Protest Songs Essay

A History of Protest Music – Revolutionary War to the 1960s Protest music in the United States dates back to the 19th century. This protest music focused around subjects that were topical for the time period. Among these topics were the Civil War. Another topic was slavery, and its abolition. A final topic was women’s suffrage. A famous group of protest singers was the Hutchinson Family Singers. Their notoriety, which spanned the mid-19th century, began in 1839. Their songs about abolition were

Throughout the history of America, protest music has been used in a wide variety of social causes such as civil rights, gender equality, anti-war, and environment. Through music, artists were able to reach a wide spectrum of people through aesthetic symbolism. As a result, creating a stimulated experience helped listeners connect to the music through lyrics and mental visuals. “Psychology suggests that as humans we have an inherent need to symbolize” (Hoppenstand, 2009). Thus, music, through its

2010: 140). The songs used throughout the movement derived from the shared experiences and struggles of African Americans while connecting “the gentle, idealistic world of folk music and the integrationist world of civil rights” (Dunaway 2010: 145). Songs, such as “We Shall Overcome”, were put through the folk process, where a song is passed on and alterations are made to verses (Dunaway 2010: 141). These folk songs evolved to embody the movements they were used for: “Those songs came out of the

“Hell You Talmbout”, a new protest song from Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland collective, is striking in its simplicity. Monáe (along with fellow Wondaland member Jidenna) made headlines yesterday for marching in Philadelphia against police brutality, and this song sounds like an extension of that march. Drums dominate the scene; they are at once tribal but organized, like a powerfully primal marching band. The lyrics are simple as well, but there’s nothing more to say - “Walter Scott - say his name! Jerame

During the 1960’s protest songs were a big way for musical artists to put forth their opinions and stances, on controversial events happening in the US, into the American public. Songs by these artists in the 60’s, were able to connect to many of the feelings of American citizens on controversial issues that many were afraid to speak out against, through their messages and lyrics. One song that spoke to several people, on the topic of Civil Rights in America, was “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam

The Brown vs. Board of Education ruled segregation in America’s public school unconstitutional. At 19, Elvis released his first single, “That’s All Right”, a cover of an R & B song written and recorded by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup who was a 1940s African-American Bluesman. The single was released two months after the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling. The single integrated black and white cultures showing people that everyone

enumerated in the Constitution and federal law. During this period many folk and blues artistes’ music were protest songs, to speak out against the justice of Blacks and other unconstitutional acts. These music not only protested the injustice but it brought together people of all ethnicity/race, social class and regions, in solidarity to form a major campaigns of civil resistance. The conventional protest melodies in the United States goes way beyond the nineteen century and into the colonial period, the

opinion went from outspoken newspaper articles to large rallies, and during the Vietnam War, music was a prevalent tool in aiding the protests. Allowing political messages to be shared nationally, the music had touched the lives of the younger generation. Author Jerome L. Rodnitzky explains in his journal, “The Sixties between the Microgrooves: Using Folk and Protest Music to Understand American History, 1963-1973”, how music was “trying to be all things

Song lyrics: looking through the window of cultural texts… If you took the time to listen to the lyrics of a song instead of mumbling uselessly to the catchy melody, you’d notice that some bands and musical artists are informing their audience of present-time themes and issues. In today’s society, song lyrics can be used effectively to find fault with many dominant values and attitudes, somewhat protesting against social issues and the preconceived ideas that stand tall on the stage of democracy

women, and children died in or cause of this war. From this, protests rained upon the government leading to a new kind of protest by Bob Dylan, song. Bob Dylan was born on May 24, 1941 and from an early age had always fought for what was right. His songs have changed and inspired not just our country but the world. He is the only musician with a Nobel Prize for Literature and so far is the only one who truly deserves it. His protests through his music tell people that lives are being lost and teach