Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Elena del Rio Parra, committee chair; Hector Fernandez L'Hoeste, committee members. Electronic text (55 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Feb. 11, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-55).

Contents: Introduction: "Walking the line" : the Dixie Chicks and the making of country lyricists / Thomas Alan Holmes and Roxanne Harde -- "Nobody Knows but Me" : Jimmie Rodgers and the body politic / Taylor Hagood -- Cindy Walker, Lyle Lovett, and the West / Thomas Alan Holmes -- "Help your brother along the road" : Hank Williams and the humane tradition / Steve Goodson -- JC : Johnny Cash and faith / Thomas Alan Holmes -- Religious doctrine in the mid-1970s to 1980s country music concept albums of Willie Nelson / Blase S. Scarnati -- Grace to catch a falling soul : country, gospel, and evangelical populism in the music of Dottie Rambo / Douglas Harrison -- Loretta Lynn, Appalachian storyteller and autobiographer / Laura Grace Pattillo -- "Branded" man : Merle Haggard's romance of the outlier / Thomas Alan Holmes -- Townes Van Zandt : " Now here's what this story's told" / Pete Falconer and James Zborowski -- Wildness, eschatology, and enclosure in the songs of Townes Van Zandt / Michael B. MacDonald -- "Where it counts I'm real" : the complexities of Dolly Parton's feminist voice / Samantha Christensen -- "Sin City" : Gram Parsons and the "Christ-haunted South" / Clay Motley -- Weeping willows and long black veils : the country roots of Roseanne Cash, from Scotland to Tennessee / June Skinner Sawyers -- "They draft the white trash first 'round here anyway" : Steve Earle's American boys / Roxanne Harde. / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1048/thumbnail.jpg

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 303-334). Also available via World Wide Web.

Mémoire (M.Ling.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2000. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

A content analysis of Leonard Karikoga Zhakata’s sungura music unpacks shared experiences of Zimbabweans during a decade of crises.Various musicians composed music pregnant with cultural meaning. These genres defied the ruling Zanu PF party‘s propaganda. The ZANU P.F. flagged enemy was imperialist history, whose characteristic was bankrupt in civil justice. Common sense ‘umunthu’ (‘Humaness)’ philosophy could have witnessed the ruling party stand by the people at the height of economic decline. This dissertation argued that the sungura genre became a formidable force. The music had dramatic effect of unifying citizens of different distinct cultural traditions, often which set Shona, Manyika, Korekore, Changana and Ndebele apart. ‘Mugove’ ‘(Reward) and ‘Hupenyu mutoro’ (Life is a burden) lyrics manifested thought processes, ideas and actions which projected popular unity against ruling elite hegemony. Zimbabweans’ collective cultural awareness that could have defined social experiences indirectly or directly motivated formations of oppositional political establishments. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was the brainchild of political disillusionment chorused in “Hupenyu Mutoro’ (Life is a burden) and ‘Mugove’ (Reward) lyrics. The musical texts unravelled the hidden sin of gross graft by the powerful built on self aggrandisement at the expense of the vulnerable subalterns. The sungura genre manifested an art of aggressive entertainment and enjoyment yet passively and remotely awakening citizens to the obtaining dire economic hardships. The genre’s scholarly fabric and dynamics, cut deep into life sensibilities as exemplified by ‘Hupenyu Mutoro’. The deplorable life style experienced by the suffering majority epitomised by political repression and economic meltdown became catalyst for political participation and opportunities for plural voices.This dissertation argues that academic curricula harnesses the influential sungura genre in teaching a people’s story. Sungura music authenticates national historical versions that comfortably orbits around official realities of civil governance processes, what Fanon refers to as ‘a zone of occult instability (Fanon, 1963 p. 253). Unemployment, hyper-inflation, cholera out breaks, empty shelves in shops compounded with a ravaging parallel market prices became food for thought. Disllusionment nagged Zimbabweans below and above the poverty datum peg vis a viz the material power index of a handful citizens in the ruling party. Hence Zhakata’s ‘Hupenyu mutoro’ (Life is a burden) and ‘Mugove’ (Reward) became a classical and contested terrain that motivated the teaching and learning of Zimbabwean history. / Communication / M.A. (Communication)

The lyrics of Sammy Cahn played a dominant role in shaping the Golden Age of American light music. He remains the most successful lyricist in cinema history, in terms of Academy Awards and Nominations, yet he has received little acclaim for his achievements. This thesis explores the diverse constituents of his creative genius, focusing on his ability to “romance the vernacular”, and write “bespoke” material on request. The argument follows a chronological path, tracing the major influences on Cahn’s life: vaudeville and musical theatre, the growth of the film industry, and the collaborators and performers who helped him achieve a level of mastery that he sustained for nearly fifty years. Particular emphasis is placed on his relationship with Frank Sinatra, on both a personal and professional level. Cahn had an acute awareness of the human condition and his ability to convey a range of emotions to match mood and moment displayed consummate craft and intellect, with a self-confidence that bordered on bravado. His contemporaries in the Golden Age of popular song have received due recognition, yet little has been written about Cahn, whose appreciation of the interaction between spontaneity and creativity remains unsurpassed by fellow lyricists. He had an intuitive understanding of the vernacular and an instinctive ability to write to order. The imagistic texture of the lyrics coupled with the prosodic intonation demonstrate an intimate correlation between personality and composition which is supported by biographical content. The argument, augmented by an audio-documentary, develops systematically through a study of the lyrics, focusing on the cultural and musicological significance of Cahn’s oeuvre. The material for both the written text and the two accompanying CDs are from personal archives and the Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles, which is the repository for the Sammy Cahn Collection, bequeathed to that institution after the death of Cahn in 1993. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)