PLAIN FOLK by Les Pearson Picking the top ten from thousands of political folk songs is an impossible mind game. Many folks agree that We Shall Overcome tops the charts world-wide. Undeniably, it has changed our world. There is also universal approbation for the number two political folk hit, John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance. Its message is simple; the tune and lyrics forge an unforgettable mantra. Number three is Battle Hymn of the Republic in all its derivative forms. It's been John Brown's Body, a revival camp chorus, and the union-building, Solidarity Forever. The melody has been adapted to dozens of social issues. And it signals an historic trend. Nearly all the remaining songs have that American stamp and correlating social cause. With the possible exception of Bob Marley's reggae songs and their link to Jamaica's struggle for independence, it has been American writers and singers who used folk music to tag their political statements of faith on our societal door. Coming in at number four is an old Peter, Paul and Mary standard. Where Have All the Flowers Gone, composed by Pete Seeger, has lyrics based on a Ukrainian folk song that appeared in Mikhail Sholokhov's novel, Quiet Flows the Dawn. The tune is haunting; the lyrics, profound. Maybe it is Seeger's gritty prophetic rattle or the authoritative truth of his songs, but another of Pete's tunes ranks as my all-time number five political folk tune. Turn, Turn, Turn is truly Biblical! The lyrics come from Ecclesiastes and remind all political powers to stay humble. No one rules forever. Number six shows up at folk fests everywhere in North America. Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land has the same power to stir hearts as our national anthem. When the Limeliters tried to sing the American words to this song at Canmore Folk Festival last summer, the crowd drowned them out with "From Bona Vista to Vancouver harbour." They took the hint! Nationalism is part of folk politics. And it is for this reason that National Anthems count as my number seven folk hit. Or maybe you can count Beethoven's Hymn to Nations, if you want less jingoism. Number eight combines politics and nationalism. The communist Internationale was the Anthem of the communist movement and, until 1944, of the USSR. The words were written by a Parisien transport worker in 1871 and the music by an industrial worker in Lille. Love those French radicals! Bob Dylan makes two contributions to my list. Let us call them equal nines. Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are A-Changin' are two great political folk songs sung at countless demonstrations. I saved number ten for Canadian song writers. You choose. Buffy St. Marie sang two of the contenders: Circle Game
and Universal Soldier. Joni Mitchell anticipated environmental issues
with her Paint Paradise and Put up a Parking Lot. Her hit, Both Sides
Now, is a study in social tolerance. I give up! The link between politics
and folk songs is overwhelming. Now if I could just anticipate.... Hey,
I need a pencil! And does "brain storming" rhyme with Global
Warming?
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