Student Demonstration Time

Annotation

The track "Student Demonstration Time" (Brother Records # RS 6453) is an adaptation of the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller classic R&B song "Riot In Cell Block #9", covered by many artists. Mike Love re-wrote the lyrics, making it one of the most political songs performed by the Beach Boys. It took an interesting look at the overall protest movement, one of the few to chronicle several events, almost as an observer explaining what happen, displaying the views of each side of the debate. But it also sent out mixed signals - on the one hand Mike Love encouraged people to "stay away" during a riot even though people were "fed up with useless wars". Why? Because of the threat of violence? Or did Mike Love agree with Nixon that the "bums" were causing havoc on campuses? At the same time, it also displayed its opposition to "useless wars", and the violence perpetrated by the National Guard and police forces. A look at the verse on Kent State Ohio displays this tension. The narrator suggested that the "students scared the Guard", yet the "troops were battle dressed" - thus presenting both sides of the story. The narrator concluded that the "four martyrs earned a new degree: the Bachelor of…

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs

The track "Student Demonstration Time" (Brother Records # RS 6453) is an adaptation of the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller classic R&B song "Riot In Cell Block #9", covered by many artists. Mike Love re-wrote the lyrics, making it one of the most political songs performed by the Beach Boys. It took an interesting look at the overall protest movement, one of the few to chronicle several events, almost as an observer explaining what happen, displaying the views of each side of the debate. But it also sent out mixed signals - on the one hand Mike Love encouraged people to "stay away" during a riot even though people were "fed up with useless wars". Why? Because of the threat of violence? Or did Mike Love agree with Nixon that the "bums" were causing havoc on campuses? At the same time, it also displayed its opposition to "useless wars", and the violence perpetrated by the National Guard and police forces. A look at the verse on Kent State Ohio displays this tension. The narrator suggested that the "students scared the Guard", yet the "troops were battle dressed" - thus presenting both sides of the story. The narrator concluded that the "four martyrs earned a new degree: the Bachelor of…

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

American rock band formed 1961 in Hawthorne, California. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Anti-War · Kent State · Jackson State · Demonstration · FSM

In collections

Kent / Jackson State Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs