Finding a few songs that really capture the essence of the material we've read has been a bit daunting of a task. While the selection of material to read has had a natural progression, there are so many thoughts and feelings associated with it that it's hard to narrow it down to 2-3 songs without leaving out something really important. I chose three songs but out of the three, I found two to be the most fitting.

     Over the course of the first ten weeks, the image of Captain John Smith was rewritten in my head. I was wrapped up in the Disney portrayal of Smith and quite honestly, knew not much more than that. After reading and listening to Chief Powhatan’s address to Captain John Smith, I decided to use Powhatan as one of the people’s whose ipod I would imagine to have a particular song. The song I chose for Powhatan is Price Tag by Jessie J. I chose Powhatan because as I read the first few weeks of assignments, I felt like the exploration to America was for the opportunist because they came here and took control of everything. While seizing an opportunity is not a bad thing, the manner in which this opportunity was seized cost a great deal of grief, left lasting effects and the basis was greed.

     My heart was touched when I read about Bartolome and how he basically dedicated his life to helping the Indigenous people. He renounced all of his earthly possessions including the Indian slaves his father had obtained based on his moral convictions, and then he set out to use his power and words to free the people. For a person to have this type of compassion in this time to dedicate their life to freeing a race of people that was different from their own was not common. I see the correlation to the song Price Tag with all those who opposed Bartolome and the people who had no moral conviction towards the treatment of others.

     Fast forward to the early 1600s. Captain John Smith comes to America. He has numerous encounters with Native Americans, one of which involved his life being spared by a young girl named Pocahontas.

A speech addressed directly to John Smith from Chief Powhatan is the final connection and reason for the chosen song. In this speech, the chief begins by sharing that he’s old and has seen many things, but eventually he addresses the rumors he heard about Smith coming to attack his people. Powhatan asks in his speech, “ What will it availe you to take that by force you may quickly have by love or to destroy them that provide you food. What can you get by warre, when we can hide our provisions and fly to the woods? Whereby you must famish by wronging us your friends.” (Powhatan) This is the first indication of Powhatan’s perception of Smith’s greed and deceitfulness. The first two verses in the song are “ Seems like everybody’s got a price. I wonder how they sleep at night.” I get the impression that it feels like betrayal because Powhatan goes on to say “Thinke you I am so simple, not to know it is better to eate good meate, lye well, and sleepe quietly with my women and children, laugh and be merry with you, have copper, hatchets, or what I want being your friend: then be forced to flie from all, to lie cold in the woods, feede upon Acornes, rootes and such trash, and be so hunted by you.” (Powhatan) I understand this to mean that Powhatan is quite aware that it is better to live in peace than be fearful of losing everything so he chooses to make friends with Smith. I related the first two verses of the song and Smith’s motives. I’m uncertain if Powhatan really acknowledges a relationship with Smith or if this is an attempt to make friendship and maintain peace and possession but there appears to be some sincerity in the words.

     Powhatan is also very old and wise. He’s trying to declare peace among his enemy because he realizes he will never be able to defeat him in his old age but not only that, his tribe has dwindled in numbers and he’s been a witness to it. In his life, he’s seen great things and terrible things but wishes for the greater things to be witnessed by his predecessors.

There are so many similarities in the ideas of the next few verses. In the song, it says” When the sale comes first and the truth comes second, just stop for a minute and smile. Why is everyone so obsessed? Money can’t buy you happiness.” Smith was regarded as having a take by force attitude without regard for anything or anyone. This would be no different. I see a strong resemblance for what Jessie is trying to say in the song with obsession to money. In this case, its wealth and possessions, which entails money but is not limited to that. Erin, in our previous discussions stated that, " Smith was a driven man but more so to the point of obtaining power that helping people"(Webster). I would agree with this statement.  Price Tag, the  song, goes on to suggest we take it back in time and refer to previous beliefs and behavior, in particular uniting. I believe Powhatan is suggesting the same thing. He talks about giving freely, love and peace. 

