Top ten protest songs from the sixties? What's old is new again:

[flamingdem]

* I like these more than the "official" ones listed at the bottom link

What are your favorites new or old?


Buffalo Springfield: (most appropriate right now)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdEE6qUm060

Scott McKenzie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EyGcXj84mE

Barry McQuire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdvCqUguIh8

Bob Dylan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onRobFQchS0

Eric Burden:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_VJoDOdJH0



Here's the commercial list:

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-protest-songs-from-the-1960s.php

[ellisonz]

1. Listen to Woody Guthrie!

Godfather of the Protest Song. ;-)

[flamingdem]

2. Can you recommend a particular song

or two? :)

I'm on a roll here getting nostalgic

[ellisonz]

21. Sure.

All You Fascists Bound To Lose

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwcKwGS7OSQ

Tear the Fascist Down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKVnur5DkdI

Better World A-Comin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQLzZ1zlkGo&feature=related

Ludlow Massacre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDd64suDz1A

Pastures of Plenty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH2DJvgNlMA

Pretty Boy Floyd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4YKUJZI5Bg

Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB-YnV0e3Lc

This Land Is Your Land

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s

Woody Guthrie - The Asch Recordings
© Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Woody Guthrie comes in a close second to Phil Ochs, only because Woody wrote just as many nonsense, love, and children's songs as he did songs of protest. What Woody was particularly great at was not even necessarily writing protest or political songs. His songs were more often just observations on things he saw along his travels. It just happened that stories like "Pretty Boy Floyd" or "Jesus Christ" depicted clear injustices.

Matter-of-Fact Stories
Woody Guthrie's songs didn't serve as a call to action, but instead were simply statements of the truth as he saw it: "This land was made for you and me," "Some men will rob you ... with a fountain pen," etc. In contrast to Phil Ochs' (and others') work, Woody's tunes are less satirical then they are matter-of-fact. As a result, somehow even songs like "Roll On, Columbia," one of Woody's many tributes to the Columbia River, came across as political statements.

Woody Guthrie's Influence
It's my personal opinion that Woody never set out to protest anything, at least not in the sense that many modern protest singers do. His intention was to spark up a conversation, to point out a few things you may not have noticed otherwise, and to raise a few questions. His style of songwriting was so effective that songwriters ever since have done what they could to emulate it—from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen, Dan Bern, and others.

http://folkmusic.about.com/od/folkmusicsocialprotes1/ig/Best-Protest-Singers/Woody-Guthrie.htm

[DCBob]

28. Guthrie was the best.

timeless.

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. Dupe-delete

[struggle4progress]

36. Here are some:

Vigilante Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyUagbsg-HI

Ludlow Massacre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDd64suDz1A

The Ballads of Sacco & Vanzetti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZrcYRcaNps

Pastures of Plenty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH2DJvgNlMA

Blowin' Down This Road
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMgwAE1oxdU

This Land Is Your Land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s

Plane Wreck At Los Gatos Canyon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jWFPLjYEaw
http://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Plane_Wreck_At_Los_Gatos.htm

Jesus Christ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDS00Pnhkqk

[flamingdem]

44. Thanks for reminding me, I loved Blowin' Down this Road

and can still sing some of it from memory.

[KatyaR]

3. There are a couple on that list I like, but I like yours better.

As a little girl growing up in rural Oklahoma, I knew every one of those songs by heart and can still sing them today--I just wonder what my parents thought about them. My dad probably liked the message, my mom probably just didn't want to think about it.

Protest music's in my blood. Power to the people.....

[flamingdem]

6. My father used to bring 45 rpm records home to share

He was very hip. Meanwhile my ear was glued to a transistor radio trying to make sense of the emotions these songs created in me. That was the counterculture ... today it's everybody, well 99%

Here's one I forgot, kinda of jarring but always powerful:

Star Spangled banner by Jimi Hendrix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyGGG1I-rf8

[Gabi Hayes]

4. ''If I Had a Rocket Launcher''

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7vCww3j2-w

[flamingdem]

7. Wow, I haven't heard that for.. decades!

Very powerful, evocative.

[Gabi Hayes]

14. even harder to listen to than in 1984

now that we know our own party is not much better than those who brought us Iran/Contra, Iraq I and II......

don't know how much longer I'll be hanging out here.

[Gabi Hayes]

11. Lives in the Balance.....Jackson Browne....slide show of Iraq War accompanies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm8GysKPgGs

this was the theme music to a Bill Moyers special

http://griffinia.blogspot.com/2007/02/lives-in-balance.html

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. I find it so sad that Buffalo Springfield song is as relevant today

as much as it was 40 years ago.

[flamingdem]

9. Let's hope we're moving away from foreign wars and towards righting wrongs

in our own country.

