Okay: like a lot of other folks, I like posting songs on the music threads.
However, most of the music I’m listening to at the moment is old revolutionary folkie stuff. And I’m aware that some people use the music threads as a respite from the craziness of the world, so I’ve been trying not to spread my political obsessions where it might be unwelcome.
But there’s helluva lot of good protest music out there, and it’s needed now more than ever.
So: this thread.
Post any politically-themed songs you like. Folk, hip hop, punk, whatever.
If you feel like it, add some discussion about why you like it, who wrote it, what situation it’s suited to, why you think it might be problematic, etc etc.
May as well kick it off with the one I’ve been spamming for months.
Asian Dub Foundation, Memory War. Ridiculously relevant to the times.
Who controls the past controls the present
And who controls the present controls the future
The battle for the past is for the future
Must be the winners of the memory war
Smash reach out and then grab the flower
At the end of the day their defeat will be for sure
Have you inside your memory the scene of the crime
If you don’t have a clue then you’re running out a time
Struggle continues while di sun shine
Past and the truth two of them you have to combine
Because books dem a burnt and documents are shredded
Cover ups are covered up in the name of the law
Presidents and royalty caught red handed
And you won’t know about it for fifty years or more
Come pay attention to the re-educator
The battle for the past is now the battle for the future
Fire for the messengers of this fake nostalgia
Soon come judgement day
The history they teach is the voice of the victor
You need to look again you need to have a propaganda!
If truth is your price then come join the bounty hunters
Because truth make you the enemy of all these liars
Because books dem a burnt and documents are shredded
Cover ups are covered up in the name of the law
Presidents and royalty caught red handed
And you won’t know about it for fifty years or more
Who controls the past controls the present
And who controls the present controls the future
Soon come judgement day
Must be the winners of the memory war
Come pay attention to the re-educator
The battle for the past is now the battle for the future
Fire for the messengers of this fake nostalgia
Soon come judgement day
“This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don’t give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that’s all we wanted to do.”
I was on a months long canoe trip during the 2008 market crash & emerged from the river into a different world, so this pretty obscure song (released ~2010?) has always resonated with me. Can’t find the original, more pared down version with the It’s a Wonderful Life samples though.
Lyrics
i washed ashore
out of the coalblack river
i must have fallen off the bridge
but when i walked home
everything was broken down and unfamiliar
like something awful had crept in while i was gone
wandering around my crumbling town
doors boarded up and shops closed down
dreams turned to nightmares,
look around - this is pottersville
drowning in underwater homes
can’t save a cent, the debt just grows
one guess where all that money goes…
in pottersville
they told us wealth trickles from the rich
but no matter how much we give, they just keep it.
guess what? that’s what rich is.
in pottersville
they ruled that money is free speech
but we all know money isn’t free
can’t get a word in when it screams
in pottersville
businesses are people too -
the kind that don’t die, can’t love, won’t do no time
and measure our lives in dollar signs
in pottersville
we do the work, we fight their wars
we spend our lives in sweat and toil
they suck us dry and whine for more
in pottersville
now it’s our turn to steer this thing
let’s drive, though it seems hopeless,
i’ve got to try so my daughter won’t be left behind
in pottersville
When I’m really angry there’s always the Housemartins:
