Essay on Relationship Between Music and Politics: 'Gimme some Truth' by John Lennon

Introduction

The relationship between music and politics was exceedingly formidable in the 1960s. The political protests often coincided with great musical events that attracted the legends and renowned individuals such as John Lennon. Mostly, political events inspired music and musical events that naturally formed inseparable part of the protests and the advocacy for justice, equality, and fairness for the downtrodden (Feldman 1). The impact of the Rock 'n' Roll culture in the global society, particularly in defining the rights movement was certainly too vats to measure. Therefore, it divided and united depending on the side of the advocacy that an individual preferred. Song such as Gimme some Truth' were too radical that it pitted the mass media, parents, and the government against the youth, and played a vital role towards the sensitization and the subsequent closure of the Vietnam War.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In the contemporary setting, John Lennon is remembered for various achievements with his band, The Beatles (Beviglia 1). Most of the memories encompass his idea and ideologies about peace and the need for the protection of human rights across the globe. One of his landmark creations is the song 'Gimme Some Truth' that was released in 1972, which is the time that the Vietnam War was at its peak and claiming thousands of lives. The song was timely since its release coincided with the period when President Richard Nixon was vying for reelection into office. At the time, the Beatles settled in New York, meaning that their anti-war sentiments or movement reached the intended destination, the corridors of power, which is the White House.

The song structure, the lyrics, and the wording are evidently absurd, hilarious, engrossing, and fascinating, as it is depictive of the musical era that had a real bearing on political matters. The song symbolizes the power of the youth in challenging the status quo and the prevailing ill-informed policies that portended destruction to the human race regardless of the geographical location. Essentially, the song brings to light or delineates the manners in which the former regimes fought to keep matters away from the prying eyes of the public in order to further vindictive agenda. Additionally, it highlights the strategies employed by the advocates or individuals who dared to challenge the destructive power of the people who sought to enslave others simply because they possessed the instruments of authority and privileges.

The structure of the song is verse, chorus, chorus, verse, which essentially is repetitive, meaning that the artist intended to pass his message across to his audience through emphasis. Certainly, then lyrics, which are evidently on the basis of strong wording, draw the attention to the problem in question. The determination to pressurize the politicians and their surrogates to make the right decision, end the Vietnam, is quite evident. The choice of the simple, monotonous structure supports the message. The artist's voice is a bit distant and assertive, which gives the feelings of someone in distress or calling for quick help.

The use of the condescending undertones such as "neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians" and "tight-lipped, condescending, mamas little chauvinists" comprehensively captures the spirit of the youth during the fights for equal rights and the advocacy for the end to the Vietnam War. The youth were willing and at times able to confront those that stood in the way of justice and change. Incessantly, they resorted to unconventional methods such as the use of derogative language in the quest to make themselves heard. Therefore, in the song, john Lennon is the true embodiment of the youth spirit that existed in the 1960s and he early 1970s (Sweeney 1). While it seems like Lennon is attacking or even insulting the ruling class, subtly he is encouraging the common people, or masses to rise up above the hate and confront the misguided policies masterminded by Washington and nay other global powers.

The most remarkable part of the song is neither the beats nor the rhythm, but rather the choice of words that challenged the establishment to follow the path of righteousness, or to abandon the evil acts it instigated in a foreign country, Vietnam. The song opens with the line "I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites," which shows the confrontational nature of Lennon's advocacy. The line gives credence to Martin Luther King's sentiments that the oppressor does not willingly give up freedoms and privileges to the oppressed but rather the oppressed must fight to gain such. The opening line sets the tone for the song by pointing out the level of hypocrisy and oppression instigated by those in authority. The use of the term narrow-minded shows the level of disgust and impatience that Lennon had for the ruling class that mainly used their positions to propagate misguided agenda.

"I am sick to death of seeing things form the tight-lipped, condescending, mamas little chauvinists. All I want is the truth" is a line that encompasses the true tone of the song. Under normal circumstances, particularly during the early years of activism, the government and by extension the citizenry begged for freedoms, rights, and privileges from the oppressors. However, Lennon is alluding to Dr King's sentiments that freedom is taken, not given willingly by the oppressor. In a sense, he is pitting the people against the government since the sense of direction and the moral compass is lost. To revert to the path of righteousness and good governance for all the people need to demand it and stop the unbefitting ideology of merely pampering the politicians whom he saw as the criminal responsible for instigating an unnecessary war. To Lennon, the time for begging the government to end the Vietnam War was long gone, and that meant that he used his talent as an artist to sensitize the public while castigating the political class for their unrealistic and unreasonable endeavor.

