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favourite protest song ?

Bob Dylan - Masters of War


Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

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

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead
 
Bit of a pastiche of a protest song but I like it

Frank Zappa - Trouble Every Day

Well I'm about to get sick
From watchin' my TV
Been checkin' out the news
Until my eyeballs fail to see
I mean to say that every day
Is just another rotten mess
And when it's gonna change, my friend
Is anybody's guess

So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day

Wednesday I watched the riot . . .
Seen the cops out on the street
Watched 'em throwin' rocks and stuff
And chokin' in the heat
Listened to reports
About the whisky passin' 'round
Seen the smoke and fire
And the market burnin' down
Watched while everybody
On his street would take a turn
To stomp and smash and bash and crash
And slash and bust and burn

And I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day

Well, you can cool it,
You can heat it . . .
'Cause, baby, I don't need it . . .
Take your TV tube and eat it
'N all that phony stuff on sports
'N all the unconfirmed reports
You know I watched that rotten box
Until my head begin to hurt
From checkin' out the way
The newsman say they get the dirt
Before the guys on channel so-and-so

And further they assert
That any show they'll interrupt
To bring you news if it comes up
They say that if the place blows up
They will be the first to tell,
Because the boys they got downtown
Are workin' hard and doin' swell,
And if anybody gets the news
Before it hits the street,
They say that no one blabs it faster
Their coverage can't be beat

And if another woman driver
Gets machine-gunned from her seat
They'll send some joker with a brownie
And you'll see it all complete

So I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
That there's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin' every day

Hey, you know something people?
I'm not black
But there's a whole lots a times
I wish I could say I'm not white

Well, I seen the fires burnin'
And the local people turnin'
On the merchants and the shops
Who used to sell their brooms and mops
And every other household item
Watched the mob just turn and bite 'em
And they say it served 'em right
Because a few of them are white,
And it's the same across the nation
Black and white discrimination
Yellin' "You can't understand me!"
'N all that other jazz they hand me
In the papers and TV and
All that mass stupidity
That seems to grow more every day
Each time you hear some nitwit say
He wants to go and do you in
Because the color of your skin
Just don't appeal to him
(No matter if it's black or white)
Because he's out for blood tonight

You know we got to sit around at home
And watch this thing begin
But I bet there won't be many live
To see it really end
'Cause the fire in the street
Ain't like the fire in the heart
And in the eyes of all these people
Don't you know that this could start
On any street in any town
In any state if any clown
Decides that now's the time to fight
For some ideal he thinks is right
And if a million more agree
There ain't no Great Society
As it applies to you and me
Our country isn't free
And the law refuses to see
If all that you can ever be
Is just a lousy janitor
Unless your uncle owns a store
You know that five in every four
Just won't amount to nothin' more
Gonna watch the rats go across the floor
And make up songs about being poor

Blow your harmonica, son!
 
Disjecta Membra said:
Niggas talk about change and working within the system to achieve that. The problem with always being a conformist is that when you try to change the system from within, it's not you who changes the system; it's the system that will eventually change you. There is usually nothing wrong with compromise in a situation, but compromising yourself in a situation is another story completely, and I have seen this happen long enough in the few years that I've been alive to know that it's a serious problem.

great stuff.
 
Disposable Heroes of Hipocrisy

One nation under god has turned into
one nation under the influence of one drug

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V., it satellite links
our united states of unconsciousness
apathetic therapeutic and extremely addictive
the methadone metronome pumping out
150 channels 24 hours a day
you can flip through all of them
and still there's nothing worth watching
T.V. is the reason why less than ten percent
of our nation reads books daily
why most people think Central America means Kansas
socialism means unamerican
and apartheid is a new headache remedy
absorbed in its world it's so hard to find us
it shapes our mind the most
maybe the mother of our nation
should remind us that we're sitting too close to...

