Political Songs That Don’t Suck?

I picked up the new Rustic Overtones album a week or two ago, partly on the strength of this review at 75 or Less, but mostly because I really liked “Hardest Way Possible” off Viva Nueva, and can’t understand why it wasn’t a huge hit. (The self-cover on this album probably indicates that the band doesn’t understand it, either. Alas, like all self-covers, it’s nowhere near as good as the original).

The record as a whole is pretty good, though I’m not as enthusiatic as Tom D. “Rock Like War,” “Oxygen,” and “Carsick” are really good songs, and most of the rest is solid. Unfortunately, it also includes a thing called “Letter to the President” that is, frankly, pretty awful.

Lyrically, it’s about what you would expect from a song called “Letter to the President” these days, and serves as yet another example of wht I think may be a general rule:

Directly and explicitly political songs always suck.

The qualifier “Directly and explicitly” is meant to pick out songs referring to specific political events and conditions. There are some good songs that are political in intent, but filtered through enough metaphor that you can’t really identify a specific event or situation that they’re talking about. “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” is a really good Bob Dylan song, for example, but “Hurricane” is not. “Powderfinger” is a really good Neil Young song, “Cortez the Killer” is not. “The Rising” is a great Bruce Springsteen song, “41 Shots” is not.

As a general matter, political songs where you can easily identify the source incident or situation tend to be really trite and obvious, and sound dated about fifteen minutes after the tape stops rolling in the studio. The worst also tend to sound whiny and self-indulgent– see “Oberst, Conor.”

I’m willing to entertain counterexamples, though, so have at it. “Ohio” by Crosy, Stills and Nash comes close, but it’s not that great a song. Does “Sweet Home Alabama” count as a political song?

76 comments

  1. “Girl in the War” by Josh Ritter is a great song, but I’m not sure where it falls on your specificity scale.

  2. “16 Military Wives” by The Decemberists is a pretty good song.

    I’m less impressed by the Decemberists than basically everyone I know. I don’t know what it is, but I’m never really blown away the way everybody else seems to be.

  3. I think many songs that are explicit “protest” songs can be good, like a lot of Woody Guthrie’s stuff.

  4. No Chad, it’s not just you. I’m of the opinion that they’re mediocre and don’t get all the praise heaped upon them (ERROR, no pronoun antecedent! You’ll have to read the whole thread for context, MUAHAHHAHAHHAAHAHHA!!!!11!!!ONE!!1!!!ELEVENTY!!)

    Oh, and Green Day made an entire political ALBUM that doesn’t suck.

  5. I always liked Oxford Town by Bob Dylan. It’s short, and not excessively preachy or emotional. But then again I’ve been hearing my parents play that record since I was a tiny kid, so maybe I don’t have an objective view.

  6. I have real affection for “Masters of War” by Dylan, even though musically it fails to impress: it’s basically just a few bars repeated endlessly. I think a good protest/political song is not so much about reciting facts (Hurricane) as capturing a feeling. If the emotions are there, then the song works.

  7. Directly and explicitly political songs always suck.

    At least for the time when they are at all directly relevant.

  8. “Black Day in July”, Gordon Lightfoot. (Well, if you like that sort of thing…)

    “The Foggy Dew”, particularly the Chieftans / Sinead O’Connor version from “The Long Black Veil”, which absolutely kicks ass. Or “Follow Me Up to Carlow”, a particular favourite of mine…

    On the traditional Scots front, there’s always “Cam Ye O’er Frae France”, “Parcel of Rogues”, “Charlie is my Darling”, etc, etc, etc…

    Actually, there’s loads of quality Irish and Scots folk tunes that are directly and explicitly political. I could go on for hours listing them. Heck, much of what I know of Scots and Irish history I’ve learned from folk songs.

    For more modern material, Kieron Means’ “I Worry For This World” from his 2005 album “Far As My Eyes Can See” is pretty damn good. He also does a storming version of “Mississippi Heavy Water Blues”, which most people would probably regard as political given its release date, even though the CD was recorded before Katrina hit. And of course, that one was just a relevant the first time around… [Disclosure: Kieron ‘s a very good friend of mine.]

