Folk music has been at the heart of protest anthems for decades, and some of those iconic tracks from the 1960s and 1970s are still revered and even used at rallies today. Let’s take a quick look at four folk songs that became protest anthems!
1. “Blowin’ In The Wind” by Bob Dylan
“Blowin’ In The Wind” from 1962 is one of Bob Dylan’s most revered songs, and it’s also one of the most well-known protest anthems of the 20th century. It’s an absolute classic, but Bob Dylan himself once said that it wasn’t a protest song at all.
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It makes sense why he prefaced his performance of the tune with that warning. The song itself doesn’t really take a stand against anything in particular. However, it raised a number of questions about society and the world at the time in 1962. It has since taken on a life of its own and become a protest anthem, whether or not Bob Dylan wanted it to.
2. “Going Down To Mississippi” by Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs knew his way around political protest songs in the 1960s, the most well-known being the 1965 folk song “Going Down To Mississippi”. It’s no secret that Mississippi was one of the scariest places to live as a black person at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. This song was Ochs’ attempt at solidarity.
The song resonated with protestors, and it became an anthem of sorts in the years that followed. “Someone’s got to go to Mississippi just as sure as there’s a right and there’s wrong / Even though you say the time will change, that time is just too long” is one of the most powerful lines in any protest song.
3. “Only A Pawn In Their Game” by Bob Dylan
Yes, Bob Dylan gets another entry on this list. He’s one of the most well-known folk artists to pen protest anthems, so it only makes sense that he’d get another spot on our short list. “Only A Pawn In Their Game” by Bob Dylan was written about the death (or assassination) of civil rights activist Medgar Evers.
It’s a tribute of sorts, but it also goes beyond Evers’ death. Dylan explored the greater problem that needed to be fixed. And he wasn’t afraid to pen a few biting lines in this anthem.
4. “Oh Freedom” by Joan Baez
Joan Baez is the queen of protest music, and “Oh Freedom” is one of her very best. Baez didn’t write it, however. “Oh Freedom” is actually a post-Civil War freedom song that has its roots in the African-American community.
The song has been covered many times, but Baez’s rendition gets an entry on this list because of when and where she decided to cover it. Baez performed the song morning of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech, and it has been a go-to protest anthem ever since.
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