ABSTRACT
With the example of South African struggle songs, the author identifies the vocal and non-vocal features of music under systems of oppression to engage in persuasive communication about the forbidden topics of that oppression. The study pays particular attention to the use of metaphor – both in the lyrics as well as in the melody and tempo of these songs – to examine how music afforded black South Africans the ability to publicly communicate on political issues that were otherwise difficult for them to talk about. The analysis focuses on select South African struggle songs to show how the use of metaphoric “language” in these texts was persuasive through the lyrics and non-lyrical aspects of the songs.
