Sociolingüística

The power of lyrics in music

Rafael Bueno Rodríguez *
UAM-A

Abstract Music, to some extent, has certain influence in the way we shape our thoughts. From the point of view of sociolinguistics, some language features can be observed and analyzed in the structure of lyrics to explain why music can become so popular and musicians are recognized worldwide due to the handling of words. Features of language such as code-switching, domain, bilingualism or language choice can be observed and allow us to state that lyrics in music are intended to reach specific speech communities and to create social links that can modify particular social contexts in specific epochs of time.

Keywords Bilingualism, Immigration, Language choice, Code-switching.

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Introduction

The purpose of this paper will be the identification of some social functions of a sociolinguistic phenomenon such as code switching, as well as some of the functions of language related to the communication model developed by Jakobson in the early 70’s, in a song written by Molotov in 2003 called “Frijolero”. The interest in doing so emerges from the particular features that this band has and the bilingualism they use. Classified as representative of hip hop music in Mexico, Molotov is integrated by bilingual speakers of English and Spanish and it seams they take advantage of this to reach bigger audiences and to reflect and foster a critical position regarding social, political, and cultural issues of the context of the Mexican-American relationships.

The paper will be divided into four small parts, which would try to account for the social and communicative functions that, from my point of view, this music band attempts to reach through the particular language used in this song. First, in a historic framework I will make a resemblance of the origins of Molotov, to settle the context where they emerged and how they were formed. Tis is to understand how different social status and backgrounds directly affect the kind of lyrics they sing in this particular song. Second, I will try to show how bilingualism can be used as a tool to reach bigger audiences in music for communicative purposes. In the third part I will establish the possibility of creating a new domain through the management of some linguistic resources such as code-switching, and finally I will relate the song “frijolero” to particular functions of language that it fulfills, according to the Jakobson’s functions of language.

I

Music can never be forced to be accepted and liked by specific social groups in any society. One chooses to listen to a determined kind of music for a variety of reasons, namely, rhythm, gender, language, singers, or lyrics. The later, in my opinion, is the most powerful of all since it is through this means that a singer or a band is able to express his feelings, political position, social concerns; attitudes towards life, love, or any socially constructed issue, though rhythm is very important too. It is true that many people listens to music only because of the rhythm which makes them feel good without even consider what the singer is saying. We all have heard the nonsense things said in some songs, but with a good and sticky rhythm, and they are big shots in the music market.

It is also true that lyrics have been the cause of tragedies in the music world. Artists have been killed due to the explicitness of their songs by means of which they have expressed their rejection mainly to social and political policies; for instance, Bob Marley who launched ferocious critics to the government system was “mysteriously” ended.

Although nowadays everybody is supposed to be free to express whatever thoughts they want through music or other art expressions, the reality tells us a different story and this is the case of the music band called Molotov. They are a group of Mexican musicians which emerged in 1997. Molotov’s first album showed an unusual portrait that, from the very beginning was “offensive” to a moralist society which tries to hide social problems by all means. Regarding the lyrics, they were too, the first Mexican band who dared to include very strong words and phrases for Mexican society such as: puto and chinga tu madre”. Due to this “attempt to Mexican values” their first disc (cd) was immediately banned from all music stores.

But it all went wrong for Mexican authorities who caused even more curiosity and propaganda to their music. The members of the band started to do an unusual selling work by selling their music themselves outside the stores, subway stations, informal music markets (chopo), and hand to hand promotion. After this failure on the authorities’ part, Molotov is recognized in many countries around the world and nowadays it is possible to listen to their music in radio stations from different countries like Germany, Spain, Belgium, Argentina, Peru, among others, but not in the Mexican ones.

So, this was the beginning of a successful career worldwide since Molotov have played and sold their music massively in many countries. The group is formed by four members, and one of them is American. This is why this band includes bilingualism in their compositions, and inevitably code-switching plays an important role in many of their songs.

