Top 10 Protest Songs

iTunes Links Below to Buy the Songs in the Video!

Give them three chords and they'll give you the truth. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 protest songs.

"Killing in the Name" (1992)
Rage Against the Machine http://bit.ly/1fQfYT4

"Give Peace a Chance" (1969)
Plastic Ono Band http://bit.ly/1iApShn

"We Shall Overcome" (1963)
Pete Seeger http://bit.ly/1mZfj9B

"Get Up, Stand Up" (1973)
The Wailers http://bit.ly/1rOOSTx

"The Times They Are a-Changin'" (1964)
Bob Dylan http://bit.ly/1ftctY8

"What's Going On" (1971)
Marvin Gaye http://bit.ly/1pOOuXu

"Fortunate Son" (1969)
Creedence Clearwater Revival http://bit.ly/1fyqxPJ

"Born in the U.S.A." (1984)
Bruce Springsteen http://bit.ly/1heaW37

"Fight the Power" (1989)
Public Enemy http://bit.ly/SaBgWF

"Ohio" (1970)
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young http://bit.ly/1hWi03N

"Fuck tha Police" (1988)
N.W.A. http://bit.ly/1koRov9

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1983)
U2 http://bit.ly/SaBLje

"For What It's Worth" (1967)
Buffalo Springfield http://bit.ly/1fQhl4f

"I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" (1967)
Country Joe and the Fish http://bit.ly/1lzgquj

"A Change Is Gonna Come" (1964)
Sam Cooke http://bit.ly/1nIdcXC

"Born Free" (2010)
M.I.A. http://bit.ly/PR44RN

Special thanks to our users dave2318, happychaosofthenorth Noah J. Odom, antonius1903 and Margaret Rd for submitting the idea on our Suggest Page at WatchMojo.com/suggest!

Check out the voting page here,
http://watchmojo.com/suggest/Top%2010%20Protest%20Songs

If you want to suggest an idea for a WatchMojo video, check out our interactive Suggestion Tool at http://www.WatchMojo.com/suggest :)

Check us out at Twitter.com/WatchMojo and Facebook.com/WatchMojo

We have T-Shirts! Be sure to check out http://www.WatchMojo.com/store for more info.

[INTRO MUSIC]

[BYRDS PLAYING]

NARRATOR: Give
them three chords,

and they'll give you the truth.

THE BYRDS: (SINGING) The
times, they are a-changin'.

NARRATOR: Welcome
to watchmojo.com,

and today we're
counting down our picks

for the top 10 protest songs.

BOB MARLEY: (SINGING)
Get up, stand up.

Don't give up the fight.

NARRATOR: For this
list, we've chosen

songs that argue
against the status

quo, ask for change in social,
political, or other spheres,

and/or are associated with
particular events, periods,

movements, et cetera.

EDWIN STARR: (SINGING)
War, huh, yeah.

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing.

PETE SEEGER: (SINGING)
We shall overcome.

NARRATOR: Number 10-- "We
Shall Overcome," Pete Seeger.

PETE SEEGER: (SINGING)
We shall overcome.

NARRATOR: Although the song
had been kicking around,

in some form, since--
well, no one really knows.

"We Shall Overcome" has become
synonymous with Pete Seeger.

PETE SEEGER: (SINGING) The
whole wide world around.

The whole wide world around.

NARRATOR: The banjo-slinging
folk legend certainly

had a hand in shaping
the song as we know it.

Used as a musical
form of protest

during the Civil
Rights Movement,

the anthem features
simple, but honest, lyrics

that made it a ready battle cry
for any group facing adversity.

PETE SEEGER: (SINGING)
deep in my heart--

NARRATOR: Plus, it continues
to be recorded in support

of a number of causes today.

PETE SEEGER: (SINGING)--believe
we shall overcome--

[THE EDGE PLAYING GUITAR]

NARRATOR: Number 9--
"Sunday Bloody Sunday," U2.

U2: (SINGING) Mm, oh.

NARRATOR: Despite being drenched
in U2's signature echo pop

sound, "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
is actually the band's response

to the British Army's armed
attack of Northern Irish Civil

Rights protesters in 1972.

U2: (SINGING) Puts my back up,
my back up against the wall.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

NARRATOR: Also known as
the Bogside Massacre,

the incident resulted
in over a dozen deaths.

U2: (SINGING) Sunday,
Bloody Sunday.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

NARRATOR: Thanks to
its clanging guitars,

and military-inspired
beat, it's become one

of the group's signature songs.

U2: (SINGING) How long?

How long must we sing this song?

How long, how long?

Tonight--

NARRATOR: But it's the
respect, and authority,

with which U2 tackles
the subject matter, that

really makes it stand out.

U2: (SINGING) wipe
your blood shot eyes.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

Wipe your tears away.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

NARRATOR: Number 8--
"F*** tha Police," NWA.

NWA: (RAPPING) F*** tha
police, coming straight from

the underground.

