I can give a couple of personal examples of how gender roles have affected my journey and maybe even my taste in music, in positive and negative ways.
Just like most public-schooled children, my sister and I were required to learn a musical instrument for our homeschool curriculum. Understandably, my parents would not budget for two teachers and two commutes, so it was up to my sister and I to agree on an instrument. I wanted to learn the banjo, she wanted to learn violin. While I always loved violin music, what I couldn't agree with was my parents deciding we would both learn violin on the basis that it was the more "ladylike" choice. Though I stuck violin lessons out for a year, my heart was never in it and I didn't get along with my teacher, and to this day I would not claim to even dabble on the violin.
My draw to the banjo was definitely something I picked up in church. I went to a fairly large church where music was taken seriously and there were several groups who spent many, many hours together practicing and writing songs. My own parents were involved in our first churches music program, my dad lead the choir as well as served as a deacon and my mom accompanied the choir on piano and taught Sunday school. My favorite band in our church was always the mens' bluegrass quartet, though they were certainly not the only talented group. The banjo picker in this performance happened to also be my calculus professor at community college. This is Stay by the Brook by the Holly Springs Bluegrass Quartet.
I think in folk, expectations of gender influence the music in some very direct ways. This is especially perceptible in songs that emerge during war and famine. While no one can deny the popularity and vital energy of rebel songs, if you listen to enough of them you may begin to notice a pattern, they are typically sung by men, while the womens' songs of the time may sound a bit different, perhaps even sometimes contrary in message. While men left home and faced war, women were left alone and felt the loss in different ways, often without ever feeling anything close to glory or freedom. In this next song, while the circumstances of the woman's fate aren't clear, the tone of her message is one that is heard throughout this sub-genre of womens' music. This is Land o' the Leal sung by Hannah Rarity.
Thanks for visiting my blog! I'm Sadhbh Alexander, I was born and raised (and still live) in Cooper's Gap, North Carolina, which you've almost certainly never heard of. I was homeschooled and grew up in the Baptist church so music was always around, but not in many contexts outside of a religious one. I have a Pennsylvania Dutch mom who grew up in the midst of a large Amish community and my dad was a deacon and the son of a southern Baptist preacher. My relationship with music changed when my parents introduced me to a woman named Deborah Brinson when I was about 9 years old. Ms. Deborah had been tutoring my older sister and she didn't normally take on students my age but after hearing from my sister about what she had been learning, I became relentless in asking Ms. Deborah to take me on as well. Deborah Brinson was (and I assume still is, but she is very elusive) an Irish folk singer, songwriter, and harpist. My sister was not only coming home from her lessons with increasing musical ability, she was learning to sing in and understand Irish as well as other languages, and bringing home songs and stories that were turning me green.
I studied under Ms. Deborah as long as I could, but she left for Ireland when I was still quite young and we haven't kept touch. Now, I keep this music in my life as part of my work. As a singer I have never had much power behind my voice, I struggle to compete for volume when accompanied by a loud instrument such as a piano, and I've long accepted that large concert halls are probably something I could never fill without the help of a microphone. However, my voice works quite well to sing to a single person in a quiet room, and I found there is indeed a setting for this. I have been a licensed massage & bodywork therapist for 3 years now. One day I was is a session listening to my favorite music and I had the thought that this would be much more fun if I could sing while I worked, and then I also realized there was nothing stopping me.
My favorite mini-genre of songs to sing or listen to while I work on my clients are waulking songs. Waulking songs are more of a Scottish tradition than an Irish one, but they are a type of work song that really helps me get through my day. The practice of waulking involved several women sitting in a circle, beating woven tweed or wool into useable cloth in a rhythmic cycle. They would sing while they did this in order to make the work go by easier and to keep themselves on beat. The lyrics are often optimistic and grateful, including words of praise and thanks to God for the health of the sheep that produce the wool and the hands of the women that work it, as well as the health the clothing will afford the people of their communities.
1. My favorite waulking song at the moment is Hò Rò Gun Togainn air Hùgan Fhathast Thù, and I like the rendition by the group Staran. The lyrics of this song and other waulking songs help me to keep a positive attitude about the work that I do.
Lyrics:
Scottish Gaelic English
Ho rò gun togainn air hùgan fhathast The tweed will be the better for being in the presence of the girls Ho rò i ò, mun tèid mi laighe Who, with their hands, will make the waulking endure Ho rò gun togainn air hùgan fhathast When they turn it on the waulking board Togamaid fonn air luadh a’ chlòthlainn The sound was heard of each of them speaking Gabhaidh sinn ceòl is òrain mhatha Beautiful, melodious, sweet songs B' fheàird an clò bhith chòir nan gruagach Are sung by the maidens Dhèanadh an luadhadh buan len làmhan While waulking they sing Nuair a thionndas iad air clèith eCheerfully, diligently to improve the cloth Chluinnte fuaim gach tè dhiubh labhairt Good health to those sheep Òrain ghrinne, bhinne, mhìlseon which grew the elegant cloth Aig na rìbhinnean gan gabhail A blessings upon the hand which spun it Luinneag ac’ air luadh an aodaichHers was the work of a good housewife Sunndach, saothrachail ri mathas Truly the folk who will wear it Guma slàn a bhios na caoraich Will derive pleasure from their clothes Air an d’ fhàs an t-aodach flathail
Beannachd air an làimh a shnìomh e ’S i rinn gnìomh na deagh bhean-taighe
’S ann a tha ‘n toil-inntinn aodaich Aig na daoin’ a bhios ga chaitheamhTranslation found at
2. The second song I chose to share is one it took me way to long to hear, and when I did a lot of things clicked for me. A lot of the history (which was, I'll be honest, virtually all U.S. history) I took in grade school simply didn't add up with my own observations of the modern world, and it took me until I got to college to finally understand why. I heard this song and it's message to Americans, particularly Americans of Irish heritage, is clear: justice over nationalism. This concept is what was missing from my education in history, and this song is one of the best examples of why the topic of music history is so important to me.
I chose to use Seth Staton Watkins' cover of this song because I feel he is an artist who deserves more recognition, he is a young singer with and old and powerful voice.
3. The song I chose that does not really resonate with me is one that went viral in the southeast U.S. about a year ago and was a hot topic of conversation in my hometown. Many people I knew had very positive feelings about the song, mostly because the artist is very relatable to them. Though he is relatable and I believe he is a very talented musician, I felt something in the lyrics that was divisive and diversionary. This is Rich Men North of Richmond by Oliver Anthony.
