I Cogitate
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Protest Songs
There are no protest songs anymore.
Such is a complaint heard every so often but an inaccurate one.
Rock music, and certainly punk, seem as available as ever and the latter certainly offers its share of outrage. Even in the folk music and Americana music worlds, the protest songs are there and the 'opposition' singer-songwriters remain -- but it is the access, or lack thereof, to mainstream radio play that has dramatically changed since the 1960s and 1970s. Changed for the worse and for all the various branches on the musical tree.
Focusing on the folk and Americana angles, here's a sampling of performers and artists if you desire to get re-acquainted with so-called protest songs or have some initial exposure.
The very first and best has to be an offering from James McMurtry. Here's the opening lyrics to "We Can't Make It Here" but listen to this cut in order to do justice:
"We Can't Make It Here"Go here for video and audio of this song.
"Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign
Sitting there by the left turn line
Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing, both hands free
No one's paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget's stretched so thin
And there's more comin' home from the Mideast war
We can't make it here anymore
That big ol' building was the textile mill
It fed our kids and it paid our bills
But they turned us out and they closed the doors
We can't make it here anymore
See all those pallets piled up on the loading dock
They're just gonna set there till they rot
'Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack
Just busted concrete and rusted tracks
Empty storefronts around the square
There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere
You don't come down here 'less you're looking to score
We can't make it here anymore..."
Dar Williams is a very well known folk artist. She has released numerous CDs, each with many worthwhile nuggets. From her latest, "Empire," here is "My Better Self" -- do also listen to the audio:
"My Better Self"Go here for a snippet of the audio.
"Who's afraid of the sun
Who would question the goodness of the mighty
We who banish the threat
When your little ones all go nighty nighty
Well there's no time for doubt right now
And less time to explain
So get back on your horses
Kiss my ring and join our next campaign
And the Empire grows
With the news that we're winning
With more fear to conquer
And more gold thread for spinning
Till it's bright as the sun
Shining on every one
Some would say we've forced our words
And we find that in geniously churlish
Words are just words
Don't be so pessimistic, weak and girlish
We like strong, happy people
Who don't think there's something wrong with pride
Work makes them free
And we spread that freedom far and wide..."
The late Dave Carter was simply a musical genius -- the best songwriter EVER. Anyone in is search of the spiritual, the twang, the literate and so much more should search out the music of Dave Carter. There are three cuts we will feature of Carter, performing with his musical partner Tracy Grammer. The first two are from "Flowers of Avalon" release:
"Hey Ho"Here's a portion of the audio.
"...another world across the sea
home for little busy bees
sweatin in some factory
hurry, please, more of these
action dolls with laser sights
robot planes that shoot at night
faster, kid, and get it right
they are rollin down the line...
...these days the spin machine
is always on the silver screen
secret plots and submarines
foreign fiends and magazines
wave the flag, watch the news
tell us we can count on you
mom and dad are marchin too
children, step in time..."
Here's the second offering, "Mother, I Climbed," a spiritual song about searching for truth:
"when they called my faults against the wall i took my place in lineHere's a minute or so of the audio.
and put my trust in priestly men to break the ties that bind
but their straight and narrow highway is just a row of billboard signs
open up your gate, marianna...
...as lightnin burns these bridges under, smoke will surely rise
and the fables of my innocence blow lazy through the skies
when timeless truths reveal themselves as little more than lies
open up your gate, marianna
lay me down in the dark womb of your love
mother i razed the tainted chapel, but no angel came to comfort me
lay me down in the dark womb of your love
mother i stormed the tower of babel, i found nothin to believe..."
Finally, from "Drum Hat Buddha" comes Carter's take on evolution:
"Gentle Arms Of Eden"Here's some audio.
"on a sleepy endless ocean when the world lay in a dream
there was rhythm in the splash and roll, but not a voice to sing
so the moon shone on the breakers and the morning warmed the waves
till a single cell did jump and hum for joy as though to say
this is my home, this is my only home
this is the only sacred ground that i have ever known
and should i stray in th dark night alone
rock me goddess in the gentle arms of eden..."
Carter is neither a shouter or yeller, even with his sharp criticisms of aspects of society but he gets his points across extremely effectively -- call it genial evisceration.
Rodney Crowell is another performer who has tackled the political. With "Ignorance Is The Enemy" from his release "The Outsider" he tackles the form of myopia casued by a most vicious form of blindness:
"Oh mother oh father in our time of fear,It's the much harder sounding Crowell on "Don't Get Me Started." Again from "The Outsider," Crowell rants over the ills he perceives:
Grant us the wisdom your message for to hear
Send down your angel band
to fill your hearts with power
Oh mother oh father in our darkest hour
Ignorance is the enemy
and it fills your head with lies
It’s the kind of bliss that can make you miss
the very truth before your eyes.
It’s not who’s right or wrong
weak or strong, black or white you see
Ignorance is the enemy
and it’s keeping you from me..."
"...The rich corporations have turned a deaf eartop
They don’t care who goes hungry they’ve made that much clear
You see the trouble with people is that we wan’t to believe
But they can’t turn a profit without tricks up their sleeve
So it’s the roofer’s and trucker’s and working class suckers
The firemen and nurses the soldiers and teachers
Who shoulder the blows while it comes and it goes
When it’s a six trillion dollar debt you pay through the nose..."
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