The fantastic protest songs of our time

Fortunate Son because it’s on the nose and Born in the USA because no one listened to the versus. Of course Sunday Bloody Sunday because as Americans we are not alone.

 

Jefferson Airplane - (Volunteers) Gotta Revolution (against something). They never get around to saying what it is but we all thought we knew.

 

Steppenwolf "Draft Resister" I think it was also called Monster. Obviously an anti-war song but covers a lot of perceived wrongs in America. Never the hit The Pusher was but very underrated.



Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of Kingdom and pope
Like good Christians some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches

And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And till the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man

The cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole world's got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner we can't pay the cost

and so forth.

 

I always wanted to assign an end of the year project in my AP Gov class on American protest music but never did. One, kids brains were burnt to a crisp after testing and two, I didn’t want to deal with potential foolishness.

As an aside, I have been in that parking lot at Kent State.

 

(with apologies to @swampbabe.)

 

The Pill. A rather personal type protest against submission to a man and a wife's role. Was banned on many radio stations. From Butcher Holler to a feminist hero is quite a trip.

 

Great idea! I know you're retired now, so it's water under the bridge, but did you ever share one of the songs and ask the students to interpret the lyrics?
On another note, I haven't been to Kent St, but our band stopped through Oklahoma City a few weeks after the bombing. The building (or half of it) was still standing - obviously fenced off, but you could see it up close. It was surreal and brought some members of our band to tears.

 

We spent some time on protest music and looking through some lyrics in our social movements unit, including Strange Fruit. TBH, I was also afraid of what they might come up with

I did show them a picture of a bullet hole in a cast iron sculpture. It really got their attention as the hole was a perfect circle. Imagine that hitting a human body.

 

Can’t remember if this has been presented.

 

"Exodus" by Bob Marley?

 

the song is named Volunteers. It was going to be part of my upcoming list.

 

Here's a few songs for you:
Freedom - Jimi Hendrix
Fight the Power - Isley Brothers
Jackson Kent Blues - Steve Miller Band
and perhaps my favorite protest song;
Monster/Suicide/America by Steppenwolf

 

An anti-war song: