In honor of the upcoming political election, and the current state of affairs, I offer up my list of the top political/protest/anti-war songs ever.…
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Top Protest Songs Ever - Comments Page 2
In honor of the upcoming political election, and the current state of affairs, I offer up my list of the top political/protest/anti-war songs ever.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - curt
"people lets stop the war"
by grand funk railroad, circa 1972
(my favorite)
hey all you people, for goodness sake;
let's get together, what does it take?
to make you understand the value of a man;
i'm talkin' about your sons and neighbors, yes i am.
whoa-oh-oh...people let's stop the war!
if we had a president who did just what he said,
the country would be just alright, and no one would be dead;
from fighting in a war that causes big men to get rich,
there's money in them war machines, now, aint that a bitch?
whoa-oh-oh...people let's stop the war!
27 - Brave Kelso
Good list and some good ones in the comments. Glad somebody else remembered McGuire's Eve of Destruction.
I wondered about Dion. His stuff hasn't aged well but it was moving at the time, when those deaths were fresh. Not so much a protest as a lament?
What about Buffy St. Marie - "Universal Soldier"? Clean, simple.
Footnote to "If I had a Hammer" and "Where have all the Flowers Gone" both covered by PPM but written by Pete Seeger! And speaking of Seeger, he had a song during Vietnam "Knee Deep in the Big Muddy" which is about where things are now.
Cheers.
28 - Douglas Mays
curt. right on!!! from E. Pluribus Funk! I played that song till the grroves on the record turned grey!
29 - curt
doug -
i know i missed a verse, just can't think of it. like you, i heard it so many times over and over again, i never thought i'd never forget all the words...oh well. weird thing was, i was in the military at the time. any idea on where a guy could buy the cassette tape? i can't find it anywhere.
30 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
oh, and lest we forget - "vietnam" by Jimmy Cliff
31 - Mac Diva
Someone should compile a blog entry with the longer, more comprehensive list of protest songs we are developing. I am tempted to 'appoint' Matt. Would make a good follow-up entry to this one on his blog.
32 - Matt
I'll get cracking!
33 - Douglas Mays
curt:
probably have to head down to the Udistrict (here in Seattle) and find a copy at one of the new/used record stores. I'm sure I could find one. In sort of decent shape. Now that u brought it up, I could dig on a copy. Footstompin' Music as the opening track... Do you remember the tune "Loneliness" from one of their earlier albums? Shows that the band was really legit in their music and statements.
later man. I'll keep an eye out for the disc.
34 - Douglas Mays
curt, or was 'Loneliness' the final teack on 'E Pluibus Funk"? can't remember. I do recently remember putting that album down responding to an article posted about all time great album covers. One big coin.
35 - HW Saxton
"Fight The Power" - Isley Bros.
36 - thrasher
Great list! For me, Neil Young's "Ohio" is the most resonant protest song from the '70's.
Here's some more on the song "Ohio":
http://www.thrasherswheat.org/fot/ohio.htm
Might also want to add Young's song "Rockin in the Free World", also.
http://www.thrasherswheat.org/fot/ritfw.htm
Keep on Rockin!
37 - curt
douglas -
i can't remember where "loneliness" was on the track, but i do recall the song. i had forgot that the album cover was a coin, i just remembered that it was all silver. i think it was dime, wasn't it? we don't have any udistricts here in montana, not that i know of anyway, lol. hey i'd appreciate a holler if you do find it.
38 - Anna
Wow a HUGE one seems to be missing...Buffalo Springfield's For What It's Worth
39 - Matt
Anna-Its number 12!
40 - Growpeace
Country Joe McDonalds song is titled
I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag
Listen to it and find out the story about it.
Lyrics
?D
Come on all of you big strong men,
?G
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
??????D
He's got himself in a terrible jam
?G
Way down yonder in Vietnam
???E7???????????????????????A
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
???????D????????????????????????G
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
Chorus:
?????????A7???A#7????D
And it's one, two, three,
?D7???????????G
What are we fighting for?
