I rarely play Bob Dylan, even though he is often playing in this house! However, just now Mr J was on the treadmill whilst I was chopping vegetables in the kitchen when 'Masters of War' came on, which got me thinking what a brilliant song it is. Is it the best protest song ever written? What are the other contenders?
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Where the banned are
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?