Collectivism
Background: At the height of the pandemic, we heard corporations scream that we’re all in this together. I don’t know about you, but it got pretty cloying to hear over and over again. Yet in song form, it can be somewhat reassuring to hear. In this blog, we’re going to talk about collectivist songs, but as always, I’m going to try to give you some songs you may not have heard of before, or at least ones that haven’t become cliched within the category.
“Good Friend” by Cloud Cult
Lyrically: In a previous blog about mysticism, we talked about the song “Journey of the Featherless” by Cloud Cult. In that song, there were a handful of things that screamed individualism, like not needing a cell phone and being able to make it to Heaven on your own (with your new friends making the journey a little more pleasant). But “Good Friend,” appropriately off of the band’s album, Love, insists that we can’t get through this crazy life alone. This is shown through lines like the last one of the first verse (and one of my favorites), “We are not broken ones, just shattered pieces of the same bright sun. Trying to find out which way to run, and we can’t do this alone.” The bridge then says, “Life is a playground and it takes a lot of work, you better learn to love or it’ll tear you apart ‘cause in the end we are measured by the size of our hearts and we can’t do this alone.” There are a lot of Cloud Cult songs that make you think deeply, and that can sometimes be uncomfortable. But this one, like the aforementioned “Journey of the Featherless” always makes me smile.
Melodically: The song’s intro uses G, D, C, and G. Being written in G, this is a I, V, IV, I pattern. The verses use D, G, D, C, and G making a V, I, V, IV pattern. The chorus uses the same chords as the intro. The bridge then uses G, D, Em, and C, played twice, and faster the second time through. This is a I, V, vi, IV pattern. After the last chorus, the song ends on G, D, C, and G (the same pattern from the intro). Instrumentally, the song starts off with drums, which is followed by piano, guitar, more piano, and violin.
Structurally: The song’s intro is extended, which is typical of many Cloud Cult songs. After the intro, the chorus comes in, followed by a verse, chorus, a bridge, and another chorus. One thing I enjoy about Cloud Cult’s songs is that although they are very thought provoking, the band knows how to let the lyrics breathe. I mentioned earlier the extended intros that show up in many of their songs, and this is a good example. They only need two reasons why all they need is a good good friend. It doesn’t have to be anything more complicated than the fact that life is hard sometimes, and it’s even harder for those who have to go about it alone. And despite the song not being lyrically complex, it’s vocally complex, going from a chorus to a verse, to a bridge, to another chorus — and the cadence gymnastics Craig Minowa does from one part to the other wouldn’t work if there were a ton of lyrics involved.
“Good Friend” is embedded below.
2. “The Times They Are ‘a Changin’” by Bob Dylan
Lyrically: In one of my grad school classes, we’ve been watching movies about the Cuban Revolution, and a big theme in a few of the films was talking about how individualism cannot exist for a revolution to be successful. “The Times They Are ‘a Changin’” was written during the Civil Rights Movement, which Bob Dylan was involved with (though he would later rightfully downplay his role in his song “My Back Pages”). The song is not so much about collectivism happening as it is a call to action for everyone to get in on the movement: “Come senators, congressmen please heed the call, don’t stand in the doorway or block up the hall” and in the first verse saying, “You better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are ‘a changin’.” He also calls on the writers “Who prophesize with their pen” and in one of my favorite lines calls on parents, saying “Get out of the way if you can’t lend a hand.” Like “Blowin’ in the Wind,” released a year earlier, it’s somewhat eerie how well the lyrics hold up 60 years later, but there are always going to be people behind the times — it’s important that we call them out, and Dylan does a great job here!
Melodically: The song is written in the key of G major and uses G, Em, C, and G (a I, vi, IV, I pattern) for the first and third lines of the song, with a G, Am, C, and D (the I, ii, IV, and V) sandwiched in between, before ending on G, Am, and D (the I, ii, and V), D, D7, D6, and D (variations on the V), and G, C, D, and G (the I, IV, V, and I). The song is only backed with guitar and harmonica, instrumentally.
