Inspired a bit I guess by this I started thinking about the "Protest Song" and just what that could mean. I think it is notable that this article completely ignores the hugely successful Rage Against the Machine, maybe because it hurts their hypothesis that "the audience doesn't want to hear protest songs"

So I figured I would post and ask others to contribute their favorite modern era protest songs. It can be a protest against anything at all. Title, artist, and a few lines of lyrics if you want. I guess I can start.

Rage Against the Machine

Sleep Now in the Fire

"So raise your fists
And march around
Just don't take what you need
I'll jail and bury those committed
And smother the rest in greed"

Used to follow a local Welsh band back in my school days. The Alarm.

Blaze of Glory was our anthem. I used to live just to sing this with a massed choir of leather jacketed followers in some dark, dank club. Sometimes it seemed like it went on for 30 minutes or more. Good memories. Here's the gist of it:

"When the nails are biting into your hands
And the cross is heavy on your heart
Now is the time to really make a stand
My hands are held up high.

(going out)
In a blaze of glory
(going out)
In a blaze of glory
(going out)
In a blaze of glory

Going out in a blaze of glory
My heart is open wide
You can take anything that you want from me
But you cannot take my soul

Going out in a blaze of glory
My hands are held up high
I'm learning how to hit back
Yes i'm learning how to fight"

This is actully My fathers ( he is in his 70'S) anthem, he will get a wild hair and play tunes after watching the news or listening to CBC or the FM.

Democracy L. Cohen

It's coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It's coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
and it's here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the women and the men.
O baby, we'll be making love again.
We'll be going down so deep
the river's going to weep,
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
It's coming like the tidal flood
beneath the lunar sway,
imperial, mysterious,
in amorous array:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on ...

I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

We Shall Overcome, Biko, Hold On (Keep your eye's on the prize)..hmm

Forgot to say how blown away I felt after first hearing RATM. The split was inevitable. The video where they're at Wall Street was so hard line for its day. The images live with me, but I can't find a link.


Another favourite of mine has always been the English roadie-turned socialist busker, turned DJ, Mr.Billy Bragg

I don't always agree with his politics but I like most of his social commentry, a la IT SAYS HERE:

"It says here that the Unions will never learn,
It says here that the economy is on the upturn,
And it says here we should be proud
That we are free,
And our free press reflects our democracy.

Those braying voices on the right of the House
Are echoed down the Street of Shame,
Where politics mix with bingo and tits
In a strictly money and numbers game.
Where they offer you a feature
On stockings and suspenders,
Next to a call for stiffer penalties for sex offenders.

It says here that this year's prince is born.
It says here do you ever wish
That you were better informed.
And it says here that we can only stop the rot
With a large dose of Law and Order
And a touch of the short sharp shock.
If this does not reflect you view you should understand
That those who own the papers also own this land.
And they'd rather you believe
In Coronation Street capers
In the war of circulation, it sells newspapers.
Could it be an infringement
Of the freedom of the press
To print pictures of women in states of undress.

When you wake up to the fact
That you paper is Tory,
Just remember, there are two sides to every story"

He hated Thatcherite Britain, the Yuppies and the corporate media moguls. Hmmm.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bictaker,

Well... my favourite protest song is actually dutch and dates back to 1966, but (unfortunatly) it applies to events today as it did to events 40 years ago.

Next to the lyrics, the song in itself is very good too. It starts very quiet and calm but gets more tense and loud toward the end. This matches the lyrics which become more direct toward the end as well. The singer at the end of the song is near screaming while the music plays loud drums and the guitarchords are striken violently.

Welterusten meneer de President by Boudewijn De Groot:
Meneer de president, welterusten
Slaap maar lekker in je mooie witte huis
Denk maar niet teveel aan al die verre kusten
Waar uw jongens zitten eenzaam ver van huis

Denk vooral niet aan die 46 doden
Die vergissing laatst met dat bombardement
En vergeet het vierde van die 10 geboden
Die u als goed Christen zeker kent

Denk maar niet aan al die jonge frontsoldaten
Eenzaam stervend in de verre tropennacht
Laat die bleke pacifistenkliek maar praten
Meneer de president, slaap zacht

