Casey Clune

Music in Appalachia

Within chapter four of Williams Appalachia: A History, the topic of music comes to the surface in relationship to the labor struggles that occurred within Appalachia, 1880-1940. A culture rooted in hard work and often times unfairness within the work force, music not only offered a change in the day to day activities of Appalachia but it also provided an outlet for the culture to express itself. Many of the songs that are quoted within the culture, “How Can a Poor Man Stand These Times and Live” for example, indicates a form of expression for the inhabitants of the culture at a time when individuality and expression seemed hard to come by. The use of music as a way of expression is very similar to basically any other culture but cultures in particular that are in desperate need of a voice, such as the influx of musicians and artists during the Harlem Renaissance. Music allows people to escape the treacherous day-to-day activities that life often demands and allows for man to take his free will into his own hands for once and express his life that is separate from the grueling routines of everyday life. The use of song provided an outlet as well as entertainment, and above all, especially in Appalachia from 1880-1940, it provided a voice for the culture in a way that they had never had before.