Songs are society’s mirror. Throughout our history, songs have reflected the tones, the attitudes, and the events of every decade. They have prepared us for war, and marched us through it; saluted our heroes and ridiculed our fools and villains; marked every kind of national and personal disaster; noted every trend and passing fad; and expressed the feelings of rage and resentment that we, as a worried world, repress.
Songwriters don’t make history; they sing it. And if the song isn’t pretty — if it’s too loud, its message is mixed, its tempo is feverish, and its tone is threatening and ominous — look at the life around you. History is singing. Don’t try to stop the song. Right or wrong, the song is inevitable. It’s a photograph. And all of us are posing for it.
Arthur Hamilton
