INTRODUCTION
Popular music was heavily impacted by the Cold War, and relationships between political and cultural events and features of the music can be found frequently. Ansari (2012) stated that the political impact of the Cold War ‘affected American music of all kinds’, and that certain singers, including Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, became ‘figureheads in the countercultural, anti-war movement that swept the nation during the 1960s’.
THE BEATLES
The Beatles were arguably the best known and loved band of the 1960s. They played a huge role in the Cold War, creating a relationship between their music and the events of the time. They are particularly remembered for beating communism and demeaning the Soviet Union.
Woodhead (2013a) stated that
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Some of these elements include the uptempo character, the depiction in McCartney’s lyrics of a good feeling after having returned to the USSR, and the lyric ‘You don’t know how lucky you are boy, back in the USSR’ (The Beatles 1968b). The lyric ‘Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out, they really leave the West behind’ (The Beatles 1968c) is one that sympathises with the idea that the Eastern countries were supportive of the boundary and wanted no relation to the Western …show more content…
‘Masters of War’ (Dylan 1963a) was written as a protest against the fuelling of the nuclear arms race.
The repeated riff in the song supports the idea of Dylan’s message repeating itself through various lyrics. The serious matter of the song also comes across in the repeated chord of E minor. Some of the songs lyrics, including ‘I just want you to know, I can see through your masks’ (Dylan 1963b) and ‘You play with my world, like it’s your little toy’ (Dylan 1963c) can be interpreted as Dylan’s way of protesting to weapon manufacturers that they were making the world a worse place, and they needed to stop encouraging further conflict through their actions.
Sanjana Ray described how much of an impact Bob Dylan’s music had on the world, and studied a few of his best works. One of these songs was ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Dylan 1964a). Ray (2017) stated that Dylan’s goal with the song was to encourage his audiences to ‘join the right side of the movement, the one that fights for equality and against ugly
The new sound that internationalized rock and roll crossed an ocean from Britain to the United States and changed the course of musical history. The highlighted moment of history in which the British Invasion was initiated was during the arrival of The Beatles and their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show for three consecutive Sundays. Neither the arrival nor impact of British rock on the musical development of post-1950s...
...de ourselves into the altered consciousness of reality that Dylan found in songs, what “Greil Marcus, the music historian, would some thirty years later call…‘the invisible republic’” (Dylan 34), we must close our eyes to the truths that cause trauma and open them to this invisibility, and we can find in our comfort a new folk legend to be heard.
During the 1960s and the early 1970s, music reflected the political and social changes that America was undergoing at the time. Some of these major changes included the African-American civil rights movement and the conflict over America’s role in the Vietnam War. During these hard times, people turned to music for hope, peace, happiness and answers.
In the nineteen sixties almost half of the American population were young adults. Because of this, the sixties were an age of youth and there was a generation gap that America had never seen before. Many of the baby boomers were at risk of being drafted into the Vietnam War. This war brought on revolutionary and innovative ways of thinking. The young people of this decade wanted change and this brought a huge difference in culture from the conservative fifties. Inspiration for many of the songs and lyrics of the time came from the Vietnam War. The war caused many people to protest and speak out about it. The main genres people used to show their attitudes about the current war were folk and rock.
Masters of War by Bob Dylan is a song which protests against the Cold War. Dylan comes to strongly emphasize the amount of lives lost during war and the ignorance of powerful individuals; who seem to promote war with the development of weapons of mass destruction. The war between the United States and the Soviet Union greatly emphasized the competition to develop superior weapons. The lyrics “You that build the guns…death planes… and bombs” can represent the arms buildup which occurred during the Cold War; as well as those who helped manufacture weapons. Furthermore, the song comes to depict the people who have power, the government as the “Masters of War” in a negative way where they start war without being involved physically. This can be
The years 1960-1969 were very impressionable years. With events that changed America , turning the innocence and hope of American people into violence and anger. The young nation of the 60s were the most influential of all ,with rioting about war or turning music into culture. This was a completely different america than it was years before . In a Music standpoint artists such as The Beatles , Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were changing the way music was made . They were changing music into an artform , a way for people to express their feelings , beliefs and ideas. The Music of the 1960s evolved into an artform which lead the path for American music of today.
The Beatles are a band that has made a huge impact into our world. The impact of the Beatles influenced many things. Such things would be types of music, the people, and a world movement.
