"But who buys cds any more...."   Lots of people, Conrad.

"I am amazed that so many bristle at the idea of singing both sides of an issue."

I am amazed that you are amazed. If I don't believe in a particular issue, especially if I see that it will lead to some really bad things, it would be a violation of my personal integrity in addition to being totally hypocritical of me to speak out—or sing out—in favor of it. At the same time, those with whom I share that belief would be mystified if I did that, and I would not blame them for writing me off as a traitor.

I know politicians who talk out of the both sides of their mouth. I don't vote for them.

"Songs are songs."

Songs can be considerably more than just songs. They can tell a story, as ballads do; they express emotions, as love songs do; they can be funny; they can lull a child to sleep—or they can rouse people to rebellion.

"The Marseilles," (currently the French national anthem) is a very rousing song. And during the French Revolution, it was a strong agent in stirring up people's anger and inspiring them to rise up against the aristocracy. The storming of the Bastille (regarded by the French as their version of Independence Day) was accompanied by the crowd singing "The Marseilles," and this powerful, stirring song was the leitmotif of major change, not just in France, but all over Europe—and America! It toppled the French monarchy (which, in itself had a domino effect), turfed out the aristocracy, and put "Madame Guillotine" to work throughout what is now known as "the Reign of Terror."

Even now, upon hearing the song, it's easy to see how it stirred vast numbers of people to action. The words alone can give you an idea. But the words and music combined are powerful.

[English transliteration of the French]

Arise children of the fatherland
The day of glory has arrived
Against us tyranny's
Bloody standard is raised
Listen to the sound in the fields
The howling of these fearsome soldiers
They are coming into our midst
To cut the throats of your sons and consorts

CHORUS:
To arms citizens
Form your battalions
March, march
Let impure blood
Water our furrows

What do they want this horde of slaves
Of traitors and conspiratorial kings?
For whom these vile chains
These long-prepared irons?
Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage
What methods must be taken?
It is us they dare plan
To return to the old slavery!

What! These foreign cohorts!
They would make laws in our courts!
What! These mercenary phalanxes
Would cut down our warrior sons
Good Lord! By chained hands
Our brow would yield under the yoke
The vile despots would have themselves be
The masters of destiny

Tremble, tyrants and traitors
The shame of all good men
Tremble! Your parricidal schemes
Will receive their just reward
Against you we are all soldiers
If they fall, our young heros
France will bear new ones
Ready to join the fight against you

Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors
Bear or hold back your blows
Spare these sad victims
That they regret taking up arms against us
But not these bloody despots
These accomplices of Bouillé
All these tigers who pitilessly
Ripped out their mothers' wombs

We shall enter into the pit
When our elders will no longer be there
There we shall find their ashes
And the mark of their virtues
We are much less jealous of surviving them
Than of sharing their coffins
We shall have the sublime pride
Of avenging or joining them

Drive on sacred patriotism
Support our avenging arms
Liberty, cherished liberty
Join the struggle with your defenders
Under our flags, let victory
Hurry to your manly tone
So that in death your enemies
See your triumph and our glory!

Whew!!

There are a whole batch of powerful union songs that inspired action during the 1920s and 1930s. They don't get sung much anymore, but for inspiration purposes, they were very effective. You can thank these songs for helping to bring about the forty-hour week, time-and-a-half for overtime, and an end to child labor.

And going further back:   Giuseppe Verdi's opera Nabucco contains a chorus—Va pensiero—or "The Hymn of the Hebrew Slaves." This reflected the feelings of many Italians at the time, as Italy was under the thumb of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the chorus is said to have played a part in Italy's subsequent independence. The story is told of a crowd of over a thousand people in the city square (Rome? Naples? Not sure which city) spontaneously bursting into singing this chorus to register their protest.

Heavy stuff!!

Never ever make the mistake of thinking that songs are only songs. The combination of words and music often has much greater power than speech alone. History has demonstrated this time and time again.

Don Firth