??????????????????D
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
??????????????G
Next stop is Vietnam;
??????????A7???A#7???D
And it's five, six, seven,
?D7???????????G
Open up the pearly gates,
?????????????E???????????????A
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
?????D????????????????????G
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
?D
Come on generals, let's move fast;
?G
Your big chance has come at last.
?D
Gotta go out and get those reds ?
?????G
The only good commie is the one that's dead
?????E7??????????????????????????A
You know that peace can only be won
?????????????D???????????????????????G
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.
[Chorus]
?D
Come on Wall Street, don't move slow,
?????G
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
??????????D
There's plenty good money to be made
?????G
Supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
?E7??????????????????????????????A
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
??????D???????????????????G
They drop it on the Viet Cong.
[Chorus]
4:
?D
Come on mothers throughout the land,
?G
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
?D
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
?G
Send your sons off before it's too late.
????????E7???????????????A
You can be the first one on your block
??????????????D??????????????????G
To have your boy come home in a box.
Peace, Joy
41 - Dennis
Not nearly as well known as those on the list, but just as good: "Shipbuilding" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
42 - jd
War Pigs by Black Sabbath
Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of death's construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds
Oh lord yeah!
Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to poor
Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait 'til their judgement day comes
Yeah!
Now in darkness world stops turning
Ashes where the bodies burning
No more war pigs have the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of judgement, God is calling
On their knees the war pig's crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan laughing spreads his wings
All right now!
43 - Lee
I am trying to locate the name and artist that did this anti-war song in the midst of the Viet Nam rage. It was by a female vocalist who sings of her son returning from the army: "I know you won't finish...that tree house he started...the summer before he went away; and though he comes...to church with me on Sunday, he sits there, but he doesn't pray. He keeps things inside, like there's something to hide, and he's traded root beer for gin...congratulations, you sure made a man out of him.
Any help??
44 - Star Baby
What about American Woman by the Guess Who? Come now, a fabulous song vocalizing the corrupt twisted nature of the US Government in the Vietnam era and a song written through personal experience by Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman, Jim Kale and Garry Peterson. It had to have been a great song, it's been number one twice over three decades
45 - Victor Plenty
"I Can't Drive 55" is no protest. It's whiny screeching by a spoiled-brat moron.
"We're Not Gonna Take It" deserves even less respect, being utterly pointless on top of screechy and whiny.
To close on a more positive note, here are a couple more good protest songs:
"Wooden Ships" - Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills Nash & Young
"We Work the Black Seam" - Sting.
46 - JR
"I Can't Drive 55" is no protest. It's whiny screeching by a spoiled-brat moron.
It is a totally valid protest against a stupid, intrusive government policy. Do you think those '60s protest songs weren't written by spoiled-brat morons? What's that got to do with anything?
The problem with "I Can't Drive 55" is that it's not a particularly good song.
47 - Victor Plenty
Inability to control your vehicle is no more valid or worthy of respect than inability to control your bodily functions.
48 - JR
That's certainly true. But obviously irrelevant - anybody who can't control a vehicle is going to have trouble getting up to 55 mph in the first place.
49 - Victor Plenty
It's absolutely relevant. Hagar's "protest" is that the government wants him to exercise a degree of self-control which he lacks. If you can't stand to keep your vehicle under a speed limit, you lack the patience required to drive at all.
It doesn't matter whether you agree with the speed limit, because most drivers have no clue about the physics involved and are not qualified to judge safe maximum speeds.
Protesting about the speed limit because you're too impatient to drive safely is like protesting about sanitation laws because you can't see the disease-causing germs. It's just plain damn stupid, and not "valid" in any sense of the word.
50 - Shark
Sorry folks, but the best protest song was written by Robbie Fulks -- and it's called "Fuck This Town"
==== Lyrics ====
Well, I came down to Nashville in 1993
'Cause my friend Jim said Nashville had money growin' right on the trees
So I thought I'd go pick some, and I don't mean musically.
