Teaching with Protest Songs

Songs, like poetry, are an important component of my teaching. The lyrical metaphors, rhythms, and stories in many songs motivate and educate students. It's amazing what my fifth graders will remember from a song, as compared to what they forget from my talking.

I introduce a new "song of the week" each Monday and the students receive a copy of the lyrics to keep in their three-ring binder that collects much of my alternative curriculum. We start each morning with the song, and usually within a day or two the children are singing along — regardless of musical genre. Sometimes I use a song to introduce a unit of study, other times a particular point in a lesson.

At a recent anti-war rally I heard a song that I thought would work well with my students. I searched the web and found a number of songs that could help teachers approach this subject. The growing quantity of such songs is a tribute to the many artists who are performing at numerous anti-war rallies around the world.

The lyrics of virtually any song can be found on the web with a bit of "googling." Finding a free (and legal) MP3 download of the actual song is a bit harder — but worth the effort. Don't be intimidated if you've never downloaded a song or burned a CD. Ask a friend or a teenager and you'll probably find someone who can help you. There are a couple of websites that have collections of anti-war music. One is the United Kingdom-based Peace Not War organization, which has published a two-disc CD, "Peace Not War." You can hear the songs and read the lyrics at www.peace-not-war.org. Another site is that of the Chicago-based Voices in the Wilderness, which has put out a CD called "Stoking the Fires of Resistance." Some of the songs and lyrics from that CD are available through www.fbirecords.com/stokingthefires.htm#songs.

Public libraries are another decent source for finding CDs — especially with online searchable catalogs — although generally those are for the older CDs. I prefer ultimately to have a copy of the songs I use on a CD, either one that I've purchased, downloaded, or copied.

The first song about Iraq I used with my students was "Not in My Name," by John McCutcheon, in which he sings "But in Hiroshima, New York, or in Baghdad, it's the innocent who die for the crime." One verse also criticizes capital punishment, but the chorus is the most powerful, a simple "Not in my name." As part of our discussion of the song, we read the Pledge of Resistance from the Not in Our Name website and looked at a full-page newspaper ad by the same group. The pledge is available in 19 different languages at www.niom.org.

Another song that specifically talks about the children of Iraq is "Wake Up," written by Sandra Baran and performed by Voices and Minna Bromberg. The powerful refrain "Wake up! The children are dying, the children of Iraq!" is lively and catches the energy of my students. The short song has key phrases that encourage further inquiry like, "The Gulf War did not end as reported. It still goes on these many years."

I've used other songs that speak more generally about issues of global justice. An annotated listing of those songs is in the resource section of the book Bill Bigelow and I coedited, Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World, and also available online at www.rethinkingschools.org/publication/ rg/rgresour.shtml.

Below is a sampling of some of the songs I think are most useful in the classroom. Please e-mail additional suggestions to repmilw@aol.com so that we can periodically update this list.

Ashcroft's Army, by John McCutcheon. A funny, but tragic song about how civil rights in the U.S. are being eroded. Lyrics and free MP3 download is available at: www.folkmusic.com/t_mp3.htm.

Bomb da World, by Michael Franti and Spearhead, a rapper who records on his own Boo Boo Wax imprint. The chorus goes, "You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace."

Bombs Over Baghdad, by John Trudell ("AKA Graffiti Man" CD, Rykodisc, 1992). An angry anti-war poem/song from a long-time Native-American activist.

Jacob's Ladder (Not in My Name), by Chumbawamba (who played it at the January 18 protest in Washington, D.C.). Lyrics at www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Basement/8448/index.html. Free download at: www.chumba.com.

Masters of War, by Bob Dylan ("Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" CD, Columbia, 1963). This song was written at the beginning of U.S. involvement in Vietnam but speaks to the broad issue of investment in instruments of death and destruction versus human needs.

Not in My Name, by John McCutcheon ("The Greatest Show Never Told" CD, Redhouse, 2002). See description above.

