Thanks to: www.soulofrocknroll.com Submitted by D.A.N. on Thu, 02/15/2007 – 00:00 in

Well, if you are travelin ‘ in the north country fair, Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline, Remember me to one who lives there. She once was a true love of mine.Well, if you go when the snowflakes hurricane, When the streams freeze and summer ends, Please see whether she’s wearing a coat so warm, To keep her from the howlin ‘ winds. Please see for me if her hair hangs long, If it rolls and flows all down her breast. Please see for me if her hair hangs long, That’s the way That I remember her best. I’m a-wonderin ‘ if she recalls me in any way. Many times I have regularly prayed In the darkness of my night, In the brightness of my day. So if you are travelin ‘ in the north country fair, Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline, Remember me to one who lives there.  She once was a true love of mine. – Lyrics of “Girl from the North Country” by Bob Dylan.

These words were penned in the early 1960s by a young but world weary Bob Dylan. The tune appeared on the now infamous “Freeweheelin’” album of 1963. An easy song consisting of nothing more than a finger picked guitar, ragged vocals and occasional bits of harmonica.

I am a enormous fan of all of Bob Dylan’s music, the folks, rock and roll, country and blues, but this song remains one of my convincing faves. Not sufficiently old to have heard Dylan sing in the 60s, the “freewheelin’” album was my first experience with his music and with real folk music the likes of Woodie Guthrie, Leadbelly and Alan Lomax. When I first hear the album I was certain that Dylan was a wanderer about the age of 50 or 60 who had more experience than I could ever have, not the twenty something year old he was when he recorded it. It had a providence and weariness that I thought must have come from age, but I learned it was less about age and more about experience and truth. These words are so starkly honest as they tell a story of lost love, remembrance and unhappiness, that it becomes awfully hard not to relate or at the very least understand where Dylan was coming from. They read like a direct window to the soul so honest and legitimate in nature they’re hauntingly real.

The works of Guthrie, Leadbelly, Lomax and other folk artists also share this genuineness. They’re the songs of regular, fair people, singing what they like and what they suspect. This genuineness had an amazing impact on me and my view of society, music, culture, distinctiveness and life. Image in Society With the increased commercialization of music, it was inescapable that the music industry and certain artists would become more curious about maximizing their profit and money making capacities. We have formulas on how to be a successful pop star, groups designed with a particular image and artist image overtaking the soul of the artist.

This produced form of music lacks something very urgent to the soul of the music : authenticity, and has replaced it with an image designed to make money. Even folk music has gotten an overhaul to help it reach the biggest possible audience. Infrequently these production and selling images are totally harmless, the talent and soul of the artist showing through, but other times These images exist outside the music biz as well . In a society that appears increasingly driven by cash and greediness, there seems to be a rising number of dishonorable, depraved cheats, liars and shady characters pervading our humdrum lives. This makes it tough to believe that any person is being genuine or perhaps be honest ourselves for fear of being hurt . Instead we create an image, a rep, a legend per say, that exists in society along with us. This image dictates how we act and how we treat people but is not the real world.

We employ it to hide who we really are for fear of disrespect, being hurt, being exploited or being outcast. Other times we use a express image and projection to get what we need, assuming a persona or personality as we know that it will allow us to achieve what we desire. It is maybe not possible to completely get rid of these pictures from our lives as there’ll always be occasions where we will slip into a certain public image either accidentally or on purpose.

The issue exists when these images overtake our lives, fully eliminating genuineness and honesty, leading to paranoia and undermining trust. When we become conscious of image in society and why they’re used, it is simple to become paranoid and suspicious about others. We begin to query other individual’s motives, whether they are using a public image to hide their feelings for fear of being hurt, or with the intention of manipulating us. This makes it more difficult to trust, leading to bitterness and hatred. This is a major problem in modern society. I have even been charged with using the picture of a fair person for private gain. I insist that I’m just being myself (and I really am, no side motive, not even money, the proof now being that I am poor) and that appears to just increase the sentiment that I must be lying because “no one can be that fair all of the time, everybody has an agenda.” I am still fair with these people, they just choose not to believe it. When we do not trust people, of course they’re going to have an agenda and be out to break us because that is all we are open to believe, and in turn is all we will see. As a society we need something authentic to assure us that people can be honest, not everyone is out to injure us, and we don’t need to put on airs to get what we need out of life.

If we are unable to be honest, why should we are expecting people to be? Why We Need Folk music In Contemporary Society The wide reach and influence of music makes it the ideal media to implant any sort of social change. Music was the guiding force behind the hallucinogenic movement of the late 60s, and has for a considerable time been interwoven with social causes and social changes. I think that music is a direct link to the soul when done correctly, and so by letting artists bare their soul, we will connect with them on a particularly private level. This allows us to relate to them, understand a little bit about where they are coming from, why they suspect the way in which they do and in turn get even more empathetic. This then interprets into our actions with others.

When we see an artist being totally truthful, bearing their soul and being legitimate, it shows us that we will do this too and still be accepted by our peers. It does not always have to be through folk music, but can include any category so long as the validity and realism that’s so common in folk music is included. Blues is another extraordinarily truthful brand and other genres can be too depending on the artist.

Providence in all genres in music can help to break down these fake photographs and personae encouraging folks to trust each other again. Empathy, truth and veracity are only ways that we can create a better society, and have peace. This is not a cure all, that’s for sure, but perhaps recollecting and appreciating the simpleness and honesty of hippy music can help us recover the authenticity that appears to elude us in the modern world.

The post Modern eara has left a great yearning for “the authentic”. The new Greenism, local food, the rise of festival culture, a search for fire and the hearthside? As a great man said; I never heard a horse sing. So I am happy we continue to need to share a song “A wailing tune, a good guitar, the only thing that I understand” Kingston Trio