Perhaps two of the only things left that we can all agree on is that we live in a world divided, and it is now a time of protest. Whether people are protesting truth to power, or power to truth, protesting a certain ideology, or defending it, it appears that protest and social justice songs will be in demand soon, perhaps before we can even get them written.
This article is not going to be about the validity of anybody’s particular viewpoint or about our politics, but about how to craft an ideological protest song that will offer the greatest representation of your views, should you choose a guitar over a placard when your cause takes to the streets. If your cause has already taken to the streets, then you had better get writing because as the Bob Dylan song goes, “Your old road is rapidly aging, please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand”.
Here are 10 points you’ll want to know before you start singing angry stuff all over the place.
Research your Topic. You may have a very strong passion for a certain social or political view but there is a difference between being passionate about a cause, and being well informed. School yourself up on both sides of the argument and write a lyric you can defend.
Write to the Center. When writing your lyric you will convert more uncommitted listeners if you craft some nuance into your viewpoint. This does not mean you have to acknowledge a personal validation of the opposing view, but writing as if the issue is above debate will inevitably work against you. You do not want people to get the impression that your song was written in an ideological vacuum because that will make it easy to argue against and satirize.
Write to your Passion. Considering the point in #2 taken, do not compromise your passion for the cause, and write with the bravery and conviction that your view deserves.
Use a Traditional Song Form. By using a traditional song form, you will allow your protest song to tap into the historical representation of the protest songs that have preceded it and give your song some grounding in that tradition. This also helps your protest, or social justice song, retain some simplicity and help the listener stay focused on the lyric ideas dedicated to your cause.
Write into a Metaphor. Songs that are based on an abstract or written as a parable are more powerful and illustrative than songs that are directly teachy or preachy. Bob Dylan knew what the answer was, my friends, and could easily have stated it in plain language, but he chose to let us know that it was “blowing in the wind”. The lyric was a metaphorical invitation to get out there and find the answer for yourself.
Refrain from NOT using a Refrain. Some of us have never even written a refrain since the chorus took over the world about 50 years ago, but the refrain is a great convention for the kind of song you want to write here. For a great example of a refrain we look again to, “The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind”.
We Want 5 Notes, We Want 5 Notes… Protest and social justice songs need to be easy to chant, and as “sing along” friendly as possible. It is advisable to write a simple catchy melody that primarily uses the 5 note pentatonic scale. This will make your song easy for your crowd to learn and easy for them to remember for the next rally.
What the Anthem? Anthems are historically a celebratory kind of musical work but, of course, when you protest one side of a cause, you are also celebrating the side of that fence that you reside on. Study anthems. There are national anthems, songs like Queen’s “We are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You”, and other songs that tap into a sense of belonging to your certain faction of society. You will find that some of these songs have a chorus but notice the use of lots and lots of repetition and how the chorus melody and lyric ties in with the verses.
Dude, Where’s Your Song? Once you have written your song, make certain that organizers who work for the cause know you have written it. It does you no good if nobody hears your timely song, and for those who share that view your song may be considered an essential element that was previously missing from their movement.
To Sing… or not to Sing! Once the song is written and ready to go, determine if you are the right voice for the song and for the movement. There is a lot to be said for the honesty of the songwriters rendition, but it can also be argued that having the right performance can also be a huge factor in having your ideas gain traction and produce the greatest impact. Try to not make this decision with your ego, or your own ambition, and let the song win the day.
Above all other kinds of songs, protest songs and social justice songs have been able to influence culture. Some have even become the soundtrack to seismic shifts in how people feel about one another by providing the words and music to that particular moment in human history.
I remember very little about the first song I wrote…I was in sixth grade, and I know it was a cheesy breakup song in A minor about my first “girlfriend” in fifth grade. I don’t think any recordings of “The Love We Shared” exist (mercifully), and it wasn’t until a year later, when my older brother started writing some lyrics with a little more meaning and purpose, that I started down the serious road of songwriting and recording.
Over the years, I progressed from 4-track demos to college studios, to professional studios, to producing in my home studio, writing and recording going hand in hand - refining a sound and showing real evidence that improvement was happening. It wasn’t until I had written and recorded between 50-60 songs that I really felt I could output at a consistent quality level. None of those “First 50” songs were ever released and they hide in my archives only for my personal nostalgia.