Paz y Libertad, by José-Luis Orozco ("Rainbow Sign" CD, Rounder, 1992). An easy bilingual ballad that calls for peace and freedom in the world. Great for young children as well as upper elementary.

The Price of Oil, by Billy Bragg. Free MP3 download is available at www.billybragg.co.uk/multimedia/price_of_oil.mp3. A powerful song that traces the war on Iraq, U.S. support of Pinochet, and the rigged Florida election to the "price of oil." Includes mild profanity.

Self-Evident, by Ani DiFranco. A song/poem/rap that covers lots of territory with very powerful lyrics including: "We hold these truths to be self evident:/ # 1 George W. Bush is not President/ #2 America is not a true democracy/ #3 The media is not fooling me." Available at www.peace-not-war.org/Music/AniDiFranco/.

Wake Up, written by Sandra Baran and performed by Voices and Minna Bromberg ("Stoking the Fires of Resistance" CD). See description above.

We're the Cops of the World, by Phil Ochs ("There But for Fortune" CD, Elektra Asylum Records, 1989). A Vietnam War-era song that criticizes how the U.S. military has secured the world for U.S. business — "the name for our profits is democracy."

Bob Peterson (repmilw@aol.com) teaches fifth grade at La Escuela Fratney in Milwaukee and is an editor of Rethinking Schools.

Jacob's Ladder (Not in My Name), by Chumbawamba (who played it at the January 18 protest in Washington, D.C.).

This is a political group that was marketed to the masses during the reign of Bubba Clinton.

They are anarchist-socialists as are many of the others behind the international protests in America (not just this war but the WTO/antiglobalism, political conventions, etc.).

From the FAQ

Q: The questions to which I have never gotten a satisfactory answer are these:
What happens in an anarchic society when someone does not want to go along with the will of the majority, defined as the decision of the group? Or, along the same lines, what happens when someone does not show responsibility to another's needs? Is there coercion, banishment, what? And who is responsible for determining when someone is not showing responsibility to another's needs? Who is responsible for meting out the appropriate sanction, whatever that may be? How does anarchy then avoid the creation, witting or unwitting, of a "ruling class"?
Society implies social interaction - call it what you want: bartering, trading,...whatever. What happens when someone does not hold up their end of a barter or trade? Is coercion and/or sanction necessarily involved?
Thanks for any insight you can provide. JB
A: Firstly, an anarchist society does not and cannot depend on “the will of the majority”. That’s what a lot of democratic societies are based on right now, societies where 51% of the people can decide what the ’minority’ 49% should do. Anarchism is based on people reaching decisions where there may be persuasion and debate and argument and reason, but not coercion and majority-rule.
Secondly, I won’t go into the questions in detail since I think you’d be better served by having me point you to a couple of other people’s writings. Namely, Errico Malatesta and Albert Meltzer. There’s a booklet by Meltzer called “Anarchism: Arguments For and Against” which I think is brilliant and which answered a lot of questions for me when I first wondered what anarchists thought. It was originally written in the early ‘80’s but it’s still relevant — simply written, to the point, and what’s more it’s small and cheap. I think there’s an edition published by AK Press right now which costs about $6 (or £4) and I recommend it.
Malatesta was an Italian anarchist around the turn of the century who wrote some concise, well-explained books and essays about anarchism. I’d go for Malatesta’s “Anarchy”, another cheap booklet and still available. I’m not trying to cop out by not answering these questions—just tried to think about what answered my questions when I was trying to find out about anarchism all those years ago.

