American Culture

Second semester – A.Y. 2018/2019

Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni
2018253536

American Culture
Professor Stephen Wilson

W OODSTOCK :
T HREE (I NCREDIBLE ) D AYS OF P EACE AND M USIC
A S SEEN IN SOME SCRE ENSHOTS FROM THE HOMONYMOUS DOCUM ENTARY
A ND IN THE LYRICS OF SOME OF THE PERFORMED SONGS

Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni
Student number: 2018253536

ERASMUS from “Alma Mater Studiorum” University of Bologna

Second Semester
Academic Year 2018-2019
University of Coimbra
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

INTRODUCTION

Never have I endured those who tend to mythologize “those years” when they were young, at the same
looking with contempt at young people of the following generation (s) and comparing them with how they were
in their twenties. On the other hand, those who simply exalt their youth’s times and share their memories
offering vivid glances at how things were done differently (neither better or w orse, just differently) …those DO
in fact arouse my sympathy. That is what I have seen in a lot of the information regarding Woodstock, which
still represents something beautiful which has (once) been possible.

I confess that if I had been living in the 60s, and in the USA, I could probably have been part of one of
the many 1 participants at Woodstock. I probably would have been a proud member of the so-called “Peace &
Love generation”, the “no-more-war-people”, the “Woodstock Nation”, and connected to the hippy suggestions
such as the utopian idea that everything could be changed with a guitar in hand and two fingers in the sign of
the “V”. But, what does all “this” actually mean? I will try to give an answer to that through an analysis of
some scenes of the documentary – and the lyrics of some of the performed or inspired songs 2.

The Woodstock festival itself marked the culmination and at th e same time the inexorable end of an
era. And therefore all these beliefs turned out to be very naïve and possibly… a genuine fake (ye s, it is an
intended oxymoron).
Nevertheless, the hopes remained and still remain, but the big Dream has remained in a met aphorical
“historical” drawer as the ideals have vanished inexorably. Nonetheless, have they? And how? At the end of
this brief essay, I will comment the end of the values of Woodstock, referring to a chapter regarding the 1969
present in There’s A Riot Going On. Revolutionaries, Rock Stars And The Rise And Fall Of ‘60s Counter Culture,
book by Peter Doggett (2007).

1
“Many participants”: many not to say too many. It is indeed a true euphemism to refer to the almost 400,000 people attending the musical event in
1969. (History.com – last accessed on July 2, 2019).
2
All the songs analyzed but Woodstock by Joni Mitchell have been performed at Woodstock.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

THE 60S

That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.

Neil Armstrong

Landing mission on July 20, 1969 3

…With this brief but exciting statement, the United States of America were announcing to the world
that the first man had set foot on the moon. Was it maybe the beginning of a new historical period? Had the
long-awaited, and (differently, depending on the person) eagerly awaited, decanted, dreamed-of mythical Era
of Aquarius 4 really begun?

That of 1969 remains however, and least musically speaking, a milestone year, certainly one of those moments
that changed the history of Rock & Roll music. Movies, records, commemorations and re-editions might have
later created a mythical smokescreen, but, truth be told, the largest gathering in the history of rock Woodstock
has been an important event… so important that it became an adjective.

‘Woodstock’ can be definitely used to refer to how great events, especially if it had a musical characteristic,
and a large mostly young audience can be. Staged in a small rural town in the state of New York, in an open
expanse of lawn, it took place and was possible in 1969, from August 15 to August 17, of course 1969, with a
final appendix “overflowing” to August 18. Was this the real apex of the spread of the hippy culture? Yes.
Was it a worldwide happening organized to bring together lovers of rock music? Yes. The counterculture was
present, too.
The idea of this essay of mine is therefore to give a brief idea of what happened in those days in August 1969
and how much it can be seen in the lyrics of few of the many songs being performed during the festival. As a
matter of fact the best musical expressions of the time took part to the Festival, many of them well -known
legends of music, and still idolized all over the world such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, David
Crosby and Richie Havens.

3
https://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/introduction.htm - last accessed on June 27, 2019.
4
“Era of Aquarius”: I have found this expression (I have never heard of earlier) in many blogs and comments on the Woodstock phenomenon and
referring to the heyday of the hippie movement. This expression has in fact long been used to indicate alternative cultural and student movements
which considered by themseleves and by many others to possibly represent the harbinger of a future change of values. If I understood correctly, it is
characterized by the conjunction of Uranus (representing change) with Pluto (identifying the popular mass).
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

W OODSTOCK : T HE D OCUMENTARY

This documentary can be seen as a spectacular look at the

60s. Directed by Michael Wadleigh, the main goal of the
documentary is after all to show its spectators how the famous 3-
day-long music event had been experienced by its (lucky!) diverse
public (composed of young men, women, kids, Indian gurus, and, of
course, great musicians).

A N U NBIASED V IEW O F T HE E VENT

Something that the film succeed in showing us is how, even if it

had been a very crowded event, and despite the lack of food, water and
the sudden rain, everything went fine thanks to everyone’s good
disposition and collaboration.

