A Comparative Study of Ambonese Classic and Modern Pop Songs

摘要

This paper was motivated by the researchers concern about the moral values contained in Ambonese pop songs then and Now. Pop songs communicate their messages through the words contained in each verse of their lyrics, but the song lyrics often do not transmit good moral values. Ambon as the city of music should pay attention to every song that is produced to make sure the songs uphold good moral values in their lyrics. This study aims to find out the subjective evaluation of Ambon City people about the moral values contained in Ambonese pop songs and the efforts of Ambon City/Municipal Government to control Ambonese pop songs circulating in the community. This study used a qualitative research design with a case study method. This method was chosen because the researchers would like to compare in detail and thoroughly the moral values contained in Ambonese pop songs then and now in the perspective of the community, analyse the moral values contained in the songs, and find out the efforts made by the Government of Ambon City as part of its responsibility to develop Ambon as a city of music. The findings show that Ambonese pop songs now convey messages about love, longing, affection, destruction, divorce, and many more messages that have negative impacts on the community; on the contrary, Ambonese pop songs of the past convey messages relating to positive things, representing real social, cultural, economic, comedic, and other events that really happened at that time. The government's efforts cannot be said to have been successful in the control over the songs. If this problem is left unaddressed, it will negatively affect the moral and behaviour of the younger generations of Maluku, especially Ambon City, distancing the generations from the values of Maluku civilization.