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From time to time, traveling on the subway can feel like a game of roulette. Is this the day I get stuck underground for hours? Or, my favorite -- which happened the other day -- the train suddenly goes express and passes your station. You get off at the earliest opportunity and take the train in the opposite direction only to have it skip your stop again. With no advanced notice.
It always makes me think of the famous protest song, "Charlie on the MTA," about the unfortunate soul trapped on Boston's T because he doesn't have money for new "exit fees."
Quick aside: One thing that's always bugged me about this song is that if Charlie's wife was able to hand him a sandwich as the train rolled by, why not just give him money to get off? Was there a greater plot afoot? Hmm ...
"Charlie on the MTA" was originally recorded in 1949 as part of Progressive Party candidate Walter O'Brien's race for mayor of Boston. Fun fact #1: O'Brien could not afford radio ads, so he hired folk singers to write and perform songs from a truck with a loudspeaker. Fantastic! This needs to happen in today's politics.
Fun fact #2: The song has a longer history than it's given credit for. The popular version, which became a hit when recorded by the Kingston Trio in 1959, is actually based on two songs: "The Ship That Never Returned," recorded in 1865, and its 1924 successor "Wreck of the Old 97" about a railroad disaster in Virginia.
My trip down this internet rabbit hole got me thinking about other protest songs. There are too many to include here and obviously many more when you expand the universe to a global accounting of protest songs. But for now, let's stick to the U.S.
Ok, YouTube, do your thing ...
Not surprisingly, Bob Dylan has more than a few to choose from, but my favorite is "Hurricane." Originally recorded in 1976, it's about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer who was jailed mid-career for a murder he did not commit. He was released after serving 20 years and died in 2014. You may remember the 1999 movie made about his life starring Denzel Washington.
Amazingly, it's been nearly 50 years since Creedence Clearwater Revival recorded "Fortunate Son." The John Forgerty-written song is about how elite members of society made sure their children never had to serve in Vietnam. Much like a song about wrongful imprisonment, the issues dealt with in "Fortunate Son" remain relevant today.
The incredible Nina Simone wrote and released one of the more powerful protest songs ever in 1964 called "Mississippi Goddam." The lyrics speak for themselves:
Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say it's a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me
If you are going to watch only one video in this post, make it this one.
A more recent addition to our rich history of protest songs is one of my all-time favorites. "We The People ..." by the legendary A Tribe Called Quest released in 2016. Called "a ferocious and driving song about intolerance and fear," it was the first single released from their first album in 18 years. The group has said it will be their last collaboration. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. A pretty fitting way for the hip-hop pioneers to go out.
I have to admit, I am starting to feel bad about the fantastic and important songs I am not going to be able to include in this post. The more I research this topic, the more songs I find. Some I knew about, many were new to me. This might be a topic I return to in the future. For now, though, here are three more of my favorites to round things out:
"Redemption Song," by Bob Marley (1980)
"A Change Is Gonna Come," by the amazing Sam Cooke (1964)
"Big Yellow Taxi," by Joni Mitchell (1970):
What's your favorite protest song? Let me know in the comments.
(Cover image by Jack Robinson, Getty Images)
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