The Art of the Protest Song, Then and Now
Over the past few weeks, tens of thousands of Americans have erupted into protest over the president’s use of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Even on the largest stage in the country—the Super Bowl halftime show—Bad Bunny displayed a powerful message that echoed a sentiment from the streets of Minneapolis: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Throughout history, music and resistance have gone hand in hand. During the turmoil of the 1960s, protest music took center stage as a way for artists to aid the fight for liberation. Armed with the soundtracks of Nina Simone, Joan Baez, Sam Cooke, and Phil Ochs, Americans were able to pass landmark changes for equality and civil rights.
Music with a political message continues to resonate for many people today. Here are a few alternative, rock, and folk songs — both from recent years and decades past — you need to listen to if you’re not already.
“Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” by Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is known for her gentle and intentional ballads, like her 1988 hit “Fast Car,” which is arguably one of the greatest songs ever written about love and the working-class life. This track, however, can sometimes overshadow the rest of her discography, which features dozens of equally compelling songs that are jam-packed with yearning and social commentary. In the opening track of her self-titled debut album, “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” Chapman describes the heartbreak of standing in welfare lines and crying on the doorstep of a Salvation Army. In the chorus, she provides a respite, singing directly to her listeners: “Don’t ya know? / They’re talking about a revolution / … Finally the tables are starting to turn.” She reminds us that, although the system has been built to push people down, there is always hope of change and of the tables turning.
Watch the lyric video for “Orange” on YouTube.
“Orange” by Pinegrove
“Orange” was written on the day in 2020 when the sky over Northern California and Oregon turned a vibrant orange color due to wildfires in the area. Through this song, the band is responding to the lack of attention that the climate crisis has received from policymakers. Pinegrove’s bright chords and overlapping vocals make this song sound almost like a religious hymn. In the description of their YouTube lyric video, the band writes: “it's essential for people with a microphone to start shouting, & in whatever way we can to affirm community, to step in & help one another cope in the absence of our government.”
“Feels Blind” by Bikini Kill
“Feels Blind” is an edgy and cathartic expression of female rage. The band captures the frustration with being pressured into becoming a certain type of woman. Bikini Kill makes these emotions feel authentic, not tamed by some corporate incentive or a need to be relatable. The same guitar phrase repeats throughout the entire song, as if reiterating their fury of being overlooked again and again. This song transports the listener to the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s and the sizzling potential of the feminist punk rock movement.
“Not” by Big Thief
Lead singer Adrianne Lenker has shown herself to be one of the most formidable songwriters in the modern music industry. Her lyrics cut deep and easily draw out heavy emotions in the listener. In her work with Big Thief, the band’s accompaniment adds a layer of complexity to Lenker’s songwriting, which is on full display in “Not.” In an observation of our rapidly deteriorating planet, Lenker sings, “Not the planet, not spinning / Not a ruse, not heat / Not the fire lapping up the creek / Not food, not to eat.” With these lyrics, Big Thief emphasizes the feeling that many people have about climate change: nothing matters. They draw this out and show how absurd it is not to care about anything.
“Backlash Blues” by Nina Simone
Originally a poem by Langston Hughes, “Backlash Blues” centers on a speaker who has been given second-class houses and schools, and has had their son sent to Vietnam. They accuse Mr. Backlash of oppressing them and tell him that they will one day leave. Nina Simone’s voice jumps from word to word, mirroring the bright piano that accompanies her. The speaker reminds Mr. Backlash that “The world is big / Big and bright and round / And it’s full of folks like me / Who are black, yellow, beige and brown.” Simone was a key player in the Civil Rights Movement, and her and Hughes’ words continue to be concerningly relevant today.
“Love It If We Made It” by The 1975
On the surface, this track is an upbeat earworm about hanging on to a relationship. But upon looking further, it is clear that this song is a product of the desperate human need to keep going in a time of bigotry and violence. The message of this song is summed up by an outcry in the prechorus: “Modernity has failed us.” Through each verse, the band addresses some of the most pressing issues facing the world today: police brutality, drug addiction, immigration, the culture war, and sexual assault.
“True Believer” by Hayley Williams
In this slow-burning ballad, singer-songwriter Hayley Williams, who lives in Nashville, TN, sings about her city and how its culture eats away at its inhabitants. She criticizes Nashville for its growing gentrification and the expansion of megachurches, which she sees as an inauthentic form of worship. She also fights against the white supremacy and racism that is taking hold in the American South. With a scathing phrase, Williams fights back against the movement to return the South to its former glory, singing, “The South will not rise again / Till it’s paid for every sin.”
“Join Ice” by Jesse Welles
Arkansas native Jesse Welles has gone viral on social media for performing his original folk protest songs, with “Join Ice” being one of these. The song is satirical and its lyrics mock ICE agents for their lack of critical thinking and failure to be part of other institutions, like the US Army. Welles’ song comes at a time of growing political censorship in America, where many people are looking to songs such as this one to validate their frustration. Welles has performed this song in venues across the country, such as the Newport Folk Festival, following in the footsteps of musical giants like Woody Guthrie.
Watch Phoebe Bridgers perform “I Know the End” at Austin City Limits in 2021.
“I Know the End” by Phoebe Bridgers
When Phoebe Bridgers released her highly anticipated sophomore album in June 2020, it seemed that the world was being uprooted. In Death Valley, CA, temperatures reached an all-time high of 130°F, global infections of COVID-19 had surpassed 7 million, and racial justice protests were breaking out in unprecedented numbers. Bridgers’ track reflects all of this brewing anger, anxiety, and hopelessness. By juxtaposing images together — “A slaughterhouse, an outlet mall / Slot machines, fear of God” — her lyrics question the validity of the American identity under capitalism.
Halfway through the song, the tone shifts; a violin pierces through the production, followed by a crackling of drums. The track ends with a full crescendo — every instrument in the song mounts and sonically expands. Amongst this climax of instruments, Bridgers’ voice is heard yelling. We, as listeners, are left with an uneasy sense of closure with her final statement: “The end is here.”
“Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen
Over 40 years after Springsteen’s release of Born in the USA, the album and its titular track are still a fundamental part of the cultural zeitgeist. The track portrays a Vietnam War veteran who is disillusioned upon returning home. It speaks to the economic downturn that middle- and lower-class Americans were suffering from at the time. Yet, with its powerful synth and prominent drums, the song initially sounds like a nationalistic anthem — and was perceived as such by some of Springsteen’s listeners. The undertone of the song, however, is melancholic and remorseful, as if the speaker is losing faith in the existence of the American Dream.