It depicts those days in a unbiased way, too, as the interviews contained

are of young men and women’s, kids’, locals’, a police officer and
locals… presenting different viewpoints. Nevertheless, what comes out
of this experience seems easily summarizes in a tolerance, peace and
love, totally compatible with the hippie culture.

T HE P EOPLE

The Woodstock public was very diverse. Majority part of the people arriving to Woodstock were young
adults. No lack of young women and men, some of them with floral hairbands, others topless, long-bearded
boys… children are present too, possibly seen sitting on their parents’ shoulders.

Young men and women:

Kids are present too…

..and there is no shortage of pregnant mothers either:

 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

It is the most incredible fauna of adventurers and charlatans, political and religious activists, journalists… In
total, about half a million people, but most of all: music, oh yes, lots of music, the best (but not all ...) music
ever heard until then!

Among the many comments Woodstock received, mister Max Yasgur who had rented and let the Festival
happen on his land, will talk to the vast crowd 5:

I’m a farmer… (…) I don’t know how to speak to twenty people at one time, let
alone a crowd like this.

But I think you people have proven something to the world (…) you’ve proven to
the world is that a half a million kids — and I call you kids because I have children
that are older than you are — a half million young people can get together and
have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music,

…and I – God bless you for it!

In addition to this, the co-founder Michael Lang would comment that they “proved that it is possible to live
together in harmony and with compassion”, given that what was represented was “only our best selves”. As a
matter of fact “Woodstock gave people around the world hope” which i s why it remains relevant still today.

S OME O PINIONS

Woodstock (1970) magnificently captures the spirit, the mood and music of the times Unquestionably
the best film to therefore capture the spirit of the 60s, making it totally worth the watching, despite the long
duration.
The most entertaining and consequently eye-opening factor of this
documentary relies in the fact that the cameraman interested himself in either
sharing fantastic musical performances, as well as the audience’s attitudes,
opinions and comments.

Locals look with a mixture of concern mixed with admiration and

curiosity at that incredible “sociological experiment of mass”. This is also
why Woodstock and Woodstock people have the eyes of (the media and) the
Nation on them. The Wadleigh’s troupe and the newspaper reporters,
browsing among the locals record their reactions to that peaceful invasion of
“beautiful people”

Some right-thinking men thunder that it is “a shame”, referring to the

promiscuity. However, it is the practical sense and business acumen which
would prevail: some take the opportunity to raise the price of sandwiches and
lemonades. But more than anything else the traditional sense of solidarity
emerges: local peasants like the farmer and land-renter Yasgur will be happy
to give and share what they have with the youngsters attending the festival:
Bread and apple pies, butter and cheese, and blankets. Some food and
beverages distributed by military helicopters flying over the field.

5
Yasgur, M. Woodstock speech annotated. Genius.com – direct link: https://genius.com/Max-yasgur-woodstock-speech-annotated - last accessed on
June 30, 2019.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

A cop will express himself, too:

“I was very very much surprised and I am very happy to say that the people
of this county should be proud of these kids. Not because of the way they
dress or the way they were… but for their inner working, their inner selves,
they can’t be questioned as good American citizens.”

We do not know his name, but his surprising positive opinion 6 regarding the
kids attending the festival is intentionally and bizarrely paired coupled by
the director to a random scene of a naked female body that dances, moves in
an uncoordinated yet poetic and natural way among two cars.

Spectators speak naturally to us about themselves, or about the services present at the festival ( “highly”
…commented as it concerns the port-o-san)!

Indian guru Satchidananda Saraswati attended Woodstock too. He had

called music

“the celestial sound that controls the whole universe”.

Isn’t this beautiful?

A (“high”) review of the port-o-san.

To the question “how would you rate the port-o-san” , a young high man
first keeps asking if the interviewer “ wants some” smoke of his pipe, then
he gets confused, does not understand the question and finally share his
apparently great experience with us: the Porta-Potty “ beats the woods.”

6
During this quick interview, the director Wadleigh commenting “oh well, that’s kinda surprising coming from a cop” and the man answering back:
“I am not a cop, I am a chief of place”, laughing in amused way.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

A surreally unworried conversation takes place with a girl . She has a bright
smile. She is telling us about some amusing but also weird conversations
she has had with other people known at the festival.

Furthermore, she tells the interviewer she lost her sister during the very first
performance (Richie Havens’). She does not seem worried “ sure she is
alright ”, though, except for the fact that she “ would like to see her so we can
get home in time.” 7

Throughout the documentary it is evident how strong the lack of inhibition

regarding sex and nudity was. Because of its close relationship with the
counterculture, music and this music festival in specific wanted to challenge
middleclass values by dealing with social and sexual freedom, as well as
political issues.

People can be seen (half or fully) naked either dancing, running, swimming
or just …being. These were not isolated incidents: nudity was just a natural
and spontaneous thing in that environment: a real kinship.

As a beautiful girl with a pair of round acetate sunglasses explains:

“…all the environment (of the older generations) made them feel that (it) is
wrong… Even though they know that, in their subconscious, that it is right,
you know, good, (…) normal.”

