Does NWA qualify as a band? What about Public Enemy?
History/real events:
Tonic “Celtic Agression” (imigration leading to loss of cultural idenity)
Chuck Prophet “West Memphis Moon” for download here (about the west memphis three murder case)
Bob Dylan “Hurricane”
Issue-y
War-
Fischerspooner “We Need A War”
Dear Leader “Our Motto”
Sage Francis “Makeshift Patriot” for download here (9/11. Listen to this one closely first! I’m not sure if it’s over the line for kids this age or not)
The Cranberries “Zombie”
Other Issues-
The Golden Republic “Robots” (people’s jobs being done by robots now)
The Faint “Agenda Suicide” for download here (the futility of working for greed)
Hopewell “Calcutta” (poverty)
Good Charlotte “Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous” (celebs whining is bad!)
Ian Brown “Kiss Ya Lips (No ID)” (Homeland security isn’t working) if you print this out, you’ll want to whiteout the word “ass.”
John Mellencamp “Rain On The Scarecrow” (farm forclosures. What? I liked this song at their age!)
Pat Benatar “Hell Is For Children” (child abuse)
What about musicals?
Pippin
Music Man
The Sound of Music
Your a Good Man Charlie Brown
Even Annie
You can study selescted songs or tie the songs into the plot line. We studied Jesus Christ Superstar when I was in 6th graqde- though I’m not sure how that would fly these days…!
You’re, You’re , You’re… :smack:
Speaking of Australian bands, Midnight Oil is decidedly devoid of boy/girl intrigue in their lyrics, and have the added bonus of great, uplifting (not to mention unprofane), “think for yourself” kind of social commentary lyrics.
Procol Harum had very few love songs, if any. Many of their songs had only a implied meaning, and surrealistic imagry abounds. See All about Procol Harum on record for a lyric site.
We studied Simon & Garfunkel lyrics in 6th grade. Hello darkness my old friend and allathat.
In 8th grade we examined Don McLean’s American Pie. Rye: it’s a bread AND a beverage!
These were on the radio, not remotely obscure. So studying these familiar ‘dorky old people songs from the moldy oldies station’ gave a sense of relevance and newfound appreciation that was very satisfying. It gave an awareness of layers of potential meaning to all sorts of stuff I’d never given a thought to before. Great lessons. I don’t think the lesson would have been nearly as good if we’d studied lyrics that were more obscure - having this stuff “hiding in plain sight” is what added a lot of the appeal.
I second Simon & Garfunkel and Midnight Oil.
And Procol Harum. I wish to be informed as to what your fifth graders make of ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’.
I am not a big fan of hers but Pink (IIRC) did a song recently called “Stupid Girls” that I thought had a great message, surprisingly.
Try to dissect “American Pie” by Don McLean with them.
Also, “Garden Party” by Rick Nelson have a lot of subtle meanings within.
Lots of music from the 60s and 70s were about cultural revolution. Even some of the stuff that verged on bubblegum like “Incense, Peppermints” by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Dylan. Joan Baez. The Stones. The Doors. Joan Baez. Hendrix (If 6 Was 9 or “Third Rock From The Sun”) Spirit (Mechanical World, Mr. Skin). Even relatively tame groups like the Fifth Dimension got in on the act (Age of Aquarius). Kenny Frickin’ Rogers got his start with a little number called, “What Condition My Condition Was In.”
Modern stuff, not so much. Though “Higher Plane” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers definitely has that vibe. And Christina Aguilera has that one I can’t remember the name of offhand that’s sort of a gay anthem.
Try Crash Test Dummies
Superman’s Song
Or just go here for the lot of 'em.
Not much loving going on in their stuff.
I used to use Bruce Springsteen’s The River as an assignment on symbolism when I taught 9th grade English. That’s a bit advanced for your kids, I suppose. But they should be able to handle Born In The USA or Glory Days.
Damn, I wonder if we had the same art teacher! I’m not sure which year it was (it might’ve been 9th grade), but we covered that song and McLean’s “Vincent,” about Vincent Van Gogh.
