Music has always been important to social movements dedicated to human rights, equality and peace. Some songs have been around for so long, their authors are unknown, but even the oldest songs still resonate today. In this article, we’ll explore 15 songs about human rights, equality, world peace, resistance and freedom.
| # | Song Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | “We Shall Overcome” |
| 2 | “A Change is Gonna Come” |
| 3 | “The Times They Are A-Changin’” |
| 4 | “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” |
| 5 | “Bella Ciao” |
| 6 | “We Got To Have Peace” |
| 7 | “When Will We Be Paid” |
| 8 | “People Have The Power” |
| 9 | “Justice” |
| 10 | “People Help the People” |
| 11 | “Through the Eyes of a Child” |
| 12 | “Fight Like A Girl” |
| 13 | “Rise Up” |
| 14 | “White Man’s World” |
| 15 | “Get Together” |
#1. “We Shall Overcome” (1963)
Multiple artists/Pete Seeger
Considered the theme song of the Civil Rights Movement, “We Shall Overcome” has a long, complex history. Its melody may be related to two European songs from the 1700s, while enslaved Black people also contributed to the song’s evolution. It first emerged as a protest song during a labor strike in 1945-1946. Folk singer Pete Seeger eventually heard the song. His version is one of the best known. Soon, “We Shall Overcome” embedded itself into the soul of the Civil Rights Movement. It still makes frequent appearances at social movement protests around the world.
#2. “A Change is Gonna Come” (1964)
Sam Cooke
American singer Sam Cooke (1931-1964) was one of his era’s most famous performers, but during his 8-year career, he faced racism. After a whites-only hotel refused to serve him, Sam Cooke wrote “A Change is Gonna Come” to express his hopes for a better future. He describes the challenges he’s faced and how long he’s been waiting, but in the song’s refrain, he sings: “I know, I know a change is gonna come.”
#3. “The Times They Are A-Changin” (1964)
Bob Dylan
Written as an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam war protests, “The Times They Are A-Changin” is one of Bob Dylan’s most iconic songs. It calls on everyone – from writers and critics, to senators to mothers and fathers – to pay attention and not get in the way of progress. “The order is rapidly fadin’/And the first one now/Will later be last,” Dylan sings. “For the times they are a-changin.’”
#4. “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1970)
Gil Scott-Heron
“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” is a spoken word poem by American poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron. Recorded for a 1970 album, it’s one of the most famous and powerful examples of protest art. In the poem, Scott-Heron lists examples of what the revolution will not be. It will not be brought by Xerox or make you look thinner. It won’t have a theme song written by Francis Scott Key, Tom Jones or Johnny Cash. The song calls on people, especially young people, to get away from TV because “you will not be able to stay home, brother, you will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.” In a time dominated by media and entertainment, the song has only become more relevant.
Many songs about human rights and equality became popular protest songs. Here’s our list of 10 historic resistance songs.
#5. “Bella Ciao” (19th century)
Unknown
Created by farm workers over a hundred years ago, the Italian folk song “Bella Ciao,” which means “Goodbye, Beautiful,” is believed to have been sung by Italians fighting Nazis. Now, it’s sung by freedom fighters and anti-fascists around the world. According to America Domani, it’s made appearances in Ukraine and Iran. Translated, the song tells the story of a young man leaving his girlfriend to join a resistance. He asks her to bury him under the shade of a beautiful flower so that people who pass will know he died for freedom. People around the world record their own versions, but no matter the language, “Bella Ciao” has come to symbolize freedom from tyranny.
#6. “We Got To Have Peace” (1971)
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999) was an American singer-songwriter known as the “Gentle Genius.” He performed with The Impressions, a group famous during the Civil Rights Movement, and then went solo. “We Got To Have Peace” appears on his 1971 album Super Fly. The lyrics present a simple message: “We go to have peace/To keep the world alive/And war to cease.”