A young n**** got it
bad cause I'm brown.

NARRATOR: With this
gangsta rap track,

NWA went straight outta Compton,
and straight into controversy.

NWA: (RAPPING) F*** that
shit, cause I ain't the one,

for a punk motherf*****
with a badge and a gun,

to be beaten on--

NARRATOR: By presenting
a clear street-view look

at racially-motivated police
brutality, "F*** tha Police"

got the rappers
noticed by the FBI.

NWA: (RAPPING) Yo, Dre
I got something to say.

F*** the police.

F*** the police.

F*** the police.

NARRATOR: The government
agency's attention

to lyrics that appeared to
support violence towards cops,

actually helped fuel the
band's cred and popularity.

NWA: (RAPPING)**** the police
and Ren said it with authority,

because the n***** on
the street is a majority.

A gang--

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, the song
has become a classic protest

song.

And the weight behind
its title phrase,

has become a recurring
theme in hip-hop music.

(RAPPING) Dumb
mother****** with a gun.

And if I'm rolling
off the 8, he'll

be the one that I take
out, and then get away.

While I'm driving off laughing
this is what I'll say.

F*** the police.

[GUITAR PLAYING] Number
7-- "Ohio," Crosby, Stills,

Nash, and Young.

CSNY: (SINGING) Tin
soldiers and Nixon coming,

we're finally on our own.

On May 4th, 1970, the
Ohio National Guard

fired on several
peacefully-protesting Kent

State University students.

CSNY: (SINGING)
Gotta get down to it,

soldiers are cutting us down.

NARRATOR: After he saw
photos of the shootings that

left four dead in Ohio,
Neil Young wrote the lyrics

to this protest song.

NIEL YOUNG: (SINGING)
four dead in Ohio.

NARRATOR: David Crosby, Steven
Stills, and Graham Nash,

then joined him in the
studio to record the rocker.

CSNY: (SINGING) How can
you run when you know?

NARRATOR: Though some AM radio
stations banned the single

for its unflattering
namedropping of President

Nixon, Ohio still reached the
Billboard Hot 100's top 20,

following its release.

CSNY: (SINGING)
Four dead in Ohio.

Four dead in Ohio.

Four dead in Ohio.

NARRATOR: Number 6--
"Killing in the Name,"

Rage Against The Machine.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE:
(SINGING) Killing

in the name of.

NARRATOR: Never a group to
shy away from tough issues,

Rage quickly
established themselves

as a politically-minded act
with their debut single.

RAGE AGAINST THE
MACHINE: (SINGING)

Some of those that work forces,
are the same that burn crosses.

NARRATOR: The rap metal band
turned "Killing in the Name"

into a musical attack
on police brutality,

institutional racism,
and the Klu Klux Klan.

Through its snorting baselines,
Tom Morello's unorthodox guitar

part

[TOM MORELLO GUITAR SOLO]

NARRATOR: And f-bombs.

Lots and lots of f-bombs.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE:
(RAPPING) F*** you,

I won't do what you tell me.

F*** you, I won't
do what you tell me.

NARRATOR: Despite
its explicit lyrics,

the track has become
their signature tune,

and has been covered
by multiple artists.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE:
(RAPPING) F*** you,

I won't do what you tell me.

F*** you I won't do
what you tell me.

F*** you I won't do
what you tell me.

F*** you I won't do
what you tell me.

NARRATOR: Number 5-- "Fight
the Power," Public Enemy.

(RAPPING) Listen if you're
missin' y'all, swingin' while

I'm singin', givin'
whatcha gettin'.

Knowin' what I know, while
the black bands sweatin,

and the rhythm rhymes rollin'.

PUBLIC ENEMY: While the Beastie
Boys were fighting for their,

right to party, Chuck D,
Flavor Flav, and the rest

of the Public Enemy crew,
were fighting for their right

to do pretty much
everything else--

PUBLIC ENEMY: (RAPPING)
Fight the power.

NARRATOR: --fused with
aggression, defiance,

and rebellion.

(RAPPING) Fight the power.

NARRATOR: The lyrics of
Fight the Power are steeped

with samples of
African-American culture,

and shots at the
American establishment.

PUBLIC ENEMY:
(RAPPING) Sample a look

back you look and find nothing
but rednecks for 400 years,

if you check.

Don't worry be happy.

Was a number one jam.

Damn if I say it you
can slap me right here.

NARRATOR: Along with playing in
Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing,

the song has since
become an anthem

for urban, underprivileged
young adults.

PUBLIC ENEMY: (RAPPING)
Fight the power.

We've got to fight
the powers that be.

THE WAILERS: (SINGING)
Get up, stand up--

stand up for your rights.

NARRATOR: Number 4-- "Get
Up, Stand Up," The Wailers.

THE WAILERS: (SINGING)
Don't give up the fight.

NARRATOR: Struck by
the devastating poverty

found in Haiti, Bob Marley
teamed up with Peter Tosh

to write this
three-minute number.

