodman wrote, "When you come across an album of this magnitude, there's a danger of

slipping around in the critical slobber." He added, "Consider Home to be the nineties version of

Marvin Gaye's classic, What's Going On. It's that great." New York Newsday's Ira Robbins

agreed, calling Spearhead's debut album "smart, funny, funky, and glowing with humanity."

Other critics focused on Franti's insights into what it means to be a black man in America in the

1990s. "Home explores a range of ways to be a black man by going where vulnerability, fire,

rage, and love hide out," commented Rose. "Michael Franti and Spearhead get around sermons

Jestice/English 3

and government statistics to present a masculinity infused with political passion, exorcised pain,

earthy pleasure, and the strength we gain from taking risks, again and again."

Ironically, a chief strength of Home--the album's diverse mix of soul, hip-hop, and jazz--

hindered its acceptance by the niche-oriented radio industry, which was unable to pigeonhole

Spearhead into a single musical category. But while Franti wanted Spearhead to be heard, his

primary concern was being true to his musical vision.

"When I write songs, I write about human emotion and feelings which everybody has. It doesn't

matter if you're black, white or brown," Franti told extreme writer Chris Sanderson. "We live in a

time and place where my generation has to deal with AIDS, violence, police brutality and death."

Other musical artists shy away from such topics, but Franti told Jazzbo, "I feel as an artist you

have some responsibility to elevate the consciousness of your listener. I know that not everybody

feels that way. Some artists felt that their motivation is to make people dance and that's cool. But

for my music, I feel I have responsibility."

Franti also acknowledges the role that his son Cappy, who was born in 1988, has had on his

lyrics. "I want to be able to make records that Cappy can listen to 15 years from now and see that

they weren't just records of me holding my dick, no matter how much money it makes," Franti

told Rowland in Musician. "I want to say, here's a record that has some ideas. So that's how I

gauge the decisions I make in the music."

Clearly, Franti's decisions have been on target. As Goodman indicated in the West County

Times, "Franti is the complete package. In fact, he shouldn't be lumped in as strictly a bright

light in the hip-hop scene--he's an intellectual wordsmith towering above most in the current

pop-rock world."

by Kevin Hillstrom

Commentary and Interview

Source http://first-avenue.com/performer/michael-franti-spearhead

Michael Franti is a musician, filmmaker, and humanitarian who is recognized as a pioneering

force in the music industry. Long known for his globally-conscious lyrics, powerful

performances, and dynamic live shows with his band, Spearhead, Franti has continually been at

the forefront of lyrical activism, using his music as a positive force for change.

Jestice/English 3

“I make music because I believe it can change people’s lives and make a difference in the

world,” enthuses Franti, “music gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose.” Franti is

known for his authentic, uplifting music and has found global success with multi-platinum songs

like “Say Hey (I Love You)”, the chart breaking 2010 release from the album The Sound of

Sunshine.

Michael Franti & Spearhead’s new single from their ninth studio album SOULROCKER, “Crazy

For You”, evokes the same feel-good, inspiring vibes. “‘Crazy For You’ is a song that calls out

some of the crazy things that are happening in the world today and celebrates the people in your

life that you can lean on, that keep the hope alive no matter what’s happening around you. I

wrote this song for my wife Sara, who is my rock and keeps me grounded no matter how crazy

my life or the world gets.”

In creating their debut album on Fantasy Records, SOULROCKER, Michael Franti & Spearhead

introduced a new sensibility to their potent hybrid of hip-hop, rock, folk, and reggae: a gracefully

arranged take on electronic music that more than fulfills Franti’s mission of making impassioned

music you can dance to. Along with harnessing the Bay Area-based band’s dynamic energy for a

more powerful impact than ever before, SOULROCKER again shows Franti’s singular ability to

channel frustration into music that’s both thought-provoking and triumphantly hopeful.

“Right now is a very challenging time for people, for our nation and the planet,” says Franti, a

longtime activist and past recipient of Global Exchange’s Domestic Human Rights Award. “But

I really believe that music can help fight war and violence and hatred. The world needs that more

than ever now, so my intention with this album was to make music that could bring people

together.”

Giving back has always been at the heart of Franti’s mission; he has dedicated his life to

spreading the joy of music and positivity to millions of people. Franti’s humanitarian, social

justice and peace efforts continue to inspire his music and are infused

throughout SOULROCKER.

WEBSITE

Jestice/English 3

God Bless the U.S.A.

Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone

I'd worked for all my life

And I had to start again

With just my children and my wife

I'd thank my lucky stars

To be living here today

Cause the flag still stands for freedom

And they can't take that away

And I'm proud to be an American

Where at least I know I'm free

And I won't forget the men who died

Who gave that right to me

And I gladly stand up

Next to you and defend her still today

Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land

God bless the USA

From the lakes of Minnesota

To the hills of Tennessee

Across the plains of Texas

From sea to shining sea

From Detroit down to Houston,

And New York to L.A

Well there's pride in every American heart

And its time we stand and say

That I'm proud to be an American

Where at least I know I'm free

Jestice/English 3

And I won't forget the men who died

Who gave that right to me

And I gladly stand up

Next to you and defend her still today

Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land

God bless the USA

And I'm proud to be and American

Where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died

Who gave that right to me

And I gladly stand up

Next to you and defend her still today

Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land

God bless the USA

Written by Lee Greenwood • Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group

Commentary and Interview

Provided by rollingstone.com/country/features/inauguration-singer-lee-greenwood-trump-is-a-

patriot-w461498

By Kory Grow January 18, 2017

When country singer Lee Greenwood wrote the thoroughly patriotic hit "God Bless the U.S.A."

in 1983, he'd done so in the wake of a tragedy: The Soviet Union had shot down a Korean Air

flight that had departed from the U.S., killing 269 passengers including a member of the House

of Representatives. "That event made me pay attention to international news, but I'd wanted to

write 'U.S.A.' for an awful long time," he tells Rolling Stone. However, he says, he did not intend

the single, which came out in the spring of 1984, to be political.

In a Facebook chat, singer fielded fans' questions about why he won't be performing at Trump's

Inauguration

"I just wanted to have something that would seed the culture and really give everybody

something to cling onto, to unite," he says. "And then it was because Ronald Reagan became

president and the use of that song for the campaign, but it was not necessarily for the Republican

Party, because I really didn't want it to be used politically and still don't. … In the ensuing years,

it was Katrina, the Gulf War and then the [9/11] attack on America, and each time it became a

little bit more in the fiber of America."

Jestice/English 3

Despite not wanting the song to be taken politically, Greenwood, age 74, has performed it at the

inaugurations of three presidents – Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush –

and will do so again on Thursday, January 19th, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial alongside

Toby Keith and 3 Doors Down, among others, as part of Donald Trump's "Make America Great

Again! Welcome Celebration" concert. The singer's reaction to his invitation, as he tells Rolling

Stone, was, "Man, this is going to be awesome."

You didn't want "God Bless the U.S.A." to be associated with a political party. Has it ever

bothered you that it has been seemingly adopted by the Republican Party?

Well, no. I'm a conservative Christian, but I don't use my stage nor my music politically. Other

people would like to, so I try to stay on the fringes of that and not be involved. For this election, I

was not touring or campaigning for either candidate or for any candidate for that matter.

President-elect Trump's campaign was ruthless and controversial. Did you have any

reservations about performing for him?

Well, no, because I'm not really performing for him. The Inaugural Committee chose entertainers

to come and entertain the crowd. It'll be incidental, I think, that he will probably be on the

Lincoln Memorial stage as that concert is in tribute to the change of power. I will also be singing

at the vice president[-elect]'s dinner by request. And it's a thrill for us to do that and be involved

in the festivities.

Did you vote for Donald Trump and Mike Pence? Are you a fan of their policies?

I'm going to reserve who I voted for because I don't want that to be public opinion, because then

they'll think it's political, so I can't tell you who I voted for.

What are your personal feelings about Donald Trump?

I think he's going to be a great president. I love his slogan, "Let's make America great again,"

and I'm confident that he'll take a good shot at it.

Do you feel America is not great?

America's always been great, but I think in the past years, we've had a struggle internationally

and domestically, and I just hope conditions improve.

But that slogan, "Make America Great Again," reads a bit like he lost faith in the country.

Well, I don't think there's any doubt that Donald Trump, our President-elect, is a patriot. He's a

businessman, and I think he's going to do the best for our country economically. I think that now

that he's put a general in his cabinet, they'll have a consensus of opinion on ISIS, and I think

that's a great thing, we need to get that under control. And the immigration issues. There's so

many things I think he'll address in the first six months, and we're praying for his success.

Several musicians who disagree with his various policies have either declined or backed out

of performing at inauguration celebrations. What do you make of that?

