1. In thispaperit ismy aimto examine the legacyandcontemporarysignificance of the protestsong
since BobDylan’s1963 track ‘Masters of War’. It isvirtuallyimpossible tocommentonexamplesof
protestinall of the genresthathave emergedsince.Iwill inthe maincoverfive areaswhere the
protestsongis relevant,thesebeing,The Civil RightsMovement,the Vietnam War, Punkmusicin
Britainduringthe late seventies,RapandHip-Hopandexamples of some contemporaryprotest
songs.
In these five categoriesthere are some notable omissions.Itwasmydecisiontofocusinon certain
areas,rather thantryingto cover everything,andinthe processspreadingmyself toothin.Due to
wordconstraints,I have notfor example coveredthe protestsongsthatemergedinoppositionto
the Bush administrationof whichthey are quite afew.Theyare referencestowomenbutnotas
manyas one wouldhave liked,andalmostall of the songscoveredare frommusicianswhohail from
the westernworld. Ihave alsodecided nottocoverPussyRiot as theyhave beenwell documented
inrecenttimes.
Bob Dylanisarguablythe firstmajor figure of the counterculture tofeature political songsof dissent
inhis repertoire.
(Google Images) (Picturedabove are BobDylanandJoanBaez)
In the early 1960’s people suchasJoan Baezand Peter,Paul andMary were singingsongsof protest
before Dylan,buttheylackedhisvenomandlyrical prowess. Itwason hissecondrecord‘The
Freewheelin’(1963) that people reallybegantositup andlisten. Thisalbumincludedthe track
‘Mastersof War’ whichisan earlyexample of asong thatwas linkedtothe 1960s anti-war
movement.Onthistrack
2. ‘’Dylantakesthe role of the biblical prophetandindictsarmsmanufacturers’’ (Jones,K,2007,
P88)
Thisalbumalsoincludes othertracks such as ‘Blowininthe Wind’whichhasadmittedlyless
acrimony,and‘OxfordTown’which alsodealswithracial issues.
The Civil Rightsmovementthatsweptthroughthe USA in the 1960’s ledto many a songthat spoke
aboutthe treatmentandstruggle of rightsforblack people inAmerica. The influence of Dylan’searly
workwas influential here. Inthe book‘TheRoutledgeHistory of Social Protestin PopularMusic’ it
stateshow ‘Blowininthe Wind’wasa huge influence onSamCooke’s‘A Change isGonna
Come’(1964) whofeltif white people were singingaboutracial issuessoshouldhe.The title of that
songis very Dylanesque, think ‘A HardRain’sa-GonnaFall’whichalsoappearedon‘TheFreewheelin’
‘’ EarlyR andB wasrarelypolitical inanydirectway,andR andB singersseldomexpressed
themselvesonsocial issues,includingthe civil rightsmovement,inanydirect
manner.’’(Smethurst,J,2013, p110)
Thismade it unusual foran artistlike Cooke toaddresssuchissuesatthe time.Otherexamples
of songsby artistswhichwouldsubtlyaddresscivil rightsissueswould include ‘Uncloudy Day’
(1956) by The Staple Singers. The title of the formersongcanbe seentorepresentaday when a
person’sjudgementisnotcloudedbythe colourof one’sskinwhichmusthave seemedalong
wayoff in 1956. Anotherkeytrack was ‘People GetReady’(1964) by The Impressionswhowere
ledbyCurtisMayfield
People getready,there’satraina comin
You don’tneednobaggage,You justgeton board
All youneedisfaithtohear the dieselshummin
Don’tneednoticket,You justthankthe Lord.
