'Get It Done'
There's a lady plays her fav'rite records/On the jukebox ev'ry day/All day long she plays the same old songs/And she believes the things that they say/She sings along with all the saddest songs/And she believes the stories are real/She lets the music dictate the way that she feels.
So ... in keeping with the mood of the board, what are your favorite protest songs current and historic? Some of mine (in no order) are:
1. "Final Straw," R.E.M.
2. "Ohio," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3. "For What It's Worth," Buffalo Springfield
4. "What's Going On," Marvin Gaye
5. "Shipbuilding," Elvis Costello
6. "Less Than Zero," Elvis Costello
7. "Sunday Bloody Sunday," U2
8. "Universal Soldier," Buffy St. Marie
9. "I Like Fucking," Bikini Kill
From your list, I really like 2, 3, 4 and 7. I don't know a lot of other protest songs. U2 did a cover of Peggy Seeger's "Springhill Mining Disaster" during their '87 tour, and I like that one a lot as well.
Ooh, how about REM's "Ignoreland?" I like that one much better than "Final Straw."
Would Green Day's "American Idiot" count? I'm not a big fan of theirs, but I like that song a lot.
"Back to Square One" by the Outnumbered (pre-Pansy Division!)
I guess I know more than I thought I did:
"My Youngest Son Came Home Today" by Billy Bragg
"Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" ... not sure who originally did it (Buffy St. Marie?), but I've only heard the Indigo Girls' live version.
Bruce Springsteen's "41 Shots (American Skin)," although that's more of a single-incident protest song.
Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marching Anymore"
It's always the old who lead us into war
It's always the young who fall
Now look at all we've won with the sabre and the gun
Tell me is it worth it all
And, of course, Country Joe & the Fish's "Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag"
2. "Ohio," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
"Ohio" makes my list. Some others:
"Chicago" - Graham Nash
"Military Madness" - Graham Nash
"Alice's Restaurant" - Arlo Guthrie
"Done with Bonaparte" - Mark Knopfler
"Volunteers" - Jefferson Airplane
"What Did You Learn in School Today" - Tom Paxton
"I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" - Country Joe McDonald
"Fortunate Son" - Creedence Clearwater
I could do this for hours...
Oh DAMN, how could I forget "Fortunate Son?" LOVE that song.
How about "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke? That one gets another "LOVE that song" from me.
I was thinking of "Fortunate Son," but I left it off my list! Great song.
"Rockin' In the Free World," either the Neil Young version or the Pearl Jam cover, should be mentioned.
Dang, another good one. Oh, can't forget Dylan, "Masters of War."
"Masters of War" by Bob Dylan:
"You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud"
"Roll With It" by Ani DiFranco:
"all I know is that those
who are going to be killed
aren't those who preside
on capitol hill
I told him,
don't fill the front lines
of their war
those assholes aren't worth dying for"
"Know Your Rights" by the Clash:
"You have the right not to be killed
Murder is a crime!
Unless it was done by a
Policeman or aristocrat"
KYEO by Fugazi:
"we must, we must, we must keep our eyes open
see what we see, what once was promised now will be.
still uncertain? get off that hang, don't wait for the bang,
the tools, they will be swinging, but we will not be beaten down"