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V. is the stomping ground
for political candidates
where bears in the woods
are chased by grecian formula'd bald eagles
T.V. is mechanized politic's
remote control over the masses
co-sponsored by enironmentally safe gases
watch for the PBS special
it's the perpetuation of the two-party system
where image takes precedence over wisdom
where sound bite politics are served
to the fastfood culture
where straight teeth in your mouth
are more important than the words
that come out of it
race baiting is the way to get elected
Willie Horton or will he not get elected on...

(chorus)
Televison, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V., is it the reflector or the director
does it imitate us or do we imitate it
because a child watches 1500 murders
before he's twelve years old
and we wonder how we've created
a Jason generation that learns to laugh
rather than abhor the horror
T.V. is the place where armchair generals
and quarterbacks can experience first hand
the excitement of video warfare
as the themesong is sung in the background
sugar sweet sitcoms that leave us with
a bad actor taste while pop stars metamorphosize
into soda pop stars you saw the video
you heard the soundtrack
well now go buy the soft drink
well, the only cola that I support
is a union C.O.L.A. (cost of living allowance) on...

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

Back again, "new and improved"
we return to our irregularly programmed schedule
hidden cleverly between heavy breasted
beer and car commmercials
CNNESPNABCTNT but mostly B.S.
where oxymoronic language like
"virtually spotless" "fresh frozen"
light yet filling" and
"military intelligence" have become standard
T.V. is the place where phrases are redefined
like "recession" to "necessary downturn"
"crude oil" on a beach to "mousse"
"civilian death" to "collateral damages"
and being killed by your own army
is now called "friendly fire"
T.V. is the place where the pursuit of
happiness has become the pursuit of trivia
where toothpaste and cars
have become sex objects
where imagination is sucked out of children
by a cathode ray nipple
T.V. is the only wet nurse
that would create a cripple
on...

(chorus)
Television, the drug of the nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

 
How does it feel (to be the mother of a thousand dead)? by Crass must surely rank as one of the best protest songs ever? So controversial that it was debated in Parliament at the time of the Falklands was as to whether to ban it or not. And there aren't many songs you can say that about.
 
i did'nt want to get into symantics, but what's the difference between political songs and protest songs cos ive got loads of great political hip hop rarities.in fact i find it to the point of boring hard not to be political.

and barking mad,a well written piece innit my favourite bit that really hits home gotta be.

"In fact, I have more in common with most working and middle-class white people than I do with most rich black and Latino people. As much as racism bleeds America, we need to understand that classism is the real issue. Many of us are in the same boat and it's sinking, while these bougie Mother-Fuckers ride on a luxury liner, and as long as we keep fighting over kicking people out of the little boat we're all in, we're gonna miss an opportunity to gain a better standard of living as a whole." listen condy
 
Pagan place by the Waterboys...or Red Army Blue`s.......i seen them when the U.V.F. threathened to kill them if they played in the Ulster Hall in Belfast many years ago and ther final encore was....Mike Scott on pianio singing "What a wonderful world""" and he dedicated it to the uvf from the Shankill...of course it was lost on those mindless idiots.....:cool:
 
Disjecta Membra said:
i did'nt want to get into symantics, but what's the difference between political songs and protest songs cos ive got loads of great political hip hop rarities.in fact i find it to the point of boring hard not to be political.

and barking mad,a well written piece innit my favourite bit that really hits home gotta be.

"In fact, I have more in common with most working and middle-class white people than I do with most rich black and Latino people. As much as racism bleeds America, we need to understand that classism is the real issue. Many of us are in the same boat and it's sinking, while these bougie Mother-Fuckers ride on a luxury liner, and as long as we keep fighting over kicking people out of the little boat we're all in, we're gonna miss an opportunity to gain a better standard of living as a whole." listen condy

Yes, Immortal Technique's stuff is pretty cool, wish he'd be more considered sometimes and a little less mouthy, but his stuff is excellent. Dance With The Devil being a case in point.