In the lyricsto the latterthe train can be seento representthe forwardmotionof the civil rights
movement.Inthatfirstline the trainmaysignifychange,inthe secondline the use of the word
baggage may have a double meaning.Isitthatthere isroom foreveryone onthe train,or bynot
needingbaggage doeshe meanleave the fearsof the pastbehindandembrace the struggle fora
brighterfuture?The lyricsare clearlymore subtle thanwhatwasto come by the more radical black
powermovementasmetaphorsare usedthroughout. The quasi-religioussignificance of these songs
issignificant,insofaras the artistswere waitingforchange andputtingtheirfaithinthe Lord to
guide themto freedom.Thismayhave todowiththese artist’sgospel upbringing. Itwasalsoa lot
saferfor BobDylanto be singingaboutracial mattersat that time. Whilstthe Staple Singerswere
onlydreamingaboutanuncloudydayin 1956 at leastby1964 Sam Cooke and CurtisMayfieldwere
gettingreadyforchange.Othermusiciansweren’tquite sopatient
There wasnothingsubtle aboutNinaSimone’s’Mississippi Goddam’ releasedthe same year. This
track was Simone’sresponse tothe raciallymotivatedchurchbombing inBirmingham,Alabama
whichkilledfourblackchildrenin1963. RuthFeldsteinwritesthat ‘’thissongwaswrittenata time
3. whenblackmale activistswere justbeginningtoarticulate meaningsof African-Americansexuality
and the civil rightsunderthe rubricof blackculturednationalism.’’(Feldstein,R,2013, p125)
(Google Images)
Simone’sexecutionof the songisbothpowerful inhertone andlyrical content.Itishard toimagine
that thissongwouldnothave liberatedthe blacksoul artistswho were tobeginningtogetmore
directintheirlyricsand attitudessoonafterwards.The factthatherinfluence onsuchgoeslargely
un-credited,mayhave todowithsociety’smarginalisedview of womenatthe time.
Noteworthymusiciansworthmentioning wouldincludeJamesBrown,Gill ScottHeronandartists
whose workbecame more politicisedwithtime like CurtisMayfield,Stevie WonderandMarvin
Gaye.
‘’ Consequently,soulartistsincreasinglyspoke directly andconcretelytoblacksocial existence,
blackhistory,blackpride,blackangerandblack self-determination’’.( Smethurst,J,2013,p117)
The song that couldbe describedasan anthemforthese idealsisthe song‘SayitLoud-I’mBlackand
I’mProud’by JamesBrown.
By the time blackmusicgot more radicalised andVietnamprotestswere beginningtotake effect,
Bob Dylan’smusicwasalreadymovingina completely differentdirection. In1964 he heardthe
Beatlesforthe firsttime andhas beenquotedassaying ‘‘Iknew this iswhere musichadto go’’.The
Byrd’sversionof hissong‘Mr Tambourine Man’(1965) whichhada Beatlestype- beatwasalsoa
pointerina differentdirection.Dylanmore notablyinspiredthe Beatlessong-writingstylefromthis
time onwards,especiallyLennon’s. Dylanreleased threeground-breakingalbumsinhis65/66
periodnamely ‘Bringing itAll Back Home’,‘Highway 61 Revisited’ (both65) and hisdouble record
‘Blondeon Blonde’(1966). His lyricsonthese LP’sare filledwithsurrealistimageryandare much
more difficulttoanalyse whichhasprobably beenamajorfactor intheirlongevity andhighcritical
standing.
4. The VietnamWar isthe subjectof many protestsongsfromthe mid- sixtiestothe earlyseventies.
Musiciansandthe publicatlarge were havingseriousreservationsaboutthe validityof the U.Srole
inthe conflict.Thisusheredinaneraof political consciousnessamongstthe youngwhichinvolved
mass peace rally’sandanti-warprotests.
Central to all thiswasthe role of the songwriterwhomthe youthlookedtowardstoarticulate and
give a voice totheircause.Songsthat addressedthe conflictincludedJohnLennon’s‘Give Peace a
Chance’,Barry Maguire’s‘Eve of Destruction’,MarvinGaye’s‘What’sGoingOn’,Jimi Hendrix’s
versionof ‘The Star SpangledBanner’and‘Ohio’byCrosbyStillsNashandYoung.
The song ‘Handsome Johnny’ sungbyRichie Havensatthe Woodstockfestival,isone worth
commentingon.These are the openinglines.
Hey,lookyonder,tell me whatthatyousee.Marching to the fieldsof Concord?
Lookslike Handsome Johnnywithamusketinhishand.