7
About the special (probably not sober) conversations she has had, she explains that “some of the kids are really spaced out” (…) *speaking about
colors* “if anger is red, and envy is green, what color is jealousy? (I would say) black because it is poisoning. And then jealousy can be green
because it is like envy but not on things, but rather on people. And, well, I have never seen this kid again”. About having missed her sister: “I am
missing my sister, like, I lost her, she was in a mess… during Richie Haven’s performance. I haven’t seen her since. (interviewer: Sure she is alright)
Yeah, sure she is. But I would like to see her so we can get home in time.”
Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

A young open couple:

As abovementioned, at The Woodstock Music & Arts Fair and according to

counterculture, relationships are therefore experienced differently than what
society (meaning: the old generation of the parents’) may want its members
to, as a young open couple explains to Michael Wadleigh when being asked
about them being together, yet not exclusive and therefore free.

BOY: We are not particularly jealous, I like her, I love her, I enjoy her… the
way I look at it, (..) it is a pretty good thing, we have freedom.

(…)

GIRL: I can’t communicate with my parents. I am the way I am … (…)

It is something deeper than this. The young couple truly opens up and
reflect out loud. They sound, the boy especially, very reflexive and
thoughtful, as much as confused, but in a relaxed way.

BOY: I am a human being, and that’s all I wanna be. I don’t wanna have a
mass change because it may bring a mass insanity. I just wanna be myself
and find a place where I can maintain some kind of balance within myself. I
don’t have to make the climb. There’s nothing to climb for. It’s right off, sitting
right here.

(…)

Everybody is really looking for, you know, for some kind of answers.

Well, there is none. Why would thousands of people come here just because it
is music. Is music that important?

I don’t really think so, but people… people don’t know, you know. They don’t
know how to live, they don’t know what to do, and they think that if they come
here they can find it out …

People are very lost, I think.

…Relaxed because, after all, their attitude and solution to this is “going
along with it”, as they answer to the interviewer when he asks them whether
they have got their tickets for the Woodstock Festival:

(Interviewer: Do you have tickets to this thing) No.

(Interviewer: How are you getting there?) Going along with it.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

T HE S CENES

In general, this documentary has no filters. It could not but display a valuable record of images of what
can be defined as “hippy culture”. …Meaning scenes of nudity and drug -taking are present. It did not bother
me, but it might bother others.

Woodstock is a state in the state, a smiling city whose paths are called “Groovy way”, “Aquarian avenue” and
“Gentle path”. There are jewelry and bracelet stands, as well as a “drug market”. Someone teaches yoga and
suggests finding the answers that many are looking for in drugs in the old discipline from India. Woodstock
becomes almost an oxymoron: a heavenly hell, where when the universal flood beg ins (a real hurricane of rain),
someone invents festive rain dances, and start to have fun slipping i n the mud.

Some images where we see drug use:

and, particularly, marijuana:

During the docu-film, we can see one of the organizer (mister Kornfeld) as a dazedly smiling guy, wandering
cheerfully between the backstage and the stalls. Not to mention the singer John Sebastian: he was at Woodstock
by chance, and would eventually be persuaded to get on the stage in an unlikely tye-dye outfit, rumors say
under the effects of an extra-large LSD assumption.
In addition to this, Joe Cocker: the singer roars, contorts his body as if he was playing an air guitar.
Later, when Sly Stone takes the stage, with a truly wonderful swirl of fringes, trumpets and funky rhythms soon
would send the audience into raptures, transforming the Woodstock plain into a huge psychedelic dancefloor.

When I had just finished watching this documentary, I realized how young many of the people
attending Woodstock were. This Festival may have been about music, nevertheless it might als o be considered
as a great portrait of the American youth of that time. Innocence and joy are strong and present. What a time!
One could not but wish they could have been there.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

WOODSTOCK, SOME FACTS: A SPONTANEOUS , A SEMI-SPONTANEOUS EVENT? NOT AT ALL

It was August 1969: over half a million people gathered for the most famous three days of peace and
music ever, also known as The Woodstock Music & Arts Fair. Probably one of the most impactful reactions
realized by the youth of its time.

First of all, let us debunk the idea that The Woodstock Music & Arts Fair was a semi-spontaneous
event, or that everything happened by pure chance.

The Festival had in fact been scheduled. Three young business men ( Michael Lang, Joel Rosenman and Artie
Kornfeld) had long been a part of the record and financial world and started to collaborate.
Michael Lang is a 25-year-old man from New York. He organizes musical events, festivals. He basically
“produces” artists, and he is the manager new rock names such as Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Ricki Lee Jones,
Country Joe McDonald. In Wadleigh’s documentary-film about Woodstock, he is seen going around on a
motorbike. One day, the curly twenty-three-year-old Michael Lang met Artie Kornfeld. One the manager of
unknown rock bands, very often seen wearing a leather jacket with fringes, the other a twenty -five-year-old
from the Capitol Records: The two become “allies”. In the docu-film, we see mister Kornfeld arriving in a
8
brand-new luxurious white Porsche (making him a true “self-made-man” ) and answering questions with a
flower in his mouth.