It felt the same back then in many ways but I think it's going to be much harder to squelch OWS. They could end a war to stop the protests but it's going to be a more profound struggle to change the powers that be fundamentally.

[burrowowl]

8. Brings back memories

too bad these songs are so pertinent today!

[Betsy Ross]

10. Phil Ochs? n/t

[flamingdem]

13. I was into his music but can't remember the songs

drat memory glitches. To youtube!

[Gabi Hayes]

18. check this out:

http://philochsthemovie.com/

[Gabi Hayes]

''I marched to the battle of New Orleans......but I ain't marchin' anymore''

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5pgrKSwFJE

[flamingdem]

23. Of course, how could I forget that one

I want to find the album because there were a lot of great songs on that one, if memory serves.

He has a great voice.

[flamingdem]

26. I'll rent that. The only thing is - didn't something

happen to him?

Guess I'll have to check Wikipedia, but I remember an abrupt end, hope that's not correct.

[struggle4progress]

12. Steppenwolf's Monster was on my playlist long ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk3sURDS4IA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-7uwshsfFI

[flamingdem]

16. I loved that song but didn't know it was political

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_%28Steppenwolf_album%29

This link explains the album. I was more into Born to be Wild but that song got to the top 40.

[annabanana]

20. I started blasting that through my car windows during the "surge".

Imagine a 60-something behind the wheel of a minivan. . I found it to be something of a stress reliever, that song.

[struggle4progress]

37. I used Universal Soldier that way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYEsFQ_gt7c

[annabanana]

43. lord lord...

My Country tis of thy People you're Dying

What a chord you just sounded in my memory

[ohheckyeah]

15. The Buffalo Springfield

needs to be redone with photos of OWS.

[Swede]

17. Melanie - Candles In The Rain - Lay Down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJF3j9ihPqM

[flamingdem]

19. This one gives me chills

I have to admit that I didn't know exactly what it was about but the gospel sound was so new on AM radio when it first came out.

Gosh thank you this is one of the best.

[FailureToCommunicate]

24. Songs by Pete Seeger and Joan Baez could be on your list.

[Downwinder]

25. Pete Seeger's, "If I Had A Hammer"

Bonus Army's "Buddy, can you spare a dime?"

They never wear out.

[flamingdem]

27. I grew up on his albums

One was Big Rock Candy Mountain, something like that.

[Downwinder]

30. The buzzing of the bees and the sugar cane trees.

By the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

first recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928

[WorseBeforeBetter]

38. The way Mary Travers belts out "freeeeeedom" gets me every time.

What an incredibly powerful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUKB3PxG-0E

[RebelOne]

29. Buffalo Springfield's song is so about what is happening now. n/t

[Mz Pip]

56. I agree

It captures the moment perfectly.

[trueblue2007]

62. pete seeger... THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5KnYADCSms



AND .....War - Edwin Starr http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d8C4AIFgUg

[EC]

31. I like all those

but the one that always makes me cry is "What's Goin On". The song mixed with the way he died, just makes me feel such a sense of waste.


"Turn, Turn, Turn" I had played by a folk singer with a guitar at my wedding.

[flamingdem]

32. Turn Turn Turn is such a classic

still beautiful to hear.

You mean Marvin Gaye, yes the greatest. I want to think of more in that vein. Almost every artist then had one that could be seen as a protest song.

[blue neen]

33. "Ohio" by CSNY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82CYNj7noic

VERY, very apropros.

[flamingdem]

35. Ouch. The day after that happened all hell broke loose

So much on my mind subconsciously .. today

We shut our school down the next day and camped out ... hmm we occupied the high school. My whole family went.

NOW I remember why the occupy thing is SO familiar!

I'd forgotten the sleepover we did.

[flamingdem]

34. Bob Dylan's grim masterpiece - It's Alright, Ma

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ0htdRIdBY

"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
Play sound

"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and first released on his 1965 album, Bringing It All Back Home. It was written in the summer of 1964, first performed live on October 10, 1964, and recorded on January 15, 1965. Described by Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as a "grim masterpiece," the song features some of Dylan's most memorable lyrical images. Among the well-known lines sung in the song are "Money doesn't talk, it swears," "Although the masters make the rules, for the wisemen and the fools" and "But even the president of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked." The lyrics express Dylan's anger at hypocrisy, commercialism, consumerism, warmongers and contemporary American culture, but unlike his earlier protest songs, "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" does not express optimism in the possibility of political solutions.

[blue neen]

39. "Out in the Country" by Three Dog Night

Environmental protest

"Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin worth rememberin'"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ1tF6LgB40

This song is particularly touching to me right now because of how the Marcellus Shale Industry is pillaging and destroying the environment of my home, Pennsylvania. Our Fracker Cracker Governor has sold us off to all of the highest bidders, without even charging these oil and gas companies any taxes! Nothing! They aren't paying one cent for the damage they are doing.

