What are Work Songs?
What are Work Songs?Answer: Work songs are those that are sung while working or performing a task. It’s also a way to express a laborers’ sentiments about his/her job and working conditions. This type of song exists around the world, for example: Japanese work songs are called min-yo while in Trinidad they sing what is called gayap. Black Americans who were enslaved sang a lot of work songs from which spirituals and the blues were derived. Laborers such as miners, sheep shears and those who are in prison sing work songs as they perform their tasks. Work songs are sung for different reasons including: • to express sentiments and frustrations • to encourage support and action • to express ideas or tell a story • to fight boredom • to increase work efficiency These type of songs possess certain characteristics: • it is sung a cappella • it can be sung solo or by a group of workers • it incorporates the movements and sounds of the workers into the song • the lyrics may or may not reflect t