Still waiting for his new album though.......... :(
 
Nas - Rule


Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, Nas, uh, yo, yo
Life, they wonder, can they take me under?
Nah, never that, nah, yo, yo

I come from the housin tenement buildings
Unlimited killings, menaces marked for death
Better known as the projects where junkies and rock heads dwell
Though I owe to it my success
With survival of the fittest, everyday is a chal'
I would think I'm a part of U.S.A. and be proud
Confronted with racism, started to feel foreign
Like, the darker you are the realer your problems
I reached for the stars but I just kept slippin
On this life mission, never know what's next
Ancient kings from Egypt, up to Julius Cezar
Had a piece of the globe, every continent
Yo, there's Asia, Africa, Europe, France, Japan
Pakistan, America, Afghanistan
Yo, there's Protestants, Jews, Blacks, Arabics
Call a truce, world peace, stop actin like savages
No war, we should take time and think
The bombs and tanks makes mankind extinct
But since the beginning of time it's been men with arms fightin
Lost lives in the Towers and Pentagon, why then?
Must it go on, we must stop the killin
Tell me why we die, we all God's children

All this hate can't last forever (uh, c'mon)
It's time that we stand together (yeah, for the world)
Everybody wants to rule the world (what, what, what, what, what, c'mon)
World (peace), world (peace), world (peace), world

Yo, there's brothers on the block, posted up like they own it
That's they corner, from New York to California
Got blocks locked down
Like, "dog you safe whenever you with me, see this is my town"
So the youngsters, grows in ghettos, goes to prison
At an early age, already know it's against him
So in order for him to survive one day he must
Open up his eyes to the set backs and rise
'Cause, everybody wants a shot, in this land of opportunity
Look at what this country's got
There shouldn't be nobody homeless
How can the president fix other problems when he ain't fixed home yet
The earth wasn't made for one man to rule alone
To all colors and creeds is to whom it belongs
I want land, mansions, banks and gold
The diamonds in Africa, oil in my control
The world's natural resources, all its residuals
But then comes foes, I have to guard it with missels
And I become the most wanted
But is it worth hearin a million people problems and followed by Secret Service
I guess, attempts at my life with loaded barrels
So move over Colin Powell or just throw in the towel, yo

Y'all know that's my style, to hit you at the right time
No other compares to what Nas write down
Tell you my dreams, show you my pain is yours
You could get what you love, be a chain in cause
You alive right now
There's so many that's dead or locked up inside the beast, I'm a hot light now
It's whatever man think of manifest to the real
The plan is to wake up 'cause time reveals
All this hate can't forever last
All my ghetto heroes in Heaven, it's like you right here and never passed
You just transcend, I know I'm gon' see you again
Hopin I reach the world leaders and win
Ain't nothin without struggle, listen up, it's critical
We used to fear arms, now the weapons are chemical
In Hip-Hop, the weapons are lyrical
To be the best you challenge the best, and the blessings are spiritual
Top of the world for the kid and unless
Poppin any rapper's head off his shoulders no contest
I know the Most High hear me, so fly you can't near me
You scared of a mirror, my theory is that - knowledge is power
To every projects and every street corner, we gotta get ours now
 
Excuse me but I can't believe no one mentioned this. It's only the greatest protest song ever and probably the most jammin intro.


 
I like For what it's Worth by Buffalo Springfield for the older style protest song.

There's somethin' happenin' here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun, over there
Tellin' me I got to beware

(I think it's time we)
Stop, children, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's goin' down?

There's battle lines bein' drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speakin' their minds
Gettin' so much resistance from behind

(It's time we)
Stop, hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's goin' down?

What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singin' songs and carryin' signs
Mostly sayin', "hooray for our side"

(It's time we)
Stop, hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's goin' down?

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line, the man come and take you away

(We better)
Stop, hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's goin' down?
(We better)
Stop, hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's goin' down?
(We better)
Stop, now, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's goin' down?
(We better)
Stop, children, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's goin' down?

And most of Dick Lucas' (subhumans/Culture Shock/Citizen Fish) songs are protest songs. Citizen Fish even did a song called "how to write the ultimate protest song". My favourite is Charity.