Well, that's their choice. I'm honored to do it, I'll always be honored. This is my fourth

inauguration. For somebody to stand up and make that kind of statement, I think it's a wrong

platform. I mean you're not just entertaining the man. It's just a change of power between one

president and the next. If you don't support the president, that's something, but this opportunity

for me, to go and sing, I really don't care who else doesn't go, or who else does go.

Jestice/English 3

Have your fans on social media been generally supportive of your performance?

I haven't watched any of that. I don't get involved in social media. I have a team that does that,

and I think if that's anything that they find negative, they just ignore it. But I haven't heard of

anything. My fans are very supportive of what I'm doing.

Have you ever sung for a president or dignitary with whom you've disagreed politically?

No. I didn't get asked in the last eight years to sing for President Obama, but I certainly would

have had I been asked. I've had performances at the White House and for all Republican

candidates, actually. Reagan, Bush, Bush. And I was proud to do that, to sing for the president,

incidental that they are, and Republicans.

In your song "God Bless the U.S.A," you sing, "at least I know I'm free" and it seems that

a lot of people are still fighting for rights, whether it's minorities, women, LGBTQ people.

They don't feel totally free. What do you think about that?

C'mon. I'm a singer, an entertainer and a writer. I don't represent any particular group of people

or their culture overall; it's just for Americans. And we all have a struggle about who we are, and

I struggled for my life as well. It's what I do. It's my profession. And the song I wrote seems to

be embraced by most Americans. And that makes me very happy that I think I've done

something good for the country. Beyond that, I'm not going to get involved in the struggles nor

the politics of what's going on.

What has been your favorite experience singing for a past president?

I think it's watching how someone who is in power, who is in the White House, who runs the

most powerful nation in the country, is a person, an average American. And when you get that

opportunity to meet and shake hands with the man that's running – or the woman – that's running

the country, so far there hasn't been a woman, it's an awesome moment because not many people

will get that opportunity.

Commentary

Source http://www.soundslikenashville.com/news/lee-greenwood-makes-supporting-

veterans-a-priority/ CHUCK DAUPHIN • NOVEMBER 10, 2016

Lee Greenwood has always had a soft spot for Americans who have served in the military, and

his latest affiliation is further proof of this. The singer has been named as a celebrity Ambassador

for the DAV (Disabled American Veterans), a nonprofit charity. DAV is a leading nonprofit that

provides a lifetime of support for veterans of all generations and their families.” He says he

doesn’t take the organization’s work lightly, as seeing that those who have served their fellow

Americans have the best in health care – both physical and mental – needs to be a priority.

“We do all we can for the wounded warriors, and for those who are struggling with PTSD.

There’s twenty-two suicides a day that we are trying to prevent with different kinds of

campaigns. We’ve built homes for wounded warriors through an organization called Helping A

Hero,” he allowed to Sounds Like Nashville. “This new appointment as Ambassador for DAV is

Jestice/English 3

to help make people aware of the new campaign, Keeping The Promise, is not only a big step,

but I think also an important one. We cannot ever forget our military is working all the time. This

is not anything new. We save a lot of soldiers than we ever have, but a lot more of them are

wounded,” he lamented.

Of course, there are several government programs in place, but Greenwood says that only goes

so far. “The government can only do so much, based on taxes, and what the allocation to the

military organizations. There are twenty-two million veterans who are looking for work or help.

They’re saving about a million a year, which is a big number, but not enough. We’re trying to

raise awareness, not just through donations – but in membership. Unlike the American Legion

and the VFW, those numbers are probably dwindling because of registration with veterans. The

PVA (Paralyzed Veterans of America) and the DAV both work to the benefit of the veterans who

are currently wounded and coming home from war zones, and trying to recover. It’s a great thing

to do, and a privilege for me to be part of this new appointment as an ambassador.”

The singer says that working with the various military organizations has brought him many

blessings, though he has seen the hard part of what military personnel go through – up close and

personal. “We have thirty years of USO tours to our credit, one of which was with Bob Hope.

When I think about some of those tours, and some of those places where we’ve seen tragedy as

well as conflict and success – war zones are war zones, and always have been. In this current war

on terror, we put our soldiers in danger as soon as their boots hit the ground. We think of

ourselves as an overwhelming force, but as soon as you get in the logistics of a rifle shot,

anything can happen. We lose guys all the time. We are very careful, and try our best, but war is

war. I work with several Wounded Warriors who have lost both legs and both arms.” Helping

those to lead productive lives again is the goal. “It’s a struggle to get them back into society. The

real danger is having them with no place of employment or work. That is a matter of pride. If

you lose your pride, you want to end your life, and in a lot of cases, that’s what happens.”