Droom maar van de overwinning, en de zege
Droom maar van uw mooie vredesideaal
Dat nog nooit door bloedig moorden is verkregen
Droom maar dat het u wel lukken zal ditmaal

Kijk maar niet naar al die mensen die verrekken
Hoeveel vrouwen, hoeveel kind'ren zijn vermoord
Droom maar dat u aan het langste eind zult trekken
En geloof van al die tegenstand geen woord

Bajonetten met bloedige gevesten
Houden ver van hier op uw bevel de wacht
Voor de glorie en de eer van 't vrije westen
Meneer de president, slaap zacht

Schrik maar niet te erg, wanneer u in uw dromen
Al die schuldeloze slachtoffers ziet staan
Die daarginds bij het gevecht zijn omgekomen
En uw vragen hoelang dit nog zo moet gaan

En u zult toch ook zo langzaamaan wel weten
Dat er mensen zijn die ziek zijn van 't geweld
Die het bloed en de ellende niet vergeten
En voor wie nog steeds een mensenleven telt

Droom maar niet teveel van al die dooie mensen
Droom maar fijn van overwinning en van macht
Denk maar niet aan al die vredeswensen
Meneer de president, slaap zacht!

--

Here's my translation:

Goodnight, mister President

Goodnight, mister president
Sleep well in your nice white house
Don't you think too much about all those distant shores
On which your boys sit, lonely and far from home

Don't think about those 46 deaths
That mistake with that last bombardement
And forget about the fourth of the 10 commandments
That you as good Christian certainly know

Don't you think about those frontsoldiers
Dying lonely in the distant tropical night
Just let those pale pacifists do their talking
Mister president, sleep tight

Dream about victory, and about thriumph
Dream about your nice ideal of peace
Which has never been achieved by bloody murder
Dream that you'll succeed this time

Just don't look at all those people who suffer
How many wives and children have been killed
Dream that you'll pull it off
And don't believe a word of what the opposition says

Bajonets with bloody blades
Are on your order keeping guard far from here
For the glory and honour of the free west
Mister president, sleep tight

Don't be scared too much when in your dreams
You see all the innocent victims
Which were killed over there during all the fighting
And ask you how much longer this must go on

And you surely must begin to realise
That there are people who are getting fed up of all the violence
Who won't forget the blood and all the misery
And for whome a life still has value

Don't dream too much about all those dead people
Just dream happely of victory and power
Don't think about those wishes of peace
Mister president, goodnight!


You can hear it in the version of a dutch punkrock band (de Heideroosjes). Music's not as good though, it gets too fast too quick and lacks a bit the powerfull impact of the original.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Wanderer,

To the rich man's bright lodges I ride in this wind
On my good horse I call you my shiny black bess
To the playhouse of fortune
To take the bright silver
And gold you have taken from somebody else

As we go riding in the damp foggy midnight
You snort, my good pony, and you give me your best
For you know, and I know, good horse,
'mongst the rich ones
How oftimes we go there an unwelcome guest

I've never took food from the widows and orphans
And never a hard working man I oppressed
So take your pace easy,
For home soon like lightning
We soon will be riding, my shiny black bess

No fat rich man's pony can ever overtake you
And there's not a rider from the east to the west
Could hold you a light
In this dark mist and midnight
When the potbellied thieves
Chase their unwelcome guest

I don't know, good horse,
As we trot in this dark here
That robbing the rich is for worse or for best
They take it by stealing and lying and gambling
And I take it my way, my shiny black bess

I treat horses good and I'm friendly to strangers
I ride and your running makes my guns talk the best
And the rangers and deputies
Are hired by the rich man
To catch me and hang me, my shining black bess

Yes, they'll catch me napping one day
And they'll kill me
And then I'll be gone but that won't be my end
For my guns and my saddle will always be filled
By unwelcome travellers and other brave men

And they'll take the money and spread it out equal
Just like the Bible and the prophets suggest
But the men that go riding to help these poor workers
The rich will cut down like an unwelcome guest

Words: woody guthrie 1940 - music: billy bragg

Crass' Systematic Death manages to cover a fair bit:


System, system, system
Death in life
System, system, system
The surgeons knife
System, system, system
Hacking at the cord
System, system, system
A child is born

