Protest Songs: A Turnip Truck(s) List

The word “protest” comes from the Latin noun testis, “one who attests, witness.” To protest thus is to bear witness, to testify publicly, to invoke, in front of or before the public. With this in mind, the editors at The Turnip Truck(s) have compiled a list of what we consider the greatest protest songs of all time. Songs that testify or bear witness to an idea, issue, political or humanitarian problem. Songs that invoke or call upon people to listen, be aware, act. Look for a new protest song every Sunday at The Turnip Truck(s).

That this is the official song of Amnesty International pretty much says it all. This Bob Marley masterpiece (co-written with Peter Tosh) was recorded for The Wailers sixth album Burnin’ (released in 1973, the last with Tosh and Bunny Wailer). We include the performance of this song at London’s Rainbow Theater in June 1977, which has been called one of the best live performances in the history of pop music:

We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game -

Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, Lord.

We know when we understand:

Almighty God is a living man.

You can fool some people sometimes,

But you can't fool all the people all the time.

So now we see the light (What you gonna do?),

We gonna stand up for our rights! (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)