The Needle & The Groove is now over a year old…as such, we have seen holidays come and go, but I just can’t ignore the 4th of July. Last year I posted on this day as well, and for some reason, every time the 4th of July rolls around, I can’t help but think of all the songs written in protest. Yes, I realize this is remarkably pessimistic, and yes, I understand that the 4th is a day of celebration. But “protest songs” are a celebration. They are a celebration of where we have been, where we can go, and what we can become. Call it pessimism if you will, but I prefer to look at it as a hope for a better country and a better world. These are songs of every age, written for specific generations…and yet they are timeless.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
(The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of American)
Of course, thousands of songs have been written in protest in the centuries since our country was born, but what make’s such songs legendary is their timelessness. They may have been written forty or fifty years ago, but even now, they are relevant…they bear witness to our faults and call for us to change. And it is that hope of change that keeps us going. Last year on the 4th of July, I posted mostly “protest songs.” This year, I prefer songs that don’t simply point out our faults, but that praise the idea that things can someday change. The only problem is, these songs are a lot harder to find…
Bruce Springsteen: “How Can I Keep From Singing”
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I’m not entirely sure why it is so difficult to find songs that aim to inspire and not just criticize (and yes, I realize there are plenty of country songs that do this, but blind patriotism is little better than unfettered criticism). With any luck, people will send me more…but Springsteen’s rendition of “How Can I Keep From Singing” is hard to surpass. And yet, without question, Ray Charles has done so. I’m well aware that I posted this same song last year…but what can I say, it’s impossible to hear this and not feel moved and inspired. I may just have to make this a yearly tradition on the 4th…there are definitely worse things:
Ray Charles – “America the Beautiful”
Oh beautiful, for heroes proved,
In liberating strife,
Who more than self, our country loved,
And mercy more than life,America, America, may God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain devined.
Posted by the Needle