Now it's 4 years later, and I'm wonderin' where I went wrong
Shook a lotta hands, ate a lotta lunch, wrote a lotta dumbass songs
But I couldn't get a break in Nashville, if I tried my whole life long
So, fuck this town...fuck this town
Fuck it end-to-end, fuck it up and down
Can't get noticed -- can't get found -- can't get a cut, so
Fuck this town.
Hey, this ain't country-western!
It's just soft-rock feminist crap!
And I thought they'd struck bottom back back in the days of Ronnie Milsap
Now they can't stop the flood of assholes: there ain't a big enough ass cap [get it?! "ASCAP!" heh]
Sure, I like old Tim Carroll, and BR5-49
But Nashville don't need that noise, no,
Nashville'll do just fine
As long as there's a moron market
And a faggot in a hat to sign.
Fuck this town! Fuck this town!
Fuck...this...towwwwwwwnnnnn.
=====
great stuff! great CD!
51 - Shark
Coupla points apropos nada:
I recently saw, met, and heard Barry McGuire; he's a born-again Christoid who sings a lot about Jeebus.
[sigh]
Also, McGuire didn't write "Eve of Destruction" -- it was written by P.F. Sloan.
=== now back to your regularly scheduled Love-In ===
52 - Tube Pinoy
A good list but another omission was the scathing 1985 anti-apartheid "Sun City" by Artists Against Apartheid/Little Steven Van Zandt. This song made me angry and I had no idea what Sun City was about (until I watched the documentary about the song) also no Bob Marley?????
53 - Joe
I think a lot of people forgot that one because many confused it with the retirement community near Phoenix and not the South African resort.
54 - DJRadiohead
"Masters of War." Definitely.
55 - Bob A. Booey
Interesting topic. The only genuinely thoughtful protest songs on that list are "Fortunate Son" and "What's Goin On?" "99 Red Ballons" is just a cool song, but it may too much of a pop trifle. I thought for sure you'd pick "Imagine" rather than the John Lennon song you did since that seems to have become part of the anti-war, peace canon, even being sung by various people after 9/11.
U2's politics are always cheap, easy, universal and written at least 30 years after taking a position is controversial, so "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" does not impress me.
Don't be fooled by the name, Bombs over Baghdad is NOT a protest song.
Outkast is too hippie-funk, pop, freak out to ever have anything coherent to say politically. Here are the lyrics to the song, you be the judge:
"B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)"
[Dre]
1, 2.. 1, 2, 3; yeah!
In-slum-national, underground
Thunder pounds when I stomp the ground (Woo!)
Like a million elephants and silverback orangutans
You can't stop a train
Who want some? Don't come un-pre-pared
I'll be there, but when I leave there
Better be a household name
Weather man tellin' us it ain't gon' rain
So now we sittin' in a drop-top, soakin wet
In a silk suit, tryin' not to sweat
Hits somersaults without the net
But this'll be the year that we won't forget
One-Nine-Nine-Nine, Anno Domini anything goes, be whatchu wanna be
Long as you know consequences, to give and for livin'
The fence is too high to jump in jail
Too low to dig, I might just touch hell
HOT! Get a life, now they on sale
Then I might cast you a spell, look at what came in the mail
A scale and some Arm and Hammer, soul gold grill and some baby mama
Black Cadillac and a pack of pampers
Stack of question with no answers
Cure for cancer, cure for AIDS
Make a nigga wanna stay on tour for days
Get back home, things are wrong
Well not really it was bad all along
before he left adds up, to a ball of power
Thoughts at a thousands miles per hour
Hello, ghetto, let your brain breathe,
believe there's always more, ahhhhh!
[Chorus: 2X]
[Dre] Don't pull the thang out, unless you plan to bang
[Choir] Bombs over Baghdad!
[Dre] Yeah! Ha ha yeah!
Don't even bang unless you plan to hit something
[Choir] Bombs over Baghdad!
[Dre] Yeah! Uhh-huh
[Big Boi]
Uno, dos, tres, it's on
Did you ever think a pimp rock a microphone?
