Protest Songs

The way I see it a protest call is a call for action, so as @MagicRatAFC mentioned, it has to reach its audience at a certain climactic moment and it has to motivate the listeners to react to what's happening. Its intention is to change something.

A socio political song on the other hand is written to raise awareness and to point out the injustices, but it's more passive.

I draw the line between both as to how they make me feel. If I'm angry and willing to fight for a cause, it's a protest song. If it makes me more compassionate and alert in regards to what's happening wrongly in the society, it's a socio political song.

Interesting point about songs written at the time of the event - I have always thought Elvis Costello's 'Ship Building' to be a great example of that, written in protest at the Falklands War.

My most recent contender is 'Gospel of Mary' by Josh Ritter about refugee families, one of the saddest songs I know.

As regards right wing protest songs, maybe check out the movie "Bob Roberts". Now there's a picture that was ahead of its time.

I think BITUSA would've been a protest song had it been written when the Vietnam war was happening.

Now it's a social, or societal, record.

I think what makes a song a protest song is it's relevance to a current societal norm.

I'd say Magic was a protest song at the time of the Bush government.

But that's moveable..... Masters of War I'd say is timelessness.

The more I think about it the more difficult it becomes to determine the difference between a protest song or a song which is about social issues - maybe there isn't a difference? Another thought I had, does a protest song have to be left wing?

That's an interesting point and I really don't know. Like you, I had never really thought of BITUSA as a protest song, although GOTJ I do think of as a protest song, but I really don't know why that is.

This is an interesting thread that seems to have faded after a few days. So, partially to try and spark it back up but mostly because I want to read the debate... what is a protest song? What makes it such?

When does a socio-political song become a protest song?

@Mario Brega named BITUSA as a protest song... I never saw it as such. I saw it more as social political commentary. Kieran might be right... what's the dividing line?

Is this a 'protest song or just a politically conscious song?

(Either way, this was written in the early 80's in Australia... yet is word for word as much if not more applicable to Trump and the recent election in the US).

Don't disagree about Masters of War, but when I hear protest songs, the first one that comes to mind is "Eve of Destruction" by Barry Mcguire.

Masters Of War is probably the greatest protest song in general, but the field is wide, with differing protests against various social and political situations. This Land is Your Land and some of Guthrie's other protests easily match Dylan in my book and other great protests have been named in this thread.

My own favorite is always Ohio. Its seething and heartbreaking. A protest song about the cost of protesting that really hit home for me as a kid.

Hard to disagree that Dylan had it pretty much wrapped up approaching 60 years ago.

Dylan has done loads of protest songs and Masters Of War is definitely one of the best but for me not THE best. I might disagree with the order in this article but this top 10 Dylan protest songs contains some very powerful ones although there are many more. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll still makes me stop and think every time I hear it, it's so vivid and shocking.

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bob-dylan-protest-songs/

That being said, I think Masters of War could possibly be one of the greatest protest songs ever @whispered secret , for sure. However, as is often the case with Dylan's work, it's not his version that sells it for me, but this one, from an amazing night almost 30 years ago by a new, relatively little known young upstart.

I thought this was going to be about the great Prefab Sprout album....

Right, so I've tried time and time again to properly listen to Dylan, y'know, in the same why I listened to Bruce Springsteen and became a fan. For some reason, though, there's this barrier that's stopping me from getting fully invested.

Still, there are select songs that have stood out to me, and while I wouldn't (and can't) call myself a fan, if I was ever asked "what Bob Dylan song do you like best?", I'd say "Masters of War". It's the one 'obscure' track of his (to me) that I listened to and was hit with like a ton of bricks. I mean, Christ, I don't think I've ever heard a more scathing, genuinely angry song. It's one of those that was so powerful I can remember where I was, when it was, and how I reacted when I heard those lyrics:

:And I hope that you die, And your death will come soon, I'll follow your casket, On a pale afternoon, I'll watch while you're lowered, Down to your deathbed, And I'll stand over your grave, 'Til I'm sure that you're dead".

There are so many outstanding, historical protest songs: "Fortunate Son", "For What It's Worth", "Strange Fruit", "Killing in the Name", "Revolution", "Born in the U.S.A." etc., but for me there are none that have made me say "he (or she) is pissed!" in the same way "Masters of War" has. So yeah, I'd say it's the best.