    In short, you’re talking rubbish based on an absurdly small and selective sample.

  9. The Capital Steps (http://www.capsteps.com/)do really funny political songs and many are still funny years later. But they are generally making fun of politics/politicians rather than making a political point.

  10. Dear Mr. Man – Prince
    the entire Nightwatchman album
    Any of Frank Zappa’s political songs (Dickie’s Such an Asshole; Jesus Thinks You’re A Jerk; When the Lie’s So Big; etc etc)
    Baby Elian – Manic Street Preachers, and any of their other political songs
    Most of American Idiot
    What’s Goin On – Marvin Gaye
    Most of the early Clash catalog
    Working Class Hero – John Lennon
    Machine Gun – Jimi Hendrix
    Tons of songs by Jefferson Airplane, Woody Guthrie, Creedence Clearwater Revival, etc
    Much of the Rage Against the Machine catalog, particularly Killing in the Name Of
    All of Disposable Heroes of Hip Hoprisy, Consolidated, and much of what Michael Franti has done since then
    War Pigs – Black Sabbath
    Fight The Power – Public Enemy
    911 Is a Joke – Public Enemy
    A ton of Ani DiFranco songs

    That’s just off the top of my head, I could probably list another thousand or so if I put some time into it.

  11. Funny you picked on Conor, that was my first thought as an example of going too far. But my favorite ever anti-bush song is TV on the Radio’s “Dry Drunk Emperor.” Amazing.

  12. “Stand Down Margaret” from the English Beat is good; “Holiday” by Green Day is a pretty good recent political song (as well as “American Idiot,” the song, although its remit is a little broader).

  13. I originally considered the Beatles’ Taxman vs. Revolution, with the whole Chairman Mao bit, but that might not be specific enough.

    Then, going with comment #1, I thought of U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday, which (don’t ask me why) led me to Goodnight Saigon by Billy Joel.

    Also, Biko, by Peter Gabriel, is one of the best songs ever written, in my opinion. And it’s about actual events in South Africa ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko ).

    I guess part of the problem was that I wasn’t sure what qualified as political as opposed to historical. Cortez the Killer has some present-day bits where he knows that she’s living there and that he loves her to this day… but that isn’t really the focus. And if the song isn’t about the conquistadors, then it is certainly metaphorical…

    Anyway, as a general rule of thumb I can totally see the rule holding, but there are definite exceptions.

  14. Was the collapse of the American passenger railroad system a sufficiently specific and sufficiently political event for your criteria? I wasn’t alive then, but my understanding is that the ICC was heavily involved in the whole passenger train endgame, and of course Congress created Amtrak in 1971. So when Steve Goodman’s “City of New Orleans” was recorded by Arlo Guthrie in 1972, it might well have seemed to be a political song. And it’s a damn good song, too.

  15. Seriously, is no one here old enough to remember Tom Lehrer? By chance, I just happened to hear part of his classic “Who’s Next?” performed on last week’s Boston Legal. His album That Was the Year That Was has a good number of political songs. One of my favorite lines: “From Helen Gahagan, to … Ronald Reagan??

  16. I pretty much agree with you. Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll would be a counterexample, though.

  17. “Abraham, Martin, and John” is a great song by whoever covers it. It’s not much of a protest song, but it is political.

    “The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore” is a great song done by June and Johny Cash, and Kathy Mattea just covered it on her new album “Coal”.

    On some level you could call “No Woman, No Cry” political, and that’s an incredible song.

    I’m trying to think of some more modern political songs about specific things… “New Dress” by Rancid (from 1998) is a killer song, and it’s about Bosnia. If you want a good parody of the political song, listen to “Dear Mr. President” from the “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” soundtrack.

    I also second Rev Matt’s mention of Rage Against the Machine, especially “Killing in the Name” and “People of the Sun”

  18. Frankly, I think a lot of the comments posted miss the point b/c all they do is identify nonspecific songs. I mean, 16 Military Wives? C’mon…what does the song even *mean*??