Of course, his 1984 hit “God Bless The U.S.A.” helped make his name and music known all

across the world, becoming arguably the modern-day National Anthem. “A lot of people refer to

my song as ‘Proud To Be An American,’ which is the lead line in the chorus. I have no trouble

with that. As a matter of fact, my new children’s illustrated book is called ‘Proud To Be An

American.’ It’s the lyrics of ‘God Bless The U.S.A.,’ but I thought it might have wider breadth

Jestice/English 3

of appeal if we called it something a little bit different. The sheet music actually says ‘God Bless

The U.S.A.’ but in parentheses, it says ‘Proud To Be An American.”

He thinks the book is important because it just might inspire a youngster to take an interest in the

country, which is where he believes that American pride begins. “I think that patriotism is a

growing process, and it’s something you learn about when you’re a kid – just like all the other

things you learn. My wife Kim and I were very adamant about reading to our kids when they

were young. We sat them on our laps after a bath, and they became fascinated with real books.

They’re something that you can touch or feel. We made an illustrated book, and it teaches

patriotism with just a very simple process of loving their country, and what it means to be a

patriot.”

What kind of reaction has Greenwood seen from the book? He says, “It’s the same kind of

reaction you get when a soldier leaves home, and a child sees that father or mother go off into

service, and they come back two years later. It’s the same feeling that they get when they see a

fire truck, and they feel that pride that they have saved somebody’s life. I think that children

have an honest recognition and value of home. That’s why patriotism is important. You teach

them the value of learning the sovereignty of our country. We may be citizens of the world, but

let’s say we’re Americans first.”

Jestice/English 3

Articles from PRHS database

Star-spangled or reflective, pop captures the mood Jon Parales

The New York Times. (Dec. 20, 2001): L, Arts and Entertainment: pE3. From Science In Context.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2001 The New York Times Company

http://www.nytimes.com

On Dec. 11 at 8:46 a.m., three months after the first airliner hit the World Trade Center, the FM

band was dotted with stations playing ''The Star-Spangled Banner,'' fulfilling a request from

President Bush. Jimi Hendrix's screeching 1969 version, Whitney Houston's sultry 1991

performance and Faith Hill's glossy new 2001 recording were all broadcast at the appointed time.

Not every station fell in line and played the anthem, but most did. After all, it was available in

every format.

Yet the straightforward patriotism of ''The Star-Spangled Banner,'' along with a bunch of pro-

American country songs released since Sept. 11, has been only one of popular music's reactions

to the war on terror. A newer song has also been widely heard this month since it was rush-

released to radio stations: Neil Young's ''Let's Roll,'' based on a cell-phone conversation from

Flight 93, the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers apparently fought down

hijackers. It's not a nationalistic song, but a chronicle of unprepared heroes, and it's one of a very

few new songs about Sept. 11 that transcend the topical.

Pop's reaction to the new war has been an improvisation for both listeners and musicians, all

seeking consolation and resolve. That reaction has grown steadily more unified as music has

mirrored public opinion, moving from pain and disbelief to gung-ho mobilization. A song can

turn a heartfelt sentiment into both an intangible communal message and a consumer item, only

gaining emotional power as its popularity increases. Musical choices become a way to declare

allegiances.

So far the best musical results arrived soon after the attacks, when feelings were confused and

unguarded -- a moment documented on ''America: A Tribute to Heroes,'' recorded at the Sept. 21

telethon -- and most recently with Mr. Young's ''Let's Roll.'' In between, opportunism and pop

professionalism have reappeared.

Wartime songs need not be explicit. ''White Christmas'' came out of World War II, capturing a

longing for home and family as a generation fought abroad. The equivalent for the war

Jestice/English 3

on terrorism may well be Enya's New Age song ''Only Time,'' which asks, ''Who can say where

the road goes?'' Her album from 2000, ''A Day Without Rain,'' has now sold five million copies.

Soon after the attacks, recording companies rushed out collections of patriotic and religious

songs. ''God Bless America,'' which juxtaposes Lee Greenwood's Gulf War anthem, ''God Bless

the U.S.A.,'' and Bob Dylan's antiwar ''Blowin' in the Wind,'' went to No. 1, perhaps as much as a

talisman as for entertainment.

