War. Analysis of war songs. Social Sciences Essay

Essay Instructions:

Find at least 5 songs with lyrics that address your chosen social issue/problem. You will need to cite these songs using proper APA formatting (see below).
3) Analyze the songs for similarities and differences in how they address the social issue/problem
look for themes within and among the songs (i.e. songs about war that talk about ‘ending war’
consider the year the songs were copyrighted
consider the genre the song fits in
is the song directed at a particular audience? (think socio-demographic characteristics: age, race/ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status (SES), and sexuality)
what type of vocabulary, words, grammar, euphemisms, vernacular is used for the lyrics?
Consider the actual production of the song as well: tempo, emotion, male/female singer, individual singer/band, etc.
4) Find at least TWO sources that address music AND your social problem (i.e. the sources are providing similar analysis or commentary on how your social problem is addressed through music). These may be popular sources (i.e. magazine articles or websites), but Wikipedia is NOT acceptable.
5) Find at least ONE peer-reviewed article that discusses your social issue problem and how it is portrayed by the media (ideally this would be focused on your social issue and problem, but this may be difficult to find – so an article on TV, radio, internet, movies is OK).
See Finding Peer Reviewed Journals guidelines for how to find a peer-reviewed journal article through the APUS online library (links under Assignment 2: Music Analysis and weekly Lessons)
Instead of writing a paper (Option 1), you have the option of putting together a presentation of the songs and the written sources using one of the FREE online multimedia programs (prezi.com, creaza.com).
For prezi.com – go to Try Prezi free; go to Students & Teachers click on Educational Licenses (bottom of the page); go to Edu Enjoy (click “Continue); Continue to Student/ Teacher Verification and create an account.
For creaza.com – register for a free account and proceed to create a multimedia presentation.
Please remember to include the following elements into your presentation:
6) Clearly identify your chosen social issue/problem.
7) Why are you interested in studying this?
8) Include your analysis of how this social issue/problem is addressed in the 5 songs you chose
NOTE: this is the majority of your project. It is a ‘comparative critical’ analysis of how your chosen social issue/problem is addressed in these songs. It is NOT a summary of each song, and it should not include cutting and pasting the lyrics of all of the songs into the presentation.
-Use the prompts in step 3) above to help you organize this analysis
-Information about the singer/band should be a VERY minimal part of this analysis; the lyrics are the heart of the analysis
-APA-formatted in-text citations should be used throughout this section
9) Incorporate the THREE sources you found (including one peer-reviewed article) that discuss music and your chosen social problem.
10) Show how the analysis or commentary in these sources compares to your analysis
-Briefly describe your chosen peer-reviewed article.
-What is the main research question/thesis of the article
-What is the research method used in the article (i.e. survey, interview, content analysis, observation, experiment, etc.)
-What are the key findings of the article
-Discuss how the findings in this article can help you to better understand/explain your chosen social issue/problem and how it is addressed in your chosen songs.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Analysis of war songs
Student’s name
Institutional affiliation
Analysis of war songs
Music was one of mostly used piece of art during wars from ancient times. Soldiers used music to encourage themselves, to remain united and to continue fighting even during times of stress, traumas and terror brought about by war. Ancient books like bible indicate that different type of music was used by soldiers to help them win battles. Most of the songs used were inherited from previous generations. In war camps music was used to help soldiers recover home sickness and to give the hope especially if they lost loved ones during the war. This paper will discuss and analyses different types of music used during war periods in different parts of the world.
Many war songs used during ancient time comforted the men in the battle. Soldiers who lost hope would regain it during singing occasions where by most of the songs reminded soldiers the price of victory was only acquired through fighting. All songs encouraged men to leave other activities and take gun instead and accompany mother men in to the war grounds. Wounded and believed soldiers participated in songs which internally healed them from home sicknesses and regained hope of victory. Besides all war songs having the same theme and messages, they were all different in basis of settings and intended audience. During world war countries involved had different ethnic communities and every community used different songs to communicate different messages. Country Joe, A famous Vietnamese artist composed a song called I feel like I’m fixin’ to die rag which called all men to join warriors in the battle. It encouraged people to leave their different activities and help soldiers to fight the enemies. The song emphasized on supply of weapons to soldiers and other men in the battle. This messages are different from songs set in other continents like Africa and America. Ernest Tubb was an American song writer who composed a song called soldiers last letter. The song communicated a different message where by the singers were requesting prayers and well wishes from parents and the rest of citizens of America. Soldiers used this song to express their love to their loved ones. Citizens left in homes listened to these songs which encouraged them to pray for their loved ones in the battle. Ernest Tubb says in the lyrics that he will express and prove the love he has for his mother after the war was done.
Most American war songs were set in country genre. Their writers were cowboys who used country music genre to compose their songs. An example of American song composed in that genre is ‘Dear uncle Sam’ by Lorretta Lyn. Songs that called people to war had commanding tone and good choice of word. Country joe in his lyrics says that there is no time to wonder why people are asked to open the gate, they should open without questioning and rescue their men otherwise they will all die. In the song soldiers and Jesus by James otto, words chosen are emotional because the singer narrates how it all went down in the battle and his reason to thank Jesus. That country song was dedicated to everyone who lost their loved ones in the battle. Most war songs were set during periods of w...

Updated on January 26, 2024

Get the Whole Paper!

Not exactly what you need?

Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:

Order

War. Analysis of war songs. Social Sciences Essay

You Might Also Like Other Topics Related to song analysis: