America in Song

For most singers of songs, ‘West Virginia,’ ‘New Orleans,’ ‘Alabama’ and ‘Illinois,’ are names. They are names of places in America which not many of us would be able to point out on a map. They are also the cradles of some of the most popular songs ever written. To foster greater awareness, and as part of the literature course on American studies, the Department of English, Carmel college, Nuvem, Goa presented ‘America in Song’ in the college premises on Friday, 30 September 2011.

American icons like John Denver, Elvis Presley, Eagles, and Woody Guthrie took the stage once more, as it were, as listeners were regaled with a mix of music styles featuring ‘Country Roads,’ ‘Jailhouse Rock,’ ‘Hotel California,’ ‘House of the Rising Sun,’ ‘Lucille,’ ‘This Land is Your Land,’ ‘L.A. International Airport’ and ‘Susanna.’ Roxana Singh provided a finely nuanced commentary contextualizing each of the songs. Glenis Mendonça and Brian Mendonça played the songs with verve on a Yamaha C40 classical guitar. The programme was played out to a packed hall of staff and students for the duration of one lecture (45 minutes). Students rocked to the music and pleaded for an encore. Dr. Manoj Borkar appreciated the performance and the synergy which made it possible.

It was unanimously felt that such programmes brought innovation in classroom teaching, fostered interest and made the teaching-learning process enlivening. The Principal, Dr.Sr. Aradhana A.C. appreciated the efforts of the Department of English to organize a creative programme by teaching a subject through lively music.