As the Charity Department at the Treasury
Dispenses licenses so you can do one too
The etheopians are running out of weaponry
So their leaders stock it up instead of food
And charity begins at home
So get out on the streets
And help the refugees

And the manager of E.M.I. technology
Seems reluctant to discuss his business deals
Cos the weapon sales are paying for his meals
He'll go to withering heights
To keep it out of sight

Profit! Weaponry doesn't feed refugees
It's a hit! McCartney's saying please on T.V.'s royalties to feed the world with guns

Wembley Stadium forever on the video
And a million spent to raise that sixty more
Nothing ever quite as big as this before
And it broke our hearts
As it topped the charts

But when the overkill exploited the reality
We forgot the facts and revelled in the noise
We didn't see that while we had the voice
Companies and laws were pulling vocal chords

If the western world was less obsessed with proprety
And the need to keep it safe with threats of war
Then the third world wouldn't need a war economy
That we're supplying at a cost they can't afford
So we buy up all their crops and grain
And sell it back again
When there ain't no rain
And have a big campaign
Using famous names
And as the penny drops
Into the Oxfam box
Take off the V.A.T.
Then call it charity

And the public think the government is wonderful
For promoting our assistance to the poor
But their profits are a whole lot more
They create the need to feed the refugees
And delegate the guilty feeling to the public eye
Via pictures of starvation on T.V.
And get the public conscience back out on the streets
With the empty tins
And little flags on pins
Lets call it charity
Lets call it charity
Make it pay!

:cool::cool::cool:
 
WAR!

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing!


Not sure I've ever heard the rest of the song, though.


I like that Levellers song, too. Not one by the Levellers, one about the original Levellers.
 
I've been listening to Jeffrey Lewis's 'system system' (off his 12 crass songs album) a lot lately'
 
Bit of contextual trivia about Sage Francis - 'Makeshift Patriot' (no.19)

Its said he actually wrote it on the afternoon 9/11 (which also happens to be his birthday), and released it exactly one month later.
 
Something inside so strong Labi Siffre

The higher you build your barriers
The taller I become
The farther you take my rights away
The faster I will run
You can deny me
You can decide to turn your face away
No matter, cos there's....

Something inside so strong
I know that I can make it
Tho' you're doing me wrong, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone
Oh no, something inside so strong
Oh oh oh oh oh something inside so strong

The more you refuse to hear my voice
The louder I will sing
You hide behind walls of Jericho
Your lies will come tumbling
Deny my place in time
You squander wealth that's mine
My light will shine so brightly
It will blind you
Cos there's......

Something inside so strong
I know that I can make it
Tho' you're doing me wrong, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone
Oh no, something inside so strong
Oh oh oh oh oh something inside so strong

Brothers and sisters
When they insist we're just not good enough
When we know better
Just look 'em in the eyes and say
I'm gonna do it anyway
I'm gonna do it anyway

Something inside so strong
And I know that I can make it
Tho' you're doing me wrong, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone
Oh no, something inside so strong
Oh oh oh oh oh something inside so strong

Brothers and sisters
When they insist we're just good not enough
When we know better
Just look 'em in the eyes and say
I'm gonna do it anyway
I'm gonna do it anyway
I'm gonna do it anyway
I'm gonna do it anyway

Because there's something inside so strong
And I know that I can make it
Tho' you're doing me, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone
Oh no, something inside so strong
Oh oh oh oh oh something inside so strong

Because there's something inside so strong
And I know that I can make it
Tho' you're doing me, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone
Oh no, something inside so strong
Oh oh oh oh oh something inside so strong
 
Something about England. The Clash
Student Power .....Angelic Upstarts
Whats Going On ......Marvyn Gaye
The Ghetto..........Elvis Presley
The Message.....Grandmaster Flash
Bull Whip Road.......Microdisney
I try.............Talib Kweli.
Why .......... The Specials.
Living For the City.......Stevie Wonder.

Yeah. I know more social commentary than out right protest with most of these songs.
 
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