    That said, great specific political songs abound. Just off the top of my head, what about “Chicago” by CSN? Very good, also extremely focused on the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. What about “Mosh” by Eminem? Again, quite good and intended as a 2004 anti-Bush get-out-the-vote song. “Biko” by Peter Gabriel? (anti-apartheid) “Fortunate Son” by CCR (multi-level Vietnam war protest song) “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2? (obvious) Even “Allentown” by Billy Joel? And what about other songs mentioned by previous posters: Blue Sky Mine (which seems never to go out of rotation on WXRT in Chicago) and Stand Down Margaret (which is on my iPod every summer).

    Also, it does no good to arbitrarily dismiss songs like these or like “Ohio” because you decide it’s “not that great a song” when manifestly an enormous number of people over 40 years disagree & think it’s excellent. Musical taste may be relative, but if ‘quality’ is to have any meaning you have to give overwhelming popular or critical opinion *some* weight.

  19. John Conway beat me to it, but I have to second it.

    “Strange Fruit” is hands down the best political song ever, by a huge margin. Not only is it politically effective, but it’s musically sophisticated and emotionally powerful, and the lyrics stand alone as poetry.

    60-odd years later, and it’s still on the “Do Not Play” list of radio stations across the South.

    Holiday is also responsible for “God Bless the Child,” about endemic poverty. I suppose its status as a political song is debatable. (Related: The Depression-era standard, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”) Actually, if you allow songs about poverty and homelessness as being political songs, there’s a lot of good ones from the Depression. “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum,” etc. Check out the later verses in “This Land Is Your Land” sometime.

    Jazz legend Charles Mingus wrote a lot of music with political themes in the 1960s. “Fables of Faubus,” “Remember Rockefeller at Attica,” etc. These are generally instrumentals, though, so they might not count by your metric.

  20. Well, the last album by The Decemberists did actually such. Rereading the post, I have to say that you’re wrong about one thing: Hurricane is a great song.

  21. How about…

    For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
    Fortunate Son – Credence Clearwater Revival
    Scarecrow – John Mellencamp

  22. There are IMO plenty of political songs that don’t suck, particularly if you broadly define “political song” as one which expresses an opinion that would be classified as “political” in a nonmusical context (in which I’d say “Sweet Home Alabama” definitely counts as political), and not just songs about a particular political issue du jour. (And of course, the latter type, if well-written, can transcend their original context and become more generally relevant; e.g. New Order’s “Love Vigilantes.”)

    Some nonsucky political songs (YMMV) that others have not mentioned:

    * “Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil (& lots of other Midnight Oil)
    * “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2
    * “Love Vigilantes” by New Order
    * “Sign O the Times” by Prince
    * “Biko” by Peter Gabriel
    * “The Empire Strikes First” by Bad Religion (& lots of other Bad Religion)
    * “Buffalo Soldier” by Bob Marley
    * “Exodus” by Bob Marley
    * “Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud)” by James Brown
    * “Man in Black” by Johnny Cash
    * “Halloween Parade” by Lou Reed
    * “Good Evening, Mister Waldheim” by Lou Reed

    I could go on, but I should probably do some actual work today.

  23. As a long-ago former member of the Rustic Overtones, I agree. I also found “Letter to the President” horridly clichéd. The band has always wanted to have a political/social activist side to it, maybe because some other bands do, maybe for other reasons, I don’t really know. But it doesn’t really work unless there is some sort of emotional/personal connection to the issue. For many bands, they just don’t have it.

    Back in the day we had a song that talked about racial issues (“Ride,” off Shishboombam). And we were a band of white guys from a white city in the whitest state this side of Alaska. I’m not sure that any of the guys even knew a minority. But it was cool to sing about race issues. So there it was.

    Incidentally, when I left the band I was replaced by the current bari sax player. That was a great move on their part- the lower, dirtier horn sound suits their style far better than the clean, brassy trumpet.