Marching to the Concord war,hey,marchingto the Concord war
The lyricscontinue inthisvein,the onlythingthathe changesare the locationswhichinclude other
battle fieldssuchas Gettysburg,Dunkirk,KoreaandVietnam.ItisprettyobviousthatHandsome
Johnnyhasnot foughtinall of these warsso he can be seento representeverysoldierineverywar.
It isworth referringbacktoDylan’ssong‘Masters of War’ here where youngmenare sendoff to
wars bymenin suitswhoare notgoingto be directlyaffectedbytheiractions.The songturnsonits
heada little laterwiththe verse
Hey, look yonder,tell me whatyousee.Marchingto the fieldsof Birmingham?
Lookslike Handsome Johnnywithahandrolledina fist
Marching to the Birminghamwar,hey,marchingtothe Birminghamwar.
Heywhat’sthe use of singingthissong,some of youaren’tevenlistening
Tell me whatit iswe’ve have gotto do,waitfor the fieldstostart glistening
Hey, waitfor the bulletstostart whistling
(Lyricstakenfromhttp://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/r/richie_havens/handsome_johnny.html#!)
Thisone can presume,isBirmingham,AlabamaandHandsome Johnnyisoff tomarchfor civil rights.
The songwriterisalsoaskinghisaudience tofightforwhattheybelievein.Thismightnotbe inthe
militantsense butnottotake a narcissistic view of whatisgoingonaroundthem.
5. (Google Images)
PunkRock emergedinmid- seventiesBritainasaresponse tothe stadiumand progressive rockacts
whowere dominatingthe airwavesatthe time.These actsseemedmuchremovedfromthe average
kidand to manytheirmusicofferedverylittle inthe wayof substance. Gee Voucherfrompunk
groupCrass offeredhisexplanationwhyPunkhappened.
‘’The seventieswasreallydire,corruptpop music,facile words,facilestatements.Everyonewas
sickand tiredof it because itwasso manufactured.There wasnothingreal there.So,whenyou
geta situationlike thatwhichbecomessoextremeyouare boundtoget a breakoutand it
happenedtobe punkthistime.’’(Vaucher,G,2011, p2)
The two groupsmost associatedwithpunkinthe U.Kare namelyThe Sex PistolsandThe Clash.The
Pistolscanbe seento have epitomisedthe spiritof punk.The careerof The Clashwaslongerlived. In
contrast to manyof the lyricssungby Punkgroupsat the time whoportrayeda nihilisticview about
politics,inthe sense thatitcouldnotbe changed,andwhilstThe Clashwere alsocriticisingthe
governmentandpolice,theyseemedtobe lookingforalternativesintheirlyrics.Some writerswere
unsure whatpolitical message Punkwastryingtogetacross.
‘’ The prevailingimpressionItookawaywasone of nihilism, of anti-life,of amovementthat
glorifieshopelessnessandhasnothingpositivetooffer.Sofarthe new wave have beenlargely
incapable of sayingwhattheyare fightingforratherthan whotheyare fighting
against.’’(Jackson,T,A,2013, p162)
Punkand Reggae are most closelylinkeddue totheirassociationwithactivistgroup‘Rockagainst
Racism’(RAR) Theywere a groupwhowere worriedaboutthe influence of the National Front inthe
U.K.
