Abstract:
Patriotic songs are found and used extensively in every society. However, the purposes and the characteristics of them vary in each group or country. But they still have one thing in common, that is, to encourage patriotism, loyalty and the need to protect the nation. Normally, each community has only a few of them. But Thailand is an exception, for we have quite a large number of patriotic songs with different themes. Not surprisingly, themes relate closely to the changing situations in Thailand, concerning politics, economics and the society as a whole. Anyway, they still serve the same objective, that is, to arouse and encourage the Thai people to think and perform in accordance with the policy of the government at the moment. These ideas are presented on the form of songs which have their own attributes. In addition to the words clearly expressing the concepts, they also use the melody, the rhythm and the instrumentation to appeal the emotions of the listeners. The researcher thus made is to analyze not only the themes and the language used - whilst including the definition and the musical quality of the melody, the rhythm and the instrumentation, etc. in Thai patriotic songs but also their relationship to the political situations of the country during the period from 1932-1982. The analysis begins with data collection, namely, Thai patriotic songs during this period and the specific year in which each one was composed which are included in Appendix of this thesis. Then we analyze theoretically the theme in each song, looking for any clue or variation with relation to the political conditions of the period. Finally came the results. The record of Thai patriotic songs composed during the year 1932-1985 that can be traced is 448. This indicates that we have had such a remarkable record of patriotic songs to serve various objectives. Each song aimed at persuading Thai people to think and act in particular way which differed according to several circumstances. For example, during the period from 1938-1944 and 1947-1957 when Premier General P. Piboonsongkram was the Prime Minister, most patriotic songs were composed when compared with other periods. Nonetheless, the themes of these songs are quite one way or another to those of other regimes. They encouraged the people to love, be loyal and willing to do whatever possible for the protection and development of the country with the emphasis on certain values to suit a particular circumstance. As for the musical nature, such as the melody, the rhythm and the instrumentation used, there is a clear evidence of regular and gradual improvement. Considering the purposes, patriotic songs can be classified into 3 categories, namely, at national level, at service level and at group level. Those at national level undoubtedly tell either the history or the heroic deeds bravely performed by our ancestors while those at service level show the strength, the fightings and the efficiency of certain units, usually the armed services. And to even lesser degree, the patriotic songs belonging to group level encourage the unity of any group. As for the composers of Thai patriotic songs, it is found that most of them are composed by 2 or more composers, but there is no clear evidence that any relationship exists between the composers and the themes of the songs. Still, the words of the songs tend to be closely related to the themes. Moreover, considering the language, the expressions and the choices of words used in the songs, we discover that most of them support democracy and democratic political climate. This is unquestionably to our political advantage and really helps with the development of the country. Since 1973, Thai patriotic songs have gradually improved their trends and themes as well as the correction of any ineffective elements, especially after 1982 when the people have been highly encouraged to participate in more and more political activities which is the very first stepping stone to a better democratic system in the future.