The two unfortunately have great ideas and projects in mind but lack the necessary funds… Until the moment
they happen to read a invitingly shouted ad on the pages of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal:
“Young people with unlimited capital are looking for legitimate and interested business ideas and investment
opportunities”. The authors of the advertisement were Joel Rosenmann and John Roberts: financiers “lent” to
the world of music (in their 20s too).
... So, the naïve utopian dream of the Aquarian Age can start to be organized. It is a dream, as they sound pretty
carefree when it comes to money loss and financial failures 9.

As a matter of fact, in the documentary Woodstock: Three Days of Peace and Music (1970) there is a LOT to
enjoy. Among this rich repertoire of images, the three organizers can be seen too, they are very human and
definitely carefree, just as it is evident when they reveal no preoccupation when it comes to the financial gain
the event may give them.

A flower in the hand, here you are the interview to a

cheerful Artie Kornfeld (paired to the scene of a
couple slowly getting undressed and later rolling
together, naked, in the field.

Financially? This is a disaster. (Interviewer: but you look so happy)

This is very beautiful. It has nothing to do with money, it has
nothing to do with tangible things. It’s just about to see, to really
realize, what’s really important.
The fact that if you can’t be all together and be happy, if you
have to be afraid to walk around on the streets, afraid to smile at
somebody, well what kind of a way is that to go through this life.

THE P LACE

8
This is an expression which aims to describe those people who reached success thanks to their perseverance, dedication, hard work and therefore not
relying on privileges, luck or other outside conditions. For more information: Swansburg, J. (2014). The Self-Made Man: The Story Of America's
Most Pliable, Pernicious, Irrepressible Myth.
9
As seen in the soon reported comment by a non-chalant Artie Kornfeld, smiling and holding a flower.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

The chosen location is not Woodstock as commonly wrongly thought. The festival will take place in a
rented land in Bethel, located 70 km south of the village of Woodstock, in the State of New York. It has about
5,000 souls devoted mainly to agriculture.

The place where Woodstock will have happened belongs to the Mister Max Yasgur. The fact that he a ccepted to
use this land of his was decisive, as it allowed the realization of the Festival. To honor him, the monthly
Rolling Stones will dedicate a page to his memory. In addition to this, he has been mentioned in the song
Woodstock by Joni Mitchell 10. There are those who define him “Mister Woodstock”.

T HE W ORK B EGINS

Found the money, the land and the permits, fixed the contracts with the artists, at the beginning of
August ‘69 the works can begin. A wooden stage is mounted, a huge covering tent above it - then removed
because proved out to be dangerously soggy and heavy.

Nevertheless, there are no ticket offices. As a matter of fact, tickets had been presold and the festival was not
expecting more than 200,000 people. As a consequence, the definitely not effective fence become more and
more a true border formality than a real deterrent.

It is probably from this very moment (that is to say: when the fence is torn down, and people start to enter
without paying as it is seen in the documentary) that news about the free Festival is spread around, starting an
endless pilgrimage, a migration from the other 50 United States of America. This is well-proven by the scenes
that the documentary shows of people queuing up to be able to use the telephone booth:

either to make a phone-call and exchange two quick or to invite friends to join them because:
words of comfort with their (worried) parents…

(Interviewer: Are you okay?)

BOY (on the right): Ooh yes, I am fine man. My mother wants to BLONDE BOY (on the right): It is beautiful! …No-one is collecting
make sure I am alright. tickets, and the fence is not effective. It’s… beautiful.

GIRL (on the left): Yeah, I am gonna call my mom and be like hu!
I fooled you, I am alright!

(during effective phonecall): (…) it’s full of people. It is crowded but…

warming.

10
The lyrics of the song Woodstock (1970) by Joni Mitchell referring to Mister Yasgur are present in the very first strophe of the song: “I came upon
a child of God / He was walking along the road / And I asked him, where are you going / And this he told me / I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm /
I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band / I'm going to camp out on the land / I'm going to try an' get my soul free”
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

M USIC P ERFORMANCES I N G ENERAL

Among the several musical performance, Richie Havens will prove out to have been an awesome
concert opener. On the other hand, at the end of the Festival, on the very last (not scheduled, as the festival had
to finish within three and not four days), Jimi Hendrix amazes us.

Everyone has their favorites so these are the artists I’ve enjoyed the most: The Who, Richie Havens, Santana,
Joe Cocker and Janis Joplin.

About the music performances, it is easily noticeable how superb the editing is: the artist(s) can be seen in
sequences with an excellent use of:
 multiple screens of the same a guitar solo during The Who’s performance:
scene

…as seen during…

 multiple screen of two different the comment of a fan regarding the flow of people
scenes described as “ really amazing… a kind of epical, …unbelievable
thing… A continuing flow of people”

 or images overlapping each Jimi Hendrix’s astonishing performance:

other in shade.

