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Hey All!

Maybe we've done this topic before, but it's time to do it again, given the Gulf Oil Spill and the current politics of "NO!" etc.

What's your favorite protest song of all time? Man, I was going through Dylan, Lennon, Guthrie et al and, since I love cranked rock, decided on this one. I like Neil Young's sardonic way of pointing the finger at people who don't remember what's important in life or have any compassion for the unfortunate, the environment, etc. Good work, Neil --- you get my vote!

"Rockin' In The Free World"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQccK0F1_iY

There's colors on the street --- Red, white and blue
People shufflin' their feet --- People sleepin' in their shoes
But there's a warnin' sign on the road ahead
There's a lot of people sayin' we'd be better off dead
Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them
So I try to forget it, any way I can.

Keep on rockin' in the free world.

I see a woman in the night --- With a baby in her hand
Under an old street light --- Near a garbage can
Now she puts the kid away, and she's gone to get a hit
She hates her life, and what she's done to it
There's one more kid that will never go to school
Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool.

Keep on rockin' in the free world.

We got a thousand points of light --- For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler, machine gun hand
We got department stores and toilet paper
Got styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer
Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive
Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive.

Keep on rockin' in the free world

P.S. That video was obviously made for MTV or something. Sped up, and left off the last verse. Sounds good, but not the real mood of the song!

I really can't find a good YouTube video of the WHOLE song, but here's an interesting one with Springsteen chiming in:

Oops, nevermind! Max Weinberg couldn't rock on drums if you stuck a cactus up his a$$!

How about Neil with Pearl Jam? Much better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTTsyk-p ... re=related

Ern

I always like "Ohio" by CSNY

drew wrote:I always like "Ohio" by CSNY

Another great song by Neil! --- This shows how ancient I am, but I've got an 8mm movie of the riots at Western Michigan U. my freshman year. I was a "passive" hippie, but boy when I got my camera rolling, I got right into the action of the cops beating the students. One cop told me "Get the hell out of here!" and I just kept filming. I'll have to find the original movie footage, because it was chilling.

Of course, "Blowing In The Wind" may be THE classic!

Ern

Could be some bucks in that footage, if you can find it, Ern. I think my current fave would have to be We Can't Make It Here by James McMurtry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTW0y6kazWM

I love Neil Young's too. Just has the right feel for a good protest me thinks..
Otherwise I think, of all people, John Mayer has a knack of protest songs:

Belief
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEgUUTkqRRQ

Waiting on the world to change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWhzd_1_jy0

War by Edwin Starr says it for me...

fret17 wrote:War by Edwin Starr says it for me...

Great record! Was Edwin Starr a pseudonym for another artist? I'd have to look it up. Sure sounds like Teddy Pendergrass to me!

In that similar vein, (but Motown, not Philly), how about Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" Fantastic song, arrangement, and recording. "War is not the answer; for only love can conquer hate." --- The bridge on that one just blows me away --- says it all without any lyrics!

Ern

Didn't Edwin Starr also do "Vehicle"?

mojobone wrote:Didn't Edwin Starr also do "Vehicle"?

Mojo, if that's the same singer, I'll eat my soiled shorts! --- "Vehicle" was recorded by "The Ides Of March," a band from your stompin' grounds. I think they were from NW Indiana. BTW, I went to S.J. High School, and we had ALL the "current" bands from Chicago come into town: Buckinghams, Ides, Rotary Connection, The Mauds, Human Breed, etc.

Ern