Folk: The People's Music

Brittni Kelly wrote: 

Since its inception sometime in the early 1800s, folk music has been a getaway for many in the lower class. Folk music can be thought of merely as musical folklore, or stories, passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. The theme for folk music can range from work, economic hardships and war to nonsense, satire and even love songs. Even in the hardest of times in history folk music has kept the spirits of those in great need from cracking under pressures of society. “The earliest folk songs rose from slave fields as spirituals: “Down by the Riverside”, “We Shall Overcome”, etc. These songs are about struggle and hardship, but are surprisingly full of hope.” (folkmusic.about.com) People take part in folk music all the time and sometimes without even realizing it at all. Folk music is as simple as clapping you hands together or stomping your feet to the rhythm of your favorite song. People around the world sing for any reason they can come up with whether they were given a beautiful voice or not. Singing passes the time, cheers people up, and allows the people to express their thoughts. The best thing about folk music is that you do not have to be well-known or made of money to create it. In reality, you do not even have to know how to play an instrument. It is a type of music for the people by the people.

The 20th century helped folk music to become more popular and well-known throughout the American population. Workers struggled and struck for child labor laws as well as an eight hour work day. These people gathered in churches, living rooms, and union halls to sing songs that helped them get through the strife in their work life: folk music. “Joe Hill was an early folk songwriter and union agitator. His songs adapted the tunes of Baptist hymns by replacing the words with versus about the ongoing labor struggles. These tunes have been sung during worker strikes and in union halls ever since.” (folkmusic.about.com) In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the stock market crashed and workers everywhere were laid off begging for jobs that were not available. People turned to music for comfort; music and family was all people had in such difficult times. People could not afford to do anything during these times and the only form of entertainment readily available to anyone was music, specifically folk music. Farmers were encouraged out of the Dust Bowl region and urged to the promises of California and New York due to a series of droughts and dust storms. This group of people found themselves living in box cars and jungle camps as they tried to make it from job to job. “Woody Guthrie was one of those workers who headed to California in search of gainful employment. Woody wrote hundreds of songs between the 1930s and his death in 1967 of Huntington’s chorea.” (folkmusic.about.com)

The music in the Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou? is such an essential part to the story that the film itself could be considered a musical. The soundtrack to O Brother is a collection of “old time” music, though to some ears the collection of folk songs, bluegrass, and blues will sound like old-time country. The music in the film sounds a lot like what country music sounded like before Nashville got a hold of it. As a whole, Burnett&Co. have crafted a wonderful album. It is a celebration of country music’s root that is eclectic and inviting, and one that will resonate for a long time to come.
The song “I am a Man of Constant Sorrow” is gleeful and adds the perfect edge to the sound of O Brother. The sound foreshadows the struggle of the journey that lies ahead for the cast. When the Soggy Bottom Boys perform in the jail house, it is a form of irony. After all, they are escaped convicts. This irony heightens the tension of the moment in which the fate of the boys is still undecided. The music in O Brother shows us how people turn to music for entertainment, comfort, and relaxation during the Great Depression.

The Odyssey shows us how music affects us when Demodocus sings at the fray in Phaeacians. As he sings, Odysseus has a flood of emotion fill his mind. The memories of his gallant peers made him sad as he realized he was amongst the last survivors. He was left to wonder what he had when and if he ever returned home. He wonders if his son is dead or if his wife has remarried. Did he have something to come home to or was it too late? He covered his face and wept as the Blind Prophet continued to play. The song that Demodocus sang is an example of how songs can bring up memories and emotions about the past. The music touched Odysseus and made him wonder about his life and if he would ever make it home again. It shows us that music does touch the heart and the soul.