Characters in American folk-music history

1/14/2018

As we enter week 2 and begin turning toward a relatively chronological view of topical-music history in the United States, here are a couple of accessible pieces that make good introductions to this work: (1) the story of "John Henry," one of the most popular American folk songs, and (2) an account of when it was always hammer time in folk music.

Participation! In regard to the first piece, about John Henry — Think of a pop song you know and/or like that tells a story about a fictional character. (Examples: "Eleanor Rigby," "Major Tom," "Mr. Wendal," "St. Jimmy," or, relevant to us next week, Nina Simone's "Four Women"!) What is the story and theme of the song? Why did the author(s) choose to relate a fictional character instead of a real person? What work does a literary narrative do that a documentary account couldn't?

3 Comments

Jae Hyung Lee

2/5/2018 03:50:10 pm

“Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles
The story of the song is about the life of Eleanor Rigby, a lonely person, living in a post-war Britain. The author chose this song to relate a fictional character to describe the lives of British people after the war, who were going through difficult times trying to recover from the destruction. Here, literary narrative dramatizes the loneliness that people felt by telling the story of Eleanor Rigby.

Jun Liu

2/10/2018 11:56:43 am

"Stan" by Eminem
The song is a story/journey about Eminem's biggest fan writing to him and not receiving a response. I think Eminem chose to relate to a fictional character because it allows him to show his fans what not to do. The literary narrative allows him to take it to an extreme and show how ridiculous it could be by killing yourself because you didn't receive a letter back from your favorite artist.

Evon Hung

3/23/2018 01:04:24 pm

"Caroline" by Amine

This story is about a woman who is characterized as drop-dead gorgeous and a woman of stature to be with. Amine centralizes a depiction of his wants and needs when it comes to describing his 'criteria' for how he holds himself and what kind of female intrigues him. Using a 'mannequin' character named Caroline, as a figure of desire, is, in a way, trophying a woman that can be dreamt of in many ways without a permanency in comparison to referencing a real person.

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