The Core Components of Folk Music - Essay Example

The true meanings and intent with which this piece of music attempted to engage the audience of the given time will be understood.

Firstly, with regards to the period in which this piece of music was derived, one would be remiss not to note that the song rose to popularity during what many consider to be the very origin of what can be termed as the “hippy movement” (Lynn 34). As such, the hippy movement within the United States was born out of a rejection of many of the societal norms that have previously been exemplified within society. Moreover, the beginning of the Vietnam conflict had polarized many within American society about the idea of further war and bloodshed after the first half of a century had been so dominated by some of the most severe bloodletting that had ever been witnessed by humanity (Sullivan 39). As a function of this, a great many songs of this era dealt with fundamental questions concerning the nature of humanity; i.e. peace, goodness, equality, kindness, and other norms as means to undo the more negative attributes of hatred, aggression, anger, and war.

What the artists are ultimately singing about concerns questions of where have the flowers gone; in other words, why has humanity ultimately chosen to turn away from the goodness and virtue that could otherwise solve so many of the problems that are faced daily within the context of our lives (Bond 8). Although not particularly a deep concept, such a question was appropriate for the times and the society because there seemed to be such a one-dimensional approach to issues relating to global affairs and international relations.

Moreover, the tone of the song exhibits simplistic yet powerful modulations that evoke a childlike wonder and inquiry which only helps to cement the previous questions and issues which have been raised above within the mind of the listener (Comarow & Silver 72). The tempo itself helps to engage the listener with a quality of dreamlike inquiry as well in that it is upbeat in tempo but not so upbeat that the listener cannot understand the depth and complexity of the questions asked for the issues raised. Finally, the type of vocals and melody, strangely enough, utilize a male chorus asking the questions of peace, love, and unity that may otherwise be asked by the feminine voice. However, this author believes that this is done as a means of shedding light on who the true shareholders of the given situation were as it was the men that were ultimately asked to join or be drafted, and sacrifice their lives for nebulous reasons in far off reaches of the globe. Read More