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Music 1701 Song Project: The Story of "Stand Up" Main Menu Home Page Songs of Freedom The Catalyst Our Story Crowded around the Lincoln Memorial and streets of Washington DC, thousands of people longed for a change in this country. Marching down the street until their legs grew tired. Nudging their way through people with signs for freedom. Echoing the leader until their mouths went dry. The Black Lives Matter Protests were and still are a pivotal moment in America’s Civil Rights Movement. After an interview with Philomena Wankenge, a board member and founder of Freedom Fighters, CNN recalls her message, “I don’t care if I lose my life if that means my nieces and my nephews won’t have to deal with someone invalidating them because of the color of their skin” (Chavez, Sanchez, and Holcombe 2020). It’s a powerful story – the story of someone who will put others before themselves. It’s an inspiring story. A motivating story. And stories can do this to people. Whether at a restaurant with family, or on the phone with friends, sometimes a story is exactly what we need to get us through the day. Maybe even give us a little hope for the future. Cynthia Erivo and Joshuah Campbell’s “Stand Up” meshes song with story. Through the use of a marching tempo, a harmonizing background choir, and powerful lyrics, Erivo sings the story of previous Underground Railroad conductor, Harriet Tubman. Each characteristic of the song paints a picture. One of hardship, courage, and hope: all of which are included in the feelings of this playlist. With each song, a chapter of a story is told – the emotions of a runaway slave. Connections Conclusion Bibliography

Introduction

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Music holds power. The lyrics of the song or its rhythm can grab you. Perhaps you’re a longterm fan of an artist or a friend plays a random song and it connects with you. Whatever the reason you are intrigued by it, the music then has some hold over you; it has this ability to fill the void where you want to feel emotion. Some people seek Beatles tunes when they are happy while others want to dwell in John and Paul’s lyrics when they are feeling down. As I’m writing this, I’m listening to classical music because it helps me calmly focus – the opposite of a pre-game driving beat I choose before a soccer match. But why is this? What are the reasons we connect with a song? An exploration of the Cynthia Erivo song “Stand Up” offers insights into the emotional world behind a song. First introduced to us at the conclusion of the 2019 movie Harriet, it draws you in and hooks you. While it plays during the end credits, its impact extends far beyond this placement. "Stand Up" is not merely a song associated with a film's closing moments, but a powerful anthem with an impactful message that resonates long after the movie ends. It is a song that celebrates the bravery and conviction of Harriet Tubman: “Stand Up” encapsulates her enduring spirit and weaves itself into our lives completely.

To start, focusing on the background scenario behind a song can explain our connections to it. Behind the Beatles “Penny Lane” or the iconic film score "Let It Go," there lies a story. Within the composition of “Swan Lake Op. 20” (one of the classical songs I am listening to) or the enslaved people’s spirituals, there lies a “living history book” waiting to be heard. (Lawrence-M 1987, 398). I clarify this theory in “Songs of Freedom.” “As in every instance,” John Lovell - who gained his English PhD from Berkley and became an English Howard University Professor for 45 years before passing - states, referring to the hundreds of spirituals, “he concealed there his deepest thoughts and ideas, his hard finished hopes and dreams” (Lovell 1939, 642). Only when we explore a piece of music, we see its purpose – its story. “Stand Up” describes the story of Harriet Tubman with one main theme: hope. But when we dig deeper, Erivo made no plan for this song to be only about the past of its protagonist Araminta “Minty” Ross, who eventually reinvents herself as Harriet Tubman. (Lemmons, 2019). In “The Catalyst”, I demonstrate how she wanted this to be a broader song of motivation for people to form their own stories in today’s racially unjust world.

Erivo was not alone when writing this song. With the help of songwriter Joshuah Campbell, “the strings of Stand Up started to weave together” (Koseluk 2020). Clearly drawing inspiration from Campbell’s flourishing protest song “Sing out/March On,” the artists included similar musical components such as a marching tempo, harmonizing background choir, and powerful lyrics to resemble its main theme. Released during the same time period as the BLM marches, “Stand Up” not only became a song for the movies, but also stood for resilience within modern day fights for freedom. Discussed within “Our Story”, when we stand up for our passions and carry on with tired legs, we interweave hope and motivation gained from song into our own stories.

