American Roots Music Winter Sing 2014 Script Welcome/Introduction: Clementine, Isabel A, Maille, Oscar B, Jackson, Caden Clementine: Good evening, and welcome to the Walden Winter Sing. Tonight, we are excited to learn about and listen to some “American Roots Music.” Isabel: What is American Roots Music? After Isabel: Maille: I thought the same thing when Alejandro first told us about it. When I don’t know something I tend to think about the parts of it that I do know, so I figured, I know something about roots. We learned about them in Science. After Maille: Clementine: Oh yeah, that’s right, roots are the organ or the “heart” of the plant. They anchor the plant to the ground. They live beneath the soil, but sometimes they can grow above ground. After Clementine: Isabel: Oh yeah, we have a tree at our house, and the roots have cracked the sidewalk. They seem to be very powerful. Roots also store food and nutrients, and they also are able to adapt to the conditions that are around them to make sure that plants grow. After Isabel: Clementine: OK, OK, but what does this have to do with music? The audience isn’t here for a Science class, they are here for a show about American Roots Music. After Clementine: Maille: I was getting to that. Putting all these ideas together, I think American Roots Music is music that is at the heart or Organ of America, and the heart of America is the people that live here. After Maille: Oscar: That’s a really BIG heart because America is made up of people from all over the world, that happened to find themselves together on the same continent. Some people came because they chose to, some came because they didn’t, and some were here already, so whose roots are we talking about at exactly? After Oscar: Jackson: We are looking at all of those people’s roots tonight. We are looking at songs that are like stories, songs that have lasted generations, songs that have ideas that are still important today. After Jackson: Caden: Like in Science these are the songs that have stored the food and nutrients of people, have adapted to the world around them, and still help people grow. After Caden: Oscar: A lot of the people in the audience may have heard it called “Folk Music”, the important thing to keep in mind is American roots music tells the story of ordinary men and women, who were and often still are defined and limited by cultural constructions of race, class and gender. Just as music reflects how Americans have struggled against oppressive social and economic conditions, music is also a way of celebrating and giving dignity to identity. After Oscar: Jackson: Over time, music writers, scholars and fans began to look for new ways to describe all the diverse musical styles being sung and played in communities across America, though most often not heard on radios. The term "roots music" is now used to refer to this broad range of musical genres, which include blues, gospel, traditional country, zydeco, and Native American Pow-­‐Wow. After Jackson: Caden: What I like best about all these songs are the stories….because they have been passed by word of mouth, the origins of them are often unknown, but we will do our best to provide some of their history here tonight. Let’s get this show on is the road! Good Night Irene-­‐ Zelia, Abby, Nathalie Zelia: Our first song tonight is called, Good Night Irene, and like many roots music songs…we aren’t sure who wrote it exactly, but the person who made it popular was a man named Huddie Ledbetter. His friends called him “Ledbelly”. He was a blues musician known for his strong vocals and virtuosity on the 12-­‐string guitar. Abby: He wrote songs and was known for music that was true and covered a wide range of topics including spiritual songs, songs about family, cowboys, sailors, and racism. Nathalie: While he usually played a 12-­‐string guitar he could also play piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and the "windjammer." In other recordings he would just sing while clapping his hands or stomping his feet. The most popular “history” of Good Night Irene is that Ledbelly wrote this song when he was in prison, he sang it to the prison guard, and it won him his freedom. This is cited as was the beginning of his long and famous musical career. Zelia: Led Belly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and tonight Grace and Tiffanie’s class is excited to present their version of his classic tune, Good Night Irene. Follow the Drinking Gourd Lotte, Oskar, Dylan, Anya, and Liam Lotte: Another common idea in American Roots Music is that these songs communicate the hopes, sorrows and convictions of ordinary people's everyday lives. These songs are sung in churches, on front porches, in the fields and other workplaces or while rocking children to sleep, and