They Might Be Giants is an ideal choice, but I’d make sure to include some XTC songs as well:
“We’re Only Making Plans for Nigel” (1979) – Nigel’s parents are trying to pre-plan his life for him, encouraging him to want to work in the (foundering) British steel industry, whose foundries would, as things turned out, go out of business in the '80’s. Sometimes parents don’t know what’s best for their kids…
“No Thugs In Our House” (1982) – Graham’s parents think their teenage son is a “little angel,” but he’s actually getting involved in some unspecified white-supremacy gang or party activities, beating up on South Asians (Pakistanis, most likely). Graham gets off the hook at least in part because his father’s a judge. The lyrics feature shifting points of view (from a sardonic omniscient observer to, in the chorus, the incredulous father’s) and pepper their descriptions of the people with cutting put-downs and insect metaphors. The vinyl 45 single came with some of the cutest packaging ever – an entire proscenium, with paper dolls of the song’s characters. Themes: ethnic/religious minorities and racism/xenophobia, breakdown in communications within families, youth gangs and the will to power, bourgeois complacency, corruption, metaphors, points of view, and reliable and unreliable narrators.
“Jason and the Argonauts” (1982) – Juxtaposes allusions to the Greek myth to the global travels of the exhausted and jaded modern narrator, who finds a debased and dehumanized exoticism in the everyday when he turns his anthropological eye on us “man-like creatures” and “manimals” who shop too much, suppress natural femininity, and commit acts of violence, both individually and collectively (through government policy). A key line: “I was in a land where men force women to hide their facial features, and here in the west it’s the just the same but they’re using make-up veils.” Themes: cultural anthropology, patriarchy and sexism, commodity fetishism, and the correct use of “their” and “they’re”. (Okay, that last item is just a 
.)
“Desert Island” (1983) – Another cultural-anthropology satire, with a decidedly comic touch (unlike “Jason”'s seriousness) and allusions to both Robinson Crusoe and The Lord of the Flies. The desert island is Great Britain and the landscape is a civilized one, with the grim struggle for physical survival supplanted by capitalistic, rat-race prerrogatives against a psychic landscape of anomie, depression, and neuroses (“The game and coconuts are plentiful/You pick 'em right off a supermarket shelf,” “flying to escape…drinking to escape,” “Friday comforts me and says it’s pay day”). If the main theme is the questionable advantages of modern, British civilization when compared to Crusoe’s fate, a secondary disappointment is the fate of all grown-ups with their responsibilities, labors, and anxieties. In other words, kids, don’t be too eager to grow up… which leads us to:
“Senses Working Overtime” (1982) – Very allusive (and elusive) in its lyricism, this song combines a sophisticated acknowledgement of the pains and dangers of life (“And bullies might give you black eyes/And buses might skid on black ice”) with a zen-like acceptance of all that life has to offer (“but to me they’re very, very beautiful”). This is a terrific song for elementary-school-age kids, because its frank theme is that while life is often bewildering, overwhelming (“trying to take this all in”), and sometimes unpleasant and even tragic, when you’re young enough to still be learning everything, it’s also chock-full of surprising, sensory pleasures (“trying to taste the difference between the lemons and the limes”), which help make it all worthwhile, even if we tend to appreciate the simplest things childishly, in a solipsistic fashion (“And all the world is football-shaped/It’s just for me to kick in space… And all the world is biscuit-shaped/It’s just for me to feed my face”). That appeal to the child in us all is strongly reinforced by the catchy chorus, with its sing-songy counting and listing of the five senses (“And I can see, hear, smell, touch, taste – and I’ve got one, two, three, four, five/Senses working overtime”). Other appeals to the childish include sing-songy reiterations (“hey, hey,” and “my, my”), the simple dichotomies (“innocents” and “guilty ones,” night and day, hunger and thirst, pain and pleasure, dirt and treasure) and the repeated imagery of sleeping “safely,” as if we are still being tucked into bed at night by one or both parents.
Just to pick a few…
It seems when women sing about things other than love, it all gets a bit scary and dark.
Still, here are some good one (you can decide if any are age appropriate).
Penny to My Name -Eva Cassidy
Green/Woodstock/Chelsea Morning- Joni Mitchell
The King of Love is Dead/ I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free/I Shall Be Released- Nina Simone
Lol, I opened this thread assuming there’d be some mention of Van Halen based on the title. Back in the days of “Diamond” David Lee Roth, they did a song titled “Ain’t talkin’ 'bout love.” I don’t know that it’s appropriate for 5th graders, per se, as it’s about a guy trying to pick up a girl for, presumably, a one night stand, and saying that she doesn’t want anything more from him because he’s a bad guy.
anyhow, that’s my little inane $0.02
PS. I can’t believe I’m the first one in the thread to mention that song.
Considering that it’s the title of the thread, and (as you say) not exactly appropriate for 5th graders, why are you surprised?? That’d be like recommending old-school Metallica. They’ve got plenty of songs which fit the lyrical requirements, but they’re just not age appropriate.