Poor little fucker, poor little kid
Never asked for life, no she never did
Poor little baby, poor little mite
Crying out for food as her parents fight
Crying out for food as her parents fight

System, system, system
Send him to school
System, system, system
Force him to crawl
System, system, system
Teach him how to cheat
System, system, system
Kick him off his feet

Poor little schoolboy, poor little lad
They'll pat him if he's good and they'll beat him if he's bad
Poor little kiddy, poor little chap
They'll force feed his mind with their useless crap
They'll force feed his mind with their useless crap

System, system, system
They'll teach her how to cook
System, system, system
Teach her how to look
System, system, system
They'll teach her all the tricks
System, system, system
Create another victim for their greasy pricks

Poor little girly, poor little wench
Another little object to prod and pinch
Poor little sweety, poor little filly
They'll fuck her mind so they can fuck her silly
They'll fuck her mind so they can fuck her silly

System, system, system
He's grown to be a man
System, system, system
Taugh to fit the plan
System, system, system
Forty years of jobs
System, system, system
Pushing little buttons, pulling little knobs

Poor fucking worker, poor little serf
Working like a mule for half of what he's worth
Poor fucking grafter, poor little gent
Working for the cash that he's already spent
Working for the cash that he's already spent

He's selling his life
She's his loyal wife
Timid as a mouse
She's got her little house
He's got his little car
And they share the cocktail bar
She likes to cook his meals
You know, something that appeals
Sometimes he works til late
So his supper has to wait
But she doesn't really mind
Cos he's getting overtime
He likes to put a bit away
Just for that rainy day
Cos every little counts
As the cost of living mounts
They do the pools each week
Hoping for that lucky break
Then they'd take a trip abroad
Do all the things they can't afford
She'd really like to have a fur
He'd like a bigger car
They could buy a bungalow
With a Georgian door for show
He might think of leaving work
But no, he wouldn't like a shirk
He'd much prefer to stay
And get his honest days pay
He's got a life of work ahead
There's no rest for the dead
She's tried to make it nice
He's said thankyou once or twice

System, system, system
Deprived of any hope
System, system, system
Taught they couldn't cope
System, system, system
Slaves right from the start
System, system, system
Til death do them part.

Poor little fuckers, what a sorry pair
Had their lives stolen, but they didn't really care
Poor little darlings, just your ordinary folks
Victims of the system and it's cruel jokes
Victims of the system and it's cruel jokes.

The couple views the wreckage
And dreams of home sweet home
They'd almost paid the mortgage
Then the system dropped its bomb



but it was released 26(!) years ago, and i doubt it hit the billboard 100.

by my favorite folksters Lou and Peter Berryman

Why Am I Painting the Living Room?

First appeared on the LP and Cassette Your State's Name Here in 1994. Next appeared on the CD What Again in 1993. Re-recorded for Love Is The Weirdest of All in 2004.

©1994 Lou & Peter Berryman
Words by Peter, Music by Lou
Underline, both sing. Italic, Peter sings. Plain, Lou sings.



Holes in the ozone the size of Brazil
Barges of trash in the chewable breeze
Pools of industrial wasteland paté
Sulfur dioxide dissolving the trees
Pretty soon it will all end with a boom
Why am I painting the living room?
I have the whole day off
Cause it's a Saturday
There is a bluegrass band
Somewhere along the bay
Look at the lilacs bloom
Why am I painting the living room?

A pinhead evangelist pays for his sin
With a five dollar fine for a black collar crime
Kingpins of industry knowingly nod
Just like Lake Erie they're 12% slime
They wink at the president too I assume
And here I am painting the living room
I hear the bluebird sing
Don't let the day go by
Look at the blossoms blow
Over the blue blue sky
All with a wild perfume
And here I am painting the living room

CHORUS:
Why am I painting the living room? (X6)

Ah yes I can see how my tombstone will read
Here lies someone of exceptional worth
Though she did not do a lot for her kind
Or help hold together this crumbling earth
Here lies a woman they're saying of whom
Sure had a good-looking living room

Why am I painting the living room? (X6)

These are all great but I thought about it and we may be making the writers point. None of these are recently released songs, even mine is a few years old by now. There must be a lot of young bands out there that an old guy like me doesn't know yet.