Powhatan would appear from the readings to be a reasonable man with some humility. I’m not certain if time and experience became the reason but it is obvious in this speech.

The portrayal of Native Americans throughout time has been unfortunate. It is almost as if they’ve had no voice. From the late 1400s when explorers like Columbus came here and Las Casa, we’ve seen these people to be depicted as barbaric, savages and black creatures, representing evil. We’ve seen the transformation of some men from one judgmental state to working along side the very people he prejudged. This was evident with Cabeza de Vaca and his adventures. His own men had abandoned him, leaving him for dead. He became a slave and eventually worked and traded among these same people, causing him to have a revelation and change of heart.

     There was a season in time when people wrote Captivity Narratives which was typically women being captured by Indians and waiting to be rescued by the hand of God (Campbell). Mary Rowlandson was well known for her captivity narratives. While I found no real association to the song, it was one of her stories that confirmed my thoughts of the unvoiced Indians and helped shape my decision to write about Powhatan, one of the first Indians to be perceived as a person in our readings.

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     The second person I chose was Roger Williams and the song I chose is called For Future Generations by 4Him. This song fits perfectly with William’s belief. This song is referring to the refusal to comprise with the world and it’s beliefs. In “The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution” by Williams, he breaks down the basic principals. In the principles, he states that all men should be granted the right to worship and speaks against war.

In another part of the book, he states, “ Next to saving of your souls in the lamentable shipwreck of mankind, your task as Christians is to save the souls, but as magistrates the bodies and good of others”. He’s saying that next to your own salvation, we should be trying to save the souls of others because this world is a terrible place because of man. In the song, the words are, “Profits of all, we can survive the planet, save a life”. This is parallel in what Williams is trying to say in his book. 

     Williams talks about “ Hypocrisy in the destruction of souls and how God did not require uniformity of religion to be enacted and enforced in any civil state”(Williams). Roger is referring to the free gift of God’s love to accept or reject it and not being forced because that nullifies God’s word and becomes hypocrisy. It’s almost like mimicking God to force someone to worship Him and Williams is speaking against out against that. Another part of the song that would fit appropriately with this is “Preservation of our faith, the price has been paid”. So in the bible, Jesus Christ, whom Williams mentions as well has paid the price for all of man’s sin and with the love that God gives, each person is supposed to accept or reject it on their own free will.

The next few words to the song are, “ I won’t water down my veins. I won’t compromise for a world of desperation. What has been I cannot change, for tomorrow and today, be a light for future generations”. This part of the song ties in with “ It is the will and command of God that, since the coming of his Son the Lord Jesus, a permission of the most Paganish, Jewish, Turkish, or anti-christian consciences and worships be granted to all men in all nations and countries: and they are only to be fought against with that sword which is only, in soul matters, able to conquer: to wit, the sword of God’s spirit, the word of God” and “ But withal I desire it may be well observed, that this distinction is not full and complete. For besides this, that a man may be persecuted because he holdeth or practiseth what he believes in conscience to be a truth, as Daniel did, for which he was cast into the lion’s den”(Williams).

      To sum up these two quotes, Williams is saying that men should be given freedom to worship as stated before. The latter part of the quote is referring to Daniel who refused to compromise his belief and because of it was sentenced to death by way of a lion’s den. Daniel was to be put in the lion’s den but in the morning, when they returned, Daniel was untouched by the lions.  This is also attest to a man believing in what he holds as truth to be truth.

     I picked two completely different songs to describe the past ten weeks. These songs are at opposite ends of the spectrum because one depicts a side of man that is unfavorable and the other depicts a side that is more honorable. We’ve read about malice, greed, and pleasure but we also read about people with compassion, love and sincerity. The reality is that this is what makes up the world and the more things change, the more they remain the same. Williams would have this song on his ipod because this is what he professed in his writings and it was that same belief that got him banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. If he had an ipod, he would be listening to For Future Generations repeatedly as he traveled down the bumpy dirt road. 

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