do know much about history

Do Know Much About History For centuries, or at least since the 1950s, music and history have been practically inseparable; witness "Suicide is Painless," the theme song to the Korean War documentary "M*A*S*H," "Duke of Earl," about a British Duke of Earl who must have done something important like be Sir Lancelot. And let's not forget about "Henry the Eighth," Herman's Hermits plea for the government to imprison promiscuous divorcees. The Vince College Review will now examine the historical messages contained in songs since the dawn of music: "Heartbreak Hotel" and "You Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley (1956) Elvis Presley was a singer, actor, entertainer and bon vivant - but he was also an unrepentant supporter of European colonialism. The year 1956 saw France give independence to its former protectorates, Morocco and Tunisia, and the world community side with Egypt over a hostile takeover of the Suez Canal by the British and French - which doubtless left The King "All Shook Up." Elvis's rage at European powers relinquishing their long held assets, the pace of which rapidly accelerated following World War II, caused him to grieve publicly in "Heartbreak Hotel." And later in '56, to lash out at what he believed were ungrateful newly-independent nations in "Hound Dog" on which he sang: "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog/crying all the time/well you ain't never caught a rabbit/and you ain't no friend of mine" To Elvis, catching a "rabbit" meant the ability of these former colonies to feed and fend for themselves in the face of famine and communism and "you ain't no friend of mine" is a not-too-subtle wink at U.S. policy makers, who Elvis believed should refuse to recognize the former possessions of Europe. "They're just givin' away the store, man" Elvis was heard to remark at a Pittsburgh performance with his trademark sideways sneer and a shake of the hips. Later Elvis would record "It's Now or Never," urging the U.S. to strike first in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg (Sweet Darlin')" by The Temptations (1966) The Temptations weren't "too proud to beg" for anything - including a long sought-after invitation from Ho Chi Minh to relocate to North Vietnam so they could help him achieve their shared dream of a united Communist nation in Southeast Asia. Protected from investigation or public discovery because FBI agents were forbidden from listening to music produced by blacks, The Temptations spent the latter half of the 1960s urging the U.S. forces to surrender in South Vietnam. The five youths went so far as to engage in a letter-writing campaign to President Lyndon Johnson asking to renounce their U.S. citizenship and demanding a Navy plane fly them to their "homeland paradise" in Hanoi to produce North Vietnamese propaganda. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," which many U.S. listeners at the time interpreted as a plea to a departing girlfriend, was addressed directly to Ho, who had stopped responding to telegrams from the group and the singers feared he had abandoned them: If I have to sleep on your doorstep all night and day just to keep you from walkin' away let your friends laugh, even this I can stand cause I want to keep you any way I can The "doorstep" they spoke of was the entrance to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C. (the "friends") where the troubled quintet spent many nights, demanding embassy officials arrange transportation to the Far East, apparently unaware of the antipathy the Soviets held for their fellow communists. Lucky fans passing by were often surprised to find the group there singing such hits as "My Girl," about legendary traveling-companion Carol Ann Fugate and "Get Ready," written originally to encourage West Berliners to prepare for their glorious subjugation by the communist East. "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Despite being routinely used as a rallying cry against violence and harsh government oppression of anti-war demonstrators, "Ohio" was written after the shaggy foursome met personally with President Richard Nixon in 1970 and agreed that the shooting had not gone far enough. The group was instantly taken with Nixon's "irresistible charm"1 with David Crosby going so far as to remark that the death of four unarmed students at the hands of National Guardsman at Kent State University was "a solid start in what will be a long war against anti-Americanism and baggy clothing." They penned "Ohio" that night. Gotta get down to it Soldiers are cutting us down Was written originally with quotation marks around it, so as to portray the worrisome remark as coming from the protesting students - in fact, during the performance, the four singers would deliver this lyric in a high-pitched "baby" voice while pretending to rub tears from their eyes and holding up prop rattles and diapers to indicate that the students were whining, unreasonable children. Should have been done long ago. Was the triumphant declaration by the group that the shooting was long delayed and should have begun during the protests of the Civil Rights movement. What if you knew her And found her dead on the ground How can you run when you know? The "her" in the lyric is not a reference to one of the slain female student protestors, according to Steven Stills, but to rather to "Lady Liberty" who had been "knocked to the ground by hippie thugs." And the question regarding running is meant as a criticism lodged by the group against National Guardsmen, who fell back rather than continue shooting students. When queried in 1988 about this political turn-about, Graham Nash noted that the members of the group had no memory of this period due to heavy drug use but recalled the Richard Nixon was "a very compelling and handsome man." 1 Citation: Warren Beatty