Songs of the Mountains, Songs of Resistance A study of protest music against "King Coal" in Southern Appalachia, historically and today

Sara Henry

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Clark, Maribeth

Keywords

Protest Music, Folk Music, Appalachia, Environmental, Justice, Mountain Top Removal, Coal Mining

Area of Concentration

Music

Abstract

The focus of this project has been compiling a collection of music about mountaintop removal coal mining and the history of coal mining in Southern Appalachia. The songs are ballads, folk, bluegrass, and old time songs of the past and present. Some songs already focused on this important environmental and social justice issue, and others were changed lyrically to encompass this subject. The practice of changing lyrics to suit a new cause has been common in the history of folk music in America. For example, in Mark Allan Jackson�s Prophet Singer, he spends part of a chapter outlining the ways in which Woody Guthrie�s classic song �This Land is Your Land� has been appropriated for many causes since it was written in the early 1940s (Jackson 2007). The purpose of this project is to spread awareness of mountaintop removal through the medium of music. I did my fieldwork during the summer of 2010 at the United Mountain Defense Volunteer House in Knoxville, Tennessee. During my stay there, I interviewed and watched several regional artists play the music I am studying. In the interviews, many activist musicians highlighted the power of music to inform and inspire listeners. Many said a person may not be willing to listen to what you have to say if it conflicts with his or her beliefs, but if you sing it in a song, if there is emotion and melody behind your words, the person is more likely to hear your words and consider. This thesis project has two main components: a thesis performance in the Black Box Theater which was held on March 12, 2011, where fellow New College musicians and I played selections from the music I have studied, and the following essay, which discusses my fieldwork and analyzes the role of music in Appalachian people�s resistance against the abuses of �King Coal.�

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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