FolkWorld #79 11/2022
© Paste Magazine

FolkWorld 25th Anniversary 1997-2022

The 50 Best Protest Songs of All Time

It’s been said that music can change the world. Some might denounce that as exaggeration, but at minimum, music does have the power to stir emotions and bring attention to worthy causes. Over the decades, protest songs have led the way, offering a powerful and passionate testimony to those suffering, while urging listeners to lend support and solidarity in response.

There is no shortage of great protest songs—in fact, we’ve covered Canada-specific protest songs from their last tumultuous election, contemporary protest songs by people of color, protest songs that are anti-fascist and more. In these trying times, we’ve attempted to distill some of these best protest songs of all time, so here are 50 that have impacted our collective consciousness.



Across the Western Ocean


1. Billie Holiday, “Strange Fruit”: This track has to be at the top of the list; it’s that influential. One of the first racism protest songs to be recorded in popular music, 1939’s “Strange Fruit” is based off a poem written by Abel Meeropol. Holiday sang the song for the first time at Café Society in Greenwich Village, which was the first integrated nightclub in New York City. With the song’s blatant indictment of racism in the American South, it’s said that Holiday was afraid of retaliation every time she sang the song. Not to mention, no record label would touch it. Eventually, Milt Gabler put the track out on Commodore records after Holiday’s a cappella performance of it brought him to tears. Despite being aware of the danger of singing a song like this as black woman, Holiday sings “Strange Fruit” with unwavering bravery and intention, her emotive voice bolstering its timeless meaning. —Alexa Peters


2. Woody Guthrie, “This Land Is Your Land”: One of the most iconic songs in American lore, “This Land Is Your Land” is actually such an important protest song for the verses that aren’t typically sung. Although ostensibly innocuous with its three chords and easy rhymes, roamin’, ramblin’ troubadour Woody Guthrie originally wrote two more verses to this ode to America’s natural beauty and idealistic values. Those lost verses criticize wealth inequality and extremist capitalism. In fact, by 2002, the song was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. —Hilary Saunders


3. Pete Seeger, “We Shall Overcome”: Written as a gospel hymn by a Methodist minister in 1900 and originally adapted during a tobacco workers strike in 1945, “We Shall Overcome” came to represent defiance, endurance, tenacity and sheer determination. In short, this anthem of the Civil Rights movement sums up the courage and conviction that underscored African Americans’ demand for equal rights and opportunities. Adapted by a flock of folk singers over the years, Pete Seeger and Joan Baez in particular, it subsequently became the theme for many a protest rally and effort towards peaceful resistance. Likewise, it’s as meaningful in today’s troubled times as it was more than a half a century ago. —Lee Zimmerman


4. Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ in the Wind”: The tune that endeared Dylan to legions of card-carrying folkies, “Blowin’ in the Wind” remains the standard template for every protest song that’s come along ever since. It defined its writer and singer as a champion of blue-collar resistance and put him on the front lines during those epic civil rights struggles of the ‘60s. Recorded countless times by others—Peter, Paul & Mary, for whom it was a hit, and his paramour Joan Baez in particular, it remains a battle cry in the struggle for change and enduring defiance. —Lee Zimmerman

5. Sam Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come”

6. Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going On”

7. John Lennon, “Imagine”


8. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Ohio”: As Neil Young’s reaction to the killings of four students at Kent State University during a showdown with the Ohio State National Guard on May 4, 1970, the song resonates as a visceral reminder of the perils of protest, especially when facing an unflinching enemy. Rush released within a few weeks of its recording, the lyrics—“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming”—still send shivers up and down the spine nearly 50 years later. Crosby’s wails of “How many more?” convey the shock and horror in a palatable way. —Lee Zimmerman

9. Public Enemy, “Fight The Power”

10. Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Get Up, Stand Up”

11. Nina Simone, “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black”

12. Edwin Starr, “War”

13. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Fortunate Son”

14. The Staple Singers, “Long Walk to D.C.”


15. Phil Ochs, “I Ain’t Marching Anymore”: As the American public and mass media learned in the ‘60s, one of the best ways to protest unsavory governmental decisions was through song. Phil Ochs, the Texan-born singer, self-described social democrat, and revolutionary, epitomized this. “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” criticizes America’s futile Vietnam invasion with zing and zest over quick acoustic strumming in the tradition of folk heroes like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthie. —Hilary Saunders

16. Buffalo Springfield, “For What It’s Worth”

17. Aretha Franklin, “Respect”

18. N.W.A., “Fuck Tha Police”

19. Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”