The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular protest music, which has reached out to the youthful generations everywhere demanding for a revolutionary change. The protest music took the children of the 1960’s to a completely new different level. Musicians of this generation were not going to sit and do nothing while the government lied to the people about what was going on in Vietnam. Instead, they took their guitar-strumming troubadours from the coffee houses, plugged them in, and sent the music and the message into the college dorm rooms and the homes of the youth of America. However, as decades went by, protest music does not have much of an impact as it use to because of the way things have changed over the years. Through the analysis of the music during the 1960’s, there shall be an understanding on how the different genres of protest music has affected social protesters based on how musicians have become the collective conscience of that generation through their lyrics and music and the main factors that contributed to the lack of popula...
Music is an outlet to all aspects of life and culture is a significant way of forming people and the way they live. Although not always seen directly culture has an overbearing influence on the music that is produced and made popular. The political Climate of the early seventies was full of fire with issues such as Vietnam and constant protest throughout the county. Later in the 70’s the end of the Vietnamese conflict brought the rise of the Watergate scandal and Iran Contra. These issues swept headlines and ingrained people’s thoughts. Social issues also played a big role in the developing culture of the seventies. Protests and constant outbreaks about gay rights and women’s rights seemed to overtake the country in storm. Later in the Decade the social climate changed to a celebration of the Past and a can-do attitude. Political and Social climates had an overbearing influence on the attitude that was being developed throughout the seventies. This climate was also transparent in the music world of this decade. In the early 70’s music lyrics were being created that were representative of the popular method of protest and social change. Music is a common way of expression and during this time artist and groups took the most of their popular music by expressing viewpoints on present issues. In the mid to late seventies the birth of new styles that broke from the old seemed to dominate the music industry. These new types of music ranged from disco to television pop. The music of the decade represented the culture and was greatly influenced by events and beliefs of the 70’s. At this time in American history, music and life became closely nit. In the late 1970’s, national issues settl...
Throughout our history, music has constantly been influenced by trends of its time, reflecting social, economic and political changes. On the other hand, music has defined the culture and social events or leading them to social revolution. For instance, guys like Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder greatly contributed to social events. Such leaders and musical revolutionaries have existed throughout history.
The music in the 1960s reflected what was going on in the real world. Things such as President Kennedy's assassination, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War had a big impact on music and what was being sung about during this time. Bob Dylan is commonly known for the songs he wrote that protested the war, like “Masters of War”, “With God on our Side”, and “Blowin’ in the
Rock and Roll is commonly known as the greatest music ever created. Most people do not know that Rock and Roll emerged out of the United States in the 1950s. Artists during this time like Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Bob Dylan were the first major stars among the birth of Rock and Roll in America. Since the 1950s, we have seen a rise in Rock and Roll culture. A peak in the 1960s-1970s was when the world began a musical, political, and social revolution. The revolution takes place during some tense times in the world- The Vietnam War, Political Issues with Cuba, JFK Presidency/Assassination, Malcolm X’s Assassination, Martin Luther King’s Assassination — you name it. The world was in a turmoiled state of mind, but what
The song’s roots are grounded in an Irish song entitled, “The Patriot Game,” written by Dominic Behan. Keeping in the folk tradition of borrowing melodies, themes, and/or lyrics from past songs, Dylan used Behan’s melody as the base for his song. Furthermore, Dylan’s lyrics seem to convey two of the same concepts presented in Behan’s song. The first concept being the negative consequences of blindly adhering to political causes, and secondly Dylan questions what, if anything, can qualify as a just reason for entering war. This is of course an extremely broad overview of Dylan’s lyrical content of With God, I will offer a more in depth lyrical analysis in the subsequent section.
“So the British invasion was more important as an event, as a mood: than as music” (Bangs, 171). This was the British invasion. I wasn’t just about the music, it was more then that; this is what makes it so unique. It didn’t just happen to effect America by chance, it lifted the spirits and moods of its youth. It isn’t just coincidence that Kennedy was assassinated right before the Beatles famous Ed Sullivan Show performance. The whole country was in a deep depressive doldrum after the assassination, and for good reason. The British invasion was needed by Americans to snap out of this funk, and this was just the thing to do it. (One thing that Americans used to avoid the depressing times was to use illegal drugs, but that will be elaborated on later.) This is what it was all about; sure it was about the music, but it brought more, it brought a way of life across the ocean.
The Beatles have been noted as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, and most persuasive bands of all time. They were both musical and lyrical masterminds whom interpreted their opinions through their music. Of those many opinions their main message they wanted to send was the idea of peace. The Beatles opposed the war in Vietnam and were avid participants in the anti-war movement; by trend setting, not being afraid to speak their mind, and writing songs including: “Give Peace A Chance,” “Revolution,” “All You Need Is Love,” and many more. These songs insinuated and instilled their views on world peace, and back their opinions on the war.