Music is an influential medium as it acts as an agent to illustrate societal and cultural issues to the world in its diverse forms.
Music provides room for unification, representation of society, and a comforting shoulder for healing in times of affliction and torture, be it through revolutionary songs, national anthems, war or anti-war songs and rap songs.
The lyrics are not only moving, but they also have the power to asunder a nation and rebuild another amidst their mitigating rhythms and diversely stimulating expressions. Also, the power of protest songs in the times of political distress is inarguable and history thus stands as evidence of this promising role of music.
Revolutionary songs have played a fundamental role in highlighting the oppressed and marginalized movements and in providing revolutionary people with sense of direction. Such songs and melodies have extensively served as a catalyst in bringing change in society and uncovering the injustice.
The French song, 'La Marseillaise' became the voice of people during the French Revolution. When people heard the chants of; “Arise, children of the Fatherland, The day of glory has arrived! Against us, tyranny’s bloody banner is raised”, they felt the vigorous need to fight together against the tyranny and injustice they were subjected to. The chorus of the song, emphasizing the triumph and glory of nation in the death of its adversaries, enamoured the people against all resistance and oppression regimes.
Similarly, many songs became an expression of freedom and equality for people during the American Civil Rights Movement.
Various authors opted for the idea of using revolutionary songs to instigate emotional response in their characters.
George Orwell signifies the importance of revolutionary songs by using 'Beasts of England' in his allegorical novel Animal Farm. This song is presented as a symbol of unity and dissolution of class stratification to stir the feelings of patriotism in animals of Manor Farm. The significance of revolutionary songs is further amplified when pigs change the song when the revolution is hijacked because even the hijackers believe in the power of revolutionary songs.
Therefore, revolutionary songs not only object to the status quo, but also cultivate a sense of community and spread political awareness.
National songs not only unify a nation, but are also representative of cultural heritage of a nation. Such songs carry a deep poetic cadence and moving lyrics, and are thus a source of recreation alongside motivation. National songs bring about social change, too. They can be employed as means to educate nations about rising conflicts, or relevant historical movements.
National songs of Pakistan promote peace, harmony and unity as well as undying love and devotion towards country. The lyrics of these songs express the feelings of people facing conflict and misery in the times of wars, while also highlighting the sacrifice of soldiers fighting for their nation’s well-being.
'Ae Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedon', written by Musheer Kazmi as a tribute to the martyrs of the 1965 Indo-Pak war, still makes the whole nation livid with a sense of pride and patriotism.
The most appealing aspect of national songs is the imagery they create in the minds of singers and listeners. A German national song called 'Brüder, zur Sonne, zur Freiheit”, translated as 'Brothers, to the Sun, to Freedom', gradually became the voice of workers and eventually became an anthem of workers’ rights. This song has been emotional support for labourers ever since and has helped them achieve their rights and freedom, thus it highlights the significance of national songs.
Rap songs also play a pivotal role in illustrating social issues. They focus on bleak realities of life; poverty, lack of implementation of law, racism, class system, unemployment, drug abuse, etc. The lyrics of rap songs are manufactured in a provoking manner as to raise debates and inspire people to discuss these issues. These songs are often misconstrued as a promotion of social issues, whereas they are primarily spreading awareness and providing perspective.
'The Message' by Grandmaster Flash is a thought-provoking rap song as it sheds light on multiple issues a common man faces in his life of poverty and injustice. Lines like, “The bill collectors, they ring my phone, and scare my wife when I’m not home” trace a saddening picture of reality of an uneducated, lower class man who is struggling to make ends meet in a world of the rich. It also talks about the children of a poor man using drugs illegally, which portrays the negative impact of lack of education and poor parenting.
Similarly, rap songs of Pakistani artists are crippled with emotions, and revelations. A song 'Awaam' by Faris Shafi talks about the problems associated with class stratification and how a common man is always exploited as he is at the giving end of the hierarchy. Although the lyrics of this song are grotesque, they carry a message about the frustrations of a common man because they are neglected in society.
Protest songs and war songs always go side by side, as they raise the voice of resistance and unrelenting hope in times of political unrest and despair. Protest songs inspire nations for collective activism. Meanwhile, war songs encapsulate human emotions such as anger, frustration, hope, courage, and spirit of fighting.
A song 'Give Peace a Chance' by John Lennon is one such song. It promotes peace and harmony and condemns violence. This song was released during the agonizing times of Vietnam War and became the voice of the nation against the promoters of war.
Protest songs are usually reflections of cultural movements. Martin Luther King Jr and various other advocates, believed in the power of song, 'We Shall Overcome', which was adopted as an anthem for Civil Rights Movement in the USA.
Music is not only mere representative of social issues and cultural movements, but is also a source of comfort and understanding for the people facing aforementioned issues. It is a source of catharsis for emotionally strained people because it provides outlet for emotions and feelings. People also associate music with certain incidents, so it can be triggering too. But in right melodies, and tunes people find peace and calm.
Music also motivates people to keep living. Many trauma-affected patients are treated via music therapy, nowadays. Several studies suggest that music reduces stress and brightens mood, and is thus a good source of healing. Hence, while the deteriorating impact of unfiltered music is undeniable, so is the blooming, informative, and driving impact of music which is adopted in various national, revolutionary, protest, war and rap songs.
The writer is a student of BS English Literature from the Government College University, Lahore.