  24. Well, it depends entirely on what sort of music you like. There’s plenty of good political folk, punk, and rap. Just most of it isn’t exactly radio fodder.

    Pretty much everything the Dead Kennedys ever did was political. If you like them, then you have plenty of good political music (and some songs certainly have aged worse than others). Same goes for everything by The Coup, and to a slightly lesser degree, Public Enemy.

    Anyway, as far as political songs that get reasonably well-known, I’d throw in “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire. Great song.

  25. I came of age during one of the golden ages of protest music and have a special fond feeling for many songs that you probably think are pretentious and suck. I can live with that. While some of the commenters have gone to bat for some of the better known sixties and seventies protest songs, I’m surprised no one has mentioned “The Man Who Never Returned” by the Kingston Trio. It’s tied to a specific event (a raise in the fare for mass transit) and it’s still enjoyable long after the event that spawned it has been forgotten. Not all protest songs have to be tied to profound injustices.

  26. Re: #9, #10

    It is interesting to understand WHY Saint Robert Zimmerman contended (and still contends) that, though he wrote some classic “protest” songs, he was not and is not a “protest singer.”

    The recent autobiography of Bob Dylan sheds considerable light on this. And what does it mean that Bruce Springsteen has endorsed Obama?

  27. “The Rising” is a great Bruce Springsteen song, “41 Shots” is not.

    This is true in all senses except, you know, the musical one. “41 Shots” is haunting and melodic, whereas “The Rising” is pablum. The whole album, really. I’d come this close to giving up on Springsteen after I listened to The Rising. (Glad I didn’t, what with Magic being brilliant.)

    And what does it mean that Bruce Springsteen has endorsed Obama?

    That some of those salt-of-the-earth types we’ve been hearing about might not all go for Clinton?

  28. Since the comments seem to be going away from referencing specific events, hen I’ll toss in one or two:

    The Flaming Lips’ “Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” was written while frustrated about how self-serving the current U.S. administration is, quite a fun song.

    “Open Letter (To A Landlord)” By Living Colour is kind of kickass, and I can only assume it references a specific set of people.

    Manic Street Preachers’ “Glasnost” is at least 5 different kinds of awesome, and well look at the name.

    Any number of songs by Negativland are interesting/neat, and most are political. I’m not sure they’re good, but they’re creative.

    What about Radio Free Europe? Or probably half the songs by Tom Waits, can’t think of which at the moment. Or “New Orleans is Sinking”, by the Tragically Hip?

    Or the absolute classic, “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” by Simon & Garfunkel.

    That’s a decent number.

    (BlogD @ 22: I’m not old enough to remember him, but I still love him. National Brootherhood Week? The Vatican Rag? Genius.)

  29. Aaron @ 40:

    You mention Living Color and leave out there biggest (only?) hit, Cult of Personality? It’s totally political, and it’s great music to run over your neighbors to!

  30. Not exactly up everyone’s alley, but I still like “Mosh” by Eminem. And to balance that out, Randy Newman’s “Political Science.”

  31. Yeesh, what hasn’t been mentioned already…

    “Weapons of Mass Destruction” by Faithless. It’s a groovy little track that references the current war while decrying war and its motivators.

    “Our Motto” by Dear Leader. Direct political attack with the line “the elephant tusks are stained with the oil from Iraq” – and yet they manage to make that work, a feat right up there with Shriekback working “parthenogenesis” into the chorus of their biggest hit.

  32. Political songs remind me of those interminable folk ballads featuring hangings, train wrecks, doomed lovers or all of the above. Not long after the 19th century though, I liked Tom Lehrer’s “Who’s next,” which seems oddly current.

  33. I may not be the person you’re looking to weigh in on this – I agree with Aaron that “Hurricane” is awesome song, for instance – but you can’t go wrong with “California Uber Alles” or the Stars’ “He Lied About Death.” And then of course there’s the rap world, where Rhymefest’s “Devil’s Pie” and Killer Mike’s “That’s Life.”

