Week 4
Singing about the Dream: Whitman, Hughes, and Modern Music 

For Whitman, the American Dream was tied to a collective unity, where personal freedom and the country's democratic principles intertwined, allowing people to thrive individually while also working toward the common good.

"O Me! O Life!" by Walt Whitman is a reflective poem in which Whitman grapples with existential questions about the purpose and value of life. The poem is set in mid-19th century America, a period marked by rapid industrialization, social troubles, and increasing urbanization. Whitman observes society with a sense of weariness and despair, recognizing human failings, moral confusion, and the prevalence of selfishness and materialism in his era.

Whitman's use of “O Me! O Life!” shows how he acknowledges human imperfections while still holding to an optimistic view of individual choice, encouraging readers to find purpose and value in their unique roles within the broader human experience. The poem ultimately becomes a message of hope, underscoring Whitman’s faith in humanity's potential to create meaning even amid hardship.

Imagine your life as a story, with you as the author of one powerful line—a "verse" that says something unique about who you are or want to be. What do you hope to contribute to the world, or how do you wish to leave your mark? 

Write a short reflection in your notebook capturing the impact you hope your life will have, the values you want to live by, and/or the legacy you want to create. 

Hughes’ era (early 1900s through the mid-20th century) saw the realities of the racial divides and socioeconomic inequalities that Whitman’s vision had not fully addressed. The Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, and the rise of the Civil Rights Movement all highlighted the struggles for racial justice and equality. Hughes’ work captured the disillusionment of Black Americans who felt excluded from the American Dream that Whitman had idealized. Where Whitman’s voice echoed with optimism, Hughes' included both hope and critique, challenging America to fulfill its promise of equality and justice.

In New York (ayy, ah-ha) (uh, yeah)

Concrete jungle (yeah) where dreams are made of

There's nothin' you can't do (yeah) (okay)

Now you're in New York (ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha) (uh, yeah)

These streets will make you feel brand new (new)

Big lights will inspire you (come on) (okay)

Let's hear it for New York (you're welcome, OG) (uh)

New York (yeah), New York (uh)  (I made you hot, n*gga) 

This is the shit you dream about with the homies steaming out

Back-to-back, backing them Beemers out

Seems as our plans to get a grant

To go off to college, didn't pan or even out

We need it now, we need a town

We need a place to pitch, we need a mound

For now, I'm just a lazy boy

Big dreaming in my La-Z-Boy

In the clouds of smoke, been playing this Marvin

Mama forgive me, should be thinking about Harvard

But that's too far away, my n*ggas are starving 

Tell me what you know about dreamin', dreamin'
You don't really know about nothin', nothin'
Tell me what you know about them night terrors every night
Five AM cold sweats, waking up to the sky
Tell me what you know about dreams, dreams
Tell me what you know about night terrors, nothin'
You don't really care about the trials of tomorrow
Rather lay awake in the bed full of sorrow

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know
Everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold, hey
I'll be fine once I get it, yeah, I'll be good

Man, I promise, I'm so self-conscious

That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches

Rollies and Pashas done drove me crazy

I can't even pronounce nothin', pass that Ver-say-see

Then I spent four hundred bucks on this

Just to be like, "Nigga, you ain't up on this"

And I can't even go to the grocery store

Without some Ones that's clean and a shirt with a team

It seem we livin' the American Dream

But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem

The prettiest people do the ugliest things

For the road to riches and diamond rings

We shine because they hate us, floss 'cause they degrade us

We tryna buy back our 40 acres

And for that paper, look how low we'll stoop

Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coupe 

Keepin all these dreams

Provin nature's laws wrong

It learned how to walk without havin feet (to breathe the fresh air)

It came from concrete (to breathe the fresh air)

(to breathe the fresh air, to breathe the fresh air)

You see you wouldn't ask why the rose that grew from the concrete

Had damaged petals. On the contrary, we would all celebrate its

Tenacity. We would all love it's will to reach the sun

Well, we are the roses - this is the concrete - and these are

My damaged petals. Don't ask me why, thank God n*gga, ask me how! 

Tryin' not to panic, couldn't imagine what was done

Father Time fucked Mother Earth and had an Uncle Tom

Now, them crackers snatchin' black cats by they tongue

For the cheese, rats creepin' on yo' T.V. screen, sellin' you dreams

Granny buyin' holy waters off of Joel Osteen

Rubbin' it in my brother head, say a prayer on her knees

I used to be jealous of Jared and Patrel Ahkim, even Farad

Had the new Js and new jeans on, it's what I wanted at the time

As a pre-teen, pretend I'm a star

Pretty model in a G-string, sitting on top the car

With the bottle that she drinkin', leavin' from out the bar

Scheme on the dollar, thinkin' if anybody is talkin'

Put some green on his head, he better be Marcus Smart

But, we never had a thing, so, he's always in my thoughts because

I ate so many bologna sandwiches as a child

I'll kill a nigga if he made one for me right now

Ironic that being broke is an expensive lifestyle

No wonder they sellin' dope from sun rose to sundown

Tryna get mo', screamin' out the window

Money, money, all I need, all I want (Yeah)

Take it from me, leave you stank, smell the funk (You stink)

Money, money, all they need, all they want (Yeah, uh-uh, uh)

Take it from me, no, you can't, no, you don't (Uh, uh)

I'm tired of living with demons cause they always inviting more
Think being broke was better
Now I don't mean that phrase with no disrespect
To all my niggas out there living in debt

Cashing minimal checks
Turn on the TV see a nigga Rolex
And fantasise about a life with no stress
I mean this shit sincerely

And that's a nigga who was once in your shoes
Living with nothin' to lose
I hope one day you hear me
Always gon' be a bigger house somewhere, but nigga feel me

'Long as the people in that motherfucker love you dearly
Always gon' be a whip that's better than the the one you got
Always gon' be some clothes that's fresher than the one's you rock
Always gon' be a bitch that's badder out there on the tours

But you ain't never gon' be happy till you love yours
No such thing as a life that's better than yours (Love yourz)

My dreams have always gone beyond the crossing of a pond

As a mother, every path I walked was for my son

Challenges were a part of the journey

And what I wanted was an afterthought

The idea of providing him proper chances

Helped me to never stop moving forward

Forever confronting whatever transitions that needed to be endured

To make his position as a winner more secured

verse

Now I smile, feeling assured

My choices wеre not in vain

Locations and situations constantly change

But my unwavering hеart remains

For all the trials and all the pain

The mission is as it's always been

For my son to become a man and live free in his American dream