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THE VALUE OF FOLK SONGS
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The value of folk songs is, obviously, that folks sing them, whether to protest or just to have fun. Sometimes, it's surprising to discover who wrote them and how they evolved. Familiar songs like "Goodnight, Irene" existed as sheet music produced by a music publishing company in Cincinnati that employed professional songwriters -- in this case, an African-American one -- to write them. That discovery was made long after the song, introduced by Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, had become part of the folk song canon and been a top hit for The Weavers, a folk group with its origins in the depression, one of whose members was a gangly guy with a banjo named Pete Seeger. He also helped popularize and spread "We Shall Overcome," which eventually became the anthem of the civil rights movement, a song many erroneously believe to be a traditional negro spiritual.
Seeger must be pretty tired these days of being compared to Johnny Appleseed, but it's his own fault for being so relentless in finding, learning, and spreading folk songs -- American and others -- throughout his career. He's even written a couple himself: "If I Had a Hammer," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" He's performed in every conceivable venue, changing the repertoire to suit the occasion, but there's one thing you can be absolutely sure happened at many of these events: he'd say something like, "Come on, sing it with me!" or "Everybody!"
That's because Pete Seeger understands a central fact of folk music: it's fun to sing, and it's more fun if everyone around you is singing too. Singing, of course, is an art, and everyone is aware that some people do it better than others. But singing in a crowd is different. It's exhilarating, and it's as easy as exhaling. Something that preachers in America's religious revivals have been aware of since the 18th century, and one that works for anyone trying to get a message across, whether sacred or profane: there is, as an old labor folk song says, power in a union.
The power of voices lifted in song seems to be under threat these days as people retreat into their own private media worlds, plugged into their iPods™. But it only seems that way, since attending any concert will show that people still love to sing along, and they'll do it at the slightest provocation. And what about folk music? Well, just glancing at the history of folk revivals in the United States, you can see that there's rise and fall. Scratch a rocker, though, and as often as not a folkie is under there somewhere, which is why it's not surprising to see a rocker who's thought long and hard about the nature of America is paying tribute to a folkie who has done his part to shape our nation according to its best principles.
Top banner photos: Bruce Springsteen (photo courtesy Sony-BMG/BBC); Curtis King, Patti Scialfa, and Marc Anthony Thompson; and Springsteen's guitar. |
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Trumpeter Curt Ramm and trombonist Clark Gayton. |
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Bruce Springsteen |
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The CD is available from Amazon.com. |
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