Protest song
A
protest song is a song intended to
protest perceived problems in society such as
injustice,
racial discrimination,
war,
globalization,
inflation,
social inequalities. Protest songs are generally associated with
folk music, but in recent times they have come from all genres of music. Such songs become popular during times of social disruption and among social groups.
Folk protest songs occur throughout history, the oldest protest song on record is The Cutty Wren from the peasants revolt of 1381 against feudal oppression. In the
American Revolutionary War and in the
abolitionist movement of the
19th century many songs came about. During the
American Civil War, traditional songs served as protest songs. "
We Shall Overcome" was a song popular in the civil rights movement.
In the
20th century, the
union movement, the
Great Depression, the
civil rights movement, the
Vietnam War (see
Vietnam War protests), and recently, the
war in Iraq and the
9/11 Truth Movement spawned protest songs, such as
Bob Dylan's "
The Times They Are A-Changin'" (1964), Woody Guthrie's "
This Land Is Your Land" (1940), and more recently,
System of a Down's "
Toxicity" (2001). Another protest song that reached number 1 in Germany is "
99 Luftballons" by Nena, in 1983 which sparked furious debate. The common form during that time, often with acoustic
guitar and
harmonica, was popularized by the work of
Woody Guthrie and
Pete Seeger early in the 20th Century and continued into the later part of the century by
Phil Ochs,
Joan Baez and
Bob Dylan.
Neil Young continues the theme in the 21st Century in his song,
"Let's Impeach The President" - a stinging rebuke against
President George W. Bush and the
War in Iraq, as did
P!nk with her appeal to Bush in
Dear Mr. President.
Pearl Jam also included two anti-Bush songs ("Worldwide Suicide", "Marker In The Sand") in their 2006 album 'Pearl Jam'.
Radiohead are known for being strongly anti-Bush, and against the war in Iraq, and many of their songs show signs of this (although not many would consider many, if any, Radiohead songs as protest songs).
*
List of protest songs*
Wobblies*
Folk-punk*
Musical activists*
Nueva canción*
Antiwar Songs - a collection of pacifist and antimilitarist songs lyrics from all over the world and of any time, based on free contributions by readers and collaborators.
* [
1] Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems
*
Vietnam: The music of protest, Steve Schifferes,
BBC News, Sunday, 1 May, 2005
*
Integrity is Not a Chore Interview with Welsh singer/songwriter Martyn Joseph
* [
2] -
Wobbly songs
* [
3] Peoples Music Network, an organization for protest musicians
* [
4]Peoples Voice Cafe, a New York City-based venue specializing in left-wing protest music.