THE WAILERS: (SINGING)
We're sick and tired

of the ism-skism, dyin' and go
to heaven in a Jesus' name--

NARRATOR: In the early
'70s, many Haitians

fled the country in the
hopes of freeing themselves

from these conditions.

THE WAILERS: (SINGING) And you
can fool some people sometimes,

but you can't fool all
the people all the time.

And now you see the
light-- what you gonna do?

Stand up for your rights!

NARRATOR: With its solid reggae
groove, and powerful lyrics,

"Get Up, Stand Up"
urged those who remained

to fight for their rights.

Thanks to its powerful
message, it quickly

became a concert staple
for Marley and the Wailers.

(SINGING) Get up stand up--
don't give up the fight.

NARRATOR: And was the last song
the Rastafarian performed live

before his death in 1981.

THE WAILERS: (SINGING)
Don't give up the fight.

NARRATOR: Number 3-- "The
Times They Are a-Changin'," Bob

Dylan.

BOB DYLAN: (SINGING) Come
gather 'round people,

wherever you roam, and admit
that the waters around you have

grown--

NARRATOR: Written
when America was

on the cusp of
great social change,

and just prior to
JFK's assassination,

this is Bob Dylan's call
for open-mindedness,

and a warning to the old guard.

BOB DYLAN: (SINGING) Come
senators, congressmen,

please heed the call.

Don't stand in the doorway.

Don't block up the hall.

NARRATOR: The coming
generations quickly

adopted it as an anthem of
change, due to its timeless

lyrics.

BOB DYLAN: (SINGING) The
battle outside raging,

will soon shake your windows
and rattle your walls.

For the times they
are a-changin'.

NARRATOR: The Times
They Are a-Changin'

also reach the UK Top 10,
and cemented Dylan's place

in folk music, and
as a protest singer.

BOB DYLAN: (SINGING)
And the first one

now will later be last.

For the times they
are a-changin'.

[SONG CHANGES]

Number 2-- "What's
Going On," Marvin Gaye.

MARVIN GAYE: (SINGING) Mother,
there's too many of you crying.

NARRATOR: In the first track and
single from "What's Going On,"

Marvin Gaye questions the
world, and times, around him.

MARVIN GAYE: (SINGING) Don't
punish me with brutality.

But talk to me, so you
see, what's going on.

NARRATOR: The initial
spark for the song

was an act of police brutality
witnessed by co-writer Obie

Benson during an
anti-war protest.

After Gaye added
his own touches,

the track was released without
Motown boss Berry Gordy's

consent, as he hated the track.
(SINGING) We need some unity,

some love--

NARRATOR: Lucky for us
all, "What's Going On"

topped the soul charts, and
became Motown's fastest-selling

single to that point.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE:
(SINGING) Hear me people, oh.

What's going, what's going on?

Before we unveil
our top pick, here

are a few honorable mentions.

CCR: (SINGING) Some folks are
born made to wave the flag.

Ooh, they're red,
white, and blue.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN:
(SINGING) Born in the USA.

I was born in the USA.

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD:
(SINGING) Stop

children, what's that sound?

Everybody look whats going down.

What are we fighting for?

Don't ask me, I don't give a
damn, next stop is Vietnam--

And it's five, six, seven,
open up the pearly gates.

SAM COOKE: (SINGING)
A long time coming,

but I know a change gonna come.

MIA: (RAPPING) I throw this
shit in your face when I see ya.

Cause I got something to say.

I was born free.

I was born free.

NARRATOR: Number 1--
"Give Peace a Chance,"

the Plastic Ono Band. (SINGING)
Everybody's talking about

Bagism, Shagism, Dragism,
Madism, Ragism, Tagism--

NARRATOR: Paving the
way for Imagine--

JOHN LENNON: (SINGING)
Imagine all the people.

NARRATOR: --this John
Lennon-penned track

provides the sentiment that
Lennon is best remembered for.

PLASTIC ONO BAND:
(SINGING) All we are saying

is give peace a chance.

NARRATOR: Quickly she adopted
as the anti-Vietnam war song,

give peace a chance was
conceived, and recorded,

during the ex-Beatles Montreal
bed-in with wife Yoko Ono,

and later sung by 500,000
people at the Moratorium March

on Washington.

PLASTIC ONO BAND:
(SINGING) All we are saying

is give peace a chance.

NARRATOR: While it reached
the Billboard Hot 100's Top

20, and the UK
charts Top Five, it's

the song's hopeful tune that
has given it its enduring

legacy in rock and roll.

PLASTIC ONO BAND: (SINGING)
is give peace a chance.

NARRATOR: Do you
agree with our list?

What's your favorite
protest song?

For more rebellious Top
10's published every day,

be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com.

JOHN LENNON: (SINGING)
--is give peace a chance.

JOHN LENNON: OK, beautiful.

Yeah.

[OUTRO MUSIC]