Now, the benefit concerts that were quickly organized after Sept. 11 have been turned into

albums: ''A Tribute to Heroes,'' the studio-based telethon on Sept. 21, and ''The Concert for New

York City'' from Oct. 20 at Madison Square Garden. Although their music is better, they have

not made as much immediate commercial headway. Both ''A Tribute to Heroes'' and ''The

Concert for New YorkCity'' are being outsold by Christmas albums and Britney Spears.

Musicians have not been waiting for commercial releases. In recent weeks songwriters as

illustrious as Mr. Young and the million-selling country singer Alan Jackson provided newly

recorded songs for broadcast, bypassing the mechanics of commercial releases. David First, a

New York songwriter, gave away copies of his song ''Jump Back'' to workers on the site.

Country music, unreservedly pro-American and unfraid to be corny, had the quickest reflexes

after the attacks. It immediately started waving the flag and praising the Lord. Radio stations and

listeners revived old songs like ''God Bless the U.S.A.,'' which is currently the best-selling

country single. Country fans also found new spirit in recent songs like Brooks and Dunn's ''Only

in America'' and Martina McBride's ''Independence Day,'' which is actually a song about arson.

The attacks also thrust a more indirect song into prominence. Country listeners, drawing an

obvious parallel, seized on a song recorded by David Ball, ''Riding With Private Malone,'' in

which the ghost of a soldier who died in Vietnam saves the new owner of his beloved 1966

Corvette.

Country songwriters quickly came up with new, muscle-flexing patriotic material. At the CMT

Country Freedom concert on Oct. 21, Clint Black introduced a stark new song, ''America,'' that

promised, ''We'll teach 'em all right from wrong.''

Alan Jackson sang his new ''Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),'' a pious

ballad about people's reactions to the news of Sept. 11 -- ''Did you call up your mother and tell

her you loved her?/ Did you dust off that Bible at home?'' -- on the Country Music Association

Awards, then quickly released a studio version to radio stations. There's a rowdier, less unctuous

Jestice/English 3

response in ''This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag,'' a Southern rock song Charlie Daniels released to

radio stations. In it, he sings, ''We should've done something about you a long time ago/ But now

the flag's flyin' high and the fur's gonna fly.'' While these songs are probably getting huge

ovations from audiences right now, they may end up as novelty numbers.

Rock, with a history of iconoclasm and distrusting authority, did not have such a unanimous

reaction. An all-star remake of Marvin Gaye's ''What's Going On,'' which declares, ''War is not

the answer,'' had been in the works to benefit AIDS research; after Sept. 11, part of its proceeds

were redirected to the United Way's Sept. 11 Fund. Some rock listeners unleashed vicarious rage

with pre-existing songs like System of a Down's ''Chop Suey.'' But others sought reassurance in

John Mellencamp's ''Peaceful World,'' U2's ''Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of'' and

Enrique Iglesias's ''Hero.'' Ryan Adams had made the video clip of his ''New York, New York''

standing in front of the twin towers; after Sept. 11 what had been a breakup song become an

elegy.

The two rock benefit-concert albums are snapshots of changing responses. ''America: A Tribute

To Heroes'' captures the initial shock and sadness that followed the attacks. It's a spectrum of

mourning, patriotism, anger, pacifism, praise for heroes and a longing for love and peace, full of

heartfelt contradictions. Tom Petty glares into the camera and calmly vows, ''I won't back down'';

Sting denounces violence in ''Fragile.'' Neil Young sings John Lennon's ''Imagine,'' dreaming of

an end to nationalism and religion; U2, in ''Walk On,'' sings ''Alleluia.'' Bruce Springsteen's ''My

City of Ruin,'' written before the attacks about a decrepit New Jersey seaside town, suddenly

seems to depict ground zero. With little celebrity gloss, the musicians come across as humble,

searching for the song that will say the right thing.

There were fewer questions and more pumping fists a month later at the Concert for New York

City, where pop and rock stars played to an audience full of police and firefighters at Madison

Square Garden. The Who blasted ''Won't Get Fooled Again,'' while Bon Jovi aimed ''Wanted

Dead or Alive'' at Osama bin Laden. The concert's finale is Paul McCartney's ''Freedom,'' an old-

fashioned singalong that tries to rally the troops around a campfire, but it hasn't caught on.

Hip-hop has been slow to address the attacks, but one song has made headway: ''Ground Zero (In

Our Hearts You Will Remain)'' by Cash & Computa. Set to a snippet of a Stevie Wonder song, it

ricochets from sadness -- ''this is like something that you see in a movie/ but it's real the pain us

Americans feel'' -- to fury: ''No hesitation, we bomb first make you eat dirt.'' The Wu Tang Clan's

Jestice/English 3

new album, ''Iron Flag,'' completed after Sept. 11, applies standard braggodocio to the events,

warning terrorists that they'd never survive in the group's neighborhood.

