Jazmine Colvin

Colvin1

Project 3
Dr. Suhr-Sytsma
21 April 2016

Victor Hugo once said, Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is
impossible to be silent. Similar to Hugo, I believe that the use of music as expression enables a
person to share many of the things they would never say out loud. Music also has the ability to
reach people from varying backgrounds and the same lyrics can tell different stories depending
on the listener. This importance of music is demonstrated in Melissa Zobels Wabanaki Blues
through the main character Mona LaPierre. Mona is a blues musician and throughout the course
of the novel uses music as her avenue for conveying her emotions and thoughts to the reader.
Mona sees music as her outlet and getaway but also the bridge between her thoughts and reality.
The musical selections in Wabanaki Blues present to the reader a plethora of meanings. On the
surface the selections are there simply as devices for Mona to display her feelings but underneath
the surface, these songs serve as a vehicle to display the internal emotions of not only Mona but
those around her and also show where the life of Mona (and other Natives) and those different
from her cross paths. An examples of this would be the inclusion of the song Why I Sing the
Blues by B.B. King in Wabanaki Blues. Through examination and analysis of the lyrics, the
context with the novel, and other scholarly work, I will argue that this song has significance in
Wabanaki Blues because it is used as a coping method for grief and intergenerational trauma on
Native lives and also the intersections between the African American experience and the Native
experience.
In order to build a house, one must lay down a foundation; in order to begin to understand
a song one must understand the artist. As I reported earlier, the artist charged with the song Why

Jazmine Colvin

Colvin2

Project 3
Dr. Suhr-Sytsma
21 April 2016

I Sing the Blues is blues musician B.B. King. Known as one of the most prominent artists
within the genre of blues, he is said to have the ability to manipulate individual strings till the
notes seem to cry (B.B. King Biography). Being born in 1925, King witnessed much of the
trauma that occurred to African Americans such as Jim Crow. However, B.B. King believed in
the healing quality of blues music (B.B. King Biography). He wanted his music not only to
reach African Americans but any person who feels the similar feelings conveyed in blues. Some
of his most prominent words on this are as follows: Im trying to get people to see that we are
our brothers keeper, He continues with Red, white, black, brown or yellow, rich or poor, we
all have the blues (B.B. King Biography). These words by King are echoed in both the lyrics
of the song Why I Sing the Blues and the use of it in Wabanaki Blues.
Why I Sing the Blues was produced in 1969, tells the tale of African American history
and tragedy (B.B. Kings 10 Greatest Songs). The song begins with King depicting slavery and
the pain associated with it. The song then transitions and shows many issues that affect African
American life during the time period this song was produced and still today such as poverty, lack
of good education, and being oppressed. At the end of every verse B.B. King drives home his
points by repeating the title of the song along with an explanation that he is entitled to sing the
blues:
Yes, I say everybody wanna know
Why Im sing the blues
Well, Ive been around a long time

Jazmine Colvin

Colvin3

Project 3
Dr. Suhr-Sytsma
21 April 2016

I really have paid my dues (King)

Through Kings lyrics the audience is able to get a glimpse into the suffering African Americans
experience, not only in their present lives but throughout generations as a result of oppression
from Caucasians. While B.B. King himself was not brought over on a slave ship he experiences
the pain of that event because he is aware of his history. In a sense, he is still victim to the men
standing over me and a lot more with a whip because the culture responsible for this during
slavery is the same culture responsible for oppressing African Americans in the present. This
phenomenon of descendants of oppressed people being affected by what has happened in the
past, the remembrance of the trauma, and then continually being oppressed is known as historical
trauma theory. This theory has been analyzed and explained by many scholars and is not
exclusive to African Americans but is prevalent within other ethnic communities. Historical
trauma is very widespread within the Native community and has been studied by scholars such
as Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart.
Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart is a Native scholar who has done research on Native
historical trauma and has found many connections between historical trauma, intergenerational
grief, depression, substance abuse, and suicide. In her article, Historical Trauma Among
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Concepts, Research, and Clinical Considerations she
discusses these issues and how prevalent they are in Native society. From observing studies,
Brave Heart saw that PTSD and depression are in higher magnitude among Natives than in other
ethnic group (qtd. in Brave Heart 283). She also informs the reader that Native suicide rates are

Jazmine Colvin

Colvin4

Project 3
Dr. Suhr-Sytsma
21 April 2016

50% than other groups (qtd. in Brave Heart 283). These shocking statistics are all too real for
many Native communities and are exhibited in Wabanaki Blues. In the novel, Mona has struggle
with suicide while her mother struggles with what could possibly be PTSD and depression.
Monas mother hit a bear when she was a teenager and this caused her to abandon the woods
from which she was from (Zobel 148). Subsequently, Monas mother has a dependence on the
pills as a result of depression. Mona also struggles with depression partially from the neglect of
her mother and also her constantly being an outsider and not having a very solid sense of selfidentity. Both of these issues Mona deals with can be seen as a result of intergenerational grief;
because Monas mother has experienced trauma she in turn neglects Mona therefore traumatizing
Mona. We see a similar situation in the novel with Del and Will Pyne. Will Pyne is constantly
grieving the trauma of his fiance, Mia Delaney, being murdered and her killer never being
found. His way of coping becomes substance abuse by constantly drinking alcohol (Zobel 111).
Maria Brave Heart demonstrates that alcoholism is a prevalent issue in Native culture to
the point that deathfromalcoholrelatedcausesbeingfivetimesmorelikelyforAmerican
IndiansthanforWhiteAmericans(qtd.inBraveHeart283).AlcoholismisastruggleforWill
Pyneandhebecomessodependentofitasaresultofhisgrieffailingtoberecognizedand
addressed.AsJanJohnsonarguesinHealingtheSoulWound,Victimsofhistoricaltrauma
desperatelyneedsomeonetovalidatetheirpainbyacknowledgingtheirgrief(Johnson232).By
WillPynehavingnooneknowthatMiawashisfianceorthemotherofhischild,inadditionto

Jazmine Colvin

Colvin5

Project 3
Dr. Suhr-Sytsma
21 April 2016

havinghermurderunsolvedforyearsonend,thetraumabegantodestroyhimandheturnedto
alcohol.ThosewhoexperiencetraumamustfindawaytocopeandwhileforWillPyneitwas
alcoholweseeforMonahercopingmechanismistheBlues.TheuseofnotonlyBluesmusic
butofaB.B.KingsonginthenoveldrawsinterestingparallelsbetweentheexperiencesMona
hasasaNativeandtheexperiencesofAfricanAmericans.
SimilartoNativeAmericans,AfricanAmericanshaveexperiencedyearsofoppression
throughoutmultiplegenerationsthathashadaneffecttheirlifeexperiences.Bothgroups,dueto
racismarenowplightedwithinstitutionalracism,poverty,andlackofaccesstoeducation.In
heranalysisoftheeffectsofslaveryonAfricanAmericans,shearguesthattraumadoesnotneed
tobedirectinorderforindividualsandthosearoundthemtofeelitseffects(Wilkins18).Dueto
thesimilaritiesinhistoryofNativesandAfricanAmericans,thisallowsforthetwogroupsto
relatetooneanotherandalsotheyusesimilarcopingmechanisms.AsB.B.Kingbelievedinthe
healingqualitiesofBluesthisiswhatweseeinthelyricsofWhyISingtheBluesandits
placementinWabanakiBlues.Inthecontextofthenovel,thissongisntsungbyMonaitis
insteadsungbyMillicentDribble,Monaslovescornedprincipal.Atfirst,Monawantstosing
thesongbutshedoesnt(Zobel300).Thismomentshowshowthesamesongisabletoconnect
todifferentpeople.WhyIsingtheBluesisasongaboutAfricanAmericanexperiences,butis
feltbybothaprincipalwhohaslostherloveandhertalentandayoungteenagerwhoislocked

