As explained in the last paragraph of the chapter 4 reading, music brought a sense of longing and nostalgia for a simpler way of life that was becoming far-fetched in Appalachia. Although the industrial era brought positive change to the people in the region, many aspects of this changing time negatively affected the lives of those who had been settled in the region before the Industrialization era. Some examples of instances that poked holes in the “simple” way of live included federal intervention of preserving land and allocation of resources. To the people within the region that felt their lives were coming undone by this change, country and folk music in particular served as a calming reminder of the old way of life.
In more recent history, music has been used as a means to unite one, or multiple, groups of people by sending a message of hope and longing for a better future. Throughout the Civil Rights movement, for example, many songs united and empowered those who were fighting for their equal rights. Examples of such songs during that time included spiritual hymns such as “Kumbaya”, and “Free at Last”, as well as songs by popular artists such as “Alabama” by John Coltrane. Music was particularly important to Civil Rights movement because it placed added emphasis on the social and racial problems that existed in America, but did so in a way that allowed people to process and think about these issues in a non-threatening manner.