Mr. Young's ''Let's Roll'' may be the first song to envision the events from inside. It is a long way

from the wistful generalities he sang a few months earlier with ''Imagine.''

Making his narrator one of Flight 93's passengers, he sings in a gruff, choked voice: ''I hope

there's someone who can fly this thing and get us back to land,'' and later, ''No one has the

answer, but one thing is true/ You've got to turn on evil when it's coming after you.'' Beginning

as a topical song, ''Let's Roll'' turns into a moral parable.

Popular culture is always most at home in a clear-cut conflict between good guys and bad guys.

Music has now enlisted in a role that has been unfamiliar for as long as most of its stars have

lived: providing not just solace, but solidarity.

Parales, Jon. "Star-spangled or reflective, pop captures the mood." New York Times, 20 Dec. 2001, p.

E3. Science In

Context, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=palmerridgehs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA8

1232114&it=r&asid=e02b446332a2963c58dd3630f3292f04. Accessed 10 May 2017.

Country Music Goes to War Jolie Jenson

Journal of Southern History. 72.2 (May 2006): p506. From Student Resources in Context.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2006 Southern Historical Association

http://www.uga.edu/~sha

Country Music Goes to War. Edited by Charles K. Wolfe and James E. Akenson. (Lexington:

University Press of Kentucky, c. 2005. Pp. viii, 250. $35.00, ISBN 0-8131-2308-9.)

Country, Music Goes to War explores how war has been portrayed in country music, how war

has shaped country music practice, and how country music is a war-inflected cultural site.

Contributors to this collection of fourteen essays come from the fields of history, English,

folklore, education, political science, ethnomusicology, and popular culture studies.

In "The Civil War in Country Music Tradition," Andrew K. Smith and James E. Akenson offer

an extensive list of Civil War--era material in songs and albums, starting with the war period

itself. In "Bloody War: War Songs in Early Country Music," Charles K. Wolfe examines two

kinds of war portrayals in twentieth-century country music--war as topic and war as poignant

personal experience. Wolfe's later essay "'Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb': Nuclear Warfare in

Jestice/English 3

Country Music," discusses in detail songs from from a time when country music often addressed

atomic power in religious terms. Ivan M. Tribe details Korean War--era songs, and Akenson's

final essay, "Country Music: A Teaching Tool for Dealing with War," offers innovative

techniques to help middle school students use country music lyrics for historical analysis.

The question of how World War II shaped country music connects the essays by Louis Hatchett

and W. K. McNeil on the 1942 hit "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere"; Don

Cusic on how Gene Autry's recording and film careers were affected by World War II; Michael

Ann Williams on how John Lair's Renfro Valley enterprise prospered by addressing war

concerns on the home front; and Wayne W. Daniel on the variety of ways that radio station

WLS's National Barn Dance program addressed war issues.

Country music can be studied not only as a collection of texts or a set of commercial practices

but also as an ideologically loaded cultural form, constantly policing its own boundaries. Such an

approach certainly helps us understand (as described in Randy Rudder's essay) Nashville's

response to the current war in Iraq. At the conjunction of country music and war, complex

connections among patriotism, populism, nationalism, social class, and cultural positioning can

be addressed. Aaron A. Fox's rich and provocative essay considers the "problematic minstrelsy"

of the bestselling soundtrack "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" as a response to the attacks on

September 11, 2001. This essay offers an incisive argument about how alternative country music

works to "refashion a cosmopolitan, postmodern version of country's vernacular 'roots'" (p. 180).

Other essayists who address country music more as a cultural site include Kevin S. Fontenot on

how "the Russian threat" figured in Cold War--era songs; Rae Wear on the populist and nostalgic

use of war by Brian Letton, the Australian country singer; and David A. Wilson on the use of

alterations of American country music by Ulster loyalists.

This thematic collection offers the interested reader a range of cases that illuminate how an

American cultural genre can include, be shaped by, and offer an arena for interpreting military

conflicts from the Civil War to the present.

Jenson, Jolie. "Country Music Goes to War." Journal of Southern History, vol. 72, no. 2, 2006, p.

506+. Student Resources in

Context, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=palmerridgehs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA1

46628910&it=r&asid=9605d6b49a84ed159f8f4e2e32542b28. Accessed 10 May 2017.