Beki Sidener, the artist’s reflection at the piano, Kansas City, 2019. All rights reserved.
Walkin’ down from the stadium
At the west end Birmingham
Heard a sound from the boys above
Broken glass, broken glass
Friday night at the restaurant
When the waiter’s gone past
You and them might have had some fun
Move real fast, move real fast
All the things you know
Are the things that you dread
All those things were so
And were not inside your head
What you see, when it’s all said and done
You’re goin’ home, you’re goin’ home
Goin’ down to the five and dime
Do your hands down keep ‘em low
Live and learn as you walk down the aisle
Move real slow, move real slow
All the things you know
Are the things that you dread
All those things were so
And were not inside your head
What you see, when it’s all said and done
You’re goin’ home, you’re goin’ home
All the things you know
Are the things that you dread
All those things were so
And were not inside your head
What you see, when it’s all said and done
You’re goin’ home, you’re goin’ home
You’re goin’ home, you’re goin’ home
You’re goin’ home, you’re goin’…
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin’ for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin’ for to carry me
Home…
You’re goin’ home, you’re goin’ home
“Song 645027” © 2019 Beki Nixon Sidener. All rights reserved. / “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” © 1872 Public Domain.
About “Song 945027”
Beki Sidener
This song is a creative musical piece based on an interview I conducted with Dee, a young black man and college graduate from Birmingham, Alabama, who now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, and who is one of my work associates. I allowed this recording of the song to remain in a very raw and “live” state with a simple arrangement. This should convey to the listener a sense of angst, in consideration of a context of oppression that moves toward the hope of overcoming an outwardly impossible situation.
The title, “Song 945027,” alludes to Nazi concentration camp tattoos – numbers stamped onto the arms of the Jewish residents of the camps – and it is what prompted Dee to roll up his sleeves to show me his tattoos, which he chose to receive, and which display his ideology.
Drawing ideas from my conversations with Dee and my class on the Holocaust, I wanted to tie together themes of collective persecution of chosen people. One of those ideas was that of broken glass. “Broken glass” refers to bottles that were thrown at Dee by a group of white, drunken college boys, and to Kristallnacht (“The Night of Broken Glass”) when violence against Jews broke out across the Reich on November 9-10, 1938, as shattered glass from store windows littered the streets.
Most of the lyrics of “Song 945027” were written in a cryptic style to broaden the embrace of the message – to make it more universal. In other words, several groups of people may recognize themselves and their situations within the song. An example: “…the boys above” represent anyone thinking of themselves as superior to other people; and these are a type that we will always have with us, everywhere, in all cultures. Also, I used Dee’s dialect. Some phrases were purposefully disjointed and strategically embedded. For example, Dee said, “…dreads in my head…” (5:56), in our interview to refer to his hairstyle. I separated “dread” and “head” to two different lines and assigned a different implication to each, referring to the natural mind’s every day (and minute, hour and second) dread of anticipated and unimaginable treatment, and how it is not just in the victim’s head, as Dee’s good friends tried to tell him.
I chose the musical key of B♭ (B flat), a key often used by Classical/Romantic composers, because of its rich, open character and contemplative nature. This choice is also fitting for Dee’s admirable transparency and the profound, haunting effect that this interview had on me, especially during the transcription process – not so much from the material itself as from the bond that developed between my interviewee and me – from listening to his words over and over.
As well, I re-purposed B♭ to metaphorically translate into “be flat,” for people (or other creatures – spiders are a good example) who alter their actions, posture, or appearance – sometimes to the point of invisibility – to subdue the threat of their predators. The subjugated may disguise themselves to appear to belong to a different ethnic group or culture; or they might lessen their movements, either to hide in order not to be killed, or to not give a false impression of their intentions in order to placate their persecutors. Either way, the victims feel the need to adhere to the “rules of the land” to survive, whether in Nazi-Occupied Europe or their local grocery store.
All rights reserved.