Jazmine Colvin

Colvin6

Project 3
Dr. Suhr-Sytsma
21 April 2016

insideajanitorsclosetandbelieveshehasreachedherdeath.Thisdemonstratesthepowerof
havingacommonlink.NativeandAfricanAmericansdonothaveidenticalexperiences,
howeverthroughthecommonlinkofoppressionbywhitepeoplethesetwogroupsareableto
findaconnection.
ItispossiblethatMelissaZobelisawareofthisintersectionbetweenNativesandAfrican
Americansandshepurposelyshowsthesetwoethnicgroupsbeingsointermingledinthenovel.
FromreadingweareabletoconcludethatMiaDelaneyishalfAfricanAmericanandboth
CelineandShankdaddyareofJamaicandescent.Consequently,MiabeingDelsmotherand
WillPynebeinghisfather,heisofmixedracebeingAfricanAmerican,NativeandWhite.The
intersectionofthegroupsinthenovelalsoisexhibitedwhenanalyzingthepaternalrelationship
betweenMia,Celine,Delandtheirfathers.MiaandCelinesrelationshipwiththeirfatherwas
shakyduetothefactthatShankdaddywaspreoccupiedwithalcoholandheleftCelinesmother
forMias(Zobel263)Similarly,Delandhisfatheralsohaveashakyrelationshipbecauseof
Willsdrinking.()Weseethatcharactersinthenovelallhavetheirownreasonsforwhythey
singthebluesandmanyofthesereasonsstemfromtraumaisindirectandunresolvedgrief.
Inconclusion,MelissaZobelsinclusionofWhyIsingtheBluesinWabanakiBlues
bringsoutelementsofthestorythatmayotherwisehavebeenhidden.Thesongnotonly
continuestheuseofmusicasadevicetoexpressemotionbutitalsoisusedasadevicetoexhibit

Jazmine Colvin

Colvin7

Project 3
Dr. Suhr-Sytsma
21 April 2016

thetraumamanyofthecharactershaveexperienced.Italsohighlightstheconnectionbetween
theNativeandAfricanAmericanexperienceandtheactualcontentofthesongoffersarelatable
elementthatallowscharactersdealingwithvariousissuestoconnectwiththesong.Thissong
alsohighlightsthecommonlinkbetweenAfricanandNativeAmericans.B.B.Kingslyricsare
usedforthehealingqualities.Onemayaskthesignificanceoftheothersongsinthenoveloris
ZobelwasawareoftheconclusionsthatcanbedrawnformheruseofWhyISingtheBlues?
B.B.Kingsoutlookonhowmusichastheabilitytohealandrebuildthespiritofagrieving
personisexhibitedwiththissonginparticularandthroughoutWabanakiBlues.Zobelhas
offeredahealthygatewaytocopingforthosewhoareinneedthroughMonaLaPierreandher
characters.

Jazmine Colvin

Colvin8

Project 3
Dr. Suhr-Sytsma
21 April 2016

Works Cited
"B.B. King Biography." The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum. The Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame + Museum. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. <https://rockhall.com/inductees/bb-king/bio/>.
"B.B. King's 10 Greatest Songs." Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/b-b-kings-10-greatest-songs-20150515/why-ising-the-blues-1969-20150515>.
Heart, Maria Yellow Horse Brave, Josephine Chase, Jennifer Elkins, and Deborah B. Altschul.
"Historical Trauma Among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Concepts, Research, and
Clinical Considerations." Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 43.4 (2011): 282-90. Web.
Johnson, Jan. "Healing the Soul Wound." Sherman Alexie: A Collection of Critical Essays. Salt
Lake City: U of Utah, 2010. 224-40. Print.
Wilkins, Erica, et al. "Residual Effects of Slavery: What Clinicians Need to Know."
Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal 35.1 (2013): 14-28. Academic
Search Alumni Edition. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
Zobel, Melissa Tantaquidgeon. Wabanaki Blues. Scottsdale: Poisoned Pencil, AZ. Print.