About the performances in general: not ALL of them will be successful, and, moreover, displayed in the docu-
movie. As with the Cleerence Clearwater Revival, or the Blood, Sweat & Tears groups, they do not appear in the
documentary. Cameras will neither show us the moment when The Grateful Dead will perform, and in fact their
Woodstock will be a “nightmare” as a torrential rain and not-very-well working microphones will characterize it.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

T HREE D AYS (P LUS O NE ) A ND T HIRTY -O NE A RTISTS – AS SHOWN IN THE DOCUMENTARY

Day 1 Friday August 15, 1969 8 artists performed, among which Richie Havens and Joan Baez.

Day 2 Saturday August 16, 1969 14 artists, among which Santana, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Janis Joplin, The Who.

Day 3 Sunday August 17, 1969 6 artists, among which Joe Cocker and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

*Day 4 Monday August 18, 1969 3 artists, among which Jimi Hendrix.

Did many artists perform at Woodstock? Yes, they did.

At 5 pm on August 15th the festival starts with Richie Havens a folksinger playing on the guitar, literally grating
the strings (and breaking them!). He leaves us, and the public, as amazed as a little disconcerted… wow.
When we see him leaving the stage, it is evident that he has sweat pouring off his back: good proof of the effort he
put into the performance.

Richie Havens will say:

(I am) gonna sing something…

It is all about you,
… actually …and me, actually
… and everybody around the stage
and everybody who hasn’t got here
yet.
And the people who are gonna read
about you tomorrow. Yes. how groovy
you were…!

Freedom ‘Freedom’ is highly connected to the power or right to think, believe, act, speak –
Freedom
although one’s choices should in fact not infringe on another person’s freedom. . It
Freedom
Freedom does not stand for the possibility to act however one chooses, but rather the assurance
Freedom that we all have equal opportunities for life, the pursuit of happiness, ability to
Freedom express themselves.
Freedom
Freedom
Sometimes I feel When in the documentary Richie Havens comes out on the Woodstock stage, he is
Like a motherless child already playing thecrophone is far away and we can better hear the public clapping
Sometimes I feel their hands to Havens’ lyrics. After all, what is ‘freedom’? Simply and soothingly,
Like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel
Richie Havens tries here in this song of his to give a sensation of what not being free
Like a motherless child may mean:
A long
Way  It is feeling orphan: “like a motherless child”;
From my home, yeah
Yeah  It is “ A long way from my home, yeah”;
 “Like I'm almost gone, yeah”.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

Afterwards, moments such as when we listen the psycho-boogie of the Canned Heat stand out and are very
pleasing. However, songs such as Going Up the Country which plays in the background of some scenes and a general
overview of how the Festival was, sounds quite a lot like anything in Chuck Berry.

This song can be considered a carefree invitation to “ goin’ up

I'm goin' up the country, baby don't you want to go?
the country”. It can therefore refer to the opportunity of
I'm goin' up the country, baby don't you want to go?
I'm goin' to some place, I've never been before leaving the worries of the world behind and heading to a new
I'm goin' I'm goin' where the water tastes like wine place (“ some place I've never been before”).
I'm goin' where the water tastes like wine
We can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time
I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away
It puts its listeners’ in a good mood and encourage them not
I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away to worry and live life as it should be uncomplicated and
All this fussin' and fightin' man, you know I sure can't stay fun… sending us directly to the fields of Woodstock.
So baby pack your leavin' trunk
You know we've got to leave today
Just exactly where we're goin' I cannot say
But we might even leave the U.S.A.
It's a brand new game, that I want to play
No use in your runnin', or screamin' and cryin'
'Cause you got a home as long as I've got mine

As funny as it may sound, in Woodstock some head-banging happens too: it is Larry Taylor (bass guitarist in
the Canned Heat)’s: proving that, yes, certain things were done even in the pre -metal era.

We are also witnesses of another entertaining moment: a fan climbs the stage and steals a cigarette from
Robert Hite (lead singer in the Canned Heat) while he is busy singing. Brand of cigarettes in plain sight,
though.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

Later, comes Joan Baez. She sings Joe Hill, a known song:

I dreamed I saw, I dreamed I saw, Joe Hill last night
Alive as you and me
Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died" says he, "I never died" says he
"I never died" says he"
The song refers to Joe Hill, who had been a labor activist and one
of the main organizers of riots in the workers’ organizations.
He became a popular songwriter: his songs expressed the harsh of
itinerant workers like him and promoted his colleagues’ to
promote protests in order to improve working conditions.

Hill was an annoying personality for those who (for profit) had no
intentions to improve working condition. He was therefore
executed in November 1915. Nevertheless, after his death, he is
still memorialized by several folk songs including this one: “ Alive
as you and me / (…) / "I never died" says he, "I never died"” – his (will to)
fight for a fairer and more just world still continue.

Together with the radiant and pregnant Joan Baez’s ode to the syndicalist and singer Joe Hill and
update on state of health of her husband David Harris (who was in prison for conscientious objection), the
poisonous F*-*-K spelled and then pronounced by Joe McDonald, can be regarded as the most political
moments of the whole Woodstock Festival.

War has always been the greatest nightmare people from all historical times have had to confront, a
nightmare that, despite the centuries passing by, never succeed in teaching us “the lesson”.
I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag is the universally known hymn of Woodstock, performed by an angry
mister McDonald, wearing a military jacket and introducing the song with an insult, implicitly aimed at the
government and the American army.

