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Know Any Good Protest Songs?

August 6, 2010 By Mark Draughn 6 Comments

I’m trying to put together a music playlist, and so I’m appealing to you, my Gentle Readers, to help me find songs of a certain type. I’m calling them protest songs, but that’s probably not a very good description. I’m not talking about, for example, ’60’s anti-war chants, and I’d like to avoid an excess of Dylan.

The only way I can think of to explain what I want is to give a few examples of the kind of song I mean. Probably the defining member of this type of song is Old Crow Medicine Show’s “I Hear Them All”:

Another good example is the classic Jimmy Cliff song “The Harder They Come”:

For something a little more hard core, I’ll take “Guns Of Brixton.” But not the Clash version. I prefer this haunting cover by Nouvelle Vague:

That’s not to say I don’t mind a little anger. Or a lot of anger, as in Bruce Cockburn’s “If I Had a Rocket Launcher”:

I don’t know if there’s really a common theme running through those songs, but if you know of other songs that you think I’d like based on this list — or even if these songs just remind you of some other songs — let me know in the comments.

Thanks.

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Comments

  1. shg says

    August 6, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    Before you’re flooded with comments, allow me to offer my favorite. Phil Ochs, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulTmmTIlM_o

    It less a protest song than a social commentary, but since I like it, I offer it to you.

    Reply
  2. Jim Keech says

    August 6, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    Solomon Burke with the Blind Boys of Alabama–None of Us Are Free

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cou_qZjc_yI

    Reply
  3. Mark Draughn says

    August 6, 2010 at 11:56 pm

    Scott, you’re right, it’s not quite the kind of song I was looking for, but it’s still a pretty pointed song. Thanks.

    Jim, you nailed it. That’s exactly the kind of song I was looking for.

    Reply
  4. BFrederick says

    August 11, 2010 at 11:29 pm

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5M_Ttstbgs For What it’s Worth – it’s not a war protest song, its a police-state protest song set in the context of a war protest.

    Reply
  5. BFrederick says

    August 11, 2010 at 11:30 pm

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M8vei3L0L8 NWA. My personal favorite.

    Reply
  6. Rob says

    August 21, 2010 at 5:12 pm

    Mark,

    Enjoy Mrs. McGrath by Bruce Springsteen. Mrs. McGrath is off the Seeger Sessions and is a Traditional.

    And I’m going to give you a Dylan song because it’s beautiful and because most people (even Dylan fans) don’t know it. It’s called Let Me Die in My Footsteps. It’s off The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3.

    Reply

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