Protest Songs

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round was sung as a protest song during the civil rights movement. The protest song talks about how nobody, no jailhouse, or no sheriff will scare them into not sticking up for themselves. We all know that during the Civil Rights Movement, the African Americans struggled to get the same equal rights that everyone else had. This is an important value- the value to stick up for yourself, your rights, and your freedom no matter what is pushing against you or oppressing you. In this song, they refer to the freedom land and that they are all talking and marching towards it. On their way to equality, they make sure they speak their mind and that they are heard.

In We Shall Overcome, it states the simple line that “We shall overcome.” This protest song was also sung during the civil rights movement. It talked about the “inevitable victory of all Americans over racism and prejudice.” (pg. 45) Although African Americans have gained the same rights as others in our country, they still face prejudice and racism. This song is about the hope that one day it will all be different. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who sang this song during the movement knew that one day their dreams would be achieved, even if they were not around to see it, just like John Henry.

These echo back to the older works like John Henry, Shine, or Stakolee because they are all sticking up for themselves. These relate to John Henry, Shine, and Stakolee because they didn’t let others keep them down, and proved their worth, just like the African Americans did in the times of these protest songs.

John Henry

The story of John Henry is about a man named John Henry, who was born a slave and grew up as a slave. He was described as a strong and giant man. He worked as a steeldriver, which was a job involving the very dangerous and strenuous activity of driving the nails into the railroad tracks. John Henry said that he would die with a hammer in his hand. Steeldriving was all he has known since he was a little boy. In this story, John Henry challenges a steam drill driven by a white man threatening to take all of the steeldriver’s jobs. He feels like he must prove himself against the steam drill, as well as the white man. John Henry wants to prove his worth against whatever oppression is against him. In the end, John Henry defeats the steam drill, but he dies from exhaustion. Even though he dies, he has proved himself against the white man and the steam drill.
Even though the times of John Henry and “The Message” and “N.Y. State of Mind” are very different, and deal with different things, they all have a similar theme.
Each one of these ballads or songs deal with a young man in a horrible situation. For John Henry, this situation is the daily conditions he faces in his dangerous job as a steeldriver. He works so hard everyday just to survive, and the work he does involves his entire body.
In “The Message” and “N.Y. State of Mind”, the speakers go through their lives with their daily struggles as well. Even though these struggles are different than John Henry’s, they are still difficulties that these speakers face everyday. The entire message is to still try your best even if people, or something, is up against you. It shows the value of persistence, trying very hard, and perseverance. It is a bit different in “The Message” than it is in “N.Y. State of Mind” because in “The Message” the speaker is trying not to go past the edge. He is trying to keep his cool and keep doing the right thing through his struggle, just like John Henry did.