Any music expert aqui?
 

Hello all. I am in need of songs about social protest. I don't want to look too far back; Depeche Mode, U2, and the alike would be best. Any suggestion?

not quite sure what youre looking for, but u2s sunday bloody sunday is about this.

~james

How about Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up"?

http://www.bobmarley.com/songs/songs.cgi?getup

Eddie Vedder did a nice cover of Dylan's "Masters of War". The Pogues version of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" fits as well.

This is far back (1938) but mighty.

STRANGE FRUIT
Lewis Allen / Billy Holiday
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

What's up with the forum-hijacking around here? :)

Go look at Rage's 4 albums...those are chock-full of protesting. There's also Ozomatli, although most of what they sing is in Spanish. System of a Down's 2 records are also full of protest fun.

(DISCLAIMER: I try to find humor in everything.)

Well, if going back that far is game there's tons of stuff from Woodie Guthrie, and even Tom Paxton.

Re: Any music expert aqui?
 

That depends... what do you want to protest? David Allan Coe has written a couple of real gems, but they may not be exactly what you had in mind. ;)

Oh...wait...I get it.

You didn't ask for songs *of* social protest.

You asked for songs *about* social protest. Sorry.

<blockquote><i>
We are the Folk Song Army
Everyone of us cares
We all hate poverty, war and injustice
Unlike the rest of you squares

There are lots of innocuous folk songs
Yeah, but we regard 'em with scorn
The folks who sing 'em have no social conscience
Why they don't even care if Jimmy crack corn

If you feel dissatisfaction
Strum your frustrations away
Some people may prefer action
But give me a folk song any old day

The tune doesn't have to be clever
And it don't matter if you put a couple-a extra syllables into a line
It sounds more ethnic if it ain't good English
And it don't even gotta rhyme - excuse me - rhyne

Remember the war against Franco
That's the kind where each of us belongs
Though he may have won all the battles
We had all the good songs

So join in the Folk Song Army
Guitars are the weapons we bring
To the fight against poverty, war, and injustice
Ready, aim, sing!
</i>
-Tom Lehrer, 1965
</blockquote>

sorry, learned it from the #1 guestbook hijacker from the old days. ;)

Shit...I almost forgot about my gb-hijacking days. :)

It's pretty much a moot song now, but there's always DM's "New Dress."

Nobody better hijack my forum, you pirating sons o' wenches!!

New Dress
 

Okay, In "New Dress," is the song explicitly referring to Princess Diana?

Well, my personal opinion about the song is that it describes the state of affairs circa 1986, and while all these crazy things are happening, people are still obsessed with the silly things in life.


--
Sex jibe husband murders wife
Bomb blast victim fights for life
Girl Thirteen attacked with knife

Princess Di is wearing a new dress

Jet airliner shot from sky
Famine horror, millions die
Earthquake terror figures rise

Princes Di is wearing a new dress

You can't change the world
But you can change the facts
And when you change the facts
You change points of view
If you change points of view
You may change a vote
And when you change a vote
You may change the world

In black townships fires blaze
Prospects better premier says
Within sight are golden days

Princess Di is wearing a New Dress

You can't change the world
But you can change the facts
And when you change the facts
You change points of view
If you change points of view
You may change a vote
And when you change a vote
You may change the world

Princess Di is wearing a New Dress

written by M L Gore

Well....
 

there's this and this and this, though it's a little more subtle. There's also some old school metal protest in this. Want more? Let me know.