#7. “When Will We Be Paid” (1970)
The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers were an American gospel and R&B group. One of the members, Mavis Staples, would go on to have a successful solo career. In 1970, the group released “When Will We Be Paid,” a song describing the discrimination and hardships inflicted on Black people. “We have worked this country from shore to shore,” they sing. They have fought wars in every land and given everything they had, so “When will we be paid for the work we’ve done?”
#8. “People Have the Power” (1988)
Patti Smith
Patti Smith is an American singer, songwriter, poet and artist famous in the New York City punk rock movement. “People Have The Power,” released in 1988, is a powerful, optimistic song declaring that people have the power to change the world. It’s a much-needed sentiment during times of hardships and hopelessness when everything feels like it’s breaking. “My senses newly opened,” Smith sings, “I awakened to the cry/That the people have the power/To redeem the work of fools.”
#9. “Justice” (1989)
Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley, the son of Bob Marley, is a Jamaican reggae musician whose music includes social and political themes. The song “Justice,” which was released in 1989, explores waiting for justice and liberty, witnessing and experiencing oppression, and determination. “Justice, they are on my back/Justice, the more the tears/The more, the more we want, justice, justice.”
#10. “People Help the People” (2007)
Cherry Ghost/Birdy
The band Cherry Ghost released “People Help the People” on their first album. The song was a hit in 2007, and then again when singer Birdy released a cover in 2011. The lyrics share a simple message of pain, feeling lost, and helping the people around you. “People help the people, and if you’re homesick, give me your hand and I’ll hold it/People help the people, and nothing will drag you down.” In a world where institutions frequently let us all down, we can ease each other’s burdens by reaching out.
#11. “Through the Eyes of a Child” (2014)
AURORA
Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer AURORA has been involved in several social justice causes such as anti-racism and climate action. The song “Through the Eyes of a Child,” released in 2014, describes a longing to see the world with innocence. When human rights violations and inequalities are rampant, it’s common to feel a desire for innocence and hope. While the world needs us to fight, we also need time to rest and feel optimistic.
#12. “Fight Like A Girl” (2020)
Raye Zaragoza
Raye Zaragoza is an American singer-songwriter. She has a mixed racial heritage (Japanese, Mexican and O’Odham), and many of her songs explore themes about identity, social justice and being a woman of color. “Fight Like A Girl,” which appears on her sophomore album, is an intersectional anthem for all women. The chorus cries, “Take me to the water, take me to the snow/Where all the souls our mothers had to go/Take me to sweet sights, teach me your battle cries/Take me to the front lines of the war, to fight like a girl.”
#13. “Rise Up” (2015)
Andra Day
Andra Day is an American R&B singer and award-winning actor. In 2015, she released her debut album, on which appeared the song “Rise Up.” An inspiring and powerful song, the lyrics talk about moving mountains, rising like the day, and doing it a thousand times, again and again, even though “you feel like dying.” While Day wrote the song in response to personal struggles and a friend’s cancer diagnosis, it quickly became a theme for the Black Lives Matter movement.
#14. “White Man’s World” (2017)
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
With his band the 400 Unit, American singer-songwriter and actor Jason Isbell is known for writing deep, politically resonant music. In 2017, the band released “White Man’s World,” which appeared on The Nashville Sound Album. It focuses on Isbell’s reckoning with his white male privilege. The song’s most powerful lyrics come from the chorus: “There’s no such thing as someone else’s war/Your creature comforts aren’t the only things worth fighting for.” It calls to mind the activist Fannie Lou Hammer’s famous quote, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
#15. “Get Together” (1967)
Dino Valenti/The Youngbloods
The Youngbloods were an American rock band active in the 1960s. This era was a time of immense change and struggle in the form of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, the hippie movement and more. The song “Get Together,” originally performed by Dino Valenti, encourages people to “get together” and “try to love one another right now.” Jesse Colin Young, one of the members of The Youngbloods, heard the song and was struck by the opening lines, “Love is but a song we sing, fear’s the way we die.” The song has since come to symbolize unity and a persistent longing for peace.