Before making herself known in the film industry, Cynthia Erivo stepped into Broadway as the lead actress in The Color Purple in 2015 (Piccotti 2024). Described as a British singer, songwriter, and actor, she identifies as LGBTQ. As she shared in an interview, she understood she was queer at a young age, but she could never find the language for it (Clarkson 2022). However, after now knowing the the words to describe her identity, Erivo states at a Los Angeles LGBT Center how much “energy it required to hide myself—and how much it was holding me back” and “by proudly displaying the beauty of our gifts, it will encourage our young people to be brave enough to step into the full potential of theirs” (Nakamura 2024). Cynthia Erivo is a strong willed and powerful human being who cares for the future – our future. These characteristics are not only shown in her acting in Harriet, but sung through her hopeful message in “Stand Up.”

As you go through this project, concentrate on the impact of music. What would the movie Harriet be without its soundtrack? Have you ever really noticed the music in movies? Would the movie be the same without its powerful yet nonexistent sound? For Harriet, the answer is a clear and obvious no. In ”Connections,” I delve into how film music creates emotion, gives associative and contradicting meaning to what is being visually shown, develops the theme, and provides “complex understanding of what is happening in the character’s minds and how decisions are being made.” (Green 2010). When you watch a movie, is it the plot that make you want to cry or feel anticipation? Or is it the sound that sets the mood? While these questions only ask about music's impact in movies, its affects are universal. For song is everywhere, and we must understand that behind each one, there is a story: a story that we can connect to. Although a movie can show a message, a song goes deeper. It elicits emotions. It awakens memories. It composes stories. All of these questions, all of this information relates to one argument in the end: while the movie Harriet documents Tubman's historic life journey, Cynthia Erivo and Joshuah Campbell’s “Stand Up” captures the enduring spirit of Harriet Tubman most effectively through the power of music. This is important because this principle doesn’t just apply to this film: if you are striving to make a mark on the world, there doesn’t have to be a movie made about you. Instead, create a song. When we find a story that strikes the right chord within us, we connect with it. Its message forever resides in us. And as Harriet Tubman's story has lived on until today, a song that directly connects with her story will live on too. Any song, with the "right" message, can have a timeless impact.

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Works Cited

Clarkson, Kelly. 2022. “Cynthia Erivo Opens Up About Coming Out As Queer.” Kelly Clarkson Show, Manhattan, NY, September 23. YouTube, 2 min., 2 sec. https://youtu.be/6NHyIuQJZkU.

Erivo, Cynthia. 2020. "Stand Up (From Harriet)." April 16. YouTube, 5 min., 3 sec. https://youtu.be/xa5XBLDSmA0.

Franklin, Marc J. 2021. "Celebrate Cynthia Erivo With a Look Back at Her Broadway Debut in The Color Purple." Playbill, January 8. https://playbill.com/article/celebrate-cynthia-erivo-with-a-look-back-at-her-broadway-debut-in-the-color-purple.

Green, Jessica. 2010. “Understanding the Score: Film Music Communicating to and Influencing the Audience.” The Journal of Aesthetic Education 44(4): 81-94.

Lemmons, Kasi, dir. 2019. Harriet. Universal City, CA: Focus Features.

Koseluk, Chris. 2020. “How Oscar-Nominated Songwriter Joshuah Brian Campbell Helped Harriet Find its Voice.” Motion Picture Association, February 4. https://www.motionpictures.org/2020/02/how-oscar-nominated-joshuah-brian-campbell-helped-harriet-find-its-voice/.

Lawrence-Mc-Intyre, Charsee Charlotte. 1987. “The Double Meanings of the Spirituals.” Journal of Black Studies 17 (4): 379-401. doi.org/10.1177/002193478701700401.

