America Wants to Work: A Musical Response
America Wants To Work: A Musical Response (2010), SWC 28 for MIDI Computer *
Job layoff has been at a record high in the last two years. Millions of Americans have faced the loss of their jobs and with very little chance or hope in finding a new one. There is 1 job for every 10 people. This is a very scary thought. How does one pay for their bills, their home, food, and most importantly support their families? The Federal Government has extended Unemployment benefits, but this simply does not cover the cost of living. I myself have been among the percentage of those who lost their jobs.
In the past six months, Congress has allowed the unemployment benefits to expire. This has caused major fear among Americans. Once again, they have allowed it to expire with no resolutions. The United States economic situation is at a horrible situation. Many who have jobs can’t afford to maintain their lives while others who lost their jobs and exhausted their Unemployment benefits have lost their homes and even families.
What angers me the most is how there are people who accuse the unemployed to be lazy and just staying at home and getting “free” money. These benefits come from our taxes. We pay for these benefits, and even when we get these benefits, it is taxed. It is so shocking to see how many people say “They need to just go out and get a job” or “They just are not being motivated to get a job because they are getting the free money.” Do these people stop to think that this money is just about enough to cover maybe rent and food. Most of these people can’t pay off their credit cards and other debit. Why would they just want to sit at home to collect Unemployment benefits when it is more of an advantage to have a good paying job? If one thinks about it critically they can see that this money motivates people to seek jobs. It helps pay for the internet where they can do job searching 24/7, They can have email contact with networks and potential employers, Skype interviews, and most importantly it pays the phone bill where they have direct contact with potential employers. While yes I do agree there are people out there who abuse and take advantage of the system, but why would over 2 million people do that? Most of these people have families and financial responsibilities. It is now time to re-think and see what the United States is about.
The United States is about the working class. If it were not for the working class then the economy would never had moved. The workers of the United States are among a legacy of this country. America Wants To Work is my musical response to this situation. The piece is composed on a Mac computer for MIDI driven synthesized sounds created by Apple’s Logic Pro Software.
The piece starts with an ambient and dark sound, and then drums come in with a March tempo. The introduction of the piece is a direct quote by one of our founding fathers. Benjamin Franklin’s String Quartet is used to express the founding years. Then the first theme enters. This theme is a dark and tragic theme, expressing the job losses and what is occurring in our nation currently. Then a flashback comes with the American Folk tune The Farmer is the Man. This tune reminds us that the backbone of our nation and its economy is the Farmer. He is the one who works all day in the field and bring us food. It is him who the economy starts. The tragic theme re-enters, but a bit different. It has evolved to a larger and more tragic sound expressing the percentage of unemployed has increased. The wonderful American folk song I’ve Been Working on the Railroad enters. This reminds us that the men who build the railroads created the path of the great expansion. They worked hard for this pathway for the workers of this nation to move to the new parts of the land. Doctors, Lawyers, Merchants, Bankers, Entertainers, and all other trade workers moved west to seek out and build this nation’s economy. The tragic theme once again enters. This time It increased with suspense and fear. Many have lost their unemployment benefits and many more to lose it. Many live in the streets and many of the middle class have fallen into poverty. The theme increases with tension and comes to a crash halt. Then a soft melody enters, The Star Spangled Banner.
Alfred Surenyan, DMA
**America Wants To Work: A Musical Response is copyright 2010 by QT Pasha Publishing **