Music During The Great Depression

My central question is “How did the Great Depression affect music?” I am interested in this time period of music because music expresses the emotions of the struggle of the economic and emotional depression of the 1930’s along with the desire for hope and love. The emotional depth and feeling of this period of music is what drew me into researching the topic.

After the stock market crash in 1929, economics and social morale plummeted, leaving many in a state of desperation. Suicide rates rose, more people starved or were malnourished, many men abandoned their wives, and birth rates dropped significantly. Many people also left places around Oklahoma and Arkansas affected by the Dust Bowl and other rural areas in hopes of finding better opportunities. This desperation led people to looking for hope in music and a way to express their feelings.

Up until this time, people had a hard time putting what they felt into words. When this song came out, it was overwhelmingly popular. “Brother Can You Spare a Dime” talks about how a man was a hard worker his whole life and expected success to follow but instead he found himself in poverty and asking if anyone has a dime to spare.

The song “If I Ever Get a Job Again” by Dick Robertson shows the regret people had about not being frugal enough with their money and how they wish to be employed again. The lyrics in the song also mention how the man does not want to invest in stocks and bonds anymore but instead spend his money elsewhere which was a common feelings amongst Americans at the time showing a distrust in the economy.

"I've Got a Right To Sing The Blues" is written in the blues style which focused on the sorrows of life whether it be with heartbreaks from past love or the difficulties of the depression. This song particularly focuses on heartbreak.

The song “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries” sung by Judy Garland in 1931 takes a lighter approach to offer hope in the depression. The lyrics focus on not stressing so much because life happens and hard times will happen but you have to go with it and it’s better not to worry about it.

"In The Big Rock Candy Mountain" talks about a land where problems are gone, there is no struggle, and resources are plentiful. The lyrics talk about how a man is going to this land that is a made up fairytale leaving all of his troubles behind.

"Over The Rainbow" is also a song that focuses on that in another land, life is better than the trials of the current place. In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, a farm girl, sings this song showing the struggles of farmers in the time.

The shift from music in the 1920’s about partying and money to the music of the 1930’s about struggle and the lack of money was a major shock. The Great Depression however, was not the only time struggle was sung about. Throughout history, songs of struggle have come from Native Americans, slaves, immigrants, Japanese people in internment camps, people in poverty, and many more. Even though the Great Depression had a heightened amount of songs expressing struggle due to the depression affecting the majority of Americans, this type of music was not a new idea.