John Brown Song, Blood On The Risers, And Solidarity Forever

Popular singer Elton John once said; “music has healing power; it has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours”, and for most, music is the portal to an out of body experience. African American lyricists especially have been found to use the art of music to escape the real world, commencing from the slavery era and onward. The blues song titled The Tracks of My Tears does just that; expresses the ability to remove your soul from a treacherous reality. Similarly, the lyrics from popular modern songs, written by black artists, speak volumes about what is presently going on in the country, parallel to the way African American slavery songs did. Music written at an earlier period have been found to correlate to music of the past through providing strong emotion toward present day commentary.

Throughout history John Brown has been described as a terrorist, mentally ill, and a failure among other things. Because he stood strongly for what he believed in, and his goal was eventually achieved he can be seen for the most part as a hero. Brown was described as “an American who gave his life that millions of other Americans be free” (Chowder,6). Brown was a headstrong abolitionist who claimed that he was told by God to end slavery causing him to see himself as “a latter-day Moses” (Chowder, 6). With this, he stopped at nothing to fulfill these expectations. Brown’s heroism is displayed through how he was recounted by others during and after his lifetime, the actions though drastic he took when fighting for what he believed in, and

In these songs, one can unearth the heart’s deepest desires—desires that are so basic, so undeniably human, that they cannot help but underscore the dehumanizing condition of slavery.

Noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass, in his self titled slave narrative addresses the indescribable sadness that the slaves were experiencing, which they portrayed through song. He intensely describes the emotions that he hears within the songs of the slaves. In the passage Douglass shows how the slaves believe that they feel, versus how they really feel, and he does this this by changing the tone throughout the passage. He uses these tones to make the reader fully feel the helplessness that the slaves feel and recognize the effects that slavery had on people.

Even though John Brown’s method of violence was frowned upon, he stood up for what he believed in. John Brown thought that by killing slave owners and by using violence, he could put an end, or at least help the problem of slavery. This situation of John Brown is like the symbol of the ying-yang. In every act of evil, there is an aspect of goodness, however in every act of good, there is an aspect of evil. In John Brown’s case, his act of good in setting slaves free had an evil aspect, which was violence.

Retrieved December 08, 2017, from http://www.historynet.com/john-brown “the violence which John Brown led made Kansas a free state tribute to the man who of all Americans has perhaps come nearest to touching the real souls of black folk (W.B. Dubois)”. Brown was looked at as a thug to many people, he was looked at as a mentally ill and deranged person. Many asked, what was going on in Brown’s mind thinking he can free slaves from the south with only 21

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

“I have only a short time to live, only one death to die, and I will die fighting for this cause. There will be no peace in this land until slavery is done for.” John Brown John Brown is an abolitionist who desperately tries to end slavery once and for all. He knows he will break many rules, and he knows this is very dangerous, yet he still does it in order to free many, many innocent lives of the slaves. Although John Brown uses violence in his plans, he does try to end slavery and save many people from the horrors of whips and killing; ultimately, John Brown is not guilty of murder, treason, and insurrection.

John Brown’s famous quote,“Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments.” This means that John was willing to fight for what he believed was necessary and a huge problem in the world and John needed to do something about it. So this is about how John fought for what he believed in and about how somethings are worth dieing for.

The common theme found in both ‘ Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglas’ and the poem, ‘The Slave’s Dream’ is longing for freedom. Both passages show a man dreaming of freedom and one man is sad because of it and the other is so taken away by it he forgets about reality. It was often said that slaves sing to express their happiness, but Douglas argues it’s to express their sadness.

This song may have also been used to discourage other abolitionists from leading slave insurrections. The final two lines state, “And oh ye, abolitionists, before it is too late, think of John Brown and of his sad fate”. The phrase “sad fate” is striking, because even though the southerners saw John Brown as a traitor and terrorist, they likely still saw him as above the black slaves, simply because of his race. They thought it was sad that a fellow white man would try to free the slaves, further showing their general belief that black people were

Throughout the existence of slavery in America, white abolitionists have played a crucial role in the fight for the freedom of blacks. They all risked everything, and fueled by passion stepped outside of the societal norm to fight for those unable to fight. However, few white abolitionists caused as much controversy during their time as John Brown. Brown was an abolitionist who not only spoke out on his beliefs, but backed up them up with action. He was so contentious that he was able to be considered a hero and a terrorist at the same time. Although Brown’s actions were considered debatable, it can be agreed upon today that they were

Nevertheless, if the song was expressing an opinion, one might be tempted to believe that the song is telling the truth. The listener is left with no other option than to accept the message of the song as a fact of life. It is sad that there were some Americans who thought that their sons were so special to take part in the Vietnam War. The elite could not have allowed their sons to take part in what seemed to be known as the never-ending war. These groups of Americans used their influence to ensure that only the sons of the poor and the minority were sent off to Vietnam for the war.

The most celebrated freedom song is “we shall overcome”. Which was made by tobacco workers, who performed the song for Zilphia Horton of the highlander folk school which had an important biracial training ground for activists interested in labor organizing and progressive democratic reform in the south This song was basically brought up to an unofficial anthem for the movement which was about hybrid nature and improvisational which was not just for the African American musical culture, but also of the movement itself. The song gave a spiritual energy moral and constitutional authority, and a valiant attempt at strategic planning, it was ultimately to be more concerned and aware with dogmatic notions of ideological or tactical correctness than

“I act from a principle,” and “I say, break the law” are not only the names of two out of the five parts in this book, but the words by which John Brown lived so passionately everyday. At earlier times in his life he lived by his sword as well. The Sword and the Word illustrates John Brown’s own ideas and intentions and how he lived by them. A main issue of this book is that truly a man of his word who believed that morals should outweigh the law of the land, John Brown lived and died for the abolition of slavery and did as much if not more for that cause than many other slaves or free men.