at parties. The melodies and words were passed down from parent to child, though the songs -­‐ and their meanings -­‐ often changed to reflect changing times. Dylan: Our next song Follow the Drinking Gourd is a song that does just that. It started as one story, as we continue to learn more about our country’s history, the song changed. While the song may possibly refer to some lost fragment of history, the origin and context remain a mystery. Anya: Many oral stories claim that this song is about an Underground Railroad conductor, known as Peg Leg Joe. HE worked as a laborer and moved from plantation to plantation, just north of the Mobile, Alabama. This job was actually a front for Joe's true task: teaching the slaves the Drinking Gourd song and marking an escape route. Liam: The "drinking gourd" was a code name for the Big Dipper star formation, which points to Polaris, the Pole Star, and North. Slaves could begin their journey, and use the clues, left by Joe along the way to eventually find themselves at the Ohio River, where someone would be there waiting for them to take them to freedom. Oskar: Throughout history there have been arguments as to whether or not this idea is true. Because if a route like this existed, and several slaves took it year after year, it would have been discovered. We aren’t here to argue that point. We have landed on this, the Drinking Gourd played an important role in the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s and much of the Drinking Gourd's appeal lies in the idea that it is a unique, piece of history and NO OTHER other “map songs” have survived. Charlie: I think it tells a story that needs to keep being told, one of hope, change, and freedom. Please welcome Sydni’s class to the stage to perform Follow the Drinking Gourd. The Entertainer: Lucy, Ella, Hailey, Jaydon, Bode, Tyler Lucy: Our next song will be performed by Janet and Jordan’s class. It is called The Entertainer, and it could give someone in the audience one of two reactions. They could either feel hungry, or sudden the urge to run out the door and chase a car down the street. Let’s see what happens. Ella: Why would they do that? Lucy: Well in the United States, “The Entertainer” is one of the many songs played by ice cream trucks, in order to let everyone know they are in the neighborhood. Historically, it is a classic piano rag written by an African American composer named Scott Joplin. Ella: Rag-­‐Time music is known for it’s syncopated (sin-­‐ko-­‐pay-­‐ted) or “rag-­‐
ged” rhythm. It began as dance music in African American communities in St. Louis and New Orleans and then was published as popular sheet music for the piano. Hailey: The composer, Scott Joplin was the son of an ex-­‐slave and a freeborn African American woman. His music education began at home as his parents were both entertainers, and as a 7-­‐year old boy, Scott would play piano while his mother cleaned the house. Jaydon: It is noted that as a young boy, Joplin was serious and ambitious about music and would study music and play piano after school and chores everyday. He credits most of his formal musical education to a German teacher named Julian Weiss who recognized his talent and taught him free of charge, and even helped his mother get a used piano. Bode: At 16, Joplin left home to become a travelling musician. While opportunities were rare for African American musicians during that time, Joplin found his way to the World’s Fair in Chicago of 1893. Not allowed to participate in the actual festivities, he and other African American entertainers played in a local cafés that were frequented by the 27 million visitors to the fair that year. Joplin found that his music, as well as that of other black performers, was popular with visitors, and by 1897 ragtime had become a national craze across American cities. Lucy: This was cited as the beginning of a brief career in which he wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first pieces, the Maple Leaf Rag, became ragtime's first and most influential hit, followed by the one we will perform tonight, the Entertainer. Tyler: If you feel the sudden need for ice cream, or get a little bit hungry, be sure to stop by the Middle Core’s Farmer’s Market on your way out. There are some great treats out there, and all the proceeds will benefit the Tree People. Ella: Please welcome Janet and Jordan’s Red Foxes to the stage. House of the Rising Sun Evan, Cole, Jacob, Isabella, Martin, Emmett, Sierra Evan: "The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". Simply, the American version tells the story of a life gone wrong in New Orleans. The author of “House of the Rising Sun…..” that is unknown. Cole: Musicologists have traced the song’s origins back as far as the 18th century to a traditional