Fables of Faubus (1959)

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Fables of Faubus is a composition written by jazz double bassist and composer Charles Mingus. One of Mingus's most explicitly political works, the song was written as a direct protest against Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, who in 1957 sent out the National Guard to prevent the racial integration of Little Rock Central High School by nine African American teenagers, in what became known as the Little Rock Crisis.[1]

Key Lyrics

Name me someone who's ridiculous, Dannie.

Governor Faubus!

Why is he so sick and ridiculous?

He won't permit integrated schools.


Name me a handful that's ridiculous, Dannie Richmond.

Faubus, Rockefeller, Eisenhower.

Why are they so sick and ridiculous?

Recording and Reception

Covers

Reception

  1. Charles Hersch. Democratic Artworks: Politics and the Arts from Trilling to Dylan. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3801-5. Retrieved from Wikipedia, February 1, 2021.