Blogs
Redemption in Music
First verse of Seven-Cent Cotton and Forty-Cent MeatI found the moving campsite culture described in chapter 17 extremely intriguing because of the camaraderie amongst strangers. It seemed as though because people were in such dire circumstances, they were forming bonds with other drifters. Everyone in the camps, including the children, had a sense of responsibility for the community. Steinbeck drew an image of the unofficial laws, consequences, and lifestyles of the moving campsites that depicted a community seemingly better than most (minus the economic factor). Everyone shared, cared, and did their part- most likely much more than they would otherwise. The chapter closed with a man playing guitar for the campsite allowing the travelers to unite and rest their worries.
Music has a way of uniting even the most unlikely people. The travelers all listen to the man playing guitar and it is as if their worries are one, and these troubles are somehow forgotten for the moment as the music takes its place. As Steve Pond, a professor at Cornell states, “there’s a sense that the musician has a special way about him, a way of crystallizing in words and music those shared worries, hardships, and hopes of everyone in the camp. There’s something redemptive in singing about hard times. If you can still sing about them, they haven’t conquered you yet. And the dual facts that everyone knows the words and that they join in a collective meditation on those shared hard times have a way of joining the camp together (however briefly), of catalyzing a bond among people who share life’s struggle.” As I researched the music the guitar picker in The Grapes of Wrath played, I came across a series of posts by Steve Pond regarding the music of The Grapes of Wrath.
In Pond’s research, he found the song sung by the campers, “Ten-Cent Cotton and Forty-Cent Meat”, by a similar title. “Seven-Cent Cotton and Forty-Cent Meat” attributed to Bob Miller in 1930, portrays the unfortunate plight of the Great Depression. The song ends with these lyrics:
“Seven cent cotton and forty cent meat How in the world can a poor man eat Poor getting poorer all around here Kids coming regular every year Fatter our hogs, take 'em to town All we get is six cents a pound Very next day we have to buy it back Forty cents a pound in a paper sack”
Another famous song of the Great Depression was “Brother Can You Spare A Dime”:
“They used to tell me I was building a dream And so I followed the mob When there was earth to plow or guns to bear I was always their right on the job They used to tell me I was building a dream With peace and glory ahead Why should I be standing in line Just waiting for bread?”
Music was an escape for many of the people suffering from the Great Depression. As Pond described, music had a redemptive quality allowing the singer to conquer their worries momentarily. Even the actual act of singing gave the travelers something else to focus their attention on in times where their conditions consumed them. Music was not only a way to forget, but also a way to reminisce, look forward to better times, and build camaraderie.
A cover of "Seven-Cent Cotton and Forty-Cent Meat"
"Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" with images of The Great Depression
I'm very glad you chose to
I'm very glad you chose to discuss music as a uniting force. It always has been and it seems as though it always will. Thank you also for posting the youtube videos. What I think is more interesting, on top of the music, is the comraderie and unification between people in similar situation. People who have nothing tend to be more open and helpful and selfless. While people who would be considered well off or "the haves" are less likely to form comraderie with others, because they feel completely self sufficient and do not need others.
I also love the idea of music a mood and morale booster in the time. Music historically seems to have always played the same role with unifying a group and creating more positive attitudes. Music most likely motivated all of these migrant workers to keep their spirits high. It also likely inspired faith in something bigger than themselves, allowing them to believe that the times would get better.
Music as a lullaby
I'm glad that someone wrote about the music in the encampments along the side of the road. When I read chapter 17, I began to consider the character of the guitarist as a man able to stop time. His music, however good or bad, was a lullaby to the people living with him, lulling them to sleep, lulling them to drift off to a world of escape. He is a beacon of hope, and strengthens peoples wills that my shake from day to day. I almost want to compare him to a Siren (minus the sexual aspect), as the crowd is intrinsically drawn to him, and his music soothes the pain and exhaustion of a long day of travel: "And now the group was welded to one thing, on unit, so that the dark eyes of the people were inward, and their minds played in other times, and their sadness was like rest, like sleep" (Steinbeck, 199).