Content warning: This article talks about the violence of war and the oppression of marginalized peoples in reference to the protest songs born from this time in history.
Music has always been one of the main aspects of culture. Every corner of the world has music. As the decades have passed, this music is often used to express feelings and opinions on social issues and societal problems. These protest songs are ultimately defined as, “songs that attack prevailing political attitudes and conditions.” For decades now, these songs have influenced our culture and different social movements. For this article, I have started with the 1950s, however, there are many protest songs predating that decade, including our own national anthem.
1950s
In the 1950s and going into the 1960s, one of the most prominent protest songs was “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie, released in 1951. Guthrie originally wrote this song because he felt that “God Bless America” was too simplistic and overplayed. His response to “God Bless America” was a song that “celebrated the beauty and grandeur of America while the chorus drove home the populist sentiment that the nation belonged to all the people, not merely the rich and powerful.” Later in his life, Guthrie was able to see this song become a song used by the Civil Rights Movement. Within the movement, this song was seen as an alternate national anthem due to its themes of highlighting the struggles of marginalized people.
1960s
In the 1960s, protest songs became very common for many movements. From civil rights in the earlier years to women’s rights and opposition to the Vietnam war in the later years, there were a lot of songs that were culturally significant. “A Change is Gonna Come” was released in 1964, two weeks after the murder of its creator, Sam Cooke. Due to this tragedy, Cooke was never able to see the impact of his song on the Civil Rights Movement. This song was one of the first ever to question the Christian faith that was often forced upon Black people by their enslavers. Up until this point, most songs written by Black people referenced the idea of heaven and the afterlife, but “A Change is Gonna Come” questions if the afterlife is really there at all. These lines “brought the moment-of-truth desperation of the civil rights struggle to the forefront.” The impact of this song was not reserved just to the Civil Rights Movement though. It has been sampled by rappers, Beyoncé, and was even used at rallies by Barack Obama during his first campaign for president.
Also during the ‘60s, Aretha Franklin released “Respect” in 1967. This song affected both the Civil Rights Movement along with the women’s rights movement of this time. The women’s rights movement in the 1960s and ‘70s was a fight for their right to have their own property, abortion rights, and even just to own a credit card. Essentially, they were fighting for exactly what Aretha was talking about: respect. However, this actually wasn’t originally her song. “Respect” was originally written by Otis Redding, another very popular soul artist of the time. Though, Aretha did make it her own by changing some lyrics, “In her hands, the song sounds like a call from a woman to man to acknowledge all that she gives him.” For women and the Civil Rights Movement, it became one of the most iconic songs of the time. Everyone wanted respect. The song still remains extremely popular to this day and relevant for all generations.
The 1960s also brought on the storm of protest songs that were against America being in the Vietnam War. Songs like “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones, “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield, and “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival were all released between 1966 and 1969, the height of the Vietnam War. “Gimme Shelter” captures the violence and darkness of the war with the main lines of the chorus being, “Rape, murder.”
“For What It’s Worth” is recognized as an anti-war anthem, even though it was originally written about the police disrespecting youths in Los Angeles, beating and arresting teenagers for hanging out in the streets and “disrupting” businesses. The song’s opening lines, “There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear. There’s a man with a gun over there telling me I got to beware,” became extremely relevant to the anti-war movement and the people that were fighting in Vietnam. People were being told one thing by teachers and the government, but what they were being told was not entirely true. This song has continued to be used for fights against police brutality and war to this day.
Finally, “Fortunate Son” was an anti-war anthem mainly for the drafted soldiers that felt they were drafted unfairly. In the song it depicts richer, “fortunate” sons not being drafted while lower class individuals were sent off to war. The song isn’t inherently anti-war but more about class disparities. Nonetheless, it became an anthem for protests. These songs influenced an entire political era. The Vietnam era was incredibly tense for America and that feeling only grew with the rising anti-war protests.
1970s
Anti-war sentiments continued on into the ‘70s with songs like “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. This song calls out politicians for starting wars and compares war to things that are seen as evil and wrong. This song has been used for generations now to critique corruption and power within politics.
