Songs of Peace and Protest: Home

Video of Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger singing Woody Guthrie's song, with footage of strikes.

Performance by Billy Bragg, Dar Williams, Mike & Ruthy Merenda, and the New York City Labor Chorus on the occasion of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday.

"In the 1870s and 1880s, hundreds of thousands of American workers joined unions or other labor organizations to bargain for better pay and greater workplace safety, sometimes striking—refusing to work to convince employers to agree to their demands." Click to read more.

With lyrics and a recording from the album on which it first appeared, Clouds.

This song was performed by many artists, including Peter, Paul and Mary, here, and the mainstream popular group the Kingston Trio.

Phil Ochs wrote hundreds of "topical" songs in the 1960s and 1970s. He was active in the peace movement along with Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and others, and at one time was considered as important as Dylan.

"It's always the old to lead us to the wars, it's always the young who fall... Call it peace or call it treason, call it love or call it reason, but I ain't marchin' anymore."

Many people have performed Andy Barnes' protest of whale hunting, including Angels in Daring and Celtic Crossroads; this recording by The Dubliners is accompanied by some graphic images of whales and whale hunting.

This song illustrates the devastating effects of toxic waste dumping, with descriptions of children unknowingly playing in contaminated fields, and the spread of cancer throughout the community.

"It was the most powerful song of the 20th century. It started out in church pews and picket lines, inspired one of the greatest freedom movements in U.S. history, and went on to topple governments and bring about reform all over the world. Word for word, the short, simple lyrics of "We Shall Overcome" might be some of the most influential words in the English language. " Click on the link to read more.

This recording of a young Bob Dylan shows him performing a song that would be recorded by numerous artists, including Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary.

Deeply influential song by the great Sam Cooke.

This powerful and graphic song uses the image of strange fruit hanging from trees to protest lynchings in the South.

This song incorporates environmental and social concerns in a love song.

Calling attention to war as well as social problems, this is a song Mitchell wrote and recorded in the 1980s, when she had abandoned her earlier folk style in favor of an edgier style.

This spoken word piece blends the personal and the political.

Preguntas por Puerto Montt (Questions about the massacre of Puerto Montt) is a song protesting the massacre of a community of squatters in a stretch of wasteland in Chile. After being told they could stay undisturbed, 91 families were attacked by 250 armed police. 11 died, including a 9-month-old baby, and many more were injured.

Classic live version by renowned Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa. Recently, Bruce Springsteen has sung this song and Victor Jara's Manifiesto in bilingual versions.

The campaign anthem for Salvador Allende, leading up to the Chilean coup in 1973. This song was also recorded by Inti Illimani, which remained in exile in Italy for over a decade following the coup.

This extensive list includes songs from all genres and eras.

This list spans genres and decades.

This is actually a review of a 2005 compilation album, which gives a good overview of reggae protest songs.