Like that there boy and we still stay street
Big things happen every time we meet
Like a track team, crack fiend, dyin to geek
Outkast bumpin' up and down the street
Slant back, Cadillac, 'bout five nigga deep
Seventy-five MC's freestylin' to the beat
Cause we get drunk, stay drunk, at the club
Should have bought an ounce, but you copped a dub
Should have held back, but you throwed the punch
'Spose to meet your girl but you packed a lunch
No D to-the U to-the G for you
Got a son on the way by the name of Bamboo
Got a little baby girl four year, Jordan
Never turn my back on my kids for them
Should have hit it (hit it) quit it (quit it) rag (rag) top (top)
Before you RE up, get a laptop
Make a business for yourself, boy, set some goals
Make a fat diamond out of dusty coals
Record number four, but we on the road
Hold up, slow up, stop, control
Like Janet, Planets, Stankonia is on ya
A movin' like Floyd commin' straight to Florida
Lock all your windows then block the corridors
Pullin' off on bell 'cause a whippins in order
I like a three piece fish before I cut your daughter
Yo quiero Taco Bell, then I hit the border
Pity pap rappers tryin' to get the five
I'm a microphone fiend tryin' to stay alive
When you come to ATL boi you better not hide
cause the Dungeon Family gon' ride, hah!
[Chorus: 2X]
[Dre] Don't pull the thang out, unless you plan to bang
[Choir] Bombs over Baghdad!
[Dre] Yeah! Ha ha yeah!
Don't even bang unless you plan to hit something
[Choir] Bombs over Baghdad!
[Dre] Yeah! Uhh-huh
[Choir]
Bombs over Baghdad! Yeah
Bombs over Baghdad! Yeah
Bombs over Baghdad! Yeah
Bombs over Baghdad! Yeah
[Dre]
B-I-G, B-O-I
An-An-Andre
To the T-O-P
[Dre and Big Boi: 15X]
Bob your head. Rag top.
(1, 2.. 1, 2, 3, 4) (Gimme some)
[Choir: 23X]
Power music. Electric revival.
That is all.
56 - Shark
Booey, thanks for the dissertation... especially those lyrics by James Joyce -- and a real special thanks -- since they're about as long as "Ulysses."
Now...
step away from the keyboard...
57 - Bob A. Booey
Sharky poo's doing his silverback alpha male thing again.
If you wanted to wrestle in the trees, old man, why didn't you just say so? I'll be happy to throw you down to the ground to remind you who rules the gorilla bitches. Get in line to pick my ticks and fleas.
Dissertation? I just cut-and-pasted lyrics off some dumb website that has lyrics after writing 5 sentences.
Read before commenting, old man :)
That is all.
58 - Shark
Come on, Booey, my line "lyrics by James Joyce" was HILARIOUS.
Admit it.
PS: Do you really listen to this shit music?
59 - Bob A. Booey
Shark, I hate Outkast.
I'm not the one who said it was one of the best songs -- I said it sucked.
You should know better, old man :) I'm an art snob too, remember?
Although I do love "99 Red Ballons."
That is all.
60 - Victor Plenty
"99 Red Balloons" is best in the original Klingon.
61 - Tube Pinoy
Bob A Booey, I Agree about your assessment of U2's protest songs even though they are my favorite band. But "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was referring to an event in 1972 which would have made the Dublin boys about 12 years old when it occurred. But when they performed it the same day as the Enniskillen tragedy in 1987, I don't think anyone would've stepped in their way and it was the appropriate song to perform.
62 - Tube Pinoy
Here on the East Coast we wouldn't know about a retirement community in AZ. I was a teen at the time and I can tell you AZ seemed as far away as South Africa.
63 - Tube Pinoy
Oops, Duke de Mondo beat me to it. I didn't read his whole comment. Duke described it (U2) better than me.
64 - Joe
Well, if you were from the area, you'd have been asking yourself, what the hell did the oldsters do to get Little Steven all pissed off?
65 - WTF
Thanks Shark... Bob... listen to sharky, no more typing tonight, big weekend coming up, lots of yard work to do.
Now...