Tom Corbett...Worst. Governor. Ever.

[flamingdem]

48. Beautiful, poignant

I had the 45 of Mama Told Me Not to Come, didn't realize they had such a serious side, I remember this song but did not think it had a critique but of course - before the breathing air is gone.. how did I miss that.

[blue neen]

50. Cory Wells pushed for this song because of being an environmentalist.

It's such a beautiful song...:)

[workinclasszero]

40. Dead Kennedys song...California Über Alles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW8UlY8eXCk

Not 60's but, very appropriate to what is happening on the streets in Oakland right now!

[flamingdem]

41. I love this one

An ode to the police chief of Oakland

[flamingdem]

42. Ha! I forgot it begins with "I'm governor Jerry Brown"

here we are repeating history.

[workinclasszero]

45. Right. Strange times we are living in /nt

[blue neen]

46. Creedence Clearwater Revival: "Fortunate Son"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbNnvPBokNs

"SOME FOLKS ARE BORN SILVER SPOON IN HAND
LORD, DON'T THEY HELP THEMSELVES, OH
BUT WHEN THE TAXMAN COMES TO THE DOOR
LORD, THE HOUSE LOOKS LIKE A RUMMAGE SALE, YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing.

[flamingdem]

47. This song rocks and always has

even Creedence made a protest song, it's my favorite of theirs thanks for reminding me of a fave!

[Gabi Hayes]

77. george bush's personal theme song?

he was in the TANG at the time

[ohheckyeah]

49. I redid the Buffalo Springfield

song with photos from OWS and I can't upload it because using that song is a copyright violation. How come the other person was able to upload it?

Weird.

[flamingdem]

54. Try it with a different name, at least we'll see it

Or on Vimeo?

[ohheckyeah]

73. It was the name that was the problem.

It was blocked again. Crap

[polly7]

51. Tracy Chapman - Talkin' bout a Revolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UmRmFD9mG4&feature=related

[Hatchling]

52. My abolute favorite "One Tim Soldier"

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.

Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....


a list of top 50 songs here: http://www.sfheart.com/protest/index1.html

[polly7]

53. Mine too. n/t.

[alcibiades_mystery]

55. How about a top protest song for this generation

Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7GjucHCQ5Y

[polly7]

58. Love this song. Thanks for the reminder, I haven't played it in ages. n/t.

[Mimosa]

57. FWIW by Buffalo Springfield is the best.

Then Country Joe and the Fish's Vietnam song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuUBCF3KKxc

[Blue_In_AK]

61. I totally agree.

I love Country Joe, always have. Good times. :hippie:

[workinclasszero]

59. Muse - Uprising!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8KQmps-Sog

Uprising
Songwriters: Bellamy, Matthew;

The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
Transmissions will resume, they'll try to
Push drugs, keep us all dumb down and hope that
We will never see the truth around, so come on

Another promise, another scene, another
Package not to keep us trapped in greed with all the
Green belts wrapped around our minds and endless
Red tape to keep the truth confined, so come on

They will not force us
And they will stop degrading us
And they will not control us
We will be victorious, so come on

Interchanging mind control, come let the
Revolution take its toll, if you could
Flick a switch and open your third eye, you'd see that
We should never be afraid to die, so come on

Rise up and take the power back, it's time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end, we have to
Unify and watch our flag ascend, so come on

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious, so come on

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious, so come on

Hey, hey, hey, hey

[flamingdem]

70. I like it, something from the moment

and I don't even know them.. got to keep up with the new rebel music

[Blue_In_AK]

60. I like your list.

Isn't it "funny" how history repeats itself?

[flamingdem]

68. I never stopped listening to the Buffalo Springfield

so it all feels kind of connected :)

[Ohio Joe]

63. I hate to be the one that says it but...

Simply further proof that todays music sucks and can't hold a candle to the classics.

Now... Get off my lawn :P

[flamingdem]

66. heh, this was a good opportunity to enjoy it again

for a reason, that events are recalling those times.. but secretly I agree today's music isn't like the popular music we enjoyed and it has little impact on the collective mind.. imo

[malthaussen]

64. Not from the Sixties, but

Let's not forget "Joe Hill." Paul Robeson's version is great, the man had a voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kxq9uFDes


Pete Seeger also performed it frequently, and Joan Baez did it at Woodstock:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKU3AOs0z-A

-- Mal

[flamingdem]

67. I think the 20 somethings at ows will totally get this music

and I've heard some are very into this kind of folk sound from the 60s, Dylan is a fave among some..