Also in the ‘70s, songs like “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil Scott-Heron and “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye combined criticism of the Vietnam War with issues like Civil Rights. “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” has been used for decades as a protest song for many movements. His message was often misunderstood by people who took the meaning of the song quite literally, thinking that he meant the revolution would not be put on TV. What he actually meant was, “…you have to be active, you can’t be a passive participant in the revolution. When the revolution happens, you’re going to have to be in the streets.” Marvin Gaye had a similar message in his song “What’s Going On” released in 1971. His song was based on racial misunderstandings, drug abuse, the Vietnam War, poverty, and ideals of the hippie era of the time. He wrote the song and moved away from the typical motown form. This song ended up changing music nationally and also impacted the world with its deep meaning.
John Lennon also spoke of a world of peace in his song, “Imagine” released in 1971. The song speaks of a world without religions or war or possessions, just people and their love for one another. This song is still used today, and has inspired many peaceful protests throughout history.
1980s
Evidently, there are a lot of themes to protest songs historically, including civil rights, anti-war, and peace. These themes continued on into the ‘80s with hits like “99 Luftballoons” by Nena and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2. “99 Luftballoos” was originally a German release that was eventually translated into English. This song tells a story inspired by the band’s guitarist. At a Rolling Stones concert in West Berlin, balloons were released and the guitarist, Carlo Karges, watched as the balloons floated over the Berlin Wall. At this time, Germany was still split into two sides, a remaining reminder of World War II. He wrote the lyrics to “99 Luftballons” thinking about what would happen if the balloon was mistaken for an enemy plane. The song became an anthem for anti-war movements and also became a huge hit in America despite being a German release.
Following the theme of anti-war, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2 details the conflict between England and Northern Ireland in the ‘70s that led to the incident that has been titled as Bloody Sunday. Bono, the lead singer of U2, said during a live performance, “What’s the glory in taking a man from his bed and gunning him down in front of his wife and his children? Where’s the glory in that? Where’s the glory in bombing a Remembrance Day parade of old-age pensioners, their medals taken out and polished up for the day? Where’s the glory in that? To leave them dying or crippled for life or dead under the rubble of a revolution that the majority of the people in my country don’t want. No more!”
This song however, is not U2’s only political piece. U2 has been a prominent political voice in music for decades. Not only were they releasing protest songs in the ‘80s, but they have continued to throughout their entire career. In the ‘80s though, their song “Pride (In the Name of Love)” is another song of protest, this one focusing on civil rights. The song is a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and those who stand up and fight for equality. It details the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the final verse describes his assassination. Both of these songs by U2 established them as a band that would stand up for human rights. These songs have been used for generations now as a representation of protest.
Also in the ‘80s, there was the iconic performance of “We Are the World” in 1985. This song’s profit was given to Ethiopia in order to help with their famine at the time. With over 45 of America’s top musicians of the time participating in the recording, this is a song of unity and peace. This became a smash hit and had one of the greatest impacts of any song of the ‘80s.
In the late ‘80s rap and hip-hop also had a huge surge of protest music. Songs like “Straight Outta Compton” by NWA and “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy, forced conversations about race, police brutality, and systematic inequality in America at the time. These songs and artists inspired a lot of what rap and hip-hop are today.
1990s
The ‘90s brought a whole new stream of protest songs. Bands like Rage Against the Machine and Radiohead were experimenting with new sounds and genres. In 1992, Rage Against the Machine released their debut album. They captured the anger of a younger generation through their music. Now, almost every single song off of their album is somehow speaking out against the government, even the band name itself is saying to rebel against the government. But a song that stood out during this time was “Killing in the Name.” This song was born during the riots against police brutality in Los Angeles after the trial of four LAPD officers and Rodney King. Four police officers had brutally beaten Rodney King after his arrest. The riots in Los Angeles following this event were a huge social movement. “Killing in the Name” stemmed from those riots and what was happening in LA at the time. This song became a hit and held the Guinness world record for the fastest selling digital track in the UK with over 500,000 downloads in a week.
“Electioneering” by Radiohead was released in 1997 and, while it doesn’t exactly take a stance of right or left, it criticizes the political system as a whole. Lyrics like “I will stop, I will stop at nothing, Say the right things when electioneering. Trust I can rely on your vote” depict how politicians say certain things to ensure people’s vote, even if they have no plans to actually achieve those goals.
