I’ve been thinking a lot about my role in supporting Black Lives Matter, and how to be an ally for Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color. There are great organizations I can contribute to, many powerful, brilliant books to read, and conversations to be had with family and friends. There are ways in which I have a deepened understanding of the tragic racist past of our country, and a commitment to do whatever I can to be part of change for the good. This is a wild and beautiful time in our country in many ways. There’s so much awakening, connection, and love in the courage of standing up and saying, “No. No more. There must be an end to the murder of Black people right now!”
When I bring all this back to my little world, and my role in it, I always come back to the music I have loved for the last 45 years. The music I have commited my adult life to playing, performing, creating, and yes, preserving. It’s not easy to explain to some why the music of southern rural white men rocked my world. But it did, it grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. That said, it wasn’t always saying things that fit me, or resonated for me, and that’s why I have written so much of the music I play.
Over the last few years, I have become increasingly and acutely aware of the racist roots of much of this music. It’s become untenable for me. I know most of the songs with racist lyrics were cleaned up before I heard and learned them, and I was swept away by the beauty of the melodies as well as the sanitized stories. But these songs have been used in racist settings, and to further the goals of white supremacy in ways that I can no longer tolerate.
I’ll just say it plainly.
There were no happy enslaved Africans. It never happened even once. And to sing songs that present this scenario is harmful. So, that challenges a number of songs and song sources I have loved but was too naive, or ignorant, to see the deeper truth of these songs. I will not sing the songs that tell the false story of happy slaves. There are tunes, instrumentals, that possibly predate their racist associations. But once the racist lyrics were applied to those melodies, they stuck.
I don’t wanna play those tunes.
Also, if I’m ever going to sing a song that comes from black musicians, or enslaved Africans, I will tell that history and give credit.
Will this limit the songs I can sing? I dunno, maybe, but there are thousands of songs in the world, and I’m still writing my own songs, so I feel there are ample choices of songs that will be moving, beautiful, entertaining, etc. This is a completely personal choice, and nothing I would seek to impose on anybody else. We all have to sing the songs that resonate for us, that make us feel the things we want to feel. If I’m gonna ever be able to sing a song from my heart, I have to believe in the lyrics. I may find a song that I’ve sung for years is no longer a good fit. I can choose to stop singing that song while never regretting the many times I’ve loved singing it in the past. Change happens in steps, and sometimes that happens at a glacial pace.
I want to be part of change for the better.
I invite anybody and everybody to consider choices of songs, think about the context and the content of each song, the potential for harm in a song, and sing the ones that feel like the thing you want to say. Say to the people around you and the greater world outside you. Songs that say the things you believe in and want to convey. Sing the songs that fit your conscience, and sing from your heart. I’m excited to come back to music with a sense of purpose and intent in every note and lyric!
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