Music and Society

1) Spirituals and the underground railroad- the slaves did much to relieve the stress that they felt by being thrown into their situation of slavery and unknown. The music was from a lot of their homeland, based on their native countries. It helped them get through these hard times. These slaves would sing songs of freedom and hope. And the railroad was the route they took to get to the northern states in the United States and Canada. Spirituals are a huge part of black religious life even today. For example, in any of the black churches; mainly the Baptists’ churches. “Sweet Chariot”, “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and others are some of the most famous songs song during that time. It is said that there were many hidden codes and messages within these songs. It obviously was their way of communication. Because it was very hard for them to write in order to communicate, their songs were the only means of communication for them. For example the Big Dipper is part of the song “Follow the Drinking Gourd”. It helped to find their way to freedom. A lot of the words having meanings behind them.

2) History of Yankee Doodle dandy- it is a song during the Civil War during the mid 1900s. It is usually played during Memorial Day, and the 4th of July, Independence Day. The words for the song are “Yankee Doodle went to town, A-Riding on a pony; He stuck a feather in his cap, and called it macaroni” (Wikipedia.com) There are many earlier versions of Yankee Doodle dandy as well. Of course this has everything do to with Music and Politics because this includes many war and patriotic songs, national anthems and protest songs. Political music is usually used to send out an important message or idea to people. Because Martin Luther King Day has already passed and Inauguration Day is almost coming to an end, both have had music involved. This shows that music is an important part of special occasions and celebrations. These are great examples of the topic Music and Politics. They are both patriotic songs. During the Inauguration day there were many parades including marching bands and the army. The parades have including a variety of songs.

Sources I used:
wikipedia. com "Yankee Doodle Dandy", "Protest Songs" and "Music and Politics"
http://ctl.du.edu/spirituals/Freedom/coded.cfm