This gets to the heart of my point: songwriting takes time and repeated, focused effort. No single song is precious, especially in your First 50. I know the feeling, “Whoa, I wrote a song and it’s really cool, and I need to copyright it and show everyone!” It’s hard not to be precious about your baby - your special creation! But if you can put that feeling aside and write your next 5 and then see how you feel about that previous one. Then write 10 more and see if you still feel the same way. I still “throw out” about one in ten that I thought was completely great when I wrote it and demo recorded it. When I “bulk write,” like for February Album Writing Month, where my approach is to sketch lots of new ideas, only ~2 of 10 survive. Sometimes there’s a re-write opportunity or smaller edits that can take a song to the next level, but sometimes you just have to let them go! After you’ve written your songs (or while you’re in the process of writing), I can’t recommend recording them highly enough. If you make that part of your songwriting/editing process, it helps tremendously not only in refining your vision of the song, but you can actually step back and analyze it a bit. You can critique yourself a lot better. You can experiment with different grooves and approaches, then leave it for a little bit, move on to other songs, and come back with fresh ears. Over time, you are also strengthened and motivated by the real progress and growth you will clearly hear. Be patient - it takes years.
While Songwriters in Seattle offers specific classes to help move your songwriting forward as well as critique sessions and opportunities to share new songs with audiences (another great way to hear your song in a new light and get instant feedback), what we hope to help you achieve is far greater than any single event. We offer a framework for you to be motivated and supported to write more songs! This is the best way to improve your songwriting! Songwriters in Seattle is a friendly audience with like-minded people - it is a tremendous opportunity to experiment, share new ideas, then go back to the drawing board and try again. I wish I had an organization like this to accelerate my first 50!
Now, the more experienced songwriters who may be reading this could probably even expand the idea to the first 100 or more, and I couldn’t disagree - there is always room to improve. Personally, while I am proud of my earlier released albums with songs that are now permanently in the public ear, I really only continue to play a few songs from them. Not only do newer songs represent where I am now as an artist, but from my current perspective, they are just better songs. At some point, there is bound to be argument about “better” being highly subjective, but ultimately you are your best judge and as long as you can create some distance (through time and recording), you will find you are a pretty good judge. You will almost always be biased toward your new songs, no doubt about it, but I think that also represents growth as an artist and songwriter. If nothing else, I use that as a motivating factor - I know I will love my next song, it’s going to be that much better, so I want to get on with writing it! I hope you can get to that point, too, if you’re not already there.
I am far from prolific, but I make it a goal to show something new at every SiS monthly networking meeting. Professionals who are songwriting full time are writing every day - many who are in the licensing business are producing and posting something finished for their catalogs every day! Think about how that would add up and create a body of work. That is how you get to be a better songwriter. If you’re a beginner (still within your first 50), don’t worry about your copyrights (to be frank: nobody cares) and making each song perfect - it’s not going to be and that’s okay. No need to be self-deprecating about it, either, you can be proud of it - it is cool and no doubt some people will like it! Learn what you can from it and move on. Write another song. And another - get in the habit of consistently writing and recording. It’s a great habit and I bet you will find more fulfillment in creating a body of work than in trying to create singular masterpieces. I look forward to hearing your next 50!
David Guilbault has been booking and hosting a concert series called “Voices Raised: Some Things Gotta Be Said.” The shows feature 4 to 6 singer-songwriters, each performing three original topical songs. We wanted to introduce David to you through his own words.
“As a Baby Boomer, I grew up in the Fifties and came of age in the Sixties. I was entranced by the crooners right from the get-go - Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin. Then I was captivated by the harmonies of The Everly Brothers and The Beach Boys.
My parents bought me a Fender Stratocaster (where did that go?) and I wrote my first song as a teenager. But, I was too shy to pursue the music that was gestating in my emerging self.
Then the Sixties happened. I was transfixed by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Motown. I was caught up in the Folk Revival, Rhythm & Blues, and the British Invasion. It’s then and there that the songwriter in me awakened, along with a social conscience.
I had planned on being a math teacher, but the world was exploding around me. So, instead, the river of life swept me into a career as a network television news producer. Starting as a Copy Boy for Howard K. Smith at ABC News, I worked my way up the ranks and became a producer for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.” Along the way I was also a pioneering founding Senior Producer for cable news at Cable News Network and Internet news at MSNBC.com. But, I always considered ABC News as my true home. Now I am retired.
So, after leaving journalism I became a full-time songwriter. I turned from reporting objective facts to sharing subjective truths. To that end I have been hosting “songwriters in the round” shows all over town for years. Then this last election happened. Now, I am concentrating my efforts on finding stages for Seattle singer-songwriters to express their concerns.
Were you taught not to raise your voice? Well, there are times when “some things gotta be said” loud and clear. I believe now is one of those times.
