VOA慢速英语2011--American Folk Music, Traditional to 'Fre

THIS IS AMERICA - American Folk Music, Traditional to 'Freak'
今日美国 - 美国民间音乐
BARBARA KLEIN: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein. This week on our program, we explore American folk music, the music of the people.
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"Good Night Irene," is an example of a traditional folk song. That means the song is so old, no one really knows who wrote it.
Huddie Ledbetter, the singer and guitarist known as Ledbelly, first recorded "Good Night Irene" in nineteen thirty-two. Since then more than a hundred other versions have been recorded. "Good Night Irene," was a huge hit for the Weavers² in nineteen fifty.
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Folk music researcher Bob Carlin notes the historic³ importance of protest songs. They help give voice to cultural and social movements, he says.
One of the members of the Weavers was Pete Seeger. He was among those who popularized folk music in the nineteen forties. Later, he wrote some of the best known songs of the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protests of the sixties.
Pete Seeger could be called the King of the Protest Song, in the words of folk musician Tony Trischka. Yet his greatest influence may have come from popularizing a song that he himself did not write. "We Shall Overcome" came from a Negro spiritual.
As Tony Trischka points out, the original version was called "We Will Overcome." Pete Seeger thought "shall" sounded better. And he made other changes, like adding the verse⁴ "we are not afraid" to offer support for the protests taking place across the country.
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"We Shall Overcome," became the theme song of the American civil rights movement.
Folk songs sometimes tell stories about real events. An example is the story of a young man whose last name was spelled D-U-L-A but pronounced "Dooley."
Tom Dula was a Civil War veteran in North Carolina. He was tried and found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Laura Foster⁵. He was hanged in eighteen sixty-eight, yet the case left many questions.
The story was retold in poems and songs -- including the hit song, "Tom Dooley," recorded in nineteen fifty-eight by the Kingston Trio.
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Folk singer and songwriter Amy Speace says the history of American folk music can be imagined as a tree with many branches. At the center, she says, is Woody Guthrie.
Woody Guthrie wrote almost three thousand songs. But he only recorded about three hundred of them. His granddaughter Anna Canoni says that was partly because he did not have enough money to record more. He made only one record with a major record company.
Yet for all his influence, millions of Americans today remember him for just one song, which children learn in school.
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The song, "This Land Is Your Land," seems like the perfect expression of pride in country. What many people do not know is that it was meant sarcastically⁶, as just the opposite. Woody Guthrie wrote it in nineteen forty in reaction to Irving Berlin's popular song, "God Bless America." 
In fact, Woody Guthrie first called his song, "God Blessed America for Me." It was meant as a protest song against private property and the unequal treatment of citizens.
This meaning is made clear later in the song, in the parts that most children never learn in school:
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Another verse talks about seeing hungry people standing⁷ in line for public aid at the relief office. Woody Guthrie was a voice for labor⁸ unions and striking⁹ workers and families beaten down by the Great Depression in the nineteen thirties.
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In the nineteen sixties, folk singers like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan protested the Vietnam War. Bob Dylan's, "Blowin’ in the Wind," became a big hit for the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary in nineteen sixty-three.
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Singer and songwriter Amy Speace says there are still protest songs being written. She points to the examples of Steve Earle and Neil Young as well as what she calls more contemporary folkies.
That would include herself, a child of the eighties. Amy Speace describes one of her songs as a protest song, but more of a story with the protest quietly built into it. The story is about a girl whose brother is a soldier who gets killed in a desert war.
The song is called, "The Weight of the World."
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A new kind of folk music mixes elements of traditional folk and rock with mostly acoustic¹⁰ instruments. Some call it "freak folk." Others hate that name.
Whatever you call it, one artist often used as an example is the singer, songwriter and harp¹¹ player Joanna Newsom. This song is called, "Sprout¹² and the Bean."
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Some people probably think of a folk singer as a fossil¹³ from the nineteen sixties. A long-haired, guitar-playing idealist who sings about bringing the world together.
But these days, with music production software, digital video and social networks all easily available, folk artists really can bring the world together.
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Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Caty Weaver¹. I'm Barbara Klein. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 weavers   

织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽，技术熟练的纺织者，制陶者和银匠而著名。
• They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。

3 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

4 verse   

n.诗，韵文，诗行

参考例句：

• He is good at verse.他善于作诗。
• His book was in parts written in verse.他的书有许多地方是用韵文写的。

5 foster   

vt.收养，培养，促进；adj.收养的，收养孩子的

参考例句：

• Nowadays young couple sometimes foster.现今年轻夫妇有时领养别人的孩子。
• The captain did his best to foster a sense of unity among the new recruits.队长尽力培养新成员之间的团结精神。

6 sarcastically   

adv.挖苦地，讽刺地

参考例句：

• 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
• Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她，讽刺地鞠了一躬。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 striking   

adj.显著的，惹人注目的，容貌出众的

参考例句：

• There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
• What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。

10 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

11 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

12 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

13 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。