In my former life as an elementary school teacher, I took great pride in establishing a safe and positive atmosphere in my classrooms. I wanted the students to feel relaxed while they were at school. I wanted them to know that they could trust me to always give them a fair shake when it came to helping them navigate the social milieu that is a classroom. One of the ways that I did that was through a process known as community building. In a classroom, students and teachers progress through a series of shared social, intellectual, emotional and physical experiences. The success of such a shared journey is made more likely when an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding is established right from the beginning. Thus, from the very first moments of our first school day together, I would refer to the kids and I as a school family or a classroom family. I would remind them that we were about to spend more time together with each other than we would with almost anyone else outside of their own families at home. Therefore, it would be nice if we all got along. Getting along, as I made clear, was not the same as liking each other or being best friends forever. What it was about was showing a level of patience and curiosity and respect for those in our classroom that you would want them to show for you in reply. In a social setting where participants feel that mutual trust exists, the potential for people to let their guards down and reveal their true selves increases. When this process of revelation occurs in an atmosphere of positivity, the results can, and often are, very moving and beautiful. Being part of something that is bigger than yourself can be life-affirming in the most important of ways. Those moments in our classroom when someone had a breakthrough and everyone else cheered or else, when someone shared a piece of art or a story or a poem and their peers ooohed and aaahed instead of snickering, those moments made my job the most wonderful job in the whole world. When you can help another human feel that the person they actually are has value and meaning that matters then, you have accomplished something truly special.
In the world of music, one genre that has turned the process of community building into a fine art is the genre known as Punk rock. People find their communities for a variety of reasons. One of the hallmarks of almost every single punk rock band of note in music history has been the connection they established with their fans. Punk rockers have often cast themselves as outsiders, misfits and castoffs. Many of their song lyrics are based on topics such as alienation, non-conformity and the power dynamic that exists throughout society. Bands thrash about and shout their slogans to the sky. Fans hear those words in basements and parks and sidewalks and feel seen. Consequently, fans find their bands and bands find their fans. At concerts, those fans who previously felt alone and like outsiders in their world look around and see a room filled with people who feel exactly the same way they do. Knowing you are not alone is a powerful first step in developing that sense of community. The world of punk rock has a long history of providing a safe harbour for those souls who were socially adrift. Most concerts were held in close quarters, with band members and fans inter-mingling on stage and on the floor all throughout the lightning fast sets. The shared energy of each performance fueled fans and bands alike. This is one of the reasons that fan devotion was offered in such a hard and forceful and unconditional way. When there is trust between a band and its fans then those fans will follow a band anywhere. In the end, the only thing that matters is the music and the connection. There are no pyrotechnics. There are no choreographed back up dancers. There is no VIP section for those who can pay more. There is just a band and their fans and the music that they share. For me, there is a purity of community to be found in the punk rock scene that I don’t feel in other genres such as Pop or Country.
One of the most iconic punk rock songs ever is one that touches upon this very intimate, heartfelt connection. It is a song called “Bro-Hymn” from the self-titled debut album by California punkers Pennywise. If you know your modern day cultural markers then you will be aware that the name Pennywise comes from the clown of the same name made famous by author Stephen King. ***On a random but connected note: the Stephen King It movie franchise has had many of its scenes filmed in the town of Port Hope, Ontario, which sits directly west of where I live in Cobourg. Pennywise the Clown is someone we are all well used to seeing around our neck of the woods. Anyway, Pennywise the band came into being in the late 1980s and gained national attention just as the Skater Punk sub genre took off with bands such as NOFX, Blink -182, The Offspring, Bad Religion, Rancid and Green Day. Thus, Pennywise found itself in the nexus of two powerful communities…their own band fanbase, along with those who loved all of the skater boi bands. It is great to be loved and to give that love back. Those early days were heady ones that saw Pennywise touring the world with other bands of their ilk, as well as helping to establish iconic mixed tours such as the Vans Warped Tours. But with every story of success and achievement, there come troubling times as well. For Pennywise, the band had lost several friends to accident and/or to addiction just as they were heading off to greater musical heights. The loss of their friends hit the band hard, as one would expect. As a result, the song “Bro-Hymn” came into being.