...And, finally, The Who. Their song See Me, Feel Me could be tempting to spread a message of
unification and hope, as much as the wish that music could gather together people.

Listening to you, I get the music

Gazing at you, I get the heat
Following you, I climb the mountain
I get excitement at your feet
Right behind you, I see the millions
On you, I see the glory
From you, I get opinion
From you, I get the story
It could be the band speaking to his followers and them speaking back about
what he makes them feel. This song sounds like and might very likely be a
prayer. It also may refer to the sun, as if what it is being sung about is a person
waking up after being knocked out after some riot? Before completely waking
up, first thing he sees is the sun. And it is following the sun ( Following you, I climb
the mountain) that they continue continues climbing the mountains they might
find on the way and this inspiration to perseverance (in protests, for example)
can let “ see the glory”, “get opinion” and “get (meaning make ) the story”.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

Summertime Blues, on the other hand, says:

I'm gonna take my problem to the United Nations

Well, I called my congressman and he said "whoa!"
"I'd like to help you son but you're too young to vote"
Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do
But there ain't no cure for the summertime blues
They deal about politics, talk about remedies which could solve their
“problem”(s). An elusive figure of a “ congress man” appears who (perhaps falsely)
regrets informing them that they are “ too young to vote”. Nevertheless, the
problem does not worry too much the singer: he only “ sometimes” “wonder what
(he is ) gonna do”. There is no solution, what is being sung next is that: it is not
worth going crazy, as there is no cure against “ the summertime blues”

Roger and Pete give a great performance, at the end of which they throw the Gibson SG’s guitar to the crows
(!). Speaking about The Who, it is important that during their set, something happened –even if not shown in the
documentary: it is well known that Abbie Hoffman tried to commandeer the microphone to deliver a political speech11.
However, Pete Townshend (guitarist) did not like his attempt and invited him to…

Fuck off! Fuck off my stage!12

Pete Townshend
Woodstock, August 1969.

Sha Na Na is a group clearly having fun and being ironic with their song At The Hop.
It is the turn of Joe Cocker’s. Great voice, great and vivid facial expressions, to sum it up: he gave a great
performance. A sort of suffered, screaming, devastated version of With a Little Help From My Friends.

What would you do if I sang out of tune?

Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
I will try not to sing out of key

(…)

Gonna get by with my friends

(Ah, with a little help from my friends)

Yeah yeah, I'm gonna try

(Ah, with a little help from my friends)

Keep on getting high, oh Lord

(Ooh)

The camera then frames the hands of Chris Stainton’s, the falsetto of Henry Mc Cullogh’s and the Grease
Band supporting make it all great.

Ten Years After gave another mythical moment of the festival and the docu-film. The band performs a I'm
Going Home at supersonic speed and it is an execution that leaves absolutely breathless. Priceless, unparalleled,
unmissable, inexplicable.

Jefferson Airplane perform and charm anyone by the blue eyes of the beautiful singer Grace Slick’s. White
Rabbit:

There are strong and evident allusions to the altered

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
states caused by drugs:
And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all
One pill makes you larger,
Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall
and one pill makes you small
And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to
fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call However, this is mixed with exhortations t “ feed your

11
This question will be further commented in the conclusion of the document.
12
Doggett, P. (2007). There’s a riot going on. Revolutionaries, rock stars and the rise and fall of ‘60s counter culture. Canongate.
Section 4: 1969. Page 219.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

And call Alice, when she was just small head”.

One should not get lost enjoying the pleasures of
When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where
psychedelics, and ought to trip out and make something:
to go
“remember (what the dormouse said) / Feed your head, feed your
And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind
is moving low head”. It therefore works on different levels other than
Go ask Alice, I think she'll know just a drugs song, becoming in fact a call to liberate
When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead brains.
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the red queen's off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head, feed your head

Santana give a historical exhibition of the Latin-rock band. They too, like others, benefited from being present
at the film-event as they consequently dramatically increase their success in the world. Their Soul Sacrifice is
an orgy of musicality and rhythms guided by the drummer.

Sly & Family Stones - I Want to Take Higher electrifies and awakens during the night of Saturday August 16 :

Freddie: Feeling's gettin' stronger

Larry: Music's gettin' longer too
Rose: Music is flashin' me
Sly: I want to take you higher
Baby baby baby light my fire
All: Boom shaka-laka-laka
Boom shaka-laka-laka

Sly Stewart animated the public:

It is pretty obvious that both song's title and lyrics are nothing
Stand!
For the things you know are right but a warm enthusiastic call to “stand” up. What for? Easy:
It's the truth that the truth makes them so uptight “For the things you know are right”. One should live and fight for
Stand!
their cause, their believes and their communities. The risk is
All the things you want are real just around the corner: “ sitting much too long” so one should…
You have you to complete and there is no deal “stand”!
Stand! Stand! Ooh!
Stand! Stand! Ooh!
Ooo-ooo stand!