6. ‘’Rock againstRacism andthe Anti- Nazi League organisedaseriesof carnivalsbeginningwith
a musicfestival inVictoriaParkon30 April 1978, combininga numberof punkand reggae
acts.’’(Smith,E,2011, p90)
(Google Images)
‘’Munbyrecognisedthatmostyoungpeople attendedthe carnival forthe music,but
emphasisedthe ‘’strongprogressive elements’’of the music,declaringthatpunk,reggae,and
new wave were ‘’of particularpolitical importance.’’(Smith,E,2011, p99)
It isnot inconceivable tothinkthatthe Rock against Racismgigsmighthave beenan influence
on Bob Geldof whenhe wasplanningthe ‘LiveAid’concert(1985) Sure the (RAR) gigsmay not
have had millionsellingplatinumartistsontheirbill,butGeldof’sgroup The BoomtownRats
were part of the punk/newwave scene atthe time of these gigs.He mayhave beeninspiredby
(as previouslyadheredto) the comingtogetherof youngpeoplewhominthe mainwouldhave
beenthere forthe music,but thiscomingtogetherof the youth was highlightingsocial issues.A
more probable source of influence mighthave beenGeorge Harrisons ‘ConcertforBangladesh’
inMadison Square Garden(1971) where he gathered astar-studded castto raise moneyforthe
starvingpeople inthatcountry. PunkandLive Aidare notas far removedasone mightthink. In
the book‘PopularMedia Culturein Post -WarBritain’,John Streetspeaksabout bythe time ‘Live
Aid’ came aboutthe mediahadlearnedhow Punksinitial reactiontoshockpeople couldsell
records, and bythenthiswas incorporatedintopopularculture.He alsomakesthe pointthat
by thenmassive corporationsweregettinginvolvedinpopculture .Pepsi sponsored ‘LiveAid’.
Thisis an example of corporate sponsoredprotest.
‘’Hip-Hopmusicisgenerallyconsideredtohave beenpioneeredinNew York’sSouthBronx in
1973 by JamaicanbornKool DJ Herc, at a dance party Herc usedaninnovative turntable
technique tostretcha songsdrum breakbyplayingthe breakportionof twoidentical records
7. consecutively.The popularityof the extendedbreakwasfacilitatedbyextendeddrumbreaks
playedbyDJs at NewYorkdance parties.’’(Blanchard,B,1999, p un)
It isimportantto distinguishbetweenRapandHip-Hopas theycan be sometimesseentomeanthe
same thing.
‘’ Rap itself- the rhymesspokenoverhip-hopmusicbeganasa social commentaryaboutthe
ability-- or--‘’skillz’’-- of aparticularDJ while thatDJ was playingrecordsata hip-hop
event.’’(Blanchard,B,1999, p un)
‘’Corporate America’sinfatuationwithraphasincreasedasthe genrespolitical contenthas
withered.Ice Cube’searlysongsattackedwhite racism:Ice Tsang abouta cop killer,Public
Enemychallengedlistenersto‘’fightthe power’’.Butmanyneweractsare almostfocused
entirelyonpathologieswithinthe blackcommunity.Theyrapaboutshootingotherblacks,but
almostneveraboutchallenginggovernmentauthorityorencouragingsocial
activism.’’(Blanchard,B,2011, p UN)
It isinevitablewhenanundergroundmovementbreaksintothe mainstreamlike this,itwill startto
lose itsoriginal powertoearlydevotees.Itthenbecomesabigbusinessandrecordcompanieswill
seize whateveropportunitiespossible tosell the musicinuncharteredterritories.Thiswill attract
aspiringyoungartistsfromdifferentsocio/economicbackgroundsintothe genre.
These kidswill rapabouttheirownbackgrounds,whichmaybe vastlydifferentfromthe original
practitionersof the form.Itcan eventuallydriftssofarfrom itsoriginsthatit becomessomething
else entirely.Thismaybe seenbysome asbeinga huge successinthat the musichas grownfrom its
neighbourhoodbasedthemesandtransformed intoa massive sellingglobal genre thatcanbe used
and understoodbymillions.Onthe otherhanditmaybe seenasan exploitationof itsoriginswhich
gave voice to a disenchantedmarginalisedsectionof society,andnow usedbymulti-millionairesto
rap about Rolex watchesandandotherformsof consumeristgreed.
(Google Images)
8. Rap/hip-hophasbeencriticisedinmanyquartersforitsattitude towardswomen.However
womensuchas MissyElliot,Nicki Minaj,Lil KimandQueenLatifahhave giventhe female avoice
inrap music.