Here lies the interest of the present paper. Linguistically speaking, I will try to explain why by using such an interesting linguistic resource in music, Molotov has reached many audiences around the globe, and have been able to “create” their own Mexican audience to communicate their thoughts, critics, sarcasm and irreverence towards some cultural, political, and social issues that have been addressed historically concerning to Mexico only, and some other issues related to the mexican-american relationships.

It would be impossible to talk about all their songs, besides; it is not the goal here. I chose a particular song called Frijolero which states some of the problems that the two counties have faced long time ago. That is the case of: immigration, drug trafficking, and many problems that Mexican immigrants suffer when trying to cross the Mexican-American border.

II

As it has been said and demonstrated by sociolinguists and members from other disciplines, related to social studies, sociolinguistics deals, not only with language itself, but with the social factors surrounding language. In this way it is evident that the language (lyrics) used in music has an effect on the listeners, and can provoke different reactions –for good or bad–, and for that reason it is susceptible  to be considered as an object of study.

It is undeniable the fact that language, in a way, shows how social groups change and, moreover, how society is evolving constantly. It is evident that the language used by new generations is different from the one used by the previous ones. Besides, now it is more likely to listen to youngsters talking freely, using bad words in public places where not only young people gather, but people of different ages (public transport, supermarkets, movie theaters, etc.). Some of us would think twice before saying such thing loudly in those places. In this regard, it is accurate to say that lyrics in music, as a way to communicate have included part of that current vocabulary in order to reach specific audiences. As Mafesoli (2004) puts it: “it is possible to say that, according to the epochs, a determined kind of sensibility dominates: a style that specifies the relationships we establish with others” (my translation). It is to say that, people is getting used to listen many expressions that could be not so suitable, or even offensive, so frequently that sensibility towards them loosens.

When talking about the music market, it is supposed that composers write their lyrics to reach certain audiences; the success in doing so lies on how to manage the “linguistic market” 1 . So it is suitable to say that Molotov have a linguistic market that has given a price to their work and consequently, has made them successful in the music market. The same author, (Bourdieu, 1990) argues: “the art of speaking, of speaking well, of making language figures, of manipulating language, of dominating language, is not worth it without the art of using language at the right time…To hit the target in order to make words suitable, to make them profitable, to make words produce the desired effect, it is not enough to say the grammatically correct words only, but those words that are socially accepted” (my translation)

Having in mind all these ideas, it is the moment to talk about bilingualism in the particular song chosen for this essay, but first I will draw the concept of bilingualism established by Halliday (2007) written in his essay called the users and uses of language (1964). He says: “situations in which one language community impinges on another have been called “language contact” situations. Such situations are characterized by varying degrees of bilingualism. Bilingualism is recognized wherever a native speaker of one language makes use of a second language, however partially or imperfectly.”

This citation fits well here to the extent that it is not the goal of this essay to explain why Molotov uses an American-like way of speaking Spanish (as Mexicans make fun of it particularly when producing the sound “r”), but to describe the role of bilingualism and, further on, some observable functions of language.

If bilingualism is considered as a plus in communication with different cultures, settings, and linguistic markets, then it makes sense the fact that “frijolero” has been one of the most criticized and successful songs around the world where English is spoken, using phrases in the chorus like:

Don’t call me gringo
You fuckin beaner
Stay on your side of the goddamn river
Don’t call me gringo you beaner…

It is more likely for people of countries in Europe and Africa (where Molotov have played and their cd. has been sold by numbers) to understand these phrases, than to get the meaning of those written in Spanish because of the fact that English nowadays is the second most spoken language in the world. Moreover, through statements like these it is possible for the people who have listened to the song, to have an idea of one of the biggest problems faced by the two countries, that is, mexican migration to the U.S.

Furthermore, there are phrases which make us recall historical and ancient passages of the mexican-american conflicts when the Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Ana sold a huge amount of the mexican territory between 1845-1846:

Les seguirías diciendo good for nothing wetback?
Si tuvieras tú que empezar de cero
Now why don’t you look down
To where your feet are planted
That U.S. soil that makes you take shit for granted
If not for Santa Ana, just to let you know
That where your feet are planted would be Mexico
Correcto!
Note: To see the complete lyrics go to the appendix at the end of the paper

As we know, the problem of immigration to the U.S. has been present for many years and it seems to be growing regardless the actions taken by the U.S. government.

