Browse Items (42 total)

This song could be used to introduce students to murder ballads, a subgenre of folk music. Like many other Appalachian murder ballads, "Knoxville Girl" is an adaptation of British broadside ballads. Once brought over to the States, these ballads were…

This song may be used to discuss the treatment of indigenous peoples, their history of resistance, and the relationship between the academy and Indian communities.

This minstrel song can be used to teach about minstrelsy and antebellum Southern attitudes towards slavery. It was such a popular genre that it effectively was a type of pop music. In the song, the enslaved are mourning the loss of a deceased slave…

Written in direct response to the 1963 Birmingham, Alabama Church bombing which killed 4 African American girls, this song can be used to instruct students on the shifting attitudes surrounding the conversation on race relations and the Civil Rights…

This song can be used to introduce students to the influence that Appalachian music had on modern country music. Many early country songs were based on British ballads and were combined with musical influences from African-American musical traditions…

Translated as "Lord Bless Africa," "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" served as South Africa's anthem alongside the apartheid-era "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" during the years 1994-1997, to the anger of many. In 1996, excerpts from both songs were utilized to…

In addition to contributing to the 1985 dance track and protest song "Sun City," Peter Gabriel wrote a new song for the Artists United Against Apartheid's album Sun City. The protest group was founded by American musician Steven Van Zandt with the…

"Ode to Billie Joe" is an account of how each of the members of a Mississippi family take the news of Billie Joe McAllister's suicide. A number of ambiguous details in the narrative, which emphasizes loss and was released in 1967, lend itself to a…

Written by Johnny Clegg in memory of his former professor, friend and fellow academic, Dr. David Webster, the song's lyrics speak to the nation's frustration with its government. In addition to his work as a social anthropologist, Dr. Webster was…

Originally written by Clegg for his 1982 album Scatterlings for his previous band, Juluka, it was re-recorded by his new group Savuka. The word, scattering, is defined as someone without a fixed or a permanent home. The usage of the word scattering…