Labi Siffre's Impact On American Culture

Nothing Frightens people more than change. Infact people's resistance to change often creates negative consequences, such as the Civil war as a result of the South’s resistance to the abolition of slavery. With every new generation comes change, whether it be clothing, hairstyles, or even music. The 70s brought about a lot of change within the world which then inturn affected the music that was produced during the time. The older people looked at the young folks and the music they were producing as strange and offensive. With drug influenced songs and weird and offensive lyrics many 70s bands like Black Sabbath, spit in the proverbial face of the old classics of the 60s and earlier. Artists such as Labi Siffre were having none of their long hair and crazy music as expressed in his less than subtle song song “ I Don’t Know What Happened to the Kids”. The juxtaposition of Labi’s song and Black Sabbath’s song “Iron Man” as Black Sabbath is apart of the group of “kids” Labi is worried about. The first divide between the two can be discovered when examining just the structure of the two songs against each other. The song is very simple instrumentally, for the first two minutes and twenty-two seconds the song only consists of Labi’s voice and his acoustic guitar. For the next thirty seconds the guitar is accompanied by drums, fluttering strings and
a few woodwinds. For the remainder of the twenty-one seconds we are played out only by the acoustic guitar. The song itself is simple with one extended verse and a short chorus at the end with Labi repeating the sentence “ I don’t know what happened to the kids today”. Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” is far more intricate in terms of structure and instrumentation. Electric guitars with various effects to manipulate the sound, drums, and bass are present all throughout the entire song. There are many different sections that act as breakaways from the original melody introduced in the beginning of the song that add much needed variety to a five minute and fifty-five second song. With seven petite verses and no chorus this song completely turns the structural expectations of a normal rock song. With the absence of a chorus and a hook Black Sabbath embodies everything the 70s was about, fighting against conformity. Both of these songs are very typical in the grand scheme of the artist’s portfolio of work. From the subject matter of the lyrics to the style and instruments used to craft the song. Most if not all of Labi Siffre’s work is in the acoustic style with drums, bass, and piano. He often tackles issues that were arising in the world around him. As an openly gay singer he often wrote songs that dealt with homophobia and racism directly. In the song “I Don’t Know What Happened to the Kids’’ he is expressing his disapproval for the way the youth of his day were carrying themselves, he even went as far as to sing “I can't say that I fought for kids like you in the war”. He points his specifics dislikes in the lyrics with phrases such as
“We didn't have none of this crazy music
We didn't have none of these crazy clothes
We didn't have guys getting high on the door stop
We didn't have none of those no, no
I don't care for these long haired guys
They need a good bath
They got shifty eyes”
In this verse he points to everything many of the older people in that era were finding obscene that the youth of that day was doing. Black Sabbath was the epitome of the kids Labi Siffre was so worried about. They had the long hair, indulged in drugs, and had some freaky music for the times. With strong gritty guitars and a screaming lead singer, Black Sabbath struck fear into the hearts of many of the adults of the early 70s including Labi Siffre. With their song “Iron man” nothing is new, their usually lyrics revolve around strange or even crazy stories with subliminal messages that dealt with issues in the current times. With their song “War Pigs” the band conveyed their deep dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War and how the American government was handling it. With the song “Iron Man” Black Sabbath dealt with society’s fear of something different even if that difference could benefit society. The song revolves around a man who has traveled back in time to warn the world about the apocalypse, but due to his strange iron like appearance society ignored, mocked and mistreated him to the point where he became so angry he let out his frustration and destroyed the world himself to bring the song to an ironic self fulfilling end. The lyrics and language used by the band may seem crazy at first, but when a closer look is taken they are just re-telling an age old tale. In a sociological sense Labi Siffre’s “I don’t know what happened to the kids” is a classic case of generations butting heads.
It is a little strange that an openly gay black musician in the 70s was opposed to the change the new generation of young adults and musician were introducing to society. It’s not just a disgust for the new generation, but an all around disappointment as if he felt he had done so much to set an example for them, but all they have done is let him down. This can be seen in the last verse of the song when he sings “I would have thought that after fifty-five
years
A body could expect some kind of respect from the kids today
I don't know what's happened to the kids today
I don't know what's happened to the kids today”
He was not alone in these thoughts towards the new generation as almost everyone his age were deeply disappointed with what the new generation had become. Labi Siffre’s “ I don’t know what happened to the kids” and Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” act as two opposites sides of the spectrum or two opposite sides of the battle for the 70s. Labi representing the