The Blues: Between The World And Me

The quick fast tempo of a drum was a manifestation of African heritage in “The Blues; Feels Like Goin’ Home” and in “Between the World and Me” but looks more like a symbol of a used people when played. The style in which Lonnie and Ed Young played the drums was militaristic shown by the slight slanted angle of the drum and rapid beat that was mostly seen in civil war drummers. This relates back to the civil war where both sides used blacks as relief an unarmed roles because they were seen as unfit for combat. “The South refused to arm blacks/ Northern officers refused to believe black troops would fight, and so they were often assigned to non-combat duties”(Cleburne), as the war progressed both sides were desperate for reinforcements. A non-combat duty that was often given or needed was being a drummer boy for the army. Because of the war black boys were being taught how to drum but in a militaristic fashion that seemed to have mixed with their pass culture and a way to form the tempo for blues. When touring chicago there was a common sight of black boys in the streets playing for money with pieced together drum kits, plastic barrels, and whatever was available. The music was rich with multiple beats that would weave together to make a complex motion but also melancholy by nature and circumstances. I thought back to the quote referenced in the video that simple put “American Blues is Suffering” and although I didn’t know or have to ability to understand their situation is seemed like a show of pride that they …show more content…
I had never real thought about how loosely we use the first for example president Obama is always referred to as the first black president. There's a sense of insult to the word in either that black populous could have never installed a president until now or we look to be so integrated and progressive it forms a