American Music is More Powerful Than You Think

Written by: Leanna Odell

Power can be perceived in many different ways. Some may think of it as being related to control, or even authority. The most common definition of power from Merriam-Webster is “the ability to act or produce an effect.” Power can come from multiple different perspectives and include viewpoints from people who have different beliefs than others.

https://medium.com/the-mission/youre-more-powerful-than-you-think-1414757b0c7e

Imagine we are in a car taking a long road trip and every stop we make there is a different song that comes on the radio (the songs can be from all different eras). The first song to play is Blackbird by The Beatles. This song tells of the Civil Rights Movement and refers back to the racial desegregation of the Little Rock Arkansas school system. “Blackbird singing in the dead of night…take these broken wings and learn to fly all your life” The ‘blackbird’ is used as a symbol for an African American person who is finally being recognized, hence “singing in the dead of night.” The Civil Rights Movement was a very powerful event that took place all thanks to local people & leaders that showed power in standing up for their rights. Next up to play is Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen, written in the early 80’s. Most people thought this song to be patriotic, involving American pride, but it actually casts a shameful eye on how America treated its Vietnam veterans. Within the song, there is a protagonist, who is completely isolated from his family & the government, to the point where nothing makes sense anymore. Springsteen writes,

“Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go”

These words are said to be describing the desperate feelings of a working-class citizen living in post-Vietnam America. When watching the music video, it seems as if Bruce Springsteen is almost yelling his lyrics into the microphone to give off that angry or upset type of vibe to show a more powerful meaning. Now we are listening to Imagine by John Lennon. This song is an example of a more negative ‘power’ per se, because there was a misunderstood meaning behind it. Most people believe it was “22 lines of graceful, plain-spoken faith in the power of a world, united in purpose, to repair & change itself.” In reality, Lennon admitted that it was “virtually a Communist manifesto” and because the song is sugarcoating the political message, it is therefore accepted.

https://www.reggaeville.com/artist-details/bob-marley/details/

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”


-Bob Marley


Now that the road trip is over and you’ve heard of the songs from back in the 60’s & 80’s, let’s compare them to more current music. A popular artist by the name of Kanye West started producing music in 2001 and released an album titled “The College Dropout.” This album broke the gangsta-rap mold which included themes like consumerism, racism, higher education & his religious beliefs. He was, and still is a very powerful rapper spitting lines like:

“Crack, raised the murder rate in D.C. and Maryland
We, invested in that, it’s like we got Merrill Lynched
And we been hangin from the same tree, ever since.”

A more current song of Kanye’s is Power, which, hence the title, brings a lot to the table considering he speaks of symbolism. The authentic music video shows Kanye wearing a Horus pendant; the symbol of power amongst the royal family of Egypt who came from the Gods. It also shows albino horned black women who are meant to represent Isis & Hathor as the guardians of the dead souls while Kanye is supposed to be Pharaoh who is sacrificed in order to become immortal.


Here is the music video to Kanye West’s song, Power.

Works Cited