VOA慢速英語(yǔ):從傳統(tǒng)到“怪胎”美國(guó)民俗音樂(lè)的進(jìn)化

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From VOA Learning English, welcome to This IsAmerica. I’m Steve Ember. This week on our program, we explore American folk music, the music of thepeople. Our musical guide is Barbara Klein. Comealong with us, and sing along any time you like!

"Good Night Irene," is an example of a traditional folksong. That means the song is so old, no one reallyknows who wrote it.

Huddie Ledbetter, the singer and guitarist known asLedbelly, first recorded "Good Night Irene" in 1932.Since then more than a hundred other versions havebeen recorded. "Good Night Irene," was a huge hit for the Weavers in 1950.

FILE - Pete Seeger performing on stage during the Farm Aid 2013 concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center inSaratoga Springs, N.Y.

Folk music researcher Bob Carlin notes the historicimportance of protest songs. They help give voice to cultural and socialmovements, he says.

One of the members of the Weavers was Pete Seeger. He was among those who popularized folk music in the 1940s. Later, he wrote some of the best known songsof the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protests of the 60s.

Pete Seeger could be called the King of the ProtestSong, in the words of folk musician Tony Trischka. Yethis greatest influence may have come frompopularizing a song that he himself did not write. "WeShall Overcome" came from a Negro spiritual.

As Tony Trischka points out, the original version wascalled "We Will Overcome." Pete Seeger thought "shall" sounded better. And he made other changes, like adding the verse "we are not afraid" to offersupport for the protests taking place across the country.

"We Shall Overcome," became the theme song of the American civil rightsmovement.

"Folk songs sometimes tell stories about real events. Anexample is the story of a young man whose last namewas spelled D-U-L-A but pronounced "Dooley."

Tom Dula was a Civil War veteran in North Carolina. He was tried and found guilty of the murder of his girlfriendLaura Foster. He was hanged in 1868, yet the case leftmany questions.

The story was retold in poems and songs -- includingthe hit song, "Tom Dooley," recorded in 1958 by theKingston Trio.

The Kingston Trio - Bob Shane, left, John Stewart, center, and Nick Reynolds, right, poses in Hollywood in 1967 afterannouncing they are giving up the act. Their reason: the public won’t let them sing anything but "Tom Dooley."

Folk singer and songwriter Amy Speace says the history of American folkmusic can be imagined as a tree with many branches. At the center, shesays, is Woody Guthrie.

Woody Guthrie wrote almost 3,000 songs. But he only recorded about 300 ofthem. His granddaughter Anna Canoni says that was partly because he didnot have enough money to record more. He made only one record with amajor record company.

Yet for all his influence, millions of Americans today remember him for justone song, which children learn in school.

The song, "This Land Is Your Land," seems like theperfect expression of pride in country. What manypeople do not know is that it was meant sarcastically, as just the opposite. Woody Guthrie wrote it in 1940 inreaction to Irving Berlin's popular song, "God BlessAmerica."

In fact, Woody Guthrie first called his song, "GodBlessed America for Me." It was meant as a protestsong against private property and the unequal treatmentof citizens.

Woody Guthrie, 1912-1967: Singing the Songs of ‘Dust Bowl Refugees’

This meaning is made clear later in the song, in theparts that most children never learn in school:

Another verse talks about seeing hungry peoplestanding in line for public aid at the relief office. WoodyGuthrie was a voice for labor unions and striking workers and families beatendown by the Great Depression in the 1930s.

In the 1960s, folk singers like Joan Baez and Bob Dylanprotested the Vietnam War. Bob Dylan's, "Blowin’ in theWind," became a big hit for the folk group Peter, Pauland Mary in 1963.

Singer and songwriter Amy Speace says there are stillprotest songs being written. She points to the examplesof Steve Earle and Neil Young as well as what she callsmore contemporary folkies.

That would include herself, a child of the 80s. AmySpeace describes one of her songs as a protest song, but more of a story with the protest quietly built into it. The story is about a girl whose brother is a soldier whogets killed in a desert war. The song is called, "TheWeight of the World."

A new kind of folk music mixes elements of traditional folk and rock withmostly acoustic instruments. Some call it "freak folk." Others hate that name.

Whatever you call it, one artist often used as an example is the singer,songwriter and harp player Joanna Newsom. This song is called, "Sprout and the Bean."

Amy Speace

Some people probably think of a folk singer as a fossil from the 1960s. A long-haired, guitar-playing idealist who sings about bringing the world together.

But these days, with music production software, digital video and socialnetworks all easily available, folk artists really can bring the world together.

Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Caty Weaver.Barbara Klein was our narrator, and I’m Steve Ember inviting you to join usagain next week for This Is America from VOA Learning English.