(1) A song that was written within the last ten years that reflect peace is the well-known song, “Humble and kind.” This song may be recognized to be performed by country singer Tim Mcgraw, however in

(1)

A song that was written within the last ten years that reflect peace is the well-known song, “Humble and kind.” This song may be recognized to be performed by country singer Tim Mcgraw, however in fact it was written by Lori McKenna who is a mother of five children. Social elements of the song reflect the principles McKenna wanted her children to live by. Music can help bring strong positive feelings towards ethics and peace (Glen and Fort 2018). The song is about how the mother wants her children to live a humble life and always be kindhearted. Lyrics that reflect the writers purpose include in the song lines such as,  “Don't expect a free ride from no one Don't hold a grudge or a chip and here's why Bitterness keeps you from flyin' Always stay humble and kind” 

The social elements of the song reflect how not just the writer’s children but how we should all live within our society. Studying of music incorporates a diversity of values within the lyrics (Pierce 2015). The song talks about helping others, loving each other in society, and not taking anything for granted. Statements such as these directly impact the influence of peaceful thinking on the person who is listening to it. The song may have the instrumental capability to influence the listener to feel the psychological impact of peaceful feelings and thinking. As a society, music such as this song can even influence people to be kind to the people around them which could be a powerful and impactful movement of peace depending on who is listening to the song and is persuaded by the lyrics and message to always stay humble and kind.   

(2)

The song that I have chosen for political conflict is Let’s Go Brandon by Forgiato Blow. I will not list all of the lyrics here, but here is a sample of a few lines:

Sleepy Joe ain't got no support

Hunter Biden better show up to court, yeah

Fake news tryna silence the truth, yeah

We the people tryna save the youth, yeah

I ain't takin' no vaccine

I ain't flyin' Southwest, don't ask me, no

And I ain't wearin' no mask, they nasty

And all you liberals better tryin' harass me

The origin behind the making of Let’s Go Brandon began on an October 2nd NASCAR race where Brandon Brown won his first Xfinity race. A reporter started to interview him when the crowd began chanting “F Joe Biden,” and the reporter suggested that they were saying “Let’s go Brandon.” It was clear from the audio what they were saying and the phrase stuck. There has been a deep political divide on how the president has rolled out vaccine mandates and social media silencing, and music is a double-edged sword used both as a poison to excite hostility and as a potion to foster friendship (O’Connell 2011). Let’s Go Brandon has faced a lot of backlash from the democratic party and has been pulled from iTunes from being purchased, but has received a lot of praise and merchandise for the people that agree with his perspective. Regardless of someone’s political stance, Blow should have the Right of Publicity to advertise his song. Many politicians lean on celebrity endorsements to advocate for future elections, and future presidential candidates will most likely be leaning on Let’s Go Brandon in order to not re-elect Joe Biden for office. Aside from the music itself, a musical celebrity that is connected with a political campaign provides politicians with immediate media attention and fund-raising ability (Schwender 2017). We know that Trump will run in 2024, and I guarantee this song will be playing on his campaign trail. This song has united some and divided others, but as they say in showbiz, any publicity is better than none.

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