Protest song
A protest song is a kind of folk music (or, more recently, pop-influenced folk music). They become popular during times of social disruption and among socially neglected groups. They rail against injustice, racial discrimination, war, globalization, inflation, social inequalities and the like. Folk songs occur throughout history, as in the American Revolutionary War and the abolitionist movement of the 1800s. In the 20th century, the union movement, the Great Depression and the Vietnam War were the primary periods of popularity for protest songs. The common form, with acoustic guitar and harmonica, was popularized by the work of Woody Guthrie during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. Protest music can also be traced back to the Civil War, where traditional songs such as 'We Shall Overcome' prevailed and succeeded as true protest songs.
Main protest song singers :
The protest songs :
Unions, Depression era and World War II
- "This Land is Your Land" Woody Guthrie
- "Union Maid" Woody Guthrie
- "Dump the Bosses" John Brill
- "Sixteen Tons" Tennesee Ernie Ford
- "Casey Jones - The Union Scab" Joe Hill
- "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" Harry McClintock
- "I'm a Union Man" The Strawbs
Racism and Civil rights
- "Society's Child" Janis Ian
- "Hurricane" Bob Dylan
- "Jimmy Sharman's Boxers" Midnight Oil
- "In the Ghetto" Elvis Presley
- "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)" Bob Marley & the Wailers
Anti-Nuclear
- "We Will All Go Together When We Go" Tom Lehrer
- "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" Bob Dylan
- "Wooden Ships" Crosby Stills and Nash
- "Nagasaki Nightmare" Crass
- "Redemption Song" Bob Marley & the Wailers
- "99 Luftballoons" Nena
- "Pride of Man" Quicksilver Messenger Service
- "Put Down That Weapon" Midnight Oil
- "Stand or Fall" The Fixx
- "Russians" Sting
The 1960s and the Vietnam War era
- The Electric Spanking of War Babies (album) Funkadelic
- "Born in the U.S.A." Bruce Springsteen
- "Buffalo Solider" Bob Marley & the Wailers
- "I Shot the Sheriff" Bob Marley & the Wailers
- "We Shall Overcome" Traditional
- "Eve of Destruction" Barry McGuire
- "Sam Stone" John Prine
- "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town" Kenny Rogers
- "My Generation" The Who
- "Fortunate Son" Creedence Clearwater Revival
- "Desolation Row" Bob Dylan
- "Today I Killed a Man" P. J. Proby
- "Blowin' in the Wind" Bob Dylan
- "Charlie on the MTA" The Kingston Trio
- "Turn, Turn, Turn" Pete Seeger
- "Heroes" David Bowie
- "Signs" The Five Man Electrical Band
- "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" The Kingston Trio
- "What's Goin' On" Marvin Gaye
- "For What It's Worth" Buffalo Springfield
- "The "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die" Rag" Country Joe and the Fish
- "Chicago" Graham Nash
- "Ohio" Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- "Bring the Boys Home" Freda Payne
- "War" Edwin Starr
- "Ball Of Confusion" The Temptations
- "Abraham, Martin and John" Dion
- "Universal Soldier" Donovan
- "Dover Beach" The Fugs
- "Dialogue" Chicago
- "One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)" Coven
- "The Sounds of Silence" Simon and Garfunkle
- "The Boxer" Simon and Garfunkle
- "At Seventeen" Janis Ian
- "Woman is the Nigger of the World" John Lennon
- "I am Woman" Helen Reddy
- "Only Women Bleed" Alice Cooper
- "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" Marvin Gaye
- "Biko" Peter Gabriel
- "The Pusher" Steppenwolf
- "Illegal Smile" John Prine
Guns and Violence
- "If It Were Up to Me" Cheryl Wheeler
- "Saturday Night Special" Lynyrd Skynyrd
- "Redemption Song" Bob Marley
- "War" Edwin Starr
- "War" Bob Marley & the Wailers
More recent
- "One in a Million" Guns N' Roses
- "Losing My Religion" R.E.M.
- "Californication" Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "Throw Away Your Television" Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "Police in Helicopter" John Holt
- "Excuse Me Mister" Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
- "God Save the Queen" The Sex Pistols
- "Revolution" Bob Marley & the Wailers
- "Legalize It" Peter Tosh
- "Maggie Out!" Anonymous
- "Free Nelson Mandela" The Specials
- "Radio, Radio" Elvis Costello & the Attractions
- "Smoke Two Joints" Sublime
- "Zombie" The Cranberries
- "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" Paul McCartney
- "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" U2
- "Aenima" Tool
- "Rain on the Scarecrow" John Cougar Mellencamp
- "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" Bruce Cockburn
- "The River" Bruce Springsteen
- "Industrial Disease" Dire Straits
- "Panic" The Smiths