The strong beat resonates incessantly. It's like a never-ending headache that only changes with a mood, an arrangement, or an artist. The song's message, itself, is clear, but artists can change its meaning without altering a single lyric. In 1966, Lee Dorsey released a song titled "Working in a Coal Mine". Allen Toussaint wrote the lyrics and music. (Wikipedia-Working in a Coal Mine) The release of the song came at a time when American coal miners were enduring tremendous hardship in the coal mines of West Virginia. While it was not the songwriter's intention to indicate any allegiance to the plight of coal miners, he found a home in many of them. Some would ultimately classify it as an anthem for the miners' cause. The song sprouted branches into other musical genres where R&B's roots ran deep. Specifically, these were Rock and Roll and Country. 80's "New Wave" group, "Devo" (which stands for De-evolution) and female country duo "The Judds" created two of the most memorable performances to date. While gender certainly plays a role in any presentation, gender, or lack thereof, plays an equal role. On the one hand, the "New Wave" seeks androgyny; on the other, country artists aren't afraid to be seductively feminine. Both Devo and Judd's presentations of 'Working in a Coal Mine' clearly demonstrate genre-influenced presentations of this classic R&B hit. “We worked in a coal mine going down and down. Working in a coal mine going down and down; oops, my body slipped down. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WRjgv62Ayc) With mechanical precision, Devo begins a rendition that expresses what would be extremely typical of the 'New Wave' i...... middle of paper .. . ...on the one hand, androgyny can strip meaning and leave the impression of the satirical. On the other hand, traditional femininity can promote, in the mind of a listener, especially a male one, a double meaning, perhaps never imagined in the mind of the original author. Both Devo and Judd's presentations of 'Working in a Coal Mine' demonstrate the influence of the genre in the presentation of this classic R&B hit. While each altered the song very little in substance (many harmonies and fills remained intact from the original), each's unique approach produced completely different results. This shows that a song's message can be clear, but artists can change its meaning without a single revision of the lyrics. For some, this might be a new avenue of exploration, for others just another incessant pace that turns into a never-ending headache..
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