Malvina Reynolds was born at the turn of the twentieth century, in the year 1900. She lived to be 77, and saw many changes in her lifetime--cars, airplanes, telecommunication, computers, movements for social change, two world wars, a cold war . . .
That was a lot of rapid change to live through, and to write songs about. Many of her songs were about social and economic issues, and some were about environmental concerns.
I remember singing "What Have They Done to the Rain?" in school in 5th grade (originally written about the danger of nuclear radiation fallout, this song was later used referring to air pollution). This gentle song spoke to me and I enjoyed its simple melody.
Later, when looking up some folk songs to sing for fun, I discovered more of her songs, and learned to sing them.
The well-known song "Little Boxes" decries the idea that humankind is not only a cog in a machine but also his/her life is put together on an assembly line!
Here are a couple of interesting videos using this song.
The first (created by Gabrielle R. and Nicolas M. for The Tree Shirt House) shows actual cardboard boxes containing t-shirts that are being opened and examined before being sold (and who knows why there's a dog sitting among the boxes!)-- https://vimeo.com/28353662
The other one (made by "Monkeymen"-- an animators collective in Berlin, Germany) is a special effects video that shows the song in a very creative way: https://vimeo.com/26178358 This one is shorter, as it doesn't go through the whole song.
In learning more about Malvina, I found that she and I have several things in common. One is that she didn't start writing songs in earnest until in her 40's. Also, she liked writing songs for children but didn't write only children's songs. And she especially liked folk music.
One more thing-- when heard one of Malvina's songs that I didn't know of before, I thought I had found a new "theme song" for myself. It's called-- well, you have to find out here--
That was a lot of rapid change to live through, and to write songs about. Many of her songs were about social and economic issues, and some were about environmental concerns.
I remember singing "What Have They Done to the Rain?" in school in 5th grade (originally written about the danger of nuclear radiation fallout, this song was later used referring to air pollution). This gentle song spoke to me and I enjoyed its simple melody.
Later, when looking up some folk songs to sing for fun, I discovered more of her songs, and learned to sing them.
The well-known song "Little Boxes" decries the idea that humankind is not only a cog in a machine but also his/her life is put together on an assembly line!
Here are a couple of interesting videos using this song.
The first (created by Gabrielle R. and Nicolas M. for The Tree Shirt House) shows actual cardboard boxes containing t-shirts that are being opened and examined before being sold (and who knows why there's a dog sitting among the boxes!)-- https://vimeo.com/28353662
The other one (made by "Monkeymen"-- an animators collective in Berlin, Germany) is a special effects video that shows the song in a very creative way: https://vimeo.com/26178358 This one is shorter, as it doesn't go through the whole song.
In learning more about Malvina, I found that she and I have several things in common. One is that she didn't start writing songs in earnest until in her 40's. Also, she liked writing songs for children but didn't write only children's songs. And she especially liked folk music.
One more thing-- when heard one of Malvina's songs that I didn't know of before, I thought I had found a new "theme song" for myself. It's called-- well, you have to find out here--
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