Analysis Of The Tracks Of My Tears

During times of despair African Americans develop ways to help diminish some of the psychological trauma they face while living in the “chamber of horrors” as described by Dr. Cornell West. The invention of singing the blues to get by some of the traumatic experiences face by African Americans as well as singing gospel to keep the faith are also signs of the interconnectivity of African psychology and African American psychology because it draws on the metaphysical principle of KHABA of emotion and motion.

Between 1820 and 1845 tens of thousands of Choctaw, Cherokee, Chicksaw, Creek and Seminole were pushed out of their land in the southeastern US and forced to walk west, past Mississippi, relocating them hundreds of miles from their previous homes. Many of these Native Americans died because of the tough winter. This march was later called as the Path of the Tears

Music has always been regarded as an art of high importance. The word itself originates from the Greek word mousike meaning “of the muses”, the group of nine Greek Goddesses who regulate the arts and sciences. It has often been used as a way to heal mental and emotional pain; “music speaks directly to the body through intuitive channels that are accessed at entirely different levels of consciousness from those associated with cognition” (The Music Effect.24). In Jan Johnson’s Soul Wound, Johnson discusses the historical trauma of Native Americans and the rage that is associated with it. This rage, as she later states, “is generally turned inward and expressed through depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide, and manifested externally within families and communities through domestic and other forms of violence” (Johnson.226-227). In Wabanaki Blues by Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel we see this rage internalized and portrayed in the depression of both Mona and her mother and depicted in their family dynamic through the neglect of Mona’s mother towards Mona. Mona, as well as other characters in the book, utilize music as a form of therapy to heal the soul. The characters in Wabanaki Blues utilize music to heal in ways that parallels Bob Marley’s Redemption Song and the Rastafarian religion.

Certain songs resonate deep down within one’s soul. The reason may not seem clear, but particular songs cause an effect on a person when they are heard. Many songs cause this reaction, and even though a person cannot quite put his or her finger on the how and why, a person experiences this forever. A song can achieve incredible things. Whether the song lifts someone’s spirits, transports their mind to a time and place long since passed, or breaks their hearts, music is a constant. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” may have been overshadowed by the band’s songs “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama”, but “Simple Man” takes a person back to their childhood, evokes hope, and reminds people that the things needed in life remain simple

Millions of people in the world listen to music for all different reasons. Most people all over the world listen to different genres of music in order to relax, but not too many people pay attention to the actual lyrics of a song. If you listen to the lyrics of a song you will realize that many songs have important messages or themes to them. An example of this is the lyrics of the song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur. If you listen to this song, you will realize that Tupac raps about not only the problems that African Americans face from society, but also the struggles that poor people in society have to endure and overcome. Many

On the Social and Cultural Themes Found in Run-DMC’s “It’s Like That” Music is one of the most influential and relevant forms of “cultural time travel” humans have created; not only does it allow individuals to experience times beyond their own, but it also provides a medium through which groups of people can voice their experiences and struggles to an audience that would not necessarily be able to witness the situation first-hand. A popular example of this can be found in blues music, a genre of music that appeared after the American Civil War and into the Reconstruction period. The black community in America during the latter parts of the 1800s used blues as a way to communicate their fear of death at the hands of the lynch mobs and white

Music has power beyond all measures. It not only heals the soul but gives it the wings it needs to fly. For that reason and many others, music was instrumental in allowing African-American slaves to develop their own identity and remain hopeful of a better tomorrow. Many forms of music transpired out of the bodies of tired slaves who made music to elevate their soul. Music represents their sorrow and strife and it relieves them just as tears relieve the heart.

Songs like “Ain’t no mountain high enough”, “My Girl”, and “ABC” have shaped American history in ways that people don’t even realize. We wouldn’t be listing to artist like Beyoncé, Drake, and John Legend if these former artists didn’t write and/or perform these songs. They have allowed African American music to blossom to what it is known for today. If these artists did not continue to write and produce music, they would have never gotten anywhere and we wouldn’t have the African American artist we love today. This paper will now go into more specific African American singer, songwriters, and composers.