Dylan "Only Pawns in Their Game"
Alot of the anti-war songs listed above refer to the Cold War era. Which, in retrospect was pretty intense.
IMHO
Nena 99 Luftballons was a topper for the Cold War scenario.
CCR's Run through the Jungle for 'Nam
CSNY Ohio, for the war in America (and it was a war, no doubt).
66 - yuio
Can anybody post the lyrics for "Make Love Fuck War" by Moby featuring Public Enemy
67 - brumatt
where in the world is "Masters Of War" by Bob Dylan? Of all songs this song has the most connection to todays situation. "...builder of death planes ... builder of bombs ...And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly." How pertanent is this with Haliburton and Bush's connections to oil. I think it is ridiculous that this is not mentioned. Please read through the lyrics a http://www.slopbucket.com/bob/lyrics/2master.html they make anyone paying attention get riled up.
68 - flapjax_at_midnite
I'd like to humbly suggest my own recently penned song for your consideration. It's called "New Orleans 2005". By way of introduction:
I was outraged by the Bush government's disregard for the safety and well-being of those citizens of New Orleans (overwhelmingly poor/working class and African-American) left to fend for themselves in the days following hurricane Katrina.This song attempts to articulate some of that anger, as well as express some hope for change. I hope that you'll find the time to go to the link below and listen to the song. If you think its message is one that should be heard by others, I hope you'll copy the link and send it to anyone whom you feel might have interest. Here's the link:
http://www.polarityrecords.net
Best,
Samm Bennett
P.S. Here are the lyrics:
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
new orleans 2005
see the black man down in New Orleans
waist deep in the flood waters wading
gunfire crackles in the distance
the last glimmer of daylight is fading
he didn't have much to begin with
now his world has come all unglued
he's on his way to bust into a grocery store
to get his family some water and food
now see the president way up in his airplane
he says zero tolerance for looters
i tell you one thing this president really knows how to do
is to send in the guns and the shooters
but less bullets more boats beds and blankets
and a few hundred lives he might save
ah but blaming the victim is what we do best
here in the home of the brave
they say the president loves all americans
no matter the color or creed
but you decide for yourself where the real truth resides
is it found in the word or the deed
if you say you don't think that it's racist
maybe this'll cut through your dense mental haze
just try and imagine a whole stadium full of white people
left to fend for themselves for six days
i don't think it would've happened quite that way
now if there's good that can come from this tragedy
it's that maybe things'll get rearranged
lord knows over in washington d.c.
we're long overdue for regime change
one hundred eighty six million dollars they spend
on the war in iraq every day
with just a fraction of that
they could've shored up those levees
and kept the floodwaters at bay
69 - Al Barger
Oh holy crap! None of us even mentioned the greatest protest song of all time, hands down: "Missisippi Goddam" by Nina Simone. That's absolutely the BOMB.
70 - Big Joel
I hate it how people think the bush administration didnt help the african americans in New Orleans, that is a crock of shit, i mean come on, do u people bitch for every little thing that happens to your culture, they didnt get out of the city because they were poor, and if your poor u cant afford transportation, and face it, everyone was not gonna be able to leave in time,
71 - a
What about Bob Dylan? This ain't a 'Greatest Protest Songs' list without him!!
72 - Carl
Leonard Cohen - Story of Isaac, Anthem, Democracy, The Future, Everybody Knows
Bob Dylan - Masters of War, With God On Our Side, Only A Pawn in Their Game, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, the list goes on and on and on.
73 - Dave Nalle
The Call Up - The Clash
Free Nelson Mandela - The Specials
What's so Funny About Peace Love an Understanding - Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello
Ghost Town - The Specials
Just so the early 80s get their fair representation.
dave
74 - jim nerad
What, no Phil Ochs? Next to Dylan, very few sang with more passion and heart than Phil.
75 - Barry Stoller
Phil Ochs was number 1. Some of his early stuff showed how well read he was on the topics he treated. "Bracero" is still the gold standard in protest narrative. (Honorable mention goes to Richard Farina who did the folk protest thing with great subtlety.)