We The People Protest Songs 1776-Present

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We The People Protest Songs 1776-Present

By Marion T. Sanders, Jnr. Glenn Hills Middle
School
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• In harmony with the First Amendments guarantee
  of freedom of speech, music has long been an
  expression of freedom, peace and justice.
  Throughout American history, songs have cried out
  against inequality, poverty, and in support of
  workers civil and human rights.

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Escape At SunsetSlavery

• After the founding of the United States in
  1776, some of the new nations first protest
  songs were by and about slaves.
• Steal away
• Steal away
• Steal away to Jesus
• Steal away
• Steal away home
• Aint got long to
  stay here

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Hutchinson Family
The Hutchinson Family Singers, was one of the
best known musical groups during the mid
1800s.The subject of their protest songs ranged
from temperance to womens rights to abolitionism.

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Hutchinson Family contd
Politicians gazed, astounded when, at first our
bell resounded Freight trains are coming, tell
these foxes with our votes and ballot boxes Roll
it along!Roll it along!Roll it along! Thro the
nation Freedoms car, Emancipation
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Because of Julia Ward Howe, John Brown may not
have become fused with American myth. She wrote
The Battle Hymn of the Republic to the tune of
John Browns Body, retaining its Glory, glory
hallelujahand changing His soul goes marching
on to His truth is marching on.
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Commercial Break
In the 1880s there were 1,118,000 children under
sixteen at work in the United States. With
everyone working long hours families often became
strangers to one another. A pants presser ,Morris
Rosenfeld wrote a poem, My Boy. The poem is on
the next page. For many families today this poem
is a reality. How would the poem sound immersed
in the rhythms of today.
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My Boyby Morris Rosenfeld
I have a little boy at home, A pretty little
son I think sometimes the world is mine In him,
my only one Ere dawn my labor drives me
forth Tis night when I am free A stranger am I
to my child And stranger my child to me
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The Workers
In the 1890s, workers began distributing strike
songbooks in American cites. The Industrial
Workers of the World (IWWW), also known as the
Wobblies, most completely combined songs and
action in their movement for union building and
workers rights in the early 1900s. Songs were a
central part of the organizations strategy of
recruitment, solidarity and strikes. One of the
best-known songs if this period was Bread and
Roses by James Oppenheim and Caroline Lolsaat,
which was taken up by protest movements
throughout the 20th century.
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Bread and Rosesby James Oppenheim Caroline
Kolsaat

As we go marching, marching Un-numbered women
dead Go crying through our sins Their ancient
call for bread Small art and love and
beauty Their drudging spirits knew Yes it is
bread we fight for But we fight for roses, too.
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War, Labor and Race
The Almanac Singers, which included Woody
Guthrie, Josh White, a young Pete Seeger and many
others, toured America before World War II,
singing to support struggling workers everywhere.
In the years after the war, Seeger would go on to
become one the great champions of folk and
protest music.
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DeporteeBy Woody Guthrie
Some of us are illegal, and some are not
wanted Our work contracts out and we have to
move on Six hundred miles to that Mexican
border, They chase us like outlaws, like
rustlers, like thieves We died in your hills, we
died in your deserts We died in your valleys and
died on your plains. We died neath your trees
and we died in your bushes Both sides of the
river, we died just the same
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The greatest protest song of all time was born
during a strike in Charleston, South Carolina.
Taking their text from a 1900 gospel song by
Charles Tindley( Ill Overcome), workers of the
Negro Food and Tobacco Unions sang,We Shall
Overcome for the first time in American history.
The song would go on to become the unofficial
anthem of the civil rights movement and beyond.
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We Shall Overcome by Charles Tindley
We shall overcome We shall overcome We shall
overcome some day Chorus Oh, deep in my heart
I do believe We shall overcome some
day
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Vietnam
The protest music of the 60s and 70s was a
mixed of old and new themes. Those that abandoned
old and general themes started creating themes
that were all-out cultural assaults on specific
events. In response to anti-war protestors at
Kent State that were gunned down by the National
Guard, Crosby,Stills, Nash, and Young were
inspired to write Ohio.
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OhioBy CSNY
Vietnam contd
Tin soldiers and Nixon coming Were finally on
our own This summer I hear the drumming
Four Dead in Ohio
Buffalo Springfield wrote about the same
incident You step out of line, the man come and
take you away.
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Jimi Hendrix
Perhaps one of the most compelling live
performances by a musician during the Vietnam War
was that of Jimi Hendrix and his Band of
Gypsys on New Years Day 1970. His twelve
minute version of Machine Gun captured the
whole audience and shook the world. He opened the
set like this Happy New Year first of all. I
hope we have a million or two million more of
themif we can get over this summer Right Id
like to dedicate this one to the dragginscene
thats goin on. All the soldiers that are
fightin in Chicago, Milwaukee and New YorkOh
Yeah, and all the soldiers fightin in Vietnam.
Like to do a thing called machine gun.
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Machine Gun By Jimi Hendrix
Evil man make me kill ya Evil man make you kill
me Evil man make me kill you Even though were
only families apart.
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Anti-Establishment
In the 80s two new forms grabbed the mike of
protest. The Punk movement combined anger,
alienation and politics in songs. Rap also
emerged as a protest genre.
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Anti-Establishment contd
Stars and Strips of Corruption By the Dead
Kennedys was a Punk protest song about the Gulf
War.
The stars and stripes of corruption Lets bring
it all down! Tell me whos the real patriots The
Archie Bunker slobs waving flags? Or the people
with the guts to work For some real
change Rednecks and bombs dont make us strong We
loot the world, yet we cant even feed ourselves.
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Anti-Establishment contd
Rap emerged as protest genre, beginning with
Grandmaster Flashs The Message, which offered
up a long lament of the harsh realities for poor
African Americans
I cant take the smell, I cant take the
noise Got no money to move out, I guess I got no
choice Rats in the front room, roaches in the
back Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat I
tried to get away, but I couldnt get far Cause
the man with the tow-truck repossessed my
car Dont push me, cause Im close to the
edge Im trying not to loose my head Its like a
jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep
from going under.
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Message Music Where will the protest song turn
next?
Musicians in every genre continue to write
protest songs. Diverse rockers like Bruce
Springsteen, AniDifranco, Steve Earle and System
of A Down have contributed to the protest lexicon
in the last few years, some tackling speckfic
injustices, others taking on the larger
implications of Americas tragedy and response
since September 11, 2001.
To The TeethBy AniDiFranco
Are we really going to sleep through another,
while the rich profit off our blood,yeah it may
take some doing, to see this undoing through, but
in my humble opinion, heres what I suggest we
do, open fire on Hollywood,open fire on MTV, open
fire on NBC and CBS and ABC, open fire on the
NRA,and all the lies they told us along the way.
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Anti-Establishment contd
Hip hop and rap artist like and Michael Franti
Spearhead, OutKast and DRS-One tackle social
themes.
Bomb da World By Michael Franti
You can chase down all your enemies bring them to
their knees You can bomb the world to places but
you cant bomb it into peace
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The catalog of protest music is vast. This
overview highlights some of the American songs
and songwriters whose words songs and music
served as catalysts for thought, action and even
social change.