Doc Jazz’s 2003 reflections at Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow Caledonian University has a Centre for Political Song, which was one of the first organizations that took notice of my political songwriting. In 2003, after the Centre had published a number of Doc Jazz song lyrics, I was asked to write a short article about political songwriting. The original article can be found here, still on the University’s website. Although some of the information is outdated since this was more than 7 years ago and many songs have appeared since, it may still be interesting to read my views about writing these types of songs, which basically have not changed.

Reflections on political song writing

Author: Doc Jazz
Date: March 2003

I started composing music when I was around 17 years old, and the first song I wrote, Food, dealt with the unequal distribution of food resources throughout the globe, calling for a change. Afterwards, my songs dealt with other issues, although I remained politically engaged, since due to my Palestinian background, it was impossible to ignore the major injustice that had been perpetrated upon my people.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized the potential of music as a powerful tool for conveying a political message. First of all, a song, if appreciated by the listener, has a tendency to be easily stored in a person’s acoustic memory. Because of this, the melody, as well as the words, can be easily recalled, at will or sometimes even involuntarily. Secondly, since a modern popular song usually contains repetitive sections, such as the chorus and the bridge, they are extremely useful for conveying the core message or punch line.

Another aspect that sets music apart from other ways of conveying a political message, like an article or a speech, is that it has the power to influence the mood of the listener. For instance, a song that calls for action, will usually have a powerful beat, causing an adrenalin rush that puts the listener in a mood that is appropriate for the song’s message. In the same way, melancholic sounds can increase the effect of words that describe the misery of war victims.

Finally, an important aspect of music is the fact that it is stored in a compact format, usually on a CD, which can be easily distributed, broadcast, or played at gatherings, which makes music one of the most powerful instruments for spreading political or social messages. Nowadays, the Internet has provided an even easier medium for the distribution of these compact musical political messages.

A few years ago, as I realized these advantages of applying music to my political views, I recorded Intifada, as a message of defiance in the face of Israeli military aggression. Since I have no means of distributing the music other than through the internet, the link to the song was forwarded to websites and mailing lists, and was picked up quite well, leading to thousands of downloads and streams. The fact that my time is mainly consumed by my profession (I am a general surgeon) has curtailed my opportunities for making high quality recordings of the material, and kept me from utilizing more professional means of publication and distribution.

Other songs followed suit, and were published on my website, which drew an increasing audience of listeners.

My latest song, De Vlag, features my first endeavour in Dutch political music, since I had never before made use of this language in a song. It is a song of support for Gretta Duisenberg’s courageous symbolic action of hanging a Palestinian flag from the window of her Amsterdam residence, causing a major stir in the media of the pro-Israeli Netherlands. The fact that she is the wife of the President of the European Bank, fuelled the anger of Zionist and pro-Zionist groups all over Europe and the United States. The song is intended to back up her actions, and to help increase support for her brave acts of defiance, and for the call for the implementation of the UN resolutions concerning Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.

Through the Musical Intifada, I am hoping to invite more people to write and publish songs about Palestine, preferably in languages that are understood by people in Europe and the American continent. More details about this project can be found on the website http://www.docjazz.com