Romain Humeau - Je M'en Irai Toujours (2005)

quote:

Parc'que l'amour est enfant de Bohème
et que si tu ne m'aimes pas,
moi je t'aime
C'est comme l'eau de nos bénitiers
aux fronts des crève-la-faim
On simule la pitié mais on pense d'abord
à sa propre fin
Parc'que "C'est la vie" disent-ils
et que l'on en a qu'une
Que l'on soit transis d'idylle, pistil,
Big Deal, beau, laid, intelligent, con,
con comme la thune
Quand sous les voûtes célestes
un cauchemar tient nos plumes
Parc'que le jeu du mensonge
est le seul pratiqué
Que la merde est icône
et se substitue à la vérité
Quand la densité des mots
danse la Carmagnole
Et que les actes crashent
leurs containers de sens au vol

Je m'en irai toujours.

Parc'que la différence se paie cher,
que l'ardoise est cassée
Tu n'peux plus rembourser
les lambeaux de ma chair,
à ta décharge, comme un atoll froissé
Parce que Dieu n'est pas toujours là
si tant est qu'il eût été
Parce que Dieu ne décroche pas
alors à quoi bon s'accrocher
Parce que "ailleurs", ça n'existe pas
et qu'à trop s'mater le nombril
on finit par perdre pied
Parce que mes mains comptent
six doigts et que j'en réserve cinq pour toi
Te caresser, mon amour, ou enculer
un nème redneck et sa réalité, avec

Je m'en irai toujours
(Les pom pom girls vous chient des "Ouh!")

Parc'que les ordures portent
un masque de beauté
Que les gros et les grosses
ont été jugés inadmissibles
Que cet inénarrable hiver a toujours été
Et que les fantasmes passent
le mur des possibles
Parc'que l'amour est enfant de Bohème
et que les Bohémiens ont beau aimer
Que restera-t-il de ce théorème ?
Rien de rien, si ce n'est un épitaphe,
taffe, taffe, taffe, fait tourner
Parce que croire en quelqu'un
c'est être naïf, sans filet, sans préservatif
Qu'être naïf, c'est être faible
Et qu'être faible ou trop chétif
dans une course déja lancée
C'est être mort

Je m'en irai toujours.
(Les pom pom girls vous chient des "Ouh!")

It's the most protesting song I can think of.

The lyrics are very very hard to translate, so there are a few bits of it :

quote:

Because the game of Lie is the only one played.
Shit is an icon used instead of the Truth.
When the density of words starts dancing around,
And actions crash their load of meaning mid-flight.

I'll keep going away.

Because God is not always here,
that is, if he was there in the first place.
Because God won't answer your call,
what's the point of hanging on to him?

Because 'elsewhere' doesn't exist,
and if we keep staring at ourselves,
we'll lose our footing.

Because my hands have six fingers,
and I'm keeping five for you.
To caress you, my love,
or fuck one more redneck along with his reality.

I'll keep going away.

Because garbage got a beauty treatment.
Fat people are now considered improper.

Because trusting someone is being naive,
no security net, no condom.
Being naive is beig weak.
And because being weak in the middle of a race
Is being dead.

My translation doesn't do it justice at all.
But it's a recent song that deals with how rotten televised society has become.

I quite like this one for a more recent protest song.

The lyrics below are at the end of the song but I think it gives you an idea of what the content is.

Faithless - Mass Destuction

Whether long range weapon or suicide bomber
Wicked mind is a weapon of mass destruction
Whether you're soar away sun or BBC 1
Misinformation is a weapon of mass destruction
You could a Caucasian or a poor Asian
Racism is a weapon of mass destruction
Whether inflation or globalization
Fear is a weapon of mass destruction

Whether Halliburton or Enron or anyone
Greed is a weapon of mass destruction
We need to find courage, overcome
Inaction is a weapon of mass destruction

My story stops here, lets be clear
This scenario is happening everywhere
And you ain't going to nirvana or farvana
You're coming right back here to live out your karma
With even more drama than previously, seriously
Just how many centuries have we been
waiting for someone else to make us free
And we refuse to see
That people overseas suffer just like we
Bad leadership and ego's unfettered and free
Who feed one the people they're supposed to lead
I don't need good people to pray and wait
For the lord to make it all straight
There's only now, do it right.
Cos I don't want your daddy, leaving home tonight