It is clear that our nation is growing increasingly polarized. One can see more divisions in politics, religion, race, and culture. One can also see community.
As I said, I came of age in the Sixties. That was a time of protest. It was a time for social activism - counterculture happenings, civil rights marches, women’s liberation rallies, union organizing meetings, anti-war protests. People marched in support of oppressed communities, in solidarity with African-Americans, migrant workers, Native Americans, gay men and women. People spoke up. Some also sang out. We heard raised voices from artists across musical genres - Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, James Brown, Paul Kantner, Janis Ian, Buffy Sainte-Marie, John Fogerty, Marvin Gaye and Tom Paxton, to name but a few.
Before the Sixties, there were songs of The Great Depression and The Great War. Woody Guthrie sang of “deportees.” Billie Holiday sang of “strange fruit.” Yip Harburg asked, “Buddy, can you spare a dime?” After the Sixties, Hip Hop and Rap music spoke of the social ills of that time.
Today, we live in a dangerous world of turmoil and disruption. Now, just as it has always been, songwriters need to speak to the issues of the day - institutionalized authoritarianism, racial injustice, economic inequality, environmental destruction, religious zealotry, ethnic warfare, migrant oppression, violent radicalism, corporate corruption, human rights.
Truth itself is under suspicion and attack nowadays. While journalists struggle to report the objective facts, I believe it is up to songwriters to express their subjective truths.
To that end, I am booking and hosting a series of monthly concerts featuring topical songs, called “Voices Raised: Some Things Gotta Be Said.” My hope is to make this a traveling road show to different Seattle communities. The concert series has been in Greenwood (Couth Buzzard) and West Seattle (C&P Coffee), comes to Ballard on April 14th (Grumpy D’s) and back to Greenwood on May 4th (Couth Buzzard). I am looking for more venues in different neighborhoods. I am also looking for singer-songwriters who have something to say.
I am pleased that so many performers from Songwriters in Seattle have shared their concerns on our stages, including Jeremy Serwer, Val D’Alessio, Claire Michelle, Tai Shan, Chris Klimecky, Peter Spencer, Audrey Goodman, Saint John, Andy Roo Forrest, Tiger Zane, and Paul Beaudry. Coming up this Spring, more names will be added to that roster, including Abby London, Carmen Zullo, Rebekah Ann Curtis, Char Seawell, Dave Gardafee, Chris Faget, and Natalie Quist. I thank all of them for raising their voices in concern and community.
If you feel compelled to write a so-called topical song, just do it. It doesn’t need to be polished or profound, it just needs to speak your truth. Raise your voice. Some things gotta be said.”
In an effort to build a more friendly and welcoming community through our volunteer activities, Songwriters in Seattle would like you to get to know our volunteer leaders. This month we’d like to introduce active Board Member, and host of the monthly Songwriter Support Group, Audrey Goodman, in her own words:
As a small child, music creation wasn’t anything I aspired to. But I sure loved to sing - songs in school, songs on radio, and most particularly, songs I heard over and over from the Broadway shows my father had on the turntable. I fancied myself an Ethel Merman type, a famous Broadway star from 50’s - 60’s musicals such as “Annie Get your Gun” and “Gypsy” - no doubt identifying with the powerful, volatile nature of the characters she portrayed. Momma Rose, Annie Oakley, Auntie Mame - they all sang about life’s events at the top of their lungs. As a super shy kid who had trouble even conversing with anyone, blasting out that kind of song on a stage was for me! So I went around singing these songs to whoever would listen and got myself recruited into a children’s choir as, of course, the ‘belter singer’ kid at the age of seven.
The choir was part of a small, newly created Reform synagogue in Newton, Massachusetts of which my parents were founding members. Another founding member was an East Coast concert pianist who was also on faculty at the New England Conservatory in downtown Boston. She saw me perform in the choir and, incredibly, asked my mother if she could teach me piano. She saw how much I loved the complicated melodies and rhythms of the Yom Kippur repertoire and the emotional nature of my childish interpretations, and she felt certain that music instruction would provide an important channel for me. Was she ever right!
So the next seven years were filled with Conservatory level piano lessons and hours of weekly practice and recitals. My experiences with all of this were wonderful enough to know I adored the music, but grueling enough to know I would never want to do this as a grown up! And then, right at this particular juncture of adoration and frustration, came the most magical music I’d yet to hear, aside from Beethoven. Joni Mitchell… Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young… Jackson Browne; their melodies crept up and entirely took over my fantasies about music (and everything else for that matter). I was given a guitar for my 14th birthday and didn’t touch the piano again until well into my 20’s. It was now ALL about learning the songs of these artists on guitar - these sages of our ages who ‘got me’ from tip of brow down to the bottom of my soles (and soul).