  34. Mention was made of “Chicago”, but not “August 1968” by the Chicago Transit Authority (later known as Chicago). Ah, the good old days, when the Democratic Party tore itself apart, leaving the door open to Richard Nixon to run as the peace candidate against HHH. No chance of that ever happening again….

    Also from 40 years ago: “Abraham, Martin, and John” (don’t know who wrote or performed it). Of course, a major reason for August 1968 was what is in that song about the assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

    I’m glad someone else remembers Frank Zappa’s songs.

  35. to answer a question from your post, Sweet Home Alabama is more a response to Neil Young’s “Alabama”, than a political song in its own right. I agree with whoever suggested “For What its Worth” and “Fortunate Son” as well written protest songs that can hold their own musically. Abraham, Martin and John was originally done by Dion and his version remains a personal favorite.

  36. Second Fortunate Son, For What Its Worth, Strange Fruit, and Political Science.

    Ohio not a great song??? Well living in Ohio in 1970 maybe I have a different perspective. Plus its a blast to play live and usually gets a great response.

    Brothers in ARms – Dire Straits.
    We Can’t Make It Here – James McMurtry
    Walk Me Out In The Morning Dew – Bonnie Dobson (wonderfully covered by the Dead)
    The Southern Thing->The Three Great Alabama Icons -> Wallace – Drive By Truckers
    The Way It Is -> Bruce Hornsby and the Range
    Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane
    Deja Vu All Over Again – John Fogerty
    Oh Mommy, I Ain’t No Commie – Brewer and Shipley (of One Toke over the line fame)
    Long Time Gone – David Crosby
    Rednecks, Lousiana 1927,Every Man A King – Randy Newman
    Wooden Ships – Crosby, STills, and Kantner
    Cruise – David Gilmour
    Military Madness, Prison Song, Oh Camil-Graham Nash
    Draft Morning – The Byrds (well certainly back in the day…..)
    Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore – John Prine
    It’s A Hard Life- Nanci Griffith
    Four Days Gone and Word Game – Steven Stills
    Posession – Zero
    War – Edwin Starr
    Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner, The Envoy – Warren Zevon
    Campaigner – Neil Young
    Alice’s Restaraunt – Arlo Guthrie
    Universal Soldier – Buffy St. Marie
    Information Wars, Casino Nation, I Am A Patriot – Jackson Browne
    Call it democracy -> Bruce Cockburn (also If I Had A Rocket Launcher)

    Lots of great protest songs. Hell in the late 60’s/early 70’s, listening to FM was considered political, long hair was considered political, existing was political!!!!

    I’m amazed now at the stuff that happens, people get momentarily mad, laugh at John Stewart’s take on it, and move on. Oh well…

  37. When the Levee Breaks“: Kansas Joe McCoy/Memphis Minnie (covered by Led Zeppelin).

    “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner”, Warren Zevon

    “Dreamworld”, Midnight Oil (along with most of the rest of their stuff)

    “Spanish Bombs”, The Clash (along with most of the rest of their stuff)

    “God Save the Queen”, the Sex Pistols

    etc.

  38. Or probably half the songs by Tom Waits, can’t think of which at the moment.

    Tom Waits hasn’t done much political stuff. There’s “Day After Tomorrow” on Real Gone, which takes the form of a U.S. soldier apparently in Iraq writing a letter home. But I wouldn’t call it a “direct or explicit” political song. Then there’s “Road to Peace” on Orphans, whose first verse describes a young Palestinian blowing himself up on a bus in Jerusalem, then in successive verses explores the Palestinian kid’s life up to that moment and the Israeli reaction after it. That’s probably the most explicitly political song Waits has done, but it doesn’t really take any sides; it just suggests that maybe if any headway is going to be made, both sides are going to have to make concessions.

    I’m pretty familiar with the Tom Waits ouvre, and I don’t think there’s much else apart from those two.

  39. You may not be a punk fan, but some of the best punk is politically charged. Pretty much anything Bad Religion writes is political and pretty damn good, IMO. The Descendants are another modern example. (I’m not even going to start delving into the old-school punk scene)

  40. How about this theory?

    Directly and explicitly religious songs always suck.