"All I want is the truth. Just gimme the truth" is repeated in almost every stanza. A critical look at the song reveals that the line definitely carries the song's message. It is worth noting that most conspiracy theorists believed that the Vietnam War arose due to The United State's provocation of otherwise innocent country. Many believed that Vietnam was merely caught up in ideology wars that it knew nothing about. There was more than met the eye in the war. Many believed that the government deceived its citizens in order to wage war against a helpless, weak nation to benefit a few individuals. Vietnam was the victim of a grand scheme to send a strong warning to other communist states. The belief that the US had no concrete justification or reason to wage war against Vietnam, a country thousands of miles away, prompted the demand for explanation. Therefore, the demand for the truth was a quest by the artist to the government to not only stop the war, but also justify its continued occupation of a sovereign country (van der Hoeven 267). Such a demand was consistent with that of other artists and activists such as the Democratic Society, Abbie Hoffman, Chicago Seven, Youth International Party, and Jerry Rubin at the time.

Seemingly, the politicians or the ruling class had made major blunders that required corrections. The Vietnam War is simply one among the many mistakes that Washington committed at the time (McVeigh et al 1147). Such is evident in the line "I've had enough of the watching scenes of the schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, and the prima-donnas." The line means that the government has committed various atrocities in the past and got away with it, according it the propensity to commit further heinous acts. Lennon is possibly referring to the years of abuse and discrimination supported by some politicians in Washington. The song points at a scenario of chaos and lawlessness disguised by the clever, yet hollow charade of the ruling class. The repetitive nature of the government actions then prompted the artist and other like-minded individuals to take a stand on matter as significant and far reaching as the Vietnam War.

Expertly, and as expected of an artist of John Lennon's caliber, the song had the repetitive line "All I want is the truth, all I want is the truth," which means that he, from the start, had an intended message for the audience that include but not limited to the youth, organizations, and the government. The voice is unpredictably hoarse and far from sonorous at the end to lay emphasizes the gravity or the seriousness of the war in Vietnamese and possibly to proclaim its repercussions not only to the Vietnamese but also to the American soldiers stationed in that country as well. The voice tells of a man in pain and is seriously looking to find the voice of reason that ends the uncalled for suffering that the politicians were subjecting the world to, purely out of greed and selfish gains rather than the common good (Laing & Judith 257). The repetition of the same word in the last stanza is a clever gimmick to call everyone to action, especially the youth, to ensure that they take active role in condemning and standing strongly against the ills in society fuelled by those occupying positions of authority and great privilege.

Conclusion

The 1960s and early 1970s were chaotic in terms of political activities and activism. The fight for equality, racial justice, and advocacy against wars like the Vietnam one took center stage in all aspects of life. The song reflects the times when politicians used their offices for personal, selfish gains. The public response was nothing short of phenomenal, as citizens such John Lennon used whatever platform they got to set the record straight and to come to the rescue those who subject to authoritarian rule. The song is still relevant today since there are millions suffering under authoritative regimes while others are victims of wars that they neither know nothing about nor have little control over. Transparency in governance, as depicted by the line "all I want is the truth" and the title "gimme the truth" bears much relevance today just as it did then. The song is a call for action to liberate individuals, nations, and regions engulfed in the tight grip of oppression, inequality, injustice, dictatorship, and extra-judicial killings. To realize change, everyone must play his or her part.

Works Cited

Beviglia, Jim. "John Lennon, "Working Class Hero" - American Songwriter." American Songwriter. American Songwriter, 02 Sept. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2015.

Felman, Jyl Lynn. "Review Essay: They Had No Voice by Denny Abbott and Working for Peace and Justice by Lawrence S. Wittner." Radical Teacher 98 (2014): 58-61.

Laing, Jennifer, and Judith Mair. "Music festivals and social inclusion-the festival organizers' perspective." Leisure Sciences 37.3 (2015): 252-268.

John Lennon: The Last Interview." Interview by Jonathan Cott. Www.rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2010. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

McVeigh, Rory, David Cunningham, and Justin Farrell. "Political polarization as a social movement outcome: 1960s Klan activism and its enduring impact on political realignment in Southern counties, 1960 to 2000." American sociological review 79.6 (2014): 1144-1171.

Sweeney, Kelley M. Folk-Rock Activists and Their Influence on American Musical Theater. Diss. The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY., 2015.

van der Hoeven, Arno. "Remembering the 1960s: popular music and memory in Europe." International Journal of Cultural Policy 21.3 (2015): 258-272.