‘’By challengingitsprecepts,namelythatrapbe the productof the black,male ,urbanunder –
class,womenalteredthe music’sraisond’etrebyinsinuatingtheirdistinctiveworld-
view.’’(Woldu,G,H,2013, p172)
The album‘’Let England Shake’’byPJHarvey(2011) isan albumthatdealswiththe horrorsof war. It
isnot a protestrecord inthe strictestsense of the meaning,butherlyricsof bloodshedand
destructionare vividindetail.Itstripsawayanyideasof glory and honourandconcentratesonthe
more humane aspectof war. It focussesmore onthe individualratherthana generalisationof
people fighting.One of the mostpowerfulsongsonthe recordisthe closingtrackcalled‘The Colour
of the Earth’.This isbasedon a friendshipbetweentwoguyswhofoughtside byside.
Louiswas mydearest friend.Fightinginthe ANZACtrench
Louisran forthfrom the line.I neversawhimagain
Later inthe dark. I thoughtI heardLouis’voice
Callingforhismother,thenme.ButI couldn’tgetto him
(Lyricstakenfrom http://www.songlyrics.com/pj-harvey/the-colour–of-the-earth-lyrics/)
Perhapsthe powerinthissongcomesfrom the fact that Louiscalledoutforhis motherratherthan a
sweetheart.Thiscouldbe arepresentationof how youngsome of these soldierswere.Theymay
have beensoyoungwhentheywere killed, thattheywouldneverhave hadexperiencedlove intheir
short lives.There isalsosomething of achildlikevulnerabilityinthe line,Callingforhismother,then
me.Thisimage couldcertainlyresonate withthe listenerasitisparticularlyheart-breaking.This
songalso symbolisesthe bondthatmusthave grownbetweenthe soldiersinthese horrific
circumstances.Perhapspeople canrelate toa personal storyof humantragedy,more than statistics
of thousandsof deaths.
A criticof modernmusicmaybemoanthe seeminglylackof protestintoday’smusic.Itisnot that
there isnothingtoprotestabout.There couldbe some othercontributingfactorsinthisotherthana
lazyassumptionthattoday’syouthhave a pessimisticviewaboutpolitics.If youtake the sixtiesasan
example,whichcouldbe regardedasthe goldeneraof the protestsong,people were beingdirectly
affectedbythe war inVietnam.Manyof America’syouthwouldhave livedinfearof beingcalledup
for the draft.Several of the demonstratorswouldhave hadbrothersandpartnersfightingoreven
have beenkilledinVietnam. Likewise numerousblackpeople whofoughtfortheircivilrightswould
have sufferedracismfirsthand.
It is true that AmericanandBritishsoldiershave servedinAfghanistanandIraqinrecentyearsbut
theyenlistedinthe armybychoice.Itis whenpoliticsdirectlyaffectspeople,thatitmay thenforce
themto demonstrate againstwhattheyperceive tobe unjust.Ifeel thatthe protestsongwhile it
may nothave directlychangedanything,hasbeenacatalystforchange.It has at timesbrought
9. social injusticestothe forefrontof popularculture.Politicallyitismore inclusive tothe average
person.Youdo not needtobe an avidreaderof political columnstounderstandwhatagroupof
people singing‘We Shall Overcome’signifies.
We nowlive ina muchmore tolerantsocietywheregenerallypeople are nottargetedagainst
because of theirrace,genderor sexual preferences.Itismybelief thatthe protestsonghasplayeda
role inthese change of attitudesovertime byquestioningarchaicviews.Those fromthe baby
boomererawho were openmindedwouldhave instilledthese valuesintheirownchildrenand
manypre-existingbigotrieswouldhave become dilutedovertime.
Bibliography
10. Books/Articles/Chapters
JacksonT.A ‘TheRoutledgeHistory of Social Protestin PopularMusic (2013) editedbyFriedmanJ.C,
NewYork,Routledge
JonesK‘The RoutledgeHistory of Social Protestin Popular Music’(2013) editedbyFriedmanJ,C,
NewYork,Routledge
SmethurstJ,‘The RoutledgeHistory of Social Protestin PopularMusic’ (2013) editedbyFriedman.J.C,
NewYork,Routledge
WolduG.H ‘The RoutledgeHistory of Social Protestin PopularMusic (2013) editedbyFriedmanJ.C,
NewYork,Routledge
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<http://www.academia.edu/1329946/Are_the_Kids_United_The_Communist_Party_of_Great_Britai
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http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0302/06-warisover.php