20. Rage Against the Machine, “Testify”


21. Joan Baez, “Joe Hill”: Made famous by Baez’s solitary performance at Woodstock, “Joe Hill” is a requiem for a union boss who died at the hands of the mining bosses while leading a resistance to unfair labor practices. Gone, but not forgotten, the issues he advanced and the causes that he fought for still resonate long after his passing. —Lee Zimmerman

22. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, “What’s Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding”

23. Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five, “The Message”


24. Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi”: One of the most important environmental protest songs, Joni Mitchell released this song in 1970 in response to her first trip to Hawaii. With the chorus of “They paved paradise and put of a parking lot,” the song quickly and bluntly criticizes the way humans disrespect and destroy nature. Unfortunately, when the Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton covered the song in 2002, it still sounded fresh. And in a time when climate change deniers still hold office, “Big Yellow Taxi” is more important that ever.” —Hilary Saunders

25. Bikini Kill, “Rebel Girl”

26. Sleater-Kinney, “Entertain”


27. Ani DiFranco, “To The Teeth”: Ani DiFranco, a regular and beloved visitor to the Paste Studio in NYC, has never been one to shy away from politics over the course of her 20 studio albums (and counting). One of the most outspoken activists and feminists in the musical community (her own independent record label is called Righteous Babe, after all), DiFranco bears all in this ballad response to the massacre at Columbine High School. —Hilary Saunders

28. M.I.A., “Paper Planes”


29. Country Joe and the Fish, “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag (The Fish Cheer)”: One of the highlights of Country Joe’s memorable appearance at Woodstock, the profanity laced “Fish Cheer” represented a generation’s disdain and frustration with the politicos who sent America’s sons to fight futile wars without regard for the loss of life. It’s one, two, three, four, what are we fighting for? I don’t give a damn, next stop is Vietnam.” The band’s dark humor notwithstanding, it foretold the the doom and despair many a young conscripted soldier felt when their draft board summoned them for military service. —Lee Zimmerman

30. Little Steven & Artists Against Apartheid, “Sun City”

31. James Brown, “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)”

32. Peter, Paul and Mary, “If I Had A Hammer”

33. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, “Born in the U.S.A.”

34. Kendrick Lamar, “Alright”


35. Loretta Lynn, “The Pill”: Initially banned from numerous radio stations, the ode to birth control broke down major barriers for women—enabling them to stand up for their reproductive rights in ways never before imagined. The first oral contraception had been formerly introduced in 1960, and it assisted heartily in the women’s rights movement. Lynn hints at her own personal life in the song, and she has had enough of getting pregnant every year. From her 1975 album Back to the Country, she’s now ready and able to make “up for all those years.” It’s quirky, clever and uplifting, as she marvels in her newfound sense of freedom. “Mini-skirts. Hot pants. And a few little fancy frills,” she lists off, antsy for all the trendy fashions she’ll now be able to wear. Later, she smirks, “And you can’t afford to turn it down ‘cause you know I’ve got the pill.” —Jason Scott

36. Sly & The Family Stone, “Everyday People”


37. Barry McGuire, “Eve of Destruction”: This Dylan-esque P.F. Sloan cover warned of the world’s demise back in 1965. McGuire name-drops everything from “Red China” to “Selma, Alabama” and calls out, “senators [who] don’t pass legislation / And marches alone can’t bring integration” and still managed to became a No. 1 hit. —Hilary Saunders

38. Dead Kennedys, “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”

39. Jefferson Airplane, “Volunteers”

40. The Impressions, “People Get Ready”

41. The Youngbloods, “Get Together”

42. Against Me!, “Transgender Dysphoria Blues”


43. Donovan, “Universal Soldier”: Written by Buffy Sainte-Marie but brought to prominence by Donovan during his early folkie phase, no single song better detailed the plight of the conscripted soldier or career mercenary than this mid ‘60s lament about the perils of war and the devastating effects it leaves in its wake. The song makes the point that borders are meaningless when it comes to those in the front lines, and that all those who fight their nation’s battles remain mere pawns in a futile struggle. —Lee Zimmerman

44. U2, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”

45. Helen Reddy, “I Am Woman”


46. Richard Fariña, “Birmingham Sunday”: Written in response to the bombing of a Birmingham church in 1963 that killed four young girls who were inside at the time, the song assured Fariña’s ascent in early ‘60s protest circles, a trajectory that found him rivaling Dylan in terms of his folk following. Tragically, Fariña was killed in a motorcycle accident in Carmel California in 1966, but his songs continue to resonate in today’s singer/songwriter circles. Plainsong’s recent tribute, Reinventing Richard, is merely the latest example. —Lee Zimmerman

47. The Byrds, “Draft Morning”

48. USA for Africa, “We Are the World”

49. Bright Eyes, “When the President Talks to God”

50. Green Day, “American Idiot”


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