Another effect caused by the lyrics of “frijolero”, in this aspect, is the identification of the thousands of Mexican people who have tried to cross the border, and have suffered from mistreats and discrimination from some employers, as well as from border patrol officers.

In a way, I dare to say that the specific language used in this song along with bilingualism, tries to convey a nationalistic sense of sympathy and solidarity for those who have suffered immigration in their flesh, as well as for those who are against such aggressive measures against Mexican immigrants. Paraphrasing Fishman (1972), certain styles within every language indicate different degrees of informality, intimacy, equality, and –I would add– solidarity. And finally, as this author says: “The implication of topical regulation of language choice is that certain topics are somehow handled better in one language than in other in particular multilingual settings.” It works better to talk about a mexican-american issue when using the languages of both counties.

III

All languages’ primary goal is to communicate needs, ideas, and emotions to one another. Language is used by human beings inserted in social contexts. It is proven that a child in isolation do not produce language. Interaction between human beings enables individuals to produce language. Language, then, is a social construct that is evolving and is being re-constructed through time. Interactions among humans, allow us, as members of a determined speech community, to learn different strategies of communication, to perform diverse speeches within different groups or settings, or even different styles within the same groups; they help us to identify social roles that are put into play according to the variety of domains we are in contact with as part of that speech community. “The domains of language behavior may differ form setting to setting not only in terms of number and designation but also in terms of level.” (Fishman, 1972)

The domain establishes particular ways of using language as Fishman (1972) defines it: “Domain is a socio-cultural construct abstracted from topics of communication, relationships between communicators, and locales of communication, in accord with the institutions of a society and the spheres of activity of culture, in such a way that individual behavior and social patterns can be distinguished from each other and yet related to each other. The domain is a higher order of abstraction or summarization which is arrived at from a consideration of the socio-cultural patterning which surrounds language choice.”

To talk about domains in music seems quite difficult since everyone (with the necessary resources) can get the music he/she wants in view of the fact that music is considered universal. Fishman numbers a variety of domains such as family, school, street, the church, the military, the press and literature; he does not mention anything related to music, but I would say that music can be written (in symbols) and the lyrics can tell about anything; even more, there are some musicians who have taken poems, legends, or extracts of novels from remarkable writers and have made them songs. In this regard, it could be said that lyrics in music can be taken as a part of literature and then they could be taken as another domain. I am not saying that the music of Molotov and specifically the song under analysis here (“frijolero”) could reach the category of a piece of literature; what I am trying to state is that the specific language choice it manages is intended to be accepted and valuated by a certain speech community, or, as Bourdieu said before, linguistic market, in Mexico, say, young and middle aged people.

What allowed “frijolero” to be accepted among these singular settings was the new language used in it. Through using those specific bad words (previously mentioned), and secondly throughout the current rhythms that young people feel identify with, Molotov created a whole new speech community while questioning the supposedly free of speech that al Mexicans are free to perform, in other words, by making reference to an everyday problem in the Mexican border and to the perception that some Americans have about immigrants, Molotov conveyed a feeling of nationalism, sympathy, and solidarity towards those who have lived this problem or have had a close relative or friend who has lived it.

Code-switching in this song is not a signal of low proficiency in one language or another as it had been thought by some linguists about this linguistic phenomenon. Code-switching here, as I see it, is used as a means of protesting against the actions taken to avoid immigration to the U.S. It is just the evidence of a natural interaction among the languages of the members of Molotov trying to take advantage of this resource.

IV

It is now the time to identify some language functions that support the previous idea of the conveyance of feelings of solidarity, sympathy and nationalism. In order to identify some functions of language established by Jakobson, it would be necessary, first, to start relating the elements of his model of communication to the elements implies in the whole process of creation of a song as a means of communication.

1. Context: Immigration of Mexicans to the U.S.
2. Message: Respect Mexican workers
3. Sender: Molotov
4. Receiver: Young and middle aged people
5. Channel: song “frijolero”
6. Code: English and Spanish languages

Some functions that can be observed here are going to be taken from an interpretation made by the French Philosopher Pierre Guiraud (2002) which I will translate from his book Semiology edited in Spanish.

