The importance of language, speech and text cannot be overlooked if any

good study is to be done in music or general human behavior. Alan

Merriam in The Anthropology of Music notes how music influences
language and vice versa, while taking into consideration the special forms
and functions language takes in different musical contexts and
performances.

These special forms, which mostly share a close

familiarity with the native culture, include use of allegorical expressions;

metaphors; shortening words to suite songs; changing the pronunciations
of words; coining new words; the use of figurative speech; and alluding
to old myths1.
The special functions and significance of text in songs offer a freedom of
expression that is not possible in regular talking sense, as such, songs
occupy a social, ethical, religious, work, recreational and an overall
cultural place of advocacy in many societies.
Some musical functions that come to mind are:
1. Topic songs/criticism songs- where text focus on matters of daily
social life, thus, seeking to bring up and condemn any social ill
including sexual misconduct, thievery, alcoholism, laziness, envy,
and disrespect for elders2.
2. Legal mechanisms- where text serve to settle disputes and also
suggest appropriate punishments for offenders if need be. This
could be between two families, rivals in a marriage, parties in a
property dispute, in a case of murder.

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2

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195-197

3. Praise songs-where the text is mostly in honor and praise of a

prominent figure in society or sang in appreciation of good deeds.
4. Psychological release-where the function of the text in the song is
to express and hopefully release the singer/s from mental unrest or
fatigued by work. E.g. Negro Spirituals, Blues.
5. Work songs-where the text in the song serves as motivation and
encouragement to work on farms, plantations as in slave howls,
and on fishing trips.
6. Historical songs-where texts speak of heroic acts of men and
women of valor, victories in wars and important historical
landmarks.
The area of music and language is important to other disciplines and not
only ethnomusicology. Linguistics, poetry and sociology also use this
interaction as a tool for study and research.