America’s musicians have a lot to protest about

America has a lot to protest about. What better way to reach people than through song? 

For over a century, artists in the United States have been crafting songs to deliver a message of change to the people. When I set off to write this article, I was planning on choosing one song per decade that sums up the protests of the era. After doing a bit of research, it proved to be a difficult task given the vast array of songs and causes. The following songs resonated with me due to their timeliness, messages, and sounds. 

Billie Holiday was my age, 23, when she first performed the song “Strange Fruit” eighty-one years ago. “Strange Fruit” is a grim portrayal of lynchings in the United States of America. Holiday’s signature voice wails and trails across a grainy recording as she sings “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze / Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” The song is haunting and poetic (in fact, it was originally a poem), but the worst part about it is that it still rings true. 

Lynching is a cruel, prominent part of American history that extends into the present day. In even our own state, the city of Placerville, California still has a noose in their city logo. Lynching has also taken multiple forms in the United States–namely police violence, which brings me to my next song. 

Director Spike Lee asked hip hop group Public Enemy to compose a song for his seminal 1989 film Do The Right Thing, and “Fight the Power” was born. In Do The Right Thing, the character named Radio Raheem is almost always shown carrying a boombox blasting this song. The song is a punchy rap song that reiterates the need to “fight the powers that be”; a theme that not only is relevant to Lee’s film, but also to American culture as a whole. 

The song’s third verse was especially controversial upon its release as it dissed Elvis and John Wayne. Frontman Chuck D elaborated on the verse, explaining that the celebrity icon status surrounding Elvis erases the Black musicians that paved the way for him. While this song is catchy and fun, it is a powerful anthem of resistance to oppression, both in music history and present-day America. 

Speaking of present-day America, I know I’m not the only one who heard cars blasting “FDT” on their speakers on November 7th, when President-Elect Joe Biden was declared victor of the presidential race. “FDT,” which stands for “Fuck Donald Trump,” is a protest song by rappers YG and the late Nipsey Hussle, critiquing the then-candidate Donald J. Trump. Over the next four years, this song became not only an anthem but a mantra in the minds of many who hoped and worked towards the end of Trump’s presidency. 

If you don’t think that protest songs make any actual change, the Secret Service may disagree with you. In 2016, they reached out to YG to ask him about the lyrics of “FDT,” and the LAPD shut down the shoot of the song’s music video. Just goes to show, music can ignite not only emotions, but also action. When artists wield the power of their creativity, they can make serious waves. 

It’s tempting to focus this article solely on the issues that have defined 2020 within America, but (unfortunately), the United States of America has history overseas that has sparked a plethora of protest songs. “All Along the Watchtower” is an anti-Vietnam war song written by Bob Dylan and famously covered by Jimi Hendrix. The song’s lyrics are ambiguously biblical in nature, but gained momentum as an anti-war song, striking a chord with Dylan and Hendrix fans alike. 

Nina Simone sang “Raise my taxes/Freeze my wages/Send my son to Vietnam” in “Backlash Blues,” and John Lennon sang “Give Peace A Chance” along with half a million people at a protest in 1969. The widespread horror of Vietnam spawned desperation in creativity, with so many artists putting their heart, soul, and talent into protest songs. 

In a nation constantly fraught with injustice, sometimes it feels impossible to make any change. Music uplifts and inspires us, and protest songs can carry us through the worst of times while still giving us that spark of hope and perseverance, spanning across genre, location, and time. 

Written by Noah Larsen