“You will not be able to stay home, brotherYou will not be able to plug in, turn on and drop outYou will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skipSkip out for beer during commercialsBecause the revolution will not be televised” This proto-rap classic was influential in the development of socially conscious hip-hop. Jazz poet Scott-Heron originally recorded […]
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“My skin is blackMy arms are longMy hair is woollyMy back is strongStrong enough to take the paininflicted again and again” “Four Women” was written by Simone and appears on her classic 1966 album, Wild Is The Wind. It is one of several tunes that helped establish Simone as an important figure in the civil rights movement. The catalyst of the […]
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“Picket linesSchool boycottsThey try to say it’s a communist plotAll I want is equalityFor my sister, my brother, my people, and me” “Mississippi Goddam” was Nina Simone’s response to the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers in Mississippi and a bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963 (which also helped inspire Simone’s “Four […]
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“Some people think little girls should be seen and not heardBut I think“Oh bondage, up yours”One, two, three, four” That is the intro to the 1977 incendiary single by X-Ray Spex. It is a statement of intent and a battle cry against female objectification. Due to what some have interpreted as literal BDSM terminology, the tune was banned by the […]
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“I go to the movie and I go downtownSomebody keep tellin’ me don’t hang aroundIt’s been a long, a long time comingBut I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will” Sam Cooke is responsible for composing and performing one of the most essential tunes of the civil rights era, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, from his 1964 album Ain’t […]
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When determining whether or not a song meets the definition of a protest tune, an important factor is intent. Often, it is the intent of the songwriter. At other times, it is the intention of the singer. It is possible to have two versions of the same song, and only one of the versions is a protest song. A notable […]
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John Lennon was no stranger to socially conscious music, contributing many notable tunes to the canon of protest songs. One of his standouts is “Working Class Hero” off of his 1970 album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono. While some of his songs might come across as simple sloganeering, “Working Class Hero” is an insightful social commentary on class splits and how society […]
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“Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses” Often the most effective protest songs are the most direct. That is the case with “Killing in the Name” off Rage Against The Machine‘s 1992 self-titled album. In the face of injustice sometimes the most appropriate response is a defiant “fuck you.” This anthem of disenfranchisement attacks systemic […]
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“Emancipate yourselves from mental slaveryNone but ourselves can free our mindsHave no fear for atomic energy‘Cause none of them can stop the timeHow long shall they kill our prophetsWhile we stand aside and look? OohSome say it’s just a part of itWe’ve got to fulfill the Book” More of a solo acoustic folk song than a traditional reggae song, Bob […]
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One of the most important protest tunes of all time, the genesis of “What Going On” happened when Four Tops vocalist Renaldo “Obie” Benson, witnessed police brutality in San Francisco in May 1969, while on tour. While stuck in traffic, Benson observed young protestors being brutally attacked by cops wearing riot gear. “The police was beatin’ on them, but they […]
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