I was going to post "It says here" but Bic beat me to it, so that leaves 2 others from the "Between the wars" EP -

quote:

Between the Wars

I was a miner
I was a docker
I was a railway man
Between the wars
I raised a family
In times of austerity
With sweat at the foundry
Between the wars.
I paid the union and as times got harder
I looked to the government to help the working man
And they brought prosperity down at the armoury
We're arming for peace, me boys
Between the wars.
I kept the faith and I kept voting
Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand
For theirs is a land with a wall around it
And mine is a faith in my fellow man
Theirs is a land of hope and glory
Mine is the green field and the factory floor
Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers
And mine is the peace we knew
Between the wars.
Call up the craftsmen
Bring me the draftsmen
Build me a path from cradle to grave
And I'll give my consent
To any government
That does not deny a man a living wage.
Go find the young men never to fight again
Bring up the banners from the days gone by
Sweet moderation
Heart of this nation
Desert us not, we are
Between the wars.

and

quote:

World Turned upside down

In 1649 to St. George's Hill
A ragged band they called the Diggers came to show the people's will
They defied the landlords, they defied the laws
They were the dispossessed reclaiming what was theirs.

We come in peace, they said, to dig and sow
We come to work the lands in common and make the waste ground grow
This earth divided we will make whole
So it may be a common treasury for all

The sin of property we do disdain
No man has any right to buy or sell the earth for private gain
By theft and murder they took the land
Now everywhere the walls spring up at their command

They make the laws to chain us well
The clergy dazzle us with heaven, or they damn us into hell
We will not worship the God they serve,
a God of greed who feeds the rich while poor folk starve

We work and eat together, we need no swords
We will not bow to masters, nor pay rent to the lords
Still we are free, though we are poor
Ye Diggers all, stand up for glory, stand up now!

From the men of property the orders came
They sent the hired men and troopers to wipe out the Diggers' claim
Tear down their cottages, destroy their corn
They were dispersed - only the vision lingers on

Ye poor take courage, ye rich take care
This earth was made a common treasury for everyone to share
All things in common, all people one
They came in peace - the order came to cut them down

Which is an old song but still relevant.

there a lot of songs critical of the current political climate and war coming out. often from bands you wouldn't have thought of. it kind of snuck in there. three off the top of my head:

metric - monster hospital
I fought the war, but the war won!

techno and hiphop works together:
dave clarke - blue on blue (rap by mr. lif)
a song about a soldiers "fighting for peace" and dying by the gross - "i just wanna go home"
(couldn't find any lyrics)

chemical brothers - left right (rap by anwar superstar)
(Left, Right)
(Left, Right)
(Left, Right) All my soldiers march
(Left, Right) All my people march
(Left, Right) All my soldiers march
(Left, Right) All my soldiers march with me...

He laid on his back,
His firearms by his side
Hearin no sound
Just watchin the fireworks in the sky
I walk by
Look down he still smiling
Cause he's done fightin
A fallen soldier
Now his war's over
Don't matter which side is wrong or right
Some innocent lives will be lost on the battlefield tonight
So hungry to kill
Only his death can curb his appetite
Live ammo hit the flesh
And it feels so right
I've embellished my life
Now God please tell me is this what death's like?

He's ???
Kept his innocence
Heavy hearted spouse
Clingin on to anything intimate
She can find around the house

What's the difference between Bush and Saddam?
Sheik Ahmed Yassin, Osama Bin Laden
Or Idi Amin
...Fidel Castro
It seems to me they're on the same team
Their hate only lead to innocent blood streams
If it's so important
For us to fight for mankind
Well I don't see none of their kinfolk
Out there on the front line.

And I'm a soldier
Right here – hip-hop – with my guns by my side
Ready to ride till I die
And I'm a soldier
And you can see it in my eyes
Even when the man dies
They say a soldier never cries
And I'm a soldier
Until the day they take my life
All my soldiers march with me (Left, Right)
All my soldiers match with me (Left, Right)
I thought I told ya
This is the story of a soldia

Stand up...

Stand up...