    I can think of a few exceptions, like Bob Marley and George Harrison.

  41. Anything by Fela Kuti, but particulaly Sorrow Tears & Blood or Zombie. Unlike musicians here, he actually was at physical risk for his political stances.

  42. “Directly and explicitly religious songs always suck.”
    Counterexample: Pretty much anything by J.S. Bach.

    As far as politics goes, I’m a great fan of The Arrogant Worms’ “Wouldn’t it be Great if Everybody Had A Gun”. Not tied to a particular event, but definitely tied to a particular political issue, and if you’re into their style, it’s as good as anything else they’ve done.

  43. A whole bunch of good Phil Ochs songs. Off the top of my head:
    Draft Dodger Rag
    I Ain’t Marching Anymore
    Love Me, I’m A Liberal
    Here’s To The State of Mississippi
    Is There Anybody Here
    The Marines Have Landed On The Shores of Santo Domingo

    A whole bunch of good Pete Seeger songs, for example Waist Deep in the Big Muddy.

  44. “Ghost Town” is a classic, but for real comedy politics, how about “I’ve never met a nice South African” (admittely rather dtaed, but still hilarious.

  45. I can’t believe that I read this whole comment thread and that no bloody one has said “Billy Bragg“. Honestly, were you all just asleep in the 80s? And the 90s? (And he’s got a new album due out on 22 April in the US). Here are a few off the top of my head: ‘Waiting for the Great Leap Forward’, ‘Like Soldiers Do’, ‘NPWA’, ‘The World Turned Upside Down’, ‘North Sea Bubble’, ‘Thatcherites’, ‘From Red to Blue’, ‘The Price of Oil’, ‘Which Side Are You On?’, ‘England, Half English’… all right, clearly, I know his catalogue too well.

    The Oils were good, obviously, and how much was it: 90% of their output was political, some of it truly inspired?

    The Clash were great, when they wanted to be political – which was often (thanks for mentioning ‘Spanish Bombs’, above… but what about ‘London Calling’ itself? Really, almost anything from ‘White Riot’ on counts as political in some way, right up through ‘Know Your Rights’ to ‘This is England’ on > cough < 'Cut the Crap'... Other contenders: Elvis Costello - Tramp the Dirt Down (should be played everywhere when Maggie finally goes for good) Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster The Jam - Little Boy Soldiers Wilco - Ashes of American Flags Billy Bragg & Wilco - All You Fascists The Housemartins - Freedom (love the chorus: 'So this is freedom? You must be joking.) Stopping now, before I wear out my welcome...

  46. “Ohio” by CSN&Y and “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” by Simon and Garfunkel are the only two that I can think of that don’t make me cringe. I wouldn’t call either “great” but they certainly don’t “suck”. I don’t think it counts as a song, but I do admit that I liked the “Yes We Can” music video enough to keep it on a loop because I liked the sound of it so much.

  47. This Letter to the President? Cos it’s a classic.

    Monsieur le Président
    Je vous fais une lettre
    Que vous lirez peut-être
    Si vous avez le temps
    Je viens de recevoir
    Mes papiers militaires
    Pour partir à la guerre
    Avant mercredi soir
    Monsieur le Président
    Je ne veux pas la faire
    Je ne suis pas sur terre
    Pour tuer des pauvres gens
    C’est pas pour vous fâcher
    Il faut que je vous dise
    Ma décision est prise
    Je m’en vais déserter

    Depuis que je suis né
    J’ai vu mourir mon père
    J’ai vu partir mes frères
    Et pleurer mes enfants
    Ma mère a tant souffert
    Elle est dedans sa tombe
    Et se moque des bombes
    Et se moque des vers
    Quand j’étais prisonnier
    On m’a volé ma femme
    On m’a volé mon âme
    Et tout mon cher passé
    Demain de bon matin
    Je fermerai ma porte
    Au nez des années mortes
    J’irai sur les chemins

    Je mendierai ma vie
    Sur les routes de France
    De Bretagne en Provence
    Et je dirai aux gens:
    Refusez d’obéir
    Refusez de la faire
    N’allez pas à la guerre
    Refusez de partir
    S’il faut donner son sang
    Allez donner le vôtre
    Vous êtes bon apôtre
    Monsieur le Président
    Si vous me poursuivez
    Prévenez vos gendarmes
    Que je n’aurai pas d’armes
    Et qu’ils pourront tirer

  48. I was extremely busy yesterday, so I didn’t have time to get to this. Regarding most of the comments, let me just note that I’m not talking about all political songs, just the specific subset that are, well, specific.

