The Irony of a "peaceful" Hymn

For some the 1960's marked the end of traditional values and the beginning of an era of permissiveness. It was a time notorious for liberation movements, both political and sexual, social unrest, a widening gap between generations, drugs, and rock and roll. Indeed, the years of the 1960's were a time of change but along with this cultural revolution came a decade with a darker side, epitomized by the Vietnam conflict and the Civil Rights struggles. Perhaps one of the most important cultural aspects of this period was the radical change in music.

Cotemporary music of the 60's was deliberately provocative, challenging established values and societal structures. This period gave rise to many controversial artists who forced the public eye to critique the values of their generation. Some of the many musicians who sparked the cultural realizations of the 60's were Elvis Presley, with his "promiscuous" hip gyrations, Bob Dylan, who professed his conflicting opinions with tradition through lyrical poetry and Joan Baez, who layered her music with women's rights issues.

Simon and Garfunkel's song "7 O'clock News/Silent Night" exemplifies the concern of music of the 1960's for the political and social issues. In their song, Simon and Garfunkel break the tranquility of a Christmas hymn by inserting a nightly news report which challenges the image of an "Ozzie and Harriet" dinner table of the 1950's, by bombarding American living rooms with tumultuous images of world events every evening. Simon and Garfunkel's composition demonstrates just how the media pierced the peace of American lives with visual evidence of violence, death, and bigotry.

The news report within the song emphasizes one of the most progressive aspects of the era, the Civil Rights movement. Although this decade was a monumental time for African American civil liberties, it also filled the nation with violent tension. Simon and Garfunkel comment on this extreme opposition and hostility by saying, "President Johnson originally proposed an outright ban covering discrimination/by everyone for every type of housing but it had no chance from the start/and everyone in Congress knew it" ("Simon and Garfunkel Lyrics Ð'- 7 O'Clock News/ Silent Night"). Ironically, the hymn evokes the aura of a calm and serene world while the news report regarding Civil Rights struggles relates nothing of the sort. By placing these words in juxtaposition with the words of "Silent Night," Simon and Garfunkel display a world of cruelty and inequality that cannot be overshadowed by a peaceful hymn. The song continues with

"A compromise was painfully worked out in the House Judiciary Committee"("Simon and Garfunkel Lyrics Ð'- 7 O'Clock News/ Silent Night") which presents an irony within itself. With these lines, Simon and Garfunkel compare the "painful" process of governmental legislation proposals with the hardship that African Americans went through just to obtain basic human rights.

Throughout the 1950's, Civil Rights proponents had been peacefully protesting against the bigotry that was prevalent throughout the country. Change was slow to come and demonstrations of the 60's were more often being met with brutal repression. The signing of the Civil Rights Act into law by Congress intensified racial tensions throughout the nation. Despite the fact that Martin Luther King's was attempting a peaceful march through the slums of inner city Chicago in order to obtain equal housing rights for minorities, local law enforcement reacted with threats of National Guard intervention and harsh penalties for protesters. Simon and Garfunkel comment on these incidents within their song by saying, "Cook County Sheriff Richard Ogleby asked King to call off the march and the/police in Cicero said they would ask the National Guard to be called out/if it is held ("Simon and Garfunkel Lyrics Ð'- 7 O'Clock News/ Silent Night"). These lines also present a battle between the serenity of "Silent Night" and the threats of violence that were occurring nationally. The police dealt with protesters even more viciously during a peaceful march in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 ("African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)"). Attack dogs, rubber bullets, and water hoses were unleashed on the rioters ("African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)"). Eventually the Civil Rights movement defeated a system that had abused African Americans for nearly 200 years. Although watered down laws and ineffective measures addressing social equality were passed in 1950's, it was the Civil Rights Act, a product of the 1960's, which decisively changed America.

The song's innocent tone is also shattered with reports of continued action by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Simon and Garfunkel comment on the continued actions taken by HUAC to convey this tragic interruption: "In Washington the atmosphere was tense today as a special subcommittee of the/House Committee on Un-American Activities continued it probe into anti-/Vietnam war protests"("Simon and Garfunkel Lyrics Ð'- 7 O'Clock News/ Silent Night"). By applying these words to their song, Simon and Garfunkel create a disruption of tranquility, which directly correlates to the havoc-filled lives of 1960's Americans. The paranoia and suspicion surrounding communism and unpatriotic behavior that arose in the 1950's carried over into the 1960's. Those protesting the conflict in Vietnam were seen as a threat by HUAC and were investigated rigorously. Although the government had been able to previously evoke fear within the hearts of American citizens, it found resistance when trying to breakdown people like Jerry Reuben and Abbie Hoffman. A