Lyrical Analysis For many years African Americans have struggled with segregation and inequality. The 1940s Blues song discusses some of the racial aspects of the era and focuses on issues dealing with Jim Crow laws. Near the end of Reconstruction in 1877, Jim Crow laws were passed and were intended to put restrictions on African American rights and privileges (Brown and Stentiford XVII). For Example, the Jim Crow Laws segregated bus seating and train cars. The buses had the back reserved for African Americans (Wormser 162) and the trains reserved certain cars called “smokers” or “Jim Crow cars” for African Americans (Wormser 63). Also, the term “separate but equal” was an important statement in the Jim Crow era. This statement describes how segregation was passed as constitutional. Even though colored individuals and white individuals had separate facilities, they were supposedly equivalent in quality, even though this was never the case (Klarman 43 and 50-51). The blues song that I have chosen discusses many of the issues that African Americans faced due to the Jim Crow Laws and discrimination in general, but most noticeably discusses issues dealing with war segregation. During World War I and World War II, African Americans were recruited to the American Army. They were trained for battle, but normally were not involved in the fighting of the battles. The African American community hoped that their involvement would help further the fight for equality, but learned it was not going to be that easy.
This is portrayed in the song by saying: “Got my government letters, my time to go, when I got to the army, found the same old Jim Crow” (USA). Even though the African Americans were recruited, they were trained at different facilities and by different officials with different standards. The song says “Two camps for black and white…”, which describes how the camps were set up (USA). The African Americans had a camp and the white soldiers had another (Brown and Stentiford 155 and 865). Also, the song talks about the jobs given to African Americans and states that the only jobs they received were mess boy jobs. Even though the colored units were trained, they were given service and supply jobs, mostly participating as mess men and porters (Brown and Stentiford 865). In 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive order 9981, which was supposed to end U.S. military segregation. Legally there could be no segregation, but unhappy white soldiers responded by attacking and beating colored soldiers who were wearing the same uniforms that they were (Brown and Stentiford 155). Also, racism within the army was prevalent due to the colored units defeat in some of the battles where they did participate in fighting (Brown and Stentiford 34).
The song ends by saying, “Let’s get together and kill Jim Crow today” (USA). This statement made in this song fits well with the era it was written, because the advancement of African Americans became even more prevalent in the 1940s. In 1941, President Roosevelt was forced to pass an order which established the Fair Employment Practices Commission due to a threat of a March on Washington (Brown and Stentiford 867). Due to the new opportunities for African Americans, there were many white Americans who were not happy about the new competition for jobs, housing and overcrowded social areas. In 1943, the colored community was forced to push even harder for equal rights when the Detroit Race Riot broke out. A group of white and black children started the riot at the Belle Isle amusement park. The riot lasted two days and in the end nine whites and twenty-five blacks were killed, 700 injured and two million dollars in damaged or stolen goods where caused (Brown and Stentiford 866). Many more aspects contributed to the fight to “kill Jim Crow”, and slowly it began to happen. For example, in 1947 Jackie Robinson played for the Dodgers and became the first African American to play major league baseball since the 1880s and was eventually adopted into the National baseball Hall of Fame (Brown and Stentiford 692-693). This song is related to 1940s Blues music in many ways. The blues developed in the early 20th century and the Blues genre stemmed from the songs of antebellum slavery. The first recorded music was sold as “race records”, because they were intended to be for the African American community. This music was important to the African American culture, because the lyrics to most of the songs focused on the issues faced by the colored individual. The Blues songs discussed issues about tragic events, inequality, violence, and sometimes talked about the Jim Crow South. For example, there was a song by Charles Davenport called “Jim Crow Blues”, which talks about leaving the Jim Crow South for a place in Chicago. Many issues in Blues songs have hidden meanings or disguised topics, because they could bring about violence or jail time for the musician. Even though some music is disguised it still portrayed the issue of the song and gave African Americans a chance to show others the issues and hardships they were facing (Brown and Stentiford 98-101). For many years African Americans struggled with the topic of equal rights and the fight for equality. The song chosen and the Blues genre were very helpful for discussing these issues and helping the African American community get a message across. In conclusion, the song focused on inequality issues, which were relevant to the time period. The fight for equality took off during the 1940s era and with many years of fighting, equality was accomplished. References
Brown, Nikki L.M., and Barry M. Stentiford. The Jim Crow Encyclopedia. 2 Vols. Westport: Greewood Press, 2008.
Klarman, Michael J. From Jim Crow to Civil Rights. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
USA. Well, airplanes flyin' 'cross the land and the sea .Blues song. 1940s.
Wormser, Richard. The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2003.

U.S.A. – Music Genre: Blues — Time: early 1940s
Well, airplanes flyin' 'cross the land and the sea,
Everybody flyin' but a Negro like me.
Uncle Sam says, "Your place is on the ground,
When I fly my airplanes, don't want no Negro 'round."
The same thing for the navy, ships goes to sea,
All they got is a messboy's job for me.
Uncle Sam says, "Keep on your apron, son,
You know I ain't gonna let you shoot my big navy gun."
Got my long government letters, my time to go,
When I got to the army, found the same old Jim Crow.
Uncle Sam says, "Two camps for black and white,"
But when trouble starts, we'll all be in that same big fight.
If you ask me I think democracy is fine,
I mean democracy without the color line.
Uncle Sam says, "We'll live the American way;"
Let's get together and kill Jim Crow today.