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Protest songs that still hold up years later


darkandrew

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Two that stand up as excellent songs in their genre, not withstanding the anti war/anti-nuke sentiments:

 

Revolution in their minds, the children start to march
Against the world in which they have to live and the hate that's in their hearts
They're tired of being pushed around and told just what to do
They'll fight the world until they've won and love comes flowing through - yeah!
 
Children of tomorrow live in the tears that fall today
Will the sun rise up tomorrow bringing peace in any way?
Must the world live in the shadow of atomic fear?
Can they win the fight for peace or will they disappear? Yeah!
 
So you children of the world listen to what I say
If you want a better place to live in, spread the word today
Show the world that love is still alive, you must be brave
Or you children of today are children of the grave - yeah!
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On 13/12/2019 at 20:39, Islander said:

Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding.

This.

Beautifully understated. The lyrics are incredibly poignant. Although Costello does an OK version (in my not-so-humble opinion), for me, the definitive version is by Robert Wyatt. 

 

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Not really a protest but more observational.

I was gobsmacked when I listened to this song again. My mum used to sing it to me when I was small before I understood it's brilliance. With todays ongoing issues of social inequality and the poverty traps it seems more relevant than ever.

 

Edited by Pinball
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28 minutes ago, Pinball said:

Not really a protest but more observational.

I was gobsmacked when I listened to this song again. My mum when I was small before I understood it's brilliance. With todays ongoing issues of social inequality and the poverty traps it seems more relevant than ever.

 

I remember listening to this as a child and for years just thinking of it as a children’s song but as I got older I realised what a brilliant commentary on life it is, it just paints a picture of a simple scene and yet you can hear the machinations of a sinister system ticking behind. I remember having a discussion with a member of Crass about this song, how it was a benchmark and how Seeger manages, in such an almost nursery rhyme way, to covey an actually very bleak view of late 50s early 60s America. Brilliant and absolutely still relevant.

Edited by Frank Blank
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