Favorite protest songs of devastating beauty and power

The protest song series

Welcome, everyone, to another post in this series about protest songs.

If you’re new, here’s a list (with links) of what we’ve covered so far:

• “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan (1963)

• “Masters of War” by Judy Collins (1963)

• “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire (1965)

• “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” by Buffalo Springfield (1966)

• “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones (1969)

• “Sweet Cherry Wine” by Tommy James & the Shondells (1969)

• “Give Peace a Chance” by the Plastic Ono Band (1969)

• “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell (1970)

• “Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)” by the Temptations (1970)

• “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970)

• “War” by Edwin Starr (1970)

• “Signs” by the Five Man Electrical Band (1971)

• “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye (1971)

• Humor about protest songs from four brilliant comedians

• ‘Personal’ protest songs by 10 artists

• Favorite protest songs of 25 Substack authors passionate about music

• A guest post by Kev Nixon on John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero.”

On Sunday I issued an invitation to readers and other Substack writers to submit their own favorite protest songs, following the same format used with the Substack authors in last week’s post.

Below please find seven favorite protest songs that were submitted, arranged in chronological order (from 1968 to 2019).

Thank you to the profiled readers and Substack authors for sharing these gems.

I have to say that the songs this week really hit me emotionally. They are beautiful songs about devastating things. Not that they weren’t before…

The image above is from the Academy Award-winning documentary Harlan County, USA (1976) about the mining protests against Duke Power in southeastern Kentucky. David Drayer shares a heartbreaking protest song below on the plight of the miners, and you might also want to check out Matty C’s Cinema of Resistance review of Harlan County, USA and John Sayle’s coal mining drama, Matewan, that he posted just yesterday.¹

Interested to hear your thoughts and reactions to these beautiful yet powerful and even devastating songs in the comments.

“An Untitled Protest” by Country Joe & The Fish (1968)

Michael K. Fell is an artist, art educator, and avid record collector who writes the substack Home Is Where The Music Is. He’s been collecting records since receiving his first one from his uncle when he was six. Now, totaling well into the thousands, his record collection covers a broad spectrum of rock, psych, funk, soul, jazz, gospel, African, and world music.

“Formed in 1965 as a folk jug band in Berkeley, California, Country Joe & The Fish became better known as the hippie band that led 500,000 people at Woodstock to spell out and shout ‘Fuck!’ before playing their goofy, yet beloved Vietnam protest song, ‘I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixing-To-Die-Rag.’ However, it's their eerie and haunting ‘An Untitled Protest’ from their 1968 third LP, Together, that has been seared deep into my consciousness ever since I first heard it. Somewhat reminiscent of ‘The End’ by The Doors, the song's weight and starkness are shockingly brutal. Joe McDonald didn't hold back with his vivid lyricism, biting cynicism, and disgust at the senselessness of war. While nearly 60,000 Americans died in Vietnam, let's not forget the estimated three million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians who were killed in a pointless war sold to the American public based on fears and lies, and what did it even achieve? Nothing.”

“You’re Breakin’ My Heart” by Nilsson (1972)

Michael Maupin is chief storyteller at StoryShed Media LLC. (Check out his StoryShed substack.) He also publishes a music history newsletter called The Guy Stevens Weather Report and a podcast called B(e)Sides.

“Love it because it's an ‘all-purpose’ protest song—it can be about a person, a memory, an institution, anything you want to scream ‘I protest!’ about. Ringo on drums and an f-bomb doesn't hurt either.”

“Ol' Mother Earth” by Tony Joe White (1973)

Dan Epstein is an author and music journalist who's been writing about music for over three decades. (Check out his many publications here.) He’s co-author of the new book Now You're One of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross, and his current musical musings can always be found at his Substack, Jagged Time Lapse.

