In 1940 Woody Guthrie’s song “This Land is
Your Land” came out and it’s had such an impact that it’s still a song known by
almost all Americans today. It speaks
volumes about opening up America as a land for everyone. America should be a country for the free,
meaning what’s mine is yours and this country is everyone’s.
In 1962, Bob Dylan released the song “The Death
of Emmett Till”. This is a morbid song
about the death of this African American man at the hands of evil people. This is a protest song that isn’t afraid to
talk about some of the very bad things that our country, especially in the south,
was facing at the time. We want justice and
equality, but we also have to think about why we’re trying to change
things. The death of this perfectly
innocent man is exactly why things needed to change and music was trying to do
its part to bring attention to topics that needed it.
Bob Dylan also released another song in 1964
called “Times are a-Changin”. This song talks
about how things are finally beginning to change for the better. There’s still a long way to go to reach the
levels of justice and equality we want to be at, but we’re now moving in the
right direction.
When there’s a war there are also
people working towards peace, so of course there’s music about both situations
during this time period. In 1966 Loretta
Lynn released a song called “Dear Uncle Sam” that was about her significant other going off
to war. It brought up the importance of
men going to war, but it also shed light on the people they were leaving back
home and the hardships everyone was facing during this time.
John Lennon took the approach
to sing about peace for our country with the songs “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine”. Both songs consider a world of peace and how
great it could be if we can stop fighting and actually care about one
another.
Give Peace a Chance
Imagine
Counter culture started becoming a big thing in the 1970’s
too, so in 1973 Cher released a song called “Half Breed”. This song is about how she’s of mixed ethnic
decent and looked down upon and judged for it.
It calls out the people being judgmental and brings light to these
important issues that may otherwise be overlooked.
Bob Marley also released an important song in
1973 called “Get Up, Stand Up” to encourage people to actually get up and work
for the changes in society they want to see.
If you don’t get up and do something about bad situations, how can you
ever expect them to improve? He wanted
to provide some motivation for people to be involved in changing things for the
better.
There were significant changes going on in the United States throughout this time, yet progress was being made slowly but surely. As long as there are people dedicated to making sure the issues at hand are being addressed and we are working towards a positive change, we're doing our part and moving in the right direction to make the American Dream attainable for as many people as possible!