[Laluchacontinua]

65. Not exactly the 60s, but I registered just to share some of my favorite protest songs:

WW2 (Italian partisans): Bella Ciao (a rouser)

This morning I got up,
Goodbye my beauty, Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye...
This morning I got up,
I found the invaders all around...

If I die fighting as a partisan,
You must come & bury me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55yCQOioTyY&feature=related


Spanish Civil War: Ay Carmela

The Army of the Ebro,
rumbala, rumbala, rumbala --
The Army of the Ebro,
rumbala, rumbala, rumbala --
one night the river rose,
Ay Carmela!Ay Carmela...!

Promise to fight,
Ay Carmela...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq8LFWUzOK4&feature=related


Der Kampf Geht Weiter ("The Struggle Continues," 60s-70s, but in Germany)

How many are behind bars who want freedom?
How many are behind bars who want out?
How many are behind bars, according to the law?

Who has the money, has the power, and who has the power, has the right!

How many lie in the sun and deceive the world?
Driving big cars with our money?
Making us their slaves under their law?

Who has the money, has the power, and who has the power, has the right...!

They take from us.
They throw us out.
They do nothing for us.
But they live on us!
They call us their slaves
And if we fight, they will hunt us down....

Who fights for the people has the right!

You are prisoners in the class struggle
The fight is for our future and our country.
And for us there is only one law:
We need no slaves and no bosses....!

And if we fight, they will hunt us down.
Because they know
The struggle continues.
And they know
The truth will prevail!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZafDslDHZsM


And another from Germany 60s-70s --

We'll win the Last Battle

We don't need the landlord
The houses belong to us
We don't need the factory owner
The factories are ours...

Out of the way, capitalists
We'll win the last battle
Throw down the gun, policeman
The red front (communists) and the black front (anarchists)are here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOBf8mXIhoc&feature=related

[flamingdem]

69. Me encanta! No reason to limit to the 60s, it's the spirit

that connects a lot of this music, and that spirit is manifesting now once again

[eridani]

71. Die Gedanken sind frei! Oldie but goodie

Die Gedanken sind frei, wer kann sie erraten,
sie fliegen vorbei wie nächtliche Schatten.
Kein Mensch kann sie wissen, kein Jäger erschießen
mit Pulver und Blei: Die Gedanken sind frei!

Ich denke was ich will und was mich beglücket,
doch alles in der Still', und wie es sich schicket.
Mein Wunsch und Begehren kann niemand mir wehren,
es bleibet dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!

Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker,
das alles sind rein vergebliche Werke.
Denn meine Gedanken zerreißen die Schranken
und Mauern entzwei: Die Gedanken sind frei!

Drum will ich auf immer den Sorgen absagen
und will mich auch nimmer mit Grillen mehr plagen.
Man kann ja im Herzen stets lachen und scherzen
und denken dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!


Rather literal translation--
Thoughts are free, who can guess them?
They flee by like nocturnal shadows.
No man can know them, no hunter can shoot them
with powder and lead: Thoughts are free!

I think what I want, and what delights me,
still always reticent, and as it is suitable.
My wish and desire, no one can deny me
and so it will always be: Thoughts are free!

And if I am thrown into the darkest dungeon,
all this would be futile work,
because my thoughts tear all gates
and walls apart: Thoughts are free!

So I will renounce my sorrows forever,
and never again will torture myself with whimsies.
In one's heart, one can always laugh and joke
and think at the same time: Thoughts are free!


Pete Seeger's take--
http://www.metrolyrics.com/die-gedanken-sind-frei-lyrics-pete-seeger.html

Die gedanken sind frei
My thoughts freely flower
Die gedanken sind frei
My thoughts give me power
No scholar can map them
No hunter can trap them
No man can deny
Die gedanken sind frei

I think as I please
And this gives me pleasure
My conscience decrees
This right I must treasure
My thoughts will not cater
To duke or dictator
No man can deny
Die gedanken sind frei

Tyrants can take me
And throw me in prison
My thoughts will burst forth
Like blossoms in season
Foundations may crumble
And structures may tumble
But free men shall cry
Die gedanken sind frei

[Laluchacontinua]

72. Here's a different arrangement...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fImAFsVAmPs&feature=related

[blue neen]

74. Kicking this thread and bookmarking because there are so many worthwhile songs listed.

:dem:

[Agony]

75. Sam Cooke "A Change Is Gonna Come"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaNzxniXxYE

[blue neen]

76. Excellent choice!

You just transported me back in time. When I was 12, Dad bought my first "phonograph", and he included a Sam Cooke 45 with it. I wasn't familiar with who Sam was at the time, as he had been gone several years.

I sure learned who he was very quickly! :)

[Gabi Hayes]

78. nobody did this one yet? country joe....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zdH09mWVF8