1. The referential function, according to Guiraud “Is the basis of every communication. It defines the relation between the message and the object to which the message refers to.” Transporting this definition to the song, it refer to the song itself transmitting ideas and emotions through this specific way.

2. The emotive function, “Defines the relations between the message and the sender.” Molotov is integrated by members of two different backgrounds, so we can understand that both cultures have a role to play and an opinion to express about the topic that the song deals with. It can be said that both parts are using this means as a way to express their concern about the growing problem at the border. As Guiraud puts it: “When we communicate –by means of speaking or in any other way– we express ideas related to the nature of the context (that is to say, the referential function) but we also can express our attitudes towards the object: good or bad, nice or ugly, desirable or undesirable, respectable or ridiculous.”
3. The conative function, “defines the relation between the message and the receiver, considering that every communication’s goal is to obtain a reaction of the later.” Te observable immediate reaction of the receivers of Molotov’s music was to applaud the band’s courage to overcome sensorship at the beginning of their career, and later on, about the song “frijolero” the audience started to be aware of the problem that some of them did not care about before. Solidarity towards the band can be observed in the many fans that every day download the song and make comments about mexican-american situation in the border.

Conclusions

Language, no matter how it is used can be a powerful tool to construct social links, re-construct broken relationships, separate countries and also unify them. Lyrics in music fulfill a specific purpose that is different for every composer, and they have the power also to create new discourses intended to develop new ways of thinking about specific issues. Music can be used to address particular speech communities and contribute to their unification or even to create new ways of speaking. Bilingualism in music opens a whole new dimension for artist to project themselves to other countries and linguistic markets because it is a strong resource that can break distance barriers, and communicate social and cultural features about a specific country and in this way make people aware about problematic issues, and in some cases, possible solutions.

Apendix

Frijolero

Yo ya estoy hasta la madre
de que me pongan sombrero
escucha entonces cuando digo
no me llames frijolero.
Y aunque exista algún respeto
y no metamos las narices
nunca inflamos la moneda
haciendo guerra a otros pases.
Te pagamos con petróleo
e intereses nuestra deuda
mientras tanto no sabemos
quien se queda con la feria.
Aunque nos hagan la fama
de que somos vendedores
de la droga que sembramos
ustedes son consumidores.
Don't call me gringo,
You fuckin beaner
stay on your side
of that goddamn river
don't call me gringo,
You beaner.
No me digas beaner,
Mr. Puñetero
Te sacar un susto
por racista y culero.
No me llames frijolero,
Pinche gringo puñetero.
Now I wish I had a dime
for every single time
I've gotten stared down
For being in the wrong side of town.
And a rich man I'd be
if I had that kind of chips
lately I wanna smack the mouths
of these racists.
Podrás imaginarte desde afuera,
ser un Mexicano cruzando la frontera,
pensando en tu familia mientras que pasas,
dejando todo lo que conoces atrás.
Si tuvieras t que esquivar las balas
de unos cuantos gringos rancheros
Las seguirías diciendo good for nothing wetback?
si tuvieras tú que empezar de cero.
Now why don't you look down
to where your feet is planted
That U.S. soil that makes you take shit for granted
If not for Santa Ana, just to let you know
That where your feet are planted would be Mexico
Correcto!

References

Bourdieu, Pierre. (1990) Sociología y cultura: México D.F.: Grijalbo

Fishman J. A. (1972). Language in sociocultural change: USA: Stanford University Press

Guiraud, Pierre. (2002).  La semiología:México: Siglo XXI

Halliday, M. A. K. (2007). Language and society:London England: Continuum press

Mafesoli, Michel. (2004). El tiempo de las tribus: México: Siglo XXI

 

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* Rafael Bueno Rodríguez: .

1 As Pierre bourdieu describes it in his book called Sociology and culture, “There is a linguistic market every time someone produces a discourse directed to receptors capable of evaluate it, appreciate it, and give it a price” (My transtalion).