US (stand up!)
UK (stand up!)
France (stand up!)
Spain and Portugal, Germany (stand up!)
Slovakia (stand up!)
China (stand up!)
Palestine, Kosovo, Ghetto World (stand up!)
This is a live nigga PSA
From the one and only ghetto bullhorn
Come to warn you
There's a war goin on outside
And you can't run
You can't hide

(Left, Right)
(Left, Right)
(Left, Right) All my soldiers march
(Left, Right) All my people march
(Left, Right) Ghetto funk march
(Left, Right) Whole world march!
(Left, Right) All my soldiers march
(Left, Right) All my people march
(Left, Right)
(Left, Right)

I see your Chemical Brothers, and reply with :


Asian Dub Foundation - Tank

The wheels of the tank keep turning round and round.
How many megatons will it take to make them turn around? (x 2)

Turn around...

The wheels of the Shadowmen tank (x 2)

Every man is left behind
Every man has lost his mind
Exorcists anthologize
Bounce to the Shadownmen tank
Another missle flying high
Snaking across the desert sky
Oil men energy strapped back
Speed into the bank

The wheels of the tank keep turning round and round.
How many megatons will it take to make them turn around?

Too slow cup with gripping hands
Praying cowboys in the sand
Nothing ever goes to plan
Deep inside me tank
Shells you booty devil's plants
Tripping out another trance
Buffalo soldier's higher ground
Smoking in my tank
Forced by forces
My head is confused
Sometimes I feel that I'm being used
I press all fault to the man in robes
But I can't see the ghosts crowding the road

I can't see the ghosts crowding the road

The wheels of the tank keep turning round and round.
How many megatons will it take to make them turn around?

Awaken Mesopotamia (x 4)

Never left old home city Georgia
World is just called Arizona
Death metal getting louder and louder
Pumping pumping in me tank

Searching, searching
I be searching!
Keep on searching
Searching for the Hindu bomb
I'm searching for the Muslim bomb
I'm on the lookout for the suicide bomb
Get down on your knees and feign-quest for the bomb

Because I'm searching for the Hindu bomb
I'm searching for the Muslim bomb
I'm still on the lookout for the suicide bomb
Get on your knees, get on your knees
And feign-quest for the bomb

For the bomb

The wheels of the tank keep turning round and round.
How many megatons will it take to make them turn around?



Asian Dub Foundation - Take Back The Power

See their eyes see their lies
Unelected rejected it don't matter anyway
See their smile read their file
By hook or by crook they always find their way
Still at the bottom of the learning curve
Maybe got the leaders that we deserve
Bitin the burger makes our brains get smaller
Waistlines getting larger we wanna make it harder
We gotta be as hungry as they are
We gotta be as hungry as they are
Get hungry get angry get hungry and take back the power
Put your fist in the air rebels here and everywhere
Do we rise do we fall are we playing truth or dare
Time dem tought
Justice rough
A million on the streets don't seem to be enough
Taken for a ride way down inside
Livin rent free within your mind Mercanary military use everything they got
Coup d'état make us pay for every shot
Believe the world they show breathe the air they blow
Losing sense of what i know is real and what is not
We gotta be as hungry as they are
We gotta ba as hungry as they are
Get hungry get angry and take back the power
Put your fist in the air rebels here and everywhere
Do we rise do we fall are we playing truth or dare



While browsing for the lyrics of 'Fortress Europe', I realized how anthemic and cyberpunk it is.
How did I miss it?

Just wow!


Asian Dub Foundation - Fortress Europe

Keep bangin' on the wall
Keep bangin' on the wall
OF FORTRESS EUROPE!
2022 -A new European order
Robot guards patrolling the border
Cybernetic dogs are getting closer and closer
Armoured cars and immigration officers
A burning village in Kosovo
You bombed it out now you're telling us go home
Machine guns strut on the cliffs of Dover
Heads down people look out! we're going over
Burnin up! can we survive re-entry
Past the mines and the cybernetic sentries
Safe european homes built on wars
You don't like the effect don't produce the cause
The chip is in your head not on my shoulder
Total control just around the corner
Open up the floodgates Time's nearly up
Keep banging on the wall of Fortress Europe
Keep banging
Keep banging on the wall of Fortress Europe
We got a right , know the situation
We're the children of globalisation
No borders only true connection
Light the fuse of the insurrection
This generation has no nation
Grass roots pressure the only solution
We're sitting tight
Cos assylum is a right
Put an end to this confusion
Dis is a 21st century Exodus
Dis is a 21st century Exodus
Burnin' up can we survive re-entry
Past the landmines and cybernetic sentries
Plane, train, car , ferry boat or bus
The future is bleeding coming back at us
The chip is in your head not on my shoulder
Total control around the corner
Open up the floodgates Time's nearly up
Keep banging on the wall of Fortress Europe
Keep banging
Keep banging on the wall of Fortress Europe
Dis is a 21st century Exodus
Dis is a 21st century Exodus
They got a right - listen not to de scaremonger
Who doesn't run when they're feel the hunger
From where to what to when to here to there
People caught up in red tape nightmare
Break out of the detention centres
Cut the wires and tear up the vouchers
People get ready it's time to wake up
Tear down the walls of Fortress Europe