English ballad. Like many ballads and folk songs, the lyrics have changed over the years to suit the singer and the audience. Jacob: It is also possible that the song was an old English, Scottish or Irish melody, that had been brought over to the mountainous regions of America by British settlers a hundred or more years before. Isabella: The melody IS a traditional English ballad, but the song became popular as an African-­‐American folk song. The first recording was by folk music historian Alan Lomax. He recorded a version in 1937 by a 16-­‐year-­‐old girl named Georgia Turner. In a true roots tradition, no one can claim rights to the song, which means it can be recorded and sold royalty-­‐free. Martin: As a result, it has been recorded in several different musical styles including Old Timey, Folk, Blues, R&B, Cajun, Disco, Punk, House/Trance, Jazz, Rock, Latin, Reggae and Country, not to mention Karaoke, elevator music, German tango, and harmonica renditions; and has always been a favorite for guitar lessons by those budding CLAPTON and HENDRIX fans. After Martin: Emmett: It is probably one of the most recorded songs in history, and became a number one hit in 1964 when recorded by the British rock band, the Animals who recorded it in ONE TAKE! After Emmett: Sierra: Tonight, one half of Danica, Marcia, and Kristina’s Sea Turtles will present their very own “One Take” of The House of The Rising Sun. Let’s welcome them to the stage. Ghost Riders in the Sky: Kekoa, Sierra, Makaio Kekoa: Our last class piece tonight really answers the question that is very common in all American Roots Music, How is a song like a story? Makaio: This song will be performed by the other half of 6th grade class, and it is called Ghost Riders in the Sky, A Cowboy Legend. It is a western song written by Stan Jones. The song tells a folk tale of a cowboy who has a dream about angry cattle being chased by dead cowboys across the sky. One of the cowboys warns him that if he doesn’t change his mean ways, he will be doomed to join them forever trying to catch the angry herd in the sky. Sierra: Jones said that he was first told this story when he was 12 by an older cowboy, and that is where the musical game of telephone begins, and we get to see how one song has impacted close to 100 years of culture. So, Stan Jones made a made a version in 1948. It is based on the song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” Kekoa: THEN, The Ventures made a surf rock cover in 1961, and then Dick Dale made another cover in 1963. For a time, this version accompanied a NASA montage as part of the preshow video on Space Mountain at Disneyland. THEN, Marvel Comics debuted their 1967 motorcycle cowboy Ghost Rider…which was inspired by the song. Sierra: THEN, Elvis Presley recorded it in 1970. THEN, Johnny Cash then made a cover in 1979 and performed it on the Muppet Show. THEN….. Makaio: Obviously, we don’t have all night to talk about the over 50 performers that have recorded this song in 6 languages, including a Spanish one called, "Jinetes en el Cielo". But, I think it’s important to remember that all this began with an older cowboy telling his story to Stan Jones, and something in that story or music remains important to us today. Kekoa: It makes me wonder about all of these songs that have lasted across generations, and how important it is to listen to the life stories of those around us, and to tell each other our life stories. That is really how we begin to understand each other, because our stories are not the same. Sierra: That’s really deep Kekoa..….. Let’s welcome the Sea Turtles to the stage. Erie Canal: Tristian, Alex N. Tristian: Our first song that we will share with you is called, Erie Canal or Low Bridge. Begun in 1817 and finished in 1825, the Erie Canal was a major public works project in the new republic of the United States. Alex N.: Music first came to the Erie Canal with the workers who dug the ditches, a mix of freed slaves, native-­‐born Americans, and immigrants from the British Isles. Many of them came to New York in search of the $12 per month job. They found it on the canal. Tristian: Songs were passed along the towpath orally, and newspapers would publish the lyrics of new “canal songs” with notes on adopted melodies. As a result “canal music” spread throughout the region from Albany to Buffalo. Alex N.: The song we will sing tonight was written in 1905, when engines or new technology replaced the beloved mule, Sal, a theme still very relevant in our society today. Wayfaring Stranger: Jacob, Abby Abby: According to widely help beliefs about this song, “Wayfaring Stranger” was born in the southern Appalachian Mountains about the time of the American Revolution. One version of the history goes like this: Jacob: During that time, the immigrants of the region were mostly English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh, but there was also group known as Melungeons (Mel-­‐un-­‐juns). Sometimes called the Black Dutch, the Melungeons (Mel-­‐un-­‐