I taught myself the chords, memorized the lyrics, went to all the shows and concerts, befriended and played with all the people my age I came into contact with who were as obsessed with it all as I was. It was mostly all I did at Bard College in my late teens. And, it was the continuing pursuit of all of this which brought me to the Left Coast at 20. I had been composing things for years, and had recently started writing songs. I knew I would never have the golden pipes of Joni, Judi, or Linda, but I wanted to see if others would pick up my songs, as I had a couple friends who had relocated to ‘So Cal’ who weren’t great performers, but were placing songs with publishers, and subsequently getting covers with well-known performers.
In Hollywood (circa 1980’s), music publishing companies used to host songwriter events where you could get your cassette demo-tape on a rolling wheel (like the Wheel of Music Fortune), or heard in various other ways, and I wanted in on that. So, long story short, I met another songwriter and connected big time. We wrote and got some covers on several creations over a 10 year marriage (as well as co-creating two wonderful kids). I also created my own small ASCAP publishing company, Mother Mode Music. Unfortunately, as far as music creation went, the raising of the kids became a death knell for my own music. As well, out of financial necessity, I focused on making money teaching music. When my marriage ended, I made a promise to myself that I’d relocate, ostensibly to reacquaint myself with myself as musician, after 20+ years of feeling a bit lost in the culture of Los Angeles. In 2013 my kids were launched on their own pursuits, and I re-launched, landing in the marvelous city of Seattle.
Once settled, I went onto good ol’ Meetup, in search of the local songwriters and music making peeps. I found bluegrass, and I also found Songwriters in Seattle. After joining and attending a few get togethers with other writers, song circles, learning events, songwriter showcases, I was SO darned inspired. I wrote more music my first year in Seattle than in the previous 20 years in LA! I felt that SiS was giving so much to my personal growth as writer; I had to do something to contribute back. So I started the monthly Songwriter Support Group event at my home. This hasn’t just been successful within the group, but also has given me tremendous fodder for growth in my own songwriting. The next logical step was to join the board, to help to further enthusiasm and activity within the organization, and to support my talented and delightful network of songwriting friends.
One of the things I love most about Songwriters in Seattle, which was never present in LA music circles, is the welcoming nature of it, as envisioned by its founder and board. Whether you’re a novice, or a polished performer, there is growth to give and growth to get. There are seasoned players who are quite generous of their time and experience to newer writers, there are those who are just starting to get ‘out there’ -generating audience and reputation, and there are those who aren’t sure what their goals are but know they’ve got something to say, something to sing, and are grateful for the encouragement and knowledge that SiS events and members provide as they hone their craft.
I will always feel like I have miles to go before I’ll claim to be at the peak of whatever talent I may have. Possibly you all can identify with this statement, wherever you’re at with your abilities. And possibly, it’s just this internal pressure which compels us to keep writing, improving, editing, and reworking our melodies and lyrics. The very best place I’ve found in this city to complement, train, and enhance this drive we all feel, is through the people and activities within Songwriters in Seattle. Thank you Chris Klimecky for starting this wonderful group. If we have no other remedy for the ills of the moment, we at least have each other, our shared community, and our music.
A long way from the rainy Pacific Northwest, a budding guitar player from Virginia sat in front of a TV set watching “Here Comes the Brides” which is set in old Seattle. In watching the interplay of two characters, Candy and Jeremy, young Paula Boggs, “found her first songwriting muse at a time when I had little sense Seattle was even a real place,” and ended up writing a song from the boyfriend’s perspective with “maybe 2 or 3 chords.” Today, living in the city she once only imagined and touring with her band and a new album, singer-songwriter Paula Boggs credits the start of her musical journey to her parents.
“My parents insisted their kids learn to play music, starting with piano.” she explained. “Those lessons began for me at 6, and I learned to loathe the piano though I now know it was much more teacher than instrument. I then begged my folks to let me drop it for clarinet — I can’t even tell you why clarinet. They bought one and that lasted 6 months.”
Inspiration for the next musical path came with the arrival of the Folk Mass. “I was in Catholic school when the Folk Mass was coming of age and was so inspired, I wanted to take up guitar. When I then asked if I could take guitar lessons instead, they’d already bought a piano and clarinet, and so would only let me rent a guitar,” she recalled.
With the help of her first muse from a TV show, Boggs began writing songs at the age of ten, and, “in time helped pay for a guitar my mom and I found in a pawn shop.” She added, “The first time I remember performing was at my mom’s church, around age 12, though folks from elementary school say they remember me slugging around my guitar.”