The blues have deep roots embedded within American history—particularly that of African American history. The history of the blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th century and was created by slaves, ex-slaves, and descendants of slaves. They were created by individuals who endured great hardship while performing endless hours of arduous labor and blues served as a form of escapism. To these individuals, songs provided them with the strength to persevere through their struggles. Blues songs depicted individuals who persevered in the face of adversity. They were symbols of hope to those squandering in the depths of oppression. In relations to the blues, every song has a story behind it and within every story, there is something to be said. Blues artists, through their struggles, detail how they overcame hardship and laughed at the face of oppression. They defied the rules and in doing so, showed African Americans that they too are beacons of hope for the hopeless. The best blues is instinctive, cathartic, and intensely emotional. From irrepressible bliss to deep sadness, no form of music communicates more genuine emotion than that of the blues. Like many bluesmen of his day, Robert Johnson applied his craft as a lonely traveling musician on street corners and in juke joints. He was a lonely man whose songs romanticized that existence. With Johnson’s unique vocal style, haunting lyrics, and creative guitar techniques, Johnson’s innovation embodied the essence of

The civil rights movement had a powerful impact of the African American community as a whole. After the movement and several victories over the laws of discrimination from the governement, black people found themselves appearing nearly everywhere. From drawing conclusions, the 70’s was the peak of African Americans in film, television, theatre and even music. So far as the music industry, Black artists were making empowering songs to encourage the solidarity and pride in being a black person. African Americans also made music about current events in the world. Artists such as Marvin Gaye made songs about war, protests and moral issues of the government. In music, the intellect and thoughts of an African American was displayed by their lyrics. No one infiltrated their songs because it was their own creations. However, this was not the same case in movies cast and written for black people.

The blues show how music changed the world in the 1980's and early 1990's. Run DMC’s song “It’s Like That” is a perfect example of how artists expressed their feelings through lyrics. The quote you first mentioned, “Unemployment at a record high, people coming, people going, people born to die”, displays how people were coming to senses of the reality of life. During these times, people were starting to own up to what life really meant. As scary as life sometimes is, people must come face to face with the reality they are up against. With voicing opinions though song writing, people were able to come together and face the same issues everyone was dealing with. People began to realize they weren’t the only ones going through these same problems.

The sexual nature of the blues is an assertion of power. This music is a feeling that celebrates pleasure and success of being yourself. As a matter of fact, the lyrics deal with self-pity such as losing your job and personal misfortune like overcoming hardships. The blues is hypnotic; it bridges tragedy with comedy through sex. With this in mind, it was dangerous for African Americans to speak out so they use sexual lyrics to voice their thoughts, “therefore the writers found it easy to smuggle them into their songs and to invest them with passably respectable meanings” (Johnson, G. p. 19). By the same token, some songs with erotic tone lyrics real meaning often spoke out against racism and protest. “Hellhound on My Trail” emphasizes

Music is indubitably a formidable force. It has the capability to shape an individual’s perspective on the world. My father is a music aficionado, and the predominant reason I was acquainted with the paradise of music. I used to stare at his gargantuan wall of CDs for hours marveling at the unique splendor of each album cover. Only a select few songs out of the millions on that wall were magnificent enough to change my life. Once in a blue moon, I stumble upon a song that is so profound and liberating, it captivates me as I listen and brings new insights to my life. One song, which reached immediate success upon its release in 1977, would later change my life. Listening to the song I am so fervent about, “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac, helped me to develop my musical taste through its eloquent lyrics, an upbeat melody, and the passionate performance of the song.

As time moved forward from the antebellum spirituals, more less hopeful songs surfaced. The tiredness of years and years of injustice set in on many, and inspired them to write songs that express that feeling. Many of these songs serve a purpose for protest too though, through pathos. Bringing up past instances of hatred and racism, and the tiredness of it now, will pull heartstrings and possible cause someone to act and fight for freedom and equality. From a place lacking hope and love, a powerful song is able to bring forth positive action. Because of this, older songs are powerful. They hold a memory of the past, and how much has change, and how much has got to change.

The same colors of music have been used to paint unique masterpieces throughout history. From Mozart to Michael Jackson and Beethoven to Bob Marley, the behaviors of sound– melodies, harmonies and chords– have been manipulated by individuals to communicate their soul’s message to the masses. The connections between music from the renaissance to contemporary tunes is quite surprising. The Beatles weren 't the first ones to talk about love, life struggles or heartache. These have been common themes of everyone’s lives since Adam and Eve. Bob Marley and Michael Jackson took their own personal experiences and paired it with the universal language of music to connect with people. Through a multitude of albums and singles, these two artists created timeless pieces of music, some of which are still present on the top charts. Although some disagree with the fact that their music is timeless, by comparing the music of Michael Jackson and Bob Marley to music that is known as timeless, one can see the direct correlation.