Structurally: The song contains all verses, of which there are five. Being an example song, calling all the people who need to get their act together and get with the times, there’s something powerful about the lack of chorus. As I said in the lyric section, there’s something special about this song that has made it hold up 60 years later, and that’s its generalities. So this is an example song, but it’s different from the ones we’ve looked at so far, like “Welcome to the Future.” The song isn’t about what is changing, it’s about who needs to change around the change that is happening, and quite frankly, that’s how things get done. Another song, “Some People Change” (originally cut by Kenny Chesney, but made famous by Montgomery Gentry), the song is about the bad things the people were doing and how they changed — a chorus brought it back to how some people change. The power of this song, “The Times They Are ‘a Changin’” is that it’s not about the people actually changing, it’s about calling them out to make sure they eventually do. And it takes everybody — so making each verse about those people, then making the last one telling them they don’t have a choice — is an incredibly powerful structural decision in the writing of this anthem.
“The Times They Are ‘a Changin’” is embedded below.
3. “Dig” by Incubus
Lyrically: I mentioned at the top that I wanted to come up with non-cliched, genuine collectivism songs, and “Dig” was the first one I thought of that fit that category. It’s all about bringing out the best in each other, even when the worst in somebody tends to show. I love doing this blog for multiple reasons, but one of them is that it helps me listen to the songs in a new light. I always interpreted the song as “We dig each other,” as in “You think I’m cool, I think you’re cool,” but really it’s about digging deep to find the best parts of another person. There’s power in surrounding yourself with friends who take you just the way you are, but there’s also a tremendous amount of power in knowing that when my bad traits show, I need someone else to dig out my best ones again, and that’s what this song is about.
Melodically: The song is written in B major, and uses the chords E, F#, and C#m in the intro (a IV, V, iii pattern), which gets repeated throughout the verses. The chorus then uses E, B, F#, and C#m (a IV, I, V, ii pattern) followed by E, B, E, and F# (a IV, I, IV, V pattern). In between the first chorus and 2nd verse, they use E, F#, and C#m (IV, V, ii). Instrumentally, the song contains electric, bass, and acoustic guitar, drums, piano, and mellotron.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus format. The song was inspired by lead singer Brandon Boyd’s reliance on friends, family, and band members, as Incubus was in the midst of a stressful stretch (which would later lead to a hiatus for the group). However, the lyrics do not dive into those personal details. Instead, it opts for discussing the human condition and human nature to be too egotistical and caught up in yourself to actually do good in the world like we’re capable of. It’s kind of an example song, but the examples are abstract. Yet nothing about it feels disingenuous or generic to me. The simple structure of the song matches well with the simplicity of the lyrics, even though, like the Cloud Cult song, the use of the word dig is rather complex.
“Dig” is embedded below.
4. “Ain’t No Freedom” by Tony Manard and the Big Ole Band
Lyrically: At the top of this blog, I mentioned my desire to discuss songs about collectivism in a non-traditional way. While songs like “Lean On Me” and “With a Little Help From My Friends” are great songs, they barely scratch the surface as to why banding together is necessary. “Ain’t No Freedom” leans into what’s wrong with the world as a whole during the verses — the TV stations telling us who we need to hate, “Science textbooks replaced by Noah’s Ark,” and “The folks in Flint, Michigan, ain’t got clean water to drink.” The song also contains the great line, “Land of the brave and home of the free, but it seems it’s only for the people who clap on one and three.” These come at various points in the song, but it all ties back into the chorus: “Ain’t no freedom ‘til everyone is free.” One thing I love about being a musician in Memphis is the fact that no matter how famous and/or successful you are, everyone gets treated with the same amount of respect. Tony is one of the best storytellers in Memphis and as simple as this song sounds on the surface, it’s a microcosm of how the people trying to push this town forward act on a daily basis. Whether personally or professionally, none of us succeed unless all of us succeed.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of G major and uses G, Am and C (the I, ii, and IV chords) throughout the song. Instrumentally the song contains electric guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, violin, organ, and drums.
Structurally: The song utilizes a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus format. As I mentioned in the lyric section, the verses set up the need for freedom and collectivism to achieve it for everyone. The history of oppression is, in and of itself, a story, but this is an example song, with each verse discussing a new kind of oppression and the chorus reiterating that freedom only exists for a select few, so it truly isn’t free, and won’t be until we all work together to get that freedom for everyone. In addition to this being an example song, its simple structure (the problem and the implication of what we need to do to solve it), lends itself very well to the gospel nature of the tune.
“Ain’t No Freedom” is embedded below. Between the musicians and the people in the congregation, it is, much like the previously discussed “Mississippi Why Ya Gotta Be So Mean?” a who’s who of Memphis favorites. Enjoy!
