Does it matter if a random group of people no longer know the same songs?
Asked by
Jeruba (
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August 15th, 2020
There used to be a body of traditional songs that “everybody” knew—the sort of songs you might have sung on the day camp bus when you were a kid. The tunes were familiar, the words might have varied a little from place to place, but most people would recognize them and could sing along.
The sort of songs the audience might join in when the Boston Pops held a sing-along. The sort of songs the band might play at a small-town public event.
The sort of songs you might strike up if you were unexpectedly detained for a long night on a train or locked down somewhere.
Do we even have any songs like that any more? Do young people know any of the old songs? Do older people know the new tunes? Are they even singable by ordinary people?
What would we all sing if we were on a hijacked bus or rounded up in a camp awaiting an unknown fate? What would we sing to keep our spirits up if all hell broke loose and we were sheltering with a mixed group of neighbors? What would we sing if we were herded onto an open-topped conveyance in the rain?
Quote by Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird:
Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.
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10 Answers
I think it matters, but perhaps not in exactly the way your details lead me to suspect you’re thinking.
If a large group of people don’t share the same cultural touchstones, it could simply mean the culture is changing. The kinds of songs you’re writing about in your details are a good example. Hymns are another type of song that large groups may know from years of repetition in churches. Church attendance is waning, so many people will not share this body of knowledge.
Some people see this as a loss. They decry the lost heritage. They may be heard pining for previous periods they deem better in some way.
It’s also possible to see the loss of common songs as a sign of a vibrant, growing culture. New shared pieces of heritage are emerging. I think these should be celebrated.
We could talk about Broadway showtunes as an example. Today, fans listen to the music from Hamilton or Wicked. Most people no longer sing the music of Rogers and Hammerstein. Tastes have changed, and I think it’s a good thing.
Of course, this cultural evolution is not limited to music. It can be seen in television programming. It can be felt in literature.
If a culture were static, it would die. We need the loss of some items to welcome new growth.
Sure there’s still a songbook common to all of us. From “Happy Birthday” through “Home on the Range” there are the tunes that comprise the vernacular of all American kids. Nursery rhymes, TV commercials. I bet any of us could list dozens.
I’m sure I couldn’t sing most of the songs you mentioned, @Jeruba , but I could sing the types of songs @stanleybmanly listed.
I don’t know if younger generations know all of the songs that I know that I feel fall into this category.
We used to sing some songs in rounds, but you don’t have to do them that way. Songs like Kookaburra and Frere Jacques.
I would think all Americans know God Bless America and America (My Country ‘Tis Of Thee).
I can sing pretty much every song from West Side Story, Grease, and South Pacific.
What about some Simon and Garfunkel, Beach Boys and Beatles? Cecelia, Barbara Ann, Surfin’ USA, Hey Jude, and I Saw Her Standing There.
La Bamba
Please Mr. Postman
I Will Survive
Dancing Queen
Crocodile Rock
Sweet Caroline
Last resort there are always the Christmas Carols.
I think being able to sing together, many generations together, is a wonderful thing.
My husband and I love going to the Pops concert at our local symphony. We can’t sing along, but hearing the familiar songs done by a full orchestra and our local singers is a great joy.
@JLeslie Of those songs you listed the only two I could sing would be Dancing Queen and Crocodile Rock. The latter simply comes from being an Elton fan.
The songs that came to my mind were “Found a Peanut” and “99 bottles of beer on the wall”.
ETA: I do know those two American songs as well as the hits of Simon and Garfunkel.
@anniereborn Lol. I thought of 99 bottles of beer in the wall too.
What country are you in? I wouldn’t expect anyone outside of America to know most of these, my husband wouldn’t, and he’s been here since high school.
Do you know Row Row Row Your Boat? That’s another one done in “rounds.” As a young child we learned those as part of music class, or with our teachers if they liked to sing or play instruments. Those I would think a lot of English speaking countries sing with children. Here’s Kookabura explained, but you can jump to minute 1:15 if you don’t want to watch the whole thing. The second time through is the round. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3a7hWwbK7ac There are lots of YouTubes of children singing it in classrooms, including a few that are either the UK or Australia, I can tell they have an accent while singing.
Back in my day, everyone knew the song “group sex in the retirement home” by “The 3 Besoffskis”.
An oUtRaGe that this traditional folk song has been forgotten by the current generation.
@JLeslie I am in the US. I believe you and I are the same age too :)
@anniereborn I thought you were in the US, but then something you said on this Q made me think you weren’t. I find it very interesting you don’t know Frere Jacques, maybe you sang it in English? Are you sleeping, are your sleeping, Brother John, Brother John….I thought the whole world sings it. I even learned it in Spanish in Spanish class in school.
The Beatles, Beach Boys, that’s because my parents loved music I guess. What city did you grow up in?
@Jeruba I was thinking that in America I think even older people know the newer patriotic songs. Maybe not every word, but they at least are familiar with it and sing along with the chorus. Songs like God Bless the USA. They hear it on the radio, at July 4th celebrations, Memorial Day, and other holidays.
Have you seen the twins on youtube listen to “old” songs for the first time? 21 year old brothers. People send them suggestions. They will listen to anything. Opera, Rock, Disco, 50’s and 60“s music. Makes me smile, I get great joy from listening to songs so familiar and seeing their reactions.
@JLeslie I grew up in Chicagoland. I know like the first line of Frere Jacques/Are you sleeping, but that’s it. As for The Beatles, I have two older sisters who are nuts for them, so I have heard a lot. As far as knowing all the words to most of them, no.
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