Lovell, John. 1939. “The Social Implications of the Negro Spirit.” The Journal of Negro Implications 8 (4): 634-643. doi.org/10.2307/2292903.

Milligan, Kaitlin. 2019. "Stand Up" Cover Image / "Introduction" Background Photo from "LISTEN: Cynthia Erivo Sings Original Song 'Stand Up' from HARRIET." BroadwayWorld, October 25. https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/LISTEN-Cynthia-Erivo-Sings-Original-Song-Stand-Up-from-HARRIET-20191025.

Nakamura, Reid. 2024. “Cynthia Erivo Embraces Her Queerness at Center Gala: LGBTQ+ Youth ‘Need to See Me Speak Out.” Los Angeles LGBT Center, May 18. https://lalgbtcenter.org/vanguard/cynthia-erivo-lgbtq-identity-gala/.

Piccotti, Tyler. 2024. “Cynthia Erivo.” Biography, October 10. https://www.biography.com/actors/a62530964/cynthia-erivo.

This page has paths:

Home Page Bennett Wehibe
Contents of this path:
1. Introduction
2. Songs of Freedom
3. The Catalyst
4. Our Story Crowded around the Lincoln Memorial and streets of Washington DC, thousands of people longed for a change in this country. Marching down the street until their legs grew tired. Nudging their way through people with signs for freedom. Echoing the leader until their mouths went dry. The Black Lives Matter Protests were and still are a pivotal moment in America’s Civil Rights Movement. After an interview with Philomena Wankenge, a board member and founder of Freedom Fighters, CNN recalls her message, “I don’t care if I lose my life if that means my nieces and my nephews won’t have to deal with someone invalidating them because of the color of their skin” (Chavez, Sanchez, and Holcombe 2020). It’s a powerful story – the story of someone who will put others before themselves. It’s an inspiring story. A motivating story. And stories can do this to people. Whether at a restaurant with family, or on the phone with friends, sometimes a story is exactly what we need to get us through the day. Maybe even give us a little hope for the future. Cynthia Erivo and Joshuah Campbell’s “Stand Up” meshes song with story. Through the use of a marching tempo, a harmonizing background choir, and powerful lyrics, Erivo sings the story of previous Underground Railroad conductor, Harriet Tubman. Each characteristic of the song paints a picture. One of hardship, courage, and hope: all of which are included in the feelings of this playlist. With each song, a chapter of a story is told – the emotions of a runaway slave.
5. Connections
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography

This page has tags:

Bibliography Bennett Wehibe
Contents of this tag:
1. Our Story Crowded around the Lincoln Memorial and streets of Washington DC, thousands of people longed for a change in this country. Marching down the street until their legs grew tired. Nudging their way through people with signs for freedom. Echoing the leader until their mouths went dry. The Black Lives Matter Protests were and still are a pivotal moment in America’s Civil Rights Movement. After an interview with Philomena Wankenge, a board member and founder of Freedom Fighters, CNN recalls her message, “I don’t care if I lose my life if that means my nieces and my nephews won’t have to deal with someone invalidating them because of the color of their skin” (Chavez, Sanchez, and Holcombe 2020). It’s a powerful story – the story of someone who will put others before themselves. It’s an inspiring story. A motivating story. And stories can do this to people. Whether at a restaurant with family, or on the phone with friends, sometimes a story is exactly what we need to get us through the day. Maybe even give us a little hope for the future. Cynthia Erivo and Joshuah Campbell’s “Stand Up” meshes song with story. Through the use of a marching tempo, a harmonizing background choir, and powerful lyrics, Erivo sings the story of previous Underground Railroad conductor, Harriet Tubman. Each characteristic of the song paints a picture. One of hardship, courage, and hope: all of which are included in the feelings of this playlist. With each song, a chapter of a story is told – the emotions of a runaway slave.
2. Songs of Freedom
3. Introduction
4. Conclusion
5. The Catalyst
6. Connections

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