The Last Superpower Aka Rapscallion
by Primus from Animals Should not Try to Act Like People
May/June 2003

I got blood in my gas tank,
bones in my steel
I eat California condor
for my Thanksgiving meal
I'm the last superpower
I'm the son of a loaded gun
I'm Rapscallion

When I was young and shiny boy
I tried to dig my way to China
I met the Rapscallion
En route from South Carolina
Then he told me I don't like
I don't like you

He said I'm searching for a coloured man
I said what colours have you seen?
He said I seen 'em black and brown and red
But, but, but the one I seek is green

Then he told me I don't like
I don't like you
I'm Rapscallion

Atari Teenage Riot: Kids are united!

Kids are united and they will never be divided! (x4)

You know that violence is a disease
Its going to be a part of our lives and our future if we dont do something against it!
But if we put our energies together it could be a very powerful era!
Riot sound effects can produce riots
Play them in a riot situation and the police will come youll see!
The kids are united and they will never be divided!play this game right!
No difference between black and white! the differences between young and old!
Just pointing out that cuts on a ghettoblaster can be used as a weapon!
Fight!

United! united ... (all)
The game is drawing to a close so it looks as good a time as any to ask the final question:
What does the future hold for us?
Bring it down to ask for the coming back! if the kids are united!
Kids! kids!... (x8)
United!

Kids are united and they will never be divided!
Kids are united and they will never be divided!

Riot sound effects can produce riots! play them in a riot situation and the police will come youll see
The kids are united and they will never be divided! play this game right!
No difference between black and white! the differences between young and old!
Just pointing out that cuts on a ghettoblaster can be used as a weapon!
Turn it up and see what happens...

The game is drawing to a close so it looks as good a time as any to ask the final question :
What does the future hold for us?
Bring it down to ask for the coming back ...
If the kids are united!

Theyve got 80,000 in the bank and they dont know how to live!
I used to work in a club where they never came to dance ... fuck them up!

Kids are united and they will never be divided! (x4)
United! united! united! united! united! united!
United! united! united! united! united! united!

Thanks guys this was great, here is the email I sent to the writer and his reply.

quote:

Just thought I would let you know that I posted a thing on your story to a message board and got quite a few examples of current protest songs.

Who the fuck listens to the radio anymore for new music anyway?

http://williamgibsonboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/286601...631052952#3631052952

and his reply

quote:

Hmm. Your email makes me wonder if you read the story, or just complaints about it. My piece was an attempt to look at why we don't have huge hit protest songs like What's Going On in the modern day.

So my piece was looking at pop stars and big name artists mostly. Cool as Steve Earle and Ani DiFranco are, they are not as popular as Marvin Gaye, the Temptations and James brown were when they started doing protest music.

Back then, these artists were the biggest pop stars on the planet. and they turned protest music into a Top 40 genre for a short while. That's what Sunday's story was about...

Here are three paragraphs about a quarter of the way into the story:

"While rock and pop artists such as Pink, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young have earned media coverage this year for their protest songs, that work hasn't sold well or received much radio airplay.

For example, Young's Living With War record has sold just 212,000 copies, and Springsteen's protest revival The Seeger Sessions has sold only 526,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In comparison, Springsteen's last record, 2005's Devils & Dust, sold 220,000 copies in its first week.

