Can The Circle Be Unbroken Analysis

In today’s society much of the music that we consume and listen to goes through a complex process that involves recording, production, and distribution. A vast majority of the music that we listen to is also a direct result of what we are exposed to through the radio and media, and for the most part the artists that take up space within our music apps are people that we never met, or know personally for that matter. However, music has not always been like this. In fact, recording, producing and distributing music is a fairly recent event in time. In the past, music or better yet folk music, was an art that was created and sung/produced by individuals within a community. These individuals typically made use of the instruments available to them and expressed or addressed the hardships and difficulties they faced through their songs. Their music was passed down from generation to generation and normally did not reach much farther than the community itself.

This is widely depicted in the song “Can the Circle Be Unbroken” which discusses the suffering and grief associated with the death of the narrators mother. This song successfully generates lament from the audience through its lyrics which ultimately paint a story. One may see this as the author states “But I could not hide my sorrow when they laid her in the grave…went back home Lord, my home was lonesome since my mother was gone...all my brothers, sisters crying, what a home so sad and lone”. However, although the author paints a story of his/her mothers funeral, they also express their comfort in knowing that their mother is gone but present with the Lord. This is depicted when they state “There’s a better place in the sky Lord, in the sky. Evidently the song is country but also sung in a religious