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| Monday, November 14, 2005 12:20 PM |
| If that is the best argument you can come up with.... |
| by poppy |
So a middle school in Michigan put a song entitled "Pick a Bale of Cotton" in its folk music choir program; three guesses what it's about. So some people got pissed. I can't say I'm surprised, though not being in the folk music choir I wasn't sure I could judge whether it was as offensive as was being alleged. American folk music is a rich tradition, after all, and slave songs are a very rich addition to the already rich tradition. (So one of my professors in college once failed Bob Dylan in a class called "American Folk Music." Just thought I'd throw that out there. She doesn't like to talk about it.) There is something interesting about them, fascinating. It's not quite a "lemonade from lemons" type of thing, but perhaps it is close: a strange beauty being borne of so much strife, pain, and malice. My first image was of Alvin Ailey's "Revelations," which uses gorgeous spirituals to breathtaking effect. Surely these songs deserve a place in our musical history and performances, don't they?
So I wasn't sure I could hop on the offensive wagon without further information... until I got to the end of the article. From the school's spokeswoman:
"'We used to sing that song when I was in school during the '50s," she said. "It's like a Southern type of folk song. I remember it being perky. It was more of a song that people just sang for fun.'"
Okay, you know what, I can be offended now. Here I am, commencing being offended. |
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