Photo: Koshu Kunii

Throughout time there has been many songs that have been inspired by political and social unrest. Across all genres, musicians and acts have expressed their right by writing and advocating for change in all aspects of society. Election season can be a stressful time for many folks so we decided to create a list of protest songs to get you through Election Day. This list is just a small handful of many songs out their that do their part on trying to create change. See what made the cut below:

 

Freedom…..YEAH. When creating this list, Rage Against The Machine was a top priority to include. In fact, this whole list could be compiled with their tracks. “Freedom.” According to Wikipedia, The song and video was based on Leonard Peltier, a leader of the American Indian movement who was prisoned. There is also a reenactment from Pine Ridge Reservation in the video where over 200 individuals who lived on the land were beaten or murdered. A powerful song with a great inspiration to say the least.

“Freedom” – Rage Against the Machine:

“Revolution” – The Beatles:

We all want to change the world and together we can. The Beatles “Revolution” was the acts first stab at writing an anti-war protest song. In the tune, John Lennon shares his feelings about peaceful protest and talks about Social change advocacy and how political offenses should be judged on moral grounds.

“American Idiot” – Green Day:

In today’s age the media effects every part of our society and there is many flavors/views that come with it. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong felt that strongly after how cable news decided to cover the Iraq War. While catchy, “American Idiot” has powerful lyrics including “In television dreams of tomorrow, We’re not the ones who’re meant to follow” and “Well maybe I’m the f****t America, I’m not part of a redneck agenda.”

“Imagine” – John Lennon:

Easily one of the most important songs to ever been written, “Imagine” by John Lennon tackles world peace and hoped to encourage listeners to the song to live in harmony. The song has inspired peaceful protests and Lennon even said that the song was “about carrying the torch of peace to each generation. If this song doesn’t make you feel something, I don’t know what will.

 

“Get Up, Stand Up” – Bob Marley:

It’s in the name “Get Up, Stand Up.” Bob Marley wrote the song to encourage people to fight against oppression and to stand up for themselves. According to Udiscovermusic, the song was influenced by Marley’s visit to Haiti where he saw first hand the poverty the island was facing. He shared co-writing credits with Peter Tosh, a well known advocate for unity and freedom.

“One” – Metallica:

After being inspired by Johnny Got His Gun, a book by Dalton Trumbo, Metallica wrote the song “One,” an anti war song about a soldier who was gravely injured in World War 1. He wasn’t able to speak, see or talk. The song is powerful with its lyrics such as “Now that the war is through with me, I’m waking up, I cannot see” and “Landmine has taken my sight, taken my speech, taken my hearing.” The song has become one of the bands most well known songs that is listened to people all across the world.

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” – U2:

One of the most famous protest songs, U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” has many meanings behind it. It was a reference to Northern Ireland’s 1972 massacre. It is also about the conflict between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland who are divided politically, socially and religiously. The band tackles the song with power and beautiful lyrics.

“Fuk Da Police” – NWA:

NWA’s powerful song tackles police brutality and makes it know that they are not okay their violent acts. The hip-hop group experienced along with people of California experienced racial profiling and violence in Black neighborhoods for a long time. The 1990’s were a turbulent time not only in South Central but all across the United States. The same discrimination is unfortunately still continuing to happen in the country

“Fight The Power” – Public Enemy:

Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power”  shares a message calling for “brothers and sisters” of the United States to oppose individuals destroying the lives of African Americans According to Voices Across Time. It is an anthem of racial affirmation and directly quotes the Black Panthers slogan “Power to the people. It references black leaders including Frederic Douglass  and was originally written for the movie Do the Right Thing.

“Born in the USA” – Bruce Springsteen:

“Born in the USA” is a song that is until this day misunderstood. Bruce Springsteen wrote the song from a Vietnam War veterans perspective who has to come back home from a vicious war to a difficult situation. It was written during a time where not a lot of folks were proud to be an American and didn’t feel that the United States should be involved in the Vietnam War in the first place.

“For What It’s Worth” – Buffalo Springfield:

Yet another song inspired by the Vietnam War, Buffalo Springfield penned the song as a response to the Sunset Strip curfew riots in 1966. While a minor event on the Vietnam War social timeline, it was eye opening up enough for him to create this masterpiece. “For What It’s Worth will forever be tied to the late 1960’s and is featured in many movies regarding the war.