Protest song
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A protest song is a song to protest problems in society such as injustice, racial discrimination, war, globalization, inflation, social inequalities, incarceration, the Greenhouse effect, the global warming. 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.
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[edit] History
Folk protest songs occur throughout recent history, the oldest protest song on record is The Cutty Wren from the peasants revolt of 1382 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 labor movement and later the civil rights movement.
[edit] Nineteenth century
From 1839, the Hutchinson Family Singers became well-known for their protest songs, especially songs supporting Abolition. They sang at the White House for President John Tyler, and befriended Abraham Lincoln [1].
[edit] Twentieth century
In the 20th century, the union movement, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War (see Vietnam War protests) spawned protest songs, such as Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" (1964), Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" (1940). A 1983 protest song that gained considerable attention worldwide is "99 Luftballons" by Nena. The common form for protest music during the 1960s often included acoustic guitar and harmonica, which 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. (The movie Bob Roberts is an example of protest music parody, where the title character - played by American actor Tim Robbins - is a guitar-playing U.S. Senatorial candidate who writes and performs songs with a heavily reactionary tone.)
The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s used African-American spirituals as a source of protest, changing the religious lyrics to suit the political mood of the time. The use of religious music helped to emphasize the peaceful nature of the protest; it also proved easy to adapt, with many improvised call-and-response songs being created during marches and sit-ins. Some imprisoned protesters used their incarceration as an opportunity to write protest songs. These songs were carried across the country by Freedom Riders. [2] In the 1970's, during the War in Vietnam, many protest songs erupted, most notably "War," by Edwin Starr, and "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath.
[edit] Twenty-first century
Neil Young continues the theme in the twenty-first Century in his song, "Let's Impeach the President" - a stinging rebuke against President George W. Bush and the War in Iraq, as did Pink with her appeal to Bush in "Dear Mr. President". Pearl Jam also included two anti-Bush songs ("World Wide Suicide", "Marker In The Sand") in their 2006 album Pearl Jam. Not to forget the band Dispatch and the anti-war underground hit "The General". Utah Philips, the Riot-Folk! Collective, and David Rovics, among many other singers have continued the folk tradition of protest. Punk music from the 70's to today has featured anti-war, anti-state, and anti-capitalist themes. See also Punk ideology.
[edit] Further Reading
- John Greenway, American Folksongs of Protest (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1953; New York: A.S. Barnes, 1960).
[edit] See also
- List of protest songs
- Wobblies
- Folk-punk
- Nueva canción / New Song Movement
[edit] External links
- 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.
- [3] 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
- [4] - Wobbly songs
- [5] People's Music Network, an organization for protest musicians
- [6] People's Voice Cafe, a New York City-based venue specializing in left-wing protest music.
- [7] "Autocantantes" Spanish Song Protest from Madrid.
