Ethos: "Save the Country"

In my opinion, it seems like it would be really difficult for an artist to establish ethos within an song. Often, the artist only gains credibility after he/she has a few songs that are already well-known and liked. By the time Laura Nyro released "Save the Country" in 1969, she was already a popular artist of her time. Many of her songs were being played on the radio and being covered by famous artists like Peter, Paul, and Mary when "Save the Country" was released, so many people knew that her music was fresh and worth listening to. In her song, Nyro is able to demonstrate ethos by establishing common ground with her audience. She states that she "can't study war no more" and begs society to "save the people, save the children, (and) save the country." Assumably, her audience agrees with her values and beliefs that the people of the country need to take action in order for reform to occur and war to end.  By protesting against something that her audience also views negatively, she automatically gains credibility in their eyes. Furthermore, Nyro puts her own emotion into the song when she declares she has "fury in (her) soul" and its "gonna take (her) to the glory goal." By revealing her own rage and frustration about the situation, she is able to establish believability. If Nyro is personally frustrated by society and its issues, she has reason to be singing about the topic. She must know what is going on around her and have grounds to be so infuriated.