You've been sitting much too long

There's a permanent crease in your right and wrong
Stand
There's a midget standing tall
And a giant beside him about to fall
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

Janis Joplin is rightly remembered in the new version of the movie with Work Me Lord. A tender smile,
childish ways and a voice like nails on the glass, a painful exhibition that touches the heart and soul for this
twenty-year-old woman. His song Raise your Hand:

Honey, raise your hand

'Cause I want you to come along.
Raise your hand
'Cause you know where you belong.
You belong here, now
Said here and now
Said, here and now
Honey, here and now
Here and now
Honey, here, now
Honey, here, now,
Honey, here
Now, now, now, now, now, now, now

Jimi Hendrix’s performance was scheduled for Sunday 17 at midnight, but he deliberately chose to
play “ad libitum” (for more than two hours) on Monday 18 morning, while people were slowly going away.

He would perform Woodoo Child,

Purple Haze:

Purple Haze all in my brain,

Lately things don't seem the same,
Actin' funny but I don't know why
Excuse me while I kiss the sky.
Purple Haze’s lyrics may make reference and portray an acid
trip, as a matter of fact two kind of drugs can be informally
defined “purple haze”: one is a kind of LSD and the other one
a variety of marijuana.

Red House,

Message to Love:

Some people just don't understand, well help them god

A great song, whose message is basically: find yourself,
Find yourself first, and then your tool understand your talent(s), and come alive.
Find yourself first, don't you be no fool

(…)

If you wanna be free

Come on along with me
Don't mess with the man
He'll never understand
I said, find yourself first
And then your talent
Work hard in your mind
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

About this: Jimi Hendrix’s festival-closing set on Monday can be regarded to have been the set that helped
shape both sounds and images that still define Woodstock. As a matter of fact, it is famous the moment when,
close to the end of his long performance, Hendrix gave a truly electrifying version of The Star-Spangled
Banner. Such a performance definitely blew the mind of many.

Jimi Hendrix finishes playing, and the atmosphere is apparently that of a post apocalypse: “the Garden” has
become a fetid dump and is truly a melancholy conclusion.

While the credits runs on the screen, the song Woodstock gets played by Crosby, Stills and Nash. This song
was not present in the festival. It is a tribute, a gem written by Joni Mitchell. A fitting closure.

Well, I came upon a child of God

He was walking along the road
And I asked him, Tell me, where are you going
This he told me
Said, I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm
Gonna join in a rock and roll band
Got to get back to the land and set my soul free
We are stardust, we are golden
We are billion year old carbon
(…)
By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere was a song and a celebration
(…)
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

REFLECTION

When I had just finished watching this documentary, I realized how young many of the people
attending Woodstock were.
This Festival may have been about music, nevertheless it might also be considered as a great portrait of the
American youth of that time. Innocence and joy are strong and present. What a time!

In addition to this, we need to consider that 1969 was a very politically active year. A true historical moment:
among the youthful impatience and the irresistible connected political force of these, “President Nixon showing
very little intention of scaling back American involvement in Vietnam, African -American liberation no closer,
and student dissatisfaction mounting across the Western world”, surely “the dam holding back the movement’s
impetuosity had to break out”13.

On the other hand, ‘revolution’, as a word, not an act, has become very fashionable. One should be
careful, as revolution is commercial 14.
This can therefore easily justify why aggressive reactions like the one of Abbie Hoffman’s during The Who’s
performance can be considered symbolic. Activists were then preparing for an ideal imminent revolution, just
as much as musicians were expecting to express their position on many themes of the times”. On the other
hand, the record industry was slowly discovering that radicalism could be a potent marketing tool.

In fact, in the book written by Doggett (2007) there is a chapter to the

phenomenon and the festival of Woodstock and 1969. One big question basically arose:
who owns and owned the music? Had dissidence and acid trips become the defining motif
of the counter culture? It is a very complex question, but not too difficult to come across
when regarding music: “Multinational corporations ran in fact activities ranging from
broadcasting to the manufacture of weapons”.

Good examples can be given: such as the a March 1968 campaign launched by the
Columbia Records (see picture), strategically “borrowing the time’s magic word
‘revolutionaries’ for a work compilation” 15
Because of the evident tireless enthusiasm of young people’s, feeling different from their
parents, it was clear that there was something going on, and that it was much deeper than
politics. It was a cultural revolution. More often than ever, having long hair and playing
guitars was more than just “having long hair and playing guitars”.

However, once that “that” was seen as selling, one could blame the record
companies for “perverting the music that belonged to the people”, and “milking it for cash”. After all, one
would rather question whether it was the musicians themselves who had sold their principles?
Either way one can see at it, many of these revolutionary musicians grew richer and richer. If, at the beginning
the idea was to firstly produce a new kind of music which was “totally real and human”, and secondly, organize
events including free concert when and where to hear music all that was needed was “to set up the amps and
plug it in”… This could not have financially and eventually lasted.

After all, what Rock music wanted to represent “emotional, sexual, and political freedom”. After all, people
soon showed how they could not help but feel overwhelmed by “their sonic thrust and uncompromising
radicalism, and began to spread the word”. Nevertheless, the music eventually proved out to be “as fearsome in
its intensity as nil in its over political content”.

