The Power of Song

Thinking Allowed

BBC

Science, Society & Culture

4.4 • 973 Ratings

🗓️ 10 January 2024

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The power of song: Laurie Taylor talks to James Walvin, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of York and author of a new study which explores the cultural history of "Amazing Grace," one of the transatlantic world's most popular hymns and a powerful anthem for humanity. How did a simple Christian hymn, written in a remote English vicarage in 1772, come to hold such sway over millions in all corners of the modern world? Also, Angela Impey Professor of Enthomusicology at SOAS, argues that songs in South Sudan can be key platform for truth-telling, often invested with greater moral force than other forms of communication in the context of 50 years of civil war. What role can songs play in the struggle for peace and justice?

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Transcript

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0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of
0:07.0	Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that
0:25.4	calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:30.3	BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.
0:36.6	This is a Thinking Loud Podcasts from the BBC and for more details and much, much more about
0:42.4	thinking aloud, go to our website at BBC.co. UK.
0:47.0	Hello we need to go back to June 2015 when a white supremacist gunman shot dead the Reverend Clementa Pinkney, a South Carolina
0:56.8	state senator along with eight of his parishioners. A week after this tragic
1:01.9	event President Obama gave a funeral eulogy to 5,000 mourners.
1:08.0	Amazing grace!
1:10.0	Amazing grace! Amazing Grace.
1:17.0	Amazing Grace.
1:18.0	Amazing Grace. Amazing Grace. See how sweet the sound that's
1:25.0	sweet the sound that's that save a
1:37.0	a rash
1:40.0	by me Well, I'm now joined by someone who can spell out the implications of that moment.
1:52.1	He's James Wolvin, Professor Emeritus in History at the University of York,
1:56.0	and author of Amazing Grace, a cultural history of the beloved Him.
	...

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