juns) are often said to be of Portuguese descent, or a beautiful mixture thought to include Native American, African and some Mediterranean. We know in those days the people of the region lived lives of enormous hardships, struggling to survive in an environment of often-­‐rugged wilderness terrain, few supplies, and the frequent loneliness. Abby: Wayfaring Stranger is typical of many of the spiritual songs of the time, expressing the pain and hardship of daily life, while dreaming and hoping for a bright and beautiful life after death. The Melungeons (Me-­‐lun-­‐juns) were a semi-­‐nomadic people, meaning they moved around a lot, generally moving inward from the Atlantic coast in search of acceptance and a place to raise their families. They would sing this song to look for a welcome in unknown towns and territories. Music was used then as a gift for hospitality, and tonight we offer that same gift to you. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: Zelia, Oscar Zelia: Sometime before 1862, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was written by Wallis Willis, a Native American “freedman.” Some historians say he was inspired by the Red River, which reminded him of the Jordan River that he had learned about while being held captive by the settlers. He wrote and sang this song for the first time at a Choctaw (CHOCK-­‐TAW) Boarding School. His teacher wrote the lyrics and song down. Other historians believe that this song referred to the Underground Railroad, and was part of a collection of coded spirituals that was used to help slaves make the trip from the South to Canada. Oscar: This legend says that the slaves sang “Swing low sweet chariot, comin’ for the carry me home” to announce that Harriet Tubman or another “conductor” of the railroad would be arriving soon to lead them to freedom. However, most of the historical evidence points toward the idea that this song was rooted in a different version of that experience. It was actually NOT written in the Deep South, but in the Oklahoma territory, and circulated first among Native Americans. Zelia: We think song’s power lies in the idea that it was born during two great tragedies within American history: the horrors of African slavery and the injustice of the Native American removal. Its prayer that someday the singers could find a resting place or a better life could easily speak to one mistreated people or the other. Oscar: This song enjoyed a rebirth during the 1960s Civil Rights movement, and was often sung during peaceful protests and marches. It was recorded by a number of artists then and performed live by Joan Baez at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. And still TODAY, when needed, it can be sang and heard as a reminder to learn from our history, how far we’ve come, and how far we still need to go. Please join us tonight as we sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Pay Me My Money Down Bode, Jackson, Emmett, Alex N. Bode: We would like to thank You, our family, friends, and community for attending our show tonight. We hope you have enjoyed learning about American Roots Music as much as we have enjoyed playing it. After Bode Emmett: We would like to thank the Middle Core students and their teachers for hosting a fabulous farmer’s market, and for helping the Tree People plant more trees in urban neighborhoods. Please Grab some baked goods on the way out! After Emmett: Alex N: We also want to thank our teachers for all of their work in helping us put this show together, and we want to thank Alejandro for teaching us all of these songs, their history and their music. (Clap….Wait for audience.) After Clapping: Jackson: Our last song tonight is a shanty, another important player in American Roots Music. A shanty was a working song, fitted to the rhythm of the task and lasting as long as the job lasted. Pay Me My Money Down is said to been birthed in the ports of the southern United States. As the song states, it was not unusual for captains to insist that their ships be unloaded as soon as they arrived. They would promise to pay the dockworkers the next morning, but come the next morning the ship would be gone, and the workers were left unpaid. After Jackson: Bode: There is no "right" set of words for a shanty. Each “shantyman” had their own sets, would make up verses about events or characters on board. Those that have been written down are just the way the song was sung once, and it may have never been sang that way again………….well until this one was recorded and made famous by Bruce Springsteen.