13
Doggett, P. (2007). There’s A Riot Going On. Revolutionaries, Rock Stars And The Rise And Fall Of ‘60s Counter Culture. Canongate. Section 4:
1969. Page 225.
14
Doggett, P. (2007). Op. cit. Page 238.
15
In the picture present in this document, it can be read that “The Man Can’t Bust Our Music” “with a picture of motley crowd of long-haired
demostrators, holding cell, fresh from a student demonstration, proved out the passage from marketing legend to ill-conceived advertising” - Doggett,
P. (2007), Op. cit., page 220.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

CONCLUSION

It comes without saying that meanings, values or morals present in any song might fade to different
levels, from the political to the spiritual, from the philosophical to the metaphysical one.

The 1969 and “its” songs were particular: it then briefly seemed to be possible to change the world. The new
generation, made up mostly of university students, was protesting and trying to block the Vietnam war after
their elder generation had made part of the great civil rights demonstrations together with Martin Luther King
that ended racial segregation (starting from 1963 with his speech I Have A Dream).
Moreover, their thoughts, their ideas, their dreams were all now taken up by the new heroes of Rock music.
Songs like the ones they played at Woodstock denounced these vibes and situations, and were sung while
climbing music charts. Rock had therefore become a true messenger (if not: The Messenger) of change and
revolution.

Beyond this, it truly sounded like revolutionary ideas had the power of changing… not just one
authoritarian government, but the whole world, its values, uses and habits (like the way according to which one
should live sexuality). It was now not just politics, bur every value that was challenged by this new generation.
After all, another musical hero of those days and of those young people’s (not present at Woodstock) is Jim
Morrison who sang “I want the world, and I want it now” (When The Music Is Over – The Doors).

The history of Rock Music has always been intertwined and been back and forth with political commitment. For
a series of temporal coincidences, the 1969 brought to the fore a strong desire for change. This will lead to a
revolution that had been around within most of the Western societies for the last (at least) ten years. It was then
that civil and social instances got finally sung up and heard until then flowed into a single protest movement.

During such brief season, roughly circumscribable between 1968 and the early 1970s, it seemed that
the whole world could be changed into a planetary model of brotherhood, peace & love: no more wars, no more
hypocrisy, no more authoritarianism. As we know, in no time it was over, nevertheless the seeds of those days’
had been planted, flourished, inspired and still inspiring and giving rise to variously different commitments.
Music, and Rock Music in particular, had started to be a good way to be on the front line at witnessing and
standing up against injustices, against oppression, wars.

Perhaps, and almost certainly, those who played in Woodstock and friends did not manage to eventually
practically change the world, but they have surely succeeded in an equally arduous task: that of changing the
way people are, like influencing their lifestyle. In their own small way, in fact, everyone can change the world:
music creates awareness, people will be more conscious about some topics, and consequently engage
themselves.
Finally, to conclude, it is important to remember that Rock will later have a long history, and many
contradictions, but it has always represented a great oasis of freedom and awareness ... For whom? For those
who wanted to pay a minimum of attention to it, maybe even singing along, and, most of all, truly listen to it.
 Master’s degree in “Estudos de Cultura, Literatura e Linguas Modernas”
American Culture - Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni –2018253536

REFERENCES

Wadleigh, M. (1994). Woodstock: 3 days of peace & music: The Director’s Cut! (DOCU-FILM). Warner Bros.

Doggett, P. (2007). There’s A Riot Going On. Revolutionaries, Rock Stars And The Rise And Fall Of ‘60s Counter Culture.
Canongate
Section 4: 1969. From page 219 to page 309.

McCleary, J. B. (1943). The Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia (And Phraseicon) Of The 1960s And 1970s. Berkley: Ten
Speed Press.

Bertoncelli, Riccardo (2009). 1969 – Storia Di Un Favoloso Anno Rock Da Abbey Road A Woodstock. Giunti Editore.
In specific: Marziano, Alfredo. Woodstock: Music & Art Fair. Quando I Bombardieri Divennero Farfalle. Page 224.

Vites, Paolo (1998). Rock & Politica: Testi Con Traduzione A Fronte. 1968-1998 – 30 Anni Di Canzoni Di Protesta. Arcana editrice.

SITOGRAPHY

History.com .
This Day In History: The Woodstock Festival Opens In Bethel In New York (November 13, 2009). Publisher: A&E Television
Networks – Direct link: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-woodstock-festival-opens-in-bethel-new-york - last accessed
on July 1, 2019.
Slate.com

Indian Guru’s presence at Woodstock.

https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/21/world/swami-satchidananda-woodstock-s-guru-dies-at-87.html - last accessed on June 29,
2019.

Moon landing.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html - last accessed on June 24, 2019.
https://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/introduction.htm - last accessed on June 27, 2019.

Swansburg, J. (2014, September 29) The Self-Made Man: The Story Of America's Most Pliable, Pernicious, Irrepressible Myth -
Slate.com – Direct link:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2014/09/the_self_made_man_history_of_a_myth_from_ben_franklin_to_an
drew_carnegie.html - last accessed at June 20, 2019.