Say You Want A Revolution! The Role Of Music In Social Protest
If we were to look closely at any of the key points in humanity’s social and cultural progress, perhaps the one common thread which runs through all of them is the presence of music.
Music is arguably one of the most powerful forms of expression available to us, and it forms a virtual soundtrack to our lives — underpinning the highs and the lows.
Most people would be familiar with that sensation of hearing a song on the radio and immediately being teleported to the moment in our lives we first heard it.
We associate songs with magical moments — the moment of first love, of marriage, or of the birth of a child. And in the same way we associate songs with more poignant or somber moments, like the final goodbye to a loved one.
Music can truly be seen as the bittersweet symphony which our lives play out to, and it is therefore no surprise that music has played an integral role in periods of social protest and change.
Music & Social Activism
Arguably the most powerful musical statement of our era is found in the stark song ‘Strange Fruit’ by jazz vocalist Billie Halliday. The musical story of the ‘strange fruit’ hanging from the poplar trees was possibly the most challenging observation of social injustice — the lynching and hanging of people of color — it stands as both a condemnation and a call to action.
In popular culture, music is now well established in the making social statement and observation. In the modern idiom, this is typified in the voices of folk rock poets like Bob Dylan whose social commentary found sway in the sixties.
The Power of Music
Performers like Dylan and Halliday showed us the power of words set to music, but the sheer power of music alone cannot be underestimated. In the words of Hans Christian Andersen: “Where words fail, music speaks”.
Music of itself speaks to the human psyche and the soul, and it carries a power in its own right.
The use of rhythm and beat as a rally call to battle is centuries old. It found a place on the battlefield in the skirling of Scottish bagpipes dating back to the 15th century and beyond. It raised patriotic blood in the fife and drum tattoo of the American Revolution.
Music is Life and Life is Music
It could be said that the passion for music and the passion for life are intricately intertwined. It could be argued that you cannot have one and not the other.
There are songs which can inspire us to action, and then there are songs which simply speak to the importance of life, with all its highs and lows.
With musical protest, voices are raised to highlight tyranny and injustice. A drum beat forms a rhythmic tattoo to raise the blood and inspire action.
When considering something like the protest of whaling, a song can potentially be as sharp and pointed as a harpoon. In the lament of inequality and injustice, the sung verse can potentially linger for decades, as a stark reminder and an accusation.