“Song 945027” employs the chord arrangement of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” written by Wallas Willis in 1840. I added the first verse of this Negro spiritual to the end of my song to say that, while Dee has gone through persecution and misunderstanding, he holds to the belief that vengeance should not be a tool in his life’s arsenal. And while as humans we all cry for relief from pain and long to return home – when all is said and done – Dee recognizes that he has been, and will ultimately be, carried home by his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Beki Sidener’s piano piece based off of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” does an excellent job of getting across Dee’s experiences with racism as a Black man in Alabama. Dee’s mistreatment at the hands of White people, who believed that they were superior to him due to skin color alone, is a disgusting yet far too common experience. Beki is able to take his gut-wrenching experiences and turn them into a beautiful, reverent song.
The Nazis, much to no one’s surprise, were exceedingly racist, not only to the Jews, but to Black people, as well. We have learned much about how Hitler believed that everything great about Europe came from German culture alone. As such, all other cultures were seen as inferior and not worth keeping around. This includes Jewish culture, Polish culture, and Black culture, among many others.
Many people like to believe that racism doesn’t exist in America today. It’s far more easy to pretend that a problem doesn’t exist than to admit to said problem. Beki Sidener does a great job of demonstrating to her listeners these small pieces of racism that are still present in today’s American society. She is able to address the implicit racism Dee faced through the lyrics of her songs, specifically the first and third verses.
Beki Sidener’s choice of a Negro Spiritual such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is an important choice. As previously mentioned, Black culture was looked down upon in Nazi Germany as inferior and was often outright banned or erased. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is considered to be a song about the Underground Railroad, with the “home” being a free state. This point is contentious, as other interpretations of this song believe that the home mentioned is in regards to Heaven. The idea of the chariot carrying slaves away from slavery and into the grasp of freedom or to the pearly gates mirrors the liberation of the Jews from the camps, as well as Dee’s escape from the racism he has experienced.
Beki Sidener also mentions Kristallnacht, referenced in her lyrics from the “Broken glass, broken glass” in the first verse. She relates Dee’s experience with these white, drunk, college kids to “The Night of Broken Glass” through the glass. The Night of Broken Glass occurred on the nights of November 9th and 10th of 1938. This was a series of racially motivated attacks on Jews, stripping them of their dignity, property, and places of worship. This isolated event of racism that Dee had experienced may seem totally unrelated to Kristallnacht, but that isn’t the case. Both were racially motivated acts of violence that broke taboos, such as throwing glass at people, and served to dehumanize a person or group of people of a certain race.
Beki Sidener‘s third verse describes the behavior that Dee must show in the convenience store in order to not be seen as a thief or suspect. This same standard of behavior, moving slow and keeping close watch on one’s hands doesn’t apply to White people. This is a type of implicit racism seen in many parts of the United States today. This difference in treatment based on race alone was seen in Nazi Germany, as well. A perfect example of this would be the Nazi ban on Jewish individuals becoming teachers or judges. Furthermore, Jews were also banned from occupying any government positions. Both of these racially based double standards highlight the unfair treatment of both these groups of people.
Beki Sidener does something interesting with her lyrics. She mentions how she purposely tried to make the song more universal. She wanted the song and its lyrics to not just apply to Dee, but to others who have experienced racism. This is a common tactic we have seen in other forms of media in our class on Nazi Occupied Europe and the Holocaust. Specifically Night and Fog by Alain Resnais, and Son of Saul, by László Nemes. Throughout these movies, there are so few references to the Nazis. This seems strange at first, as the Nazis were the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and everyone knows that. The reason Resnais and Nemes reduce the number of overt and explicit Nazi references is to universalize this story. The Holocaust could happen again, with different victims and different perpetrators. Just like how the racism Dee experienced could happen again.
Through her use of the Negro Spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” as her inspiration, Beki Sidener is able to show her audience Dee’s experience with racism in America. The incorporation of Dee’s personal experiences coupled with the universalization of these lyrics allows these lyrics to apply to the many groups of people who have experienced these hateful actions.