回复帖子
标题: voa慢速英语 From Traditional to Freak
voa365
中级会员
Rank: 3Rank: 3



UID 2222030
积分 2204
帖子 175
阅读权限 40
注册 2013-7-24
状态 离线
发表于 2014-3-3 12:22  资料  个人空间  个人短信  加为好友  只看该作者
voa慢速英语 From Traditional to Freak

本文来自:http://www.voa365.com/specialVOA/today/26147.html



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

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

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

Folk music researcher Bob Carlin notes the historic importance of protest songs. They help give voice to cultural and social movements, he says.

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

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 songs of the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protests of the 60s.

Pete Seeger could be called the King of the Protest Song, in the words of folk musician Tony Trischka. Yet his greatest influence may have come from popularizing a song that he himself did not write. "We Shall Overcome" came from a Negro spiritual.

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

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

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

Folk songs sometimes tell stories about real events. An example is the story of a young man whose last name was 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 girlfriend Laura Foster. He was hanged in 1868, yet the case left many questions.

The story was retold in poems and songs -- including the hit song, "Tom Dooley," recorded in 1958 by the Kingston Trio.
                                                            
Folk singer and songwriter Amy Speace says the history of American folk music can be imagined as a tree with many branches. At the center, she says, is Woody Guthrie.

Woody Guthrie wrote almost 3,000 songs. But he only recorded about 300 of them. His granddaughter Anna Canoni says that was partly because he did not have enough money to record more. He made only one record with a major record company.

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

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

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

In fact, Woody Guthrie first called his song, "God Blessed America for Me." It was meant as a protest song against private property and the unequal treatment of citizens.
This meaning is made clear later in the song, in the parts that most children never learn in school:
               
Another verse talks about seeing hungry people standing in line for public aid at the relief office. Woody Guthrie was a voice for labor unions and striking workers and families beaten down by the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Amy SpeaceAmy Speace

In the 1960s, folk singers like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan protested the Vietnam War. Bob Dylan's, "Blowin’ in the Wind," became a big hit for the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1963.
      
Singer and songwriter Amy Speace says there are still protest songs being written. She points to the examples of Steve Earle and Neil Young as well as what she calls more contemporary folkies.

That would include herself, a child of the 80s. Amy Speace 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 who gets killed in a desert war. The song is called, "The Weight of the World."
                                    
A new kind of folk music mixes elements of traditional folk and rock with mostly 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."

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 social networks 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 us again next week for This Is America from VOA Learning English.

顶部
peter777777
注册会员
Rank: 2



UID 2292050
积分 977
帖子 78
阅读权限 30
注册 2013-11-21
状态 离线
发表于 2014-7-23 10:12  资料  个人空间  个人短信  加为好友  只看该作者 QQ
福步外贸论坛 - 归档内容,请登录后查看 Please log in to view.

顶部
xuuzj
注册会员
Rank: 2



UID 3184444
积分 814
帖子 727
阅读权限 30
注册 2019-7-29
状态 离线
发表于 2019-8-15 11:18  资料  个人空间  个人短信  加为好友  只看该作者
福步外贸论坛 - 归档内容,请登录后查看 Please log in to view.

顶部
cnsufei (阿里账号出租)
VIP会员
Rank: 5Rank: 5



UID 1153300
积分 20943
帖子 2902
阅读权限 80
注册 2009-10-12
状态 离线
发表于 2020-2-6 22:18  资料  个人空间  个人短信  加为好友  只看该作者 QQ
福步外贸论坛 - 归档内容,请登录后查看 Please log in to view.

顶部
Carrie.Jr
中级会员
Rank: 3Rank: 3



UID 3308139
积分 2399
帖子 113
阅读权限 40
注册 2021-1-26
状态 离线
发表于 2021-2-21 12:29  资料  个人空间  个人短信  加为好友  只看该作者
福步外贸论坛 - 归档内容,请登录后查看 Please log in to view.

顶部
 

福步全球商业企业推荐: [electronics] Yantai Metastar Special Paper Co., Ltd. 烟台民士达特种纸业股份有限公司

当前时区 GMT+8, 现在时间是 2024-3-29 00:55
沪ICP备05002584号

Powered by D1scuz!  © 2001-2025 FOBShanghai.com
Processed in 0.300243 second(s), 7 queries , Gzip enabled ,240

清除 Cookies - 联系我们 - 福步外贸网 - Archiver - 手机客户端