She continued to slug that guitar and write songs until her 20’s before moving on to other endeavors. A look at her curriculum vitae reveals a rich and varied job history from decorated paratrooper, to working with some of America’s top corporations as a lawyer, and appointments to high level government positions. Through it all, songwriting remained only a memory.
However, a personal tragedy involving the death of her sister-in-law in a car crash led her back to songwriting 12 years ago, “… initially as a way to grieve. Once I was back at it, step-by-step, there was no turning back,” she said. Instrumental in her return to music were two things: a year-long songwriting course through University of Washington, “caused me to be part of a songwriters’ community, and showing up regularly to open mics became a great way to hone my craft and get supportive but constructive feedback,” she reflected.
Initially drawn to songwriting as part of her grieving process, Boggs is now inspired by, “Seattle sunrises and sunsets, my spouse and kid, the resilience of the human spirit… my list has no limits.” She draws inspiration from those, “moments of ‘ah-hah’ …riding in a van with my mates from Chicago to Saint Louis listening to and singing all the words to songs of the 1960s, having folks dance to our closing song in Spokane, encores, having someone listen to one of our songs and write about how it touched her, having it hit me while on a walk.”
Because all of life seems to provide inspiration, Boggs’s writing process is as varied as what inspires her. “I’m not that disciplined a songwriter in the sense of carving out a set amount of time daily or weekly to write,” she said, “Rather, themes come to me while walking, reading the newspaper, or ‘quiet time.’ I’ve written music both ways — starting with melody and with lyrics — though more of the songs I write begin with words.”
One area in which she is disciplined, however, is in her commitment to being real in her writing. “As a writer, my biggest challenges are authenticity and accessibility. It’s easier for me to wear a mask. It’s one thing if I’m doing that deliberately, wearing the skin of a character. It’s quite another if I’m not being honest with myself,” she said.
As a performer, Boggs, who fronts the Paula Boggs Band, has two additional challenges: “I’m a member of a band and so strive to do my part to make us ‘one.’ It’s also our job to ‘deliver’ to the audience no matter its size. It’s a great night when you see folks groove, laugh, and/or cry from the stage. We get energy from that too.”
She and her band will get many opportunities to tackle both of these challenges as they continue to tour. “We didn’t start really touring until after 2015 album ‘Carnival of Miracles,’ though we’d played some cities beyond the Pacific Northwest, like Philadelphia, before that release. Those first trips were often connected with my speaking at a college or elsewhere in the same city,” she explained.
Now with an album of “Seattle-Brewed Soulgrass” receiving critical acclaim, her band tours as part of their marketing plan. “By so doing,” she elaborated, “we’ve been better exposed to an international audience, grown the fan base, sometimes earned more money, and become a much tighter performing machine.” There are drawbacks, though, to a life on the road marketing an album. “Touring costs money though: vans, lodging, rented instruments, and time away from home,” she added. “Sometimes, the local band doesn’t deliver its promised fan base and sometimes you’re competing against insurmountable odds, like when our Bend, Oregon show was booked the same night as Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss. I think we had five folks at our show.”
In between tour dates, The Paula Boggs Band is putting the final touches on the album art for a third studio album, “Elixir, The Soulgrass Sessions,” and will offer it in vinyl when it is released later this year. And in between her own creative projects, she will continue to listen to and support her favorite millennial/GenX songwriters Conor Oberst, Kendrick Lamar, and Courtney Barnett. “Each artist is an amazingly brilliant lyricist with something to say — sometimes provocative, sometimes ironic, always worth my investment of time, ears, head, and heart. They are the Leonard Cohens, Paul Simons, Joni Mitchells and Curtis Mayfields of that generation,” she explained.
That young girl in Virginia who once sat in front of the TV set for inspiration ended up serving her country as a soldier, as a corporate leader, and as an avid community supporter. With self-confidence as a resource, Paula Boggs tackled a life’s work in the “real world” that was all encompassing. Through it all her inspiration to live by was a Lewis Carroll quote from Alice in Wonderland: “I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” But in the midst of that work, she was called back, through life’s painful circumstances, to songwriting.
In retrospect, Paula Boggs has gone back to yesterday … to “the passion and craft I knew as a child and young adult” … to the young woman singing in the church choir … to the soul of the young girl who first translated the world into song at age 10. Perhaps now, as writer George Moore declared, Paula Boggs is actually a woman who has travelled “the world over in search of what (s)he needs and returns home to find it.”