“One of my all-time favorite Tony Joe White songs (and I have many), ‘Ol' Mother Earth’ calls out mankind's shameful abuse of our home planet. But instead of delivering his message with anger, TJW sings it as a gentle lullaby brimming with sorrow and deeply-felt pain for the plight of our Mother, respect for her inherent resilience, and a prayer that we'll somehow see the error of our wasteful and rapacious ways before it's too late. And it makes me cry every damn time.”

“Mickey” by Spear of Destiny (1985)

Steve Bradley is a former journalist, current musician and regular gig-goer who shares a love of music every Friday via Musical Chairs on Substack.

“Of all the songs that explore the futility of war, this is the one that hits home the most for me – the year it was released I was 19 and could have been Mickey. Linking three generations right up to the then very recent Falklands War added to the poignancy of what is just a stunningly sad ballad that everyone should hear at least once.”

“Corruption” by Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited (1989)

William likes to share great music. He does so at Music of Africa. Come see what it's all about.

“As the Seventies wound down, a hard-fought war came to an end and the British colony of Rhodesia became Zimbabwe. Thomas Mapfumo started out playing in ho-hum cover bands in the Sixties and gradually became one of the artists who were instrumental in remaking how Zimbabwean music was done. Near the end of the Eighties, Mapfumo released Corruption, an album that sharply criticized the regime of Robert Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 - 2017. That old lyric ‘meet the new boss - same as the old boss’ comes to mind.

Because it's the only song not sung in the Zimbabwean language, Shona, I'd pick ‘Corruption’ from this bunch. It comes right to the point, to say the least, and I can understand the words. Musically speaking, I like ‘Handina Munyama’ and ‘Chigwindiri’ better. But Mugabe didn't care for the album much at all and when things started to heat up, Mapfumo got the hell out of Dodge, relocating to the Pacific Northwest.”

“Miner’s Lullaby” by ‘Utah’ Phillips, Jody Stecher, and Kate Brislin (1997)

David Drayer is a guitar bum/full time farmhand who writes the substack Strange and Unusual Places. His upcoming post this Saturday is on the Molly Maguires-led mining protests in Pennsylvania.

“Bruce ‘Utah’ Phillips introduces his song, ‘Miner's Lullaby,’ followed by bluegrass duo Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin performing it. ‘Miners would take a tin of morphine with them down in the shaft, in case of a cave in, or other disaster to ease the pain as they died.’

Even though this isn't Rock n Roll, we can defer to its Celtic roots and a ballad in protest of the same harsh realities that spawn all protest. It's also a distinctly American piece and a reminder of tumultuous times. Just sayin'.

First heard this live from a band named Clandestine (disbanded) with bodhran and pipes. They released several albums; ‘Miner's Lullaby’ appears in one of them.”

“The Seed” by Aurora (2019)

Charles in San Francisco is a music blogger, novelty-seeker and science nerd. Most of his writing focuses on women in music (from classical and jazz to rock and metal), and on legacy rock and jazz. He is collaborating with other writers on a project titled “Beginner’s Guide to Heavy Metal” at his Substack, Zapato’s Jam.

“Aurora Aksnes is hard to describe. She is pale, ethereal, almost translucent. She does not wear makeup, and prefers vintage and home-made clothing. She is 28 years old but is often mistaken for a child. She has a powerful, yet pure voice.

Aurora grew up in Western Norway, in a small town on a fjord, surrounded by trees and rivers. She began composing songs when she was nine, but had no intention of performing them for the public—she imagined herself as a songwriter, or perhaps a doctor.

After one of her songs was performed at a school event, someone posted a video of it without her permission, and it led to her being contacted by a major music label. She does not affect any precious hypocrisy—she is quite happy now that her music is heard by millions. But in her personal life, she prefers isolation and quiet.

Aurora wrote ‘The Seed’ as a teenager. It is about unbridled capitalism and what it costs the world. The lyrics are from a Native American proverb about greed.”

1. There is a lot of synchronicity in what people are writing. None of these connections between posts have been planned.