protest songs
Music opposing injustice
Protest songs are music written to oppose political policies, social conditions, or injustice.
The tradition spans centuries but flourished during the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s: We Shall Overcome became an anthem of the movement.
Protest songs aim to raise awareness, build solidarity, or inspire action.
The genre ranges from folk ballads to punk and hip-hop.
- folkRegular common people
- civil rightsGuaranteed individual legal protections
- folk musicCommunity-born acoustic songs
- activismDirect effort for reform
- anti-war movementOrganized opposition to warfare
Woody Guthrie · Bob Dylan · ballads · spirituals · dissent · Billie Holiday · Pete Seeger · we shall overcome · counterculture · fight the power · rallying cry · agitprop · mobilization · oral tradition · march · chant · raise your voice · voice
- folk musicfolk, folk music, folk ballads, folk ballad, folk singers
- Folk RevivalPete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, The Weavers
- political musicnational anthems, anthems, patriotic hymns, agitprop
- protest artpolitical posters, activist art, resistance art, social justice art, political murals
- folk techniquesfingerpicking, flatpicking, clawhammer, strumming, hammer-ons
- songstune, folk ballads, melody, ballads, ditty
protest songsbubblegum pop
Catchy, lightweight youth music
dance music · easy listening · muzak · background music · love ballads
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