The possible culprits are many: tightened radio play lists, a less turbulent social scene (no military draft to galvanize youth, a muted civil rights movement) and a fragmented audience that seems less tolerant of such controversial messages. Teens may download their own favorite protest songs these days, but that rarely produces the kind of cultural consensus that makes for enduring pop hits."

So, as you can see, I never said all artists stopped writing them. But radio and the music establishment has stopped playing them to level needed to produce big hits...

I would also refer you to my blog --http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/media/ -- to see what I've said about the reaction.
Thanks for the email, regardless....

Eric Deggans
TV/Media Critic
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
(727) 893-8521
http://www.sptimes.com/columns/deggans.shtmlhttp://www....bay.com/blogs/media/
http://www.myspace.com/ericdeggans

to which I sent

quote:

I think there are plenty of protest songs out there but there are fewer musicians than ever who really are superstars in the sense of most of your examples. Marvin and James Brown were huge stars but at the time limited outlets for new music made it possible for individual artists to dominate particular genres of music more easily. In other words how many other artists were never heard because Geffen or Island of whoever was too busy promoting their two or three biggest names and securing them airtime to make those protest songs so famous. Your other examples are all, with the exception of Pink, old guys that have pretty limited appeal outside the AARP set. Today, when it is so easy to record, mix, and promote music you have more bands than ever that are able to carve out a niche of their own, this prevents any one group from gaining the traction in public conciousness nessesary to make the BIG PROTEST SONG that you are looking for.

This isn't nessesarily a bad thing. More bands mean more music than ever, you just won't find them on any top 100 list.

---

Originally posted by Kradlum:
World Turned upside down

---

'At's the story!

Two from Johnny Cash:

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black, Why you never see bright colors on my back, And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone. Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on. I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, Living in the hopeless, hungry side of town. I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, But is there because he's a victim of the times. I wear the black for those who never read, Or listened to the words that Jesus said, About the road to happiness through love and charity, Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me. Well, we're doing mighty fine, I do suppose, In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes, But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, Up front there ought to be a Man In Black. I wear it for the sick and lonely old, For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold. I wear the black in mourning for the lives that could have been. Each week we lose a hundred fine young men. And, I wear it for the thousands who have died, Believing that the Lord was on their side. I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died, Believing that we all were on their side. Well, there's things that never will be right I know, And things need changing everywhere you go, But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right, You'll never see me wear a suit of white. Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day, And tell the world that everything's OK, But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back, 'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black

San Quentin, you've been livin' hell to me. You've hosted me since nineteen sixty three. I've seen 'em come and go and I've seen them die And long ago I stopped askin' why. San Quentin, I hate every inch of you. You've cut me and have scarred me through an' through. And I'll walk out a wiser weaker man; Mister Congressman, why can't you understand? San Quentin, what good do you think you do? Do you think that I'll be different when you're through? You bent my heart and mind and you may my soul, And your stone walls turn my blood a little cold. San Quentin, may you rot and burn in hell. May your walls fall and may I live to tell. May all the world forget you ever stood. And may all the world regret you did no good. San Quentin, you've been livin' hell to me.

Not so new anymore (the band stopped after the death of the vocalist/guitarist/producer in the big tsunami), but a lot of Nasum songs were protest songs again something. 'cause they were a grindcore many of them had been sort of gorified, but the message remains the same. They mainly had a ot's of left mindend, punklike shouting against government, but apart from that they tackled a lot more topics: sexism, free media, fascism, religion, modern day slave labour, animal cruelty, the album Helvete even had a protest song about the situation in Israel:

Nasum - Relics

Take aim at your promised land
Where would you be without it?
Destroy your legacy so grand
No "peace" will halt your vengeance

...and so again...
What makes you settle so convinced?
A relic that leaves no room for peace?

So fragile it has always been
Outside main focus

Your focus should be suffering
Or have their cries made you go numb?
Can't you see the enemy within?
Blind with hate you desecrate what brought you here

...but then again...
It makes you settle so convinced
A relic that leaves no room for peace

So fragile it has always been
Outside your focus

Extinction - your final goal
Now you're the relic

...and so again...
You stand here settled, so convinced
Blindfolded, hatefilled, without regrets

The centre of attention
Doomed, you stand and fight the flames...
...lit by your own hand
You can't float upon the river of flame

Download song

Rob? How did you manage to have two columns in there?