    “Fortunate Son” is undeniably a politcal song, and it’s a great song, but while Vietnam may have been the proximate cause of the song, it’s not specific to Vietnam. It could apply to pretty much any era in which patriotism has been the shield of scoundrels, which is to say, any era at all.

    “Goodnight Saigon” is a song specific to Vietnam, and, well, it kind of sucks.

    As for Billy Bragg, who has been mentioned several times, my only real exposure to him is via the albums with Wilco doing unrecorded Woody Guthrie songs. And, well, the songs he takes the lead on are among the weakest stuff on those records. The solo stuff I’ve heard has been fairly awful in direct proportion to its specificity, pretty much in agreement with what I said in the post.

    To take on another commonly-mentioned geek icon, Tom Lehrer’s stuff mostly goes into the “novelty song” category for me, and I have a low tolerance for those in general.

  49. I know it’s kind of obscure, and anyone who has heard of them recently probably thinks that they are just a flash-in-the-pan punk-inspired pop group, but Say Anything has some great songs. Their lead singer, Max Bemis has been writing great songs since he was in high school. One of my old favorites and a definite political rant is called “The Presidential Suite”. The lyrics are amazing.

    “The rodeo begins, they take us for a ride
    and we are flailing, but as hard as we may buck…
    the King of Fools is still in place and fit to rule.
    You fucking PRAISE him, yes YOU FELLATE HIM W/ YOUR TRUST”

  50. I would change the thesis a little. Bad or weak songs are made infinitely worse bad by being directly and explicitly political.

    “Ohio” is as directly and explicitly political as one can get, and it’s a good song.

  51. ‘Until the Day is Done’ on R.E.M.’s new album is pretty awesome. ‘An addled republic, a bitter refund’ indeed!

  52. correction – damn dyslexia

    I would change the thesis a little. Bad or weak songs are made infinitely worse by being directly and explicitly political.

    “Ohio” is as directly and explicitly political as one can get, and it’s a good song.

  53. “Dirty Harry” by Gorillaz, or at least this verse:

    At night I hear the shots
    Ring so I’m a light sleeper
    The cost of life,
    it seems to get cheaper
    out in the desert
    with my street sweeper
    The war is over
    So said the speaker with the flight suit on
    Maybe to him I’m just a pawn
    So he can advance
    Remember when I used to dance
    Man, all I want to do is dance

  54. Not yet mentioned: “Biko” by Peter Gabriel. You don’t get much more specific than singing about a particular man.

    “Beds Are Burning” (mentioned upthread) is probably specific enough to qualify. “Pride In The Name Of Love” (also mentioned upthread) qualifies with its last verse about Martin Luther King. “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” is a bit borderline–you could substitute a similar news summary from this decade and get the same effect.

    “Ohio” is explicit and specific, but I don’t think it’s such a great song. The last verse of “Rocking In The Free World”, with its specific references to Bush 41 catch phrases, is a better candidate. “Find The Cost Of Freedom” and “Wooden Ships” are better CS&N songs than “Ohio”, but neither are IMO specific enough to qualify.

    From classical music, there is Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” and Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”.

  55. How about the Foremen, and Roy Zimmerman? Lots of hilarious political songs a la Tom Lehrer.

    I also love Moxy Fruvous’s “Gulf War Song”. I think the singing is beautiful and the message is pretty good too. http://www.fruvous.com/barglyr.html#gulf . Written at the time of the first Gulf War, 1991 or thereabouts.

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