“Bro-Hymn” is a punk song that acts as a eulogy of sorts. In fact, it is a song that had enjoyed enormous initial success when it was first released in 1991, only to be re-recorded and released again in 1997 when band member Mike Thirsk passed away due to suicide. This second version was released on the band’s fourth album called Full Circle and was entitled “Bro-Hymn (Tribute)”. Since 1997, whenever the band plays this song live, they usually sing a combination of the lyrics of both songs. As much as “Bro-Hymn” is a song about loss, it is just as much a song about community. The lyrics of the song speak to that feeling one gets when fully immersed in a particular community of like-minded individuals. “Bro-Hymn” speaks of standing together and having each other’s backs in good times and bad. It honours the dead and recommits to honouring the living. The musical structure of the song is simple and is built upon a foundation of the sound the a long-O such as the way the “o” sounds in the word “Bro”. That long-O sound lends itself to communal chanting and singing. The very ease with which whole audiences can launch into the shared musical experience helps reinforce the community building aspects of the song and the band and the punk movement, itself, all in one song. In fact, whenever Pennywise plays “Bro-Hymn” live at a concert, the stage fills with audience members in as immersive and interactive an experience as you are going to find anywhere. It is the essence of what Punk rock means to bands and their fans. “Bro-Hymn” is anthemic. It is iconic. It is a song that means that you have found your people and that you are safe and welcome there with them. It is what community means.
Since Pennywise released both versions of “Bro-Hymn”, the songs have been adopted by numerous sports teams as their own goal song or touchdown song. Thus, that sense of musical community has transferred over in the world of sports and has helped many teams establish their own sense of community with their fans. There is just something about singing aloud in public during good times with people who share your hopes and dreams, especially when all that you have to know is the long sound of the letter “O”. A second interesting phenomenon that has emerged as a result of “Bro-Hymn” has been on social media. Because lots of people like sing-along songs and because “Bro-Hymn” is, at its core, a sing-along anthem, there are many videos of live Pennywise performances on social media, especially on YouTube. The interesting element of that is how the comments section of these videos has begun to serve as a global discussion board for those who have lost significant people from the lives. By sharing their own grief in such a way, they found the strength to go on, not only through the music but, through the strength of the community they have felt from others who have rallied around them in their time of need. The “Bro-Hymn” message was originally meant to reflect the emotions of the members of Pennywise as they dealt with grief. But now, the song is allowing others to seek support in their own time of need in ways that would not have been possible without social media and/or without punk music’s own deeply entrenched sense of community. Pennywise has many good songs but even if they didn’t and were only ever known for “Bro-Hymn”, it would still have been enough based upon the good it has done for so many people around the world. I hope the boys in the band are proud of what they have accomplished because they deserve to be.
As for the rest of us, the lessons inherent in community building, whether in a classroom, on a sports team, in a factory, in an ER or in a moshpit, all help serve ordinary people well as we do our best to get through this thing called life, as Prince would say. This notion of being able to rely on others for support in times of trouble or need is the antithesis of what is happening right now in America. As I write these words, those leading America are gleefully, joyfully enacting policies of exclusion, of discrimination and of cruelty that are increasingly targeting ordinary people such as you and your family members and neighbours and co-workers. If there was ever a time to band together in that sense of community, it is now. Let the lessons found in “Bro-Hymn” help to give you hope that you are not as alone as your leaders wish you to feel. Please know that others have your back. Please help others in reply. It is only by sticking together that things will eventually start to get better. Who knew that the long sound of the letter “O” could be the secret rallying cry that America so desperately seems to need? Well, now that you know…..sing! And stand up! And, no matter what happens, stick together and have each other’s backs.
The link to the video for the song “Bro-Hymn” by Pennywise can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here.
The link to the official website for the band Pennywise can be found here.
***One example of communities having each other’s back in these troubling times can be found in the existence of a small community newspaper/website in Los Angeles known as L.A. Taco. This newspaper/website was initially established simply to highlight where to find the best tacos in the city. However, in recent weeks the L.A. Taco newspaper/website has assumed much of the responsibility formerly ascribed to mainstream media by using its taco-searching skills and applying it to warning citizens in L.A. about which parts of the city I.C.E. teams are showing up to apprehend people. Since L.A Taco began providing these updates, their subscriber base has quadrupled and countless lives have been saved. The link to the official website for L.A. Taco can be found here.
***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2025 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com