SONGS USED AS BACKGROUND MUSIC IN FILMS AND/OR FILM TRAILERS

“Home Alone 3” (1997) (USA) - “Tubthumping” which played over the TV trailers for the film in the USA in the run-up to Christmas 1997 when the film was released. Apparently, this launched us into a whole new marketing bracket, as kids under ten were demanding the Chumbawamba album from their parents or Santa for Christmas. And as a way of getting Chumbawamba albums into the heart of Middle America it did have some success, though we could not have known this at the outset. When we went back and did a tour of the US in March 1998, we suddedly had all these under tens coming to our shows with their parents, which we have never ever had before. It was hilarious, cos we’d have all these kids down the front of the stage having a great time and you could see all their parents looking worried in the back. We played this outdoor gig in Tempe, Arizona and you could see parents putting their hands over their children’s ears when Alice came on as the all drinking, all smoking, all swearing nun in “Big Mouth Strikes Again.” Obviously a shrewd and calculated subversive move on our part, to indoctrinate and poison the minds of the the under tens of America (well not quite) but maybe in eight or ten years time when the kids are teenagers and young adults rioting in the streets of post-Dubya America, the trainspotter types amongst them will be quoting the more obscure lyrics from “Tubthumper” album to each other:
“Oh but I bet you don’t have the European version though do you?”
“What a diabolical question you ****s ask!”

Tubthumping got placed in a lot more other trailers:

“Dirty Work” (1997) (USA) starring Chevy Chase -“Tubthumping” and “Amnesia.”
“Senseless” (1997) (USA) starring Marlon Wayons - “Tubthumping”
“In God’s Hands” (1997) a surf movie - “Tubthumping”
“Air Bud 2” (1998) (USA) - “Tubthumping”
“Varsity Blues” (1998) (USA) starring John Voight - “Tubthumping”
“The James Gang” (1998) (UK) - “Outsider”
“Soft Fruit” (1998) (Australia) - “Tubthumping”
“Mystery Alaska” (1999) (USA) starring Burt Reynolds -”Amnesia”
“There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble” (1999) (UK) starring Ray Winstone and Robert Carlyle.” - “Tubthumping” ... (not sure if they used it in the end)
“Joe Somebody” (2001) (USA) starring Tim Allen - “Tubthumping”

Q: Um, this little question has been bugging me for a while.Do you guys see any benefit in religion/spirituality at all? I'm not religious or anything, just curious. And another thing I've been running over with a few friends.......(just want an opinion) people want meaning in their lives, they look for meaning in everything they do. But say there is no meaning? Suppose there's no reason or 'truth' or 'rightness' in anything? It's all meaningless. Or suppose EVERYTHING matters? Which would be worse? Liz
Q: No, I don’t see any benefit in religion, other than the wearing of priest’s robes makes paedophiles easier to identify. As for spirituality, what exactly is it? I’ve never trusted anybody who claimed to be spiritual. It’s like claiming to have a sixth sense which nobody else can see. When people say they’re spiritual what they usually mean is: “I’m dead special me! Unlike the rest of you who are a couple of steps down the evolutionary ladder.” The problem with religion or the state for that matter is that it involves putting faith in something above yourself. They take power and responsibility away from ordinary people and undervalue people’s worth.
In lefty circles there’s a tendency to dismiss Western religions as bollocks whilst believing any old clap-trap as long as it’s Eastern. I’m sick of hearing how spiritual and fantastic Buddhism is; tell it to the slave labourers in Burma. They live under a Buddhist system and its not doing them much good.
As for the second part of your question... the tendency to claim everything is meaningless or of equal importance seems part of the disease of post-modernism. I hate post-modernism because it’s just an excuse to be self serving and not care about anything.
I think it’s worth taking part in the struggle to be human. Calling it searching for truth sounds a bit pompous. Human beings are endlessly inventive and capable of fantastic things, seems sensible to put our efforts in to creating something better than we have now. We don’t believe in fate. We’ve got capitalism, religion and military regimes murdering and depriving people, these aren’t unchangeable, immutable ever to be with us systems. We don’t have to accept them. Questions like ‘Does nothing matter? Does everything matter?” have to come second to “why are vast portions of the earth’s population starving in the midst of plenty.”

And these are the freaks that this teacher is poisoning young minds with???

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