1887
Volume 18, Issue 4
  • ISSN 1569-2159
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9862
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Abstract

Abstract

In this article I start from an understanding of songs as socio-cultural discourses which may also perform a political function. This political function can be reflected in the promotion of particular world-views about given socio-political events and/or in the attempt by the singer to make the audience perform given political actions. To prove this, I will look at the re-contextualisation process undergone by a well-known song by U2: “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” (1983). This song was originally written to respond to the violence of the Northern Irish conflict, but it has been later used to react to other socio-political events. By relying on a cognitive approach to the study of songs, this paper tries to answer two questions: (i) how can we explain the re-contextualisation process undergone by the song and why is it possible? and (ii) how is politics embedded in musical performances?

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2019-06-28
2025-05-01
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): constructivism; discourse space theory; musical performance; songs; text-world theory; U2
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