I realized the other day, when I read a headline that death metal band Six Feet Under had released a new protest song titled “Amerika the Brutal” (about lead singer Chris Barnes’ cousin who fought in Iraq) that I have always loved protest songs. That is not to say that I myself am a protester. I almost always support the government in its actions and I most definitely support the troops.
I did not realize it that many of the folk songs I grew up with during the Sixties and early Seventies were actually protest songs. My parents had Kingston Trio albums and I spent hours listening to their songs, especially “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.” Call me dumb, but I didn’t realize until recently that it was a protest song. One of the most popular protest songs of the Vietnam era was “I Feel Like I’m Fixing to Die Rag” written and performed by Country Joe MacDonald. Joe wrote the song shortly after he was discharged from the Navy.
Released in 1971, the film Billy Jack produced a very popular anti-war song called “One Tin Soldier.” I still love this song to this day. Although not specifically aimed at the Vietnam War, you can’t help but see the significance of it as a protest song against a war that the public had grown weary of. This is also true of the 1974 song “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero” about the young man who left his fiancée to become a soldier. Even Creedence Clearwater Revival got in on the action with “Fortunate Son,” which was used during a Vietnam scene in Forrest Gump and “Run Through the Jungle.
Even the Feel Good 80’s produced a great dance song about the plight of the soldiers of Vietnam. 19 by Paul Hardcastle reminded us of how young the men were that fought in the Vietnam War and how they were still suffering the after affects almost 10 years later.
While folk singers led the way with protests in the Sixites, it seems protest songs are now open game for any band. One of the more popular protest songs (“When September Ends”) was released by punk band Green Day. The band also offered “Life During Wartime” as a free download on their web page.
Want more famous protest songs? How about:
Give Peace a Chance – John Lennon
Blowin in the Wind – Bob Dylan
Eve of Destruction – Barry McGuire
War – Edwin Starr
Tell me which ones I left out!