2000s
The 2000s brought a new stream of protest songs including Green Day’s “American Idiot.” This song was recorded in the early days of the Iraq War and was released just before the re-election of George W. Bush. Billie Joe Armstrong, the lead singer of the band, has stated, “Looking back, three years after 9/11, a lot of people when they heard the music [on American Idiot], [there was] this push back [happening] and [we] created like a soundtrack for that push back.” This song has become a political anthem for generations. To this day, it remains relevant and extremely popular.
In 2006, The Chicks released a song titled “Not Ready to Make Nice.” This was a response to their own statements, speaking out against President Bush and the war in Iraq. They received a huge amount of backlash for those comments and were treated extremely poorly by the industry. The band was pretty much blacklisted until the #MeToo movement. This song responding to the backlash ended up winning multiple Grammy awards and paved the way for artists to be able to speak more freely about their beliefs.
2010s
The 2010s include some of the first songs that I was actually alive to remember coming out. Songs like “Freedom” by Beyoncé and “DNA” by Kendrick Lamar came out when I was about 10 years old. Later, in 2018, “This is America” by Childish Gambino was released. All of these songs have one thing in common: their message. Each one of these songs is about racism, though they have different focuses within that major theme. “DNA” and “Freedom” both communicate that being Black is powerful and should be celebrated. In “DNA” Kendrick Lamar expresses that he has “loyalty” and “royalty” inside his DNA. This conveys his message of being powerful as a Black man and that his race is part of what makes him powerful. After decades of society putting Black people down simply for being Black, this song provides a sense of power.
“Freedom” by Beyoncé is less of a commentary on being powerful and more of a call to action for America. This song feels like it is demanding freedom for stereotypes and societal disadvantages. “This is America” incorporates gun violence into the lyrics as well as racism to demonstrate the systemic racism in America. These two issues have often been intertwined throughout history. In the music video for this song, it portrays the contrast between people dancing freely and extreme gun violence. This shows the irony of Black people trying to have a successful and happy life in America, while stereotypes and the system are against them.
All of these songs have been huge commentaries on racism in America and have made big impacts. For example, “Freedom” was used by Kamala Harris as her campaign song in the 2024 election. Since the beginning of protest music, there have been songs about racism and civil rights. These protest songs have continued on to this day and the 2010s are no exception. These same themes of anti-racism continued on through the 2020s.
2020s
The 2020s, although not over yet, have already seen a handful of protest songs and performances. In 2020, after the death of George Floyd, HER released “I Can’t Breathe.” The song was inspired by the final words of over 70 individuals killed by police brutality. HER described this song as “very painful and very revealing” to write and perform. The song became a defining song of the Black Lives Matter movement and had a large impact on the anti-police brutality movement of the time.
Aside from songs, the 2025 Superbowl Halftime Show by Kendrick Lamar was one of the greatest political performances of all time. If you watched this performance, it would be difficult not to see the political influence. All of his dancers, guest performers, and he himself were decked out in red, white, and blue. Multiple times, the dancers were organized to make a makeshift American flag. The performance was set up to feel like “the great American game.” Samuel L. Jackson played the character of Uncle Sam. At one point, he declares that Mr. Lamar’s performance was, “Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto” which references previous explanations given by white police officers for why Black people have been arrested or killed in the past.
Also in this performance was Serena Williams and her iconic crip walk. After winning the 2012 Olympic gold medal, Serena did this same crip walk. At the time, this move was heavily criticized and brought on a ton of racist commentary. Fox News dubbed it, “Serena Flub Crowning Moment.” The way that she performed it at the Super Bowl, staring down the camera, felt like a power move. One of the most iconic moments from this performance was when Kendrick said, “The revolution ‘bout to be televised you picked the right time but the wrong guy,” which referenced Gil Scott-Heron’s song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” I think that this proves how protest songs have impacts, not only in the time they are released, but also decades later. Scott-Heron released his song over 50 years before Kendrick referenced it in his performance. If that isn’t an impact, I am not sure what is.
Conclusion
Throughout history, there have been hundreds of protest songs and I am sure there will be more in the future. Each song has a different perspective on an issue, but they are all ultimately fighting for the same things; freedom, equality, and peace. Protest songs are an important part of our culture and I think it is beneficial to know what these songs have been fighting for throughout history. I am interested to see how these songs and future protest songs will continue to shape our culture in the coming decades.