Folks, we're getting closer to #1. I have to admit that this was a difficult list to compile.
The Top 10, w/Commentary:
10.) "Get Up, Stand Up"-- Bob Marley: The Jamaican revolutionary just says it, plain and simple: You've gotta stand up for your rights if you want to preserve them.
9.) "Like a Rolling Stone"-- Bob Dylan: The true genius of this song is that it was a protest against the protest movement. More specifically, the Bard is protesting the commercialization of the movement and the genre he helped popularize. Dylan caused a stir with this one, and thank God he did. Careerwise, this is the turning point at which Dylan morphed from folkie/"voice of a generation" into bonafide rock star.
8.) "The Times, They Are A-Changin'": Oh, yes, they are, and yes, we did! Apparently, one senator "heeded the call," and our nation is better off for him having done so. There's actually an entire post's worth of analysis I could do on this tune, so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. My favorite aspect of "Times" is that it acknowledges the Biblical truism that the prevailing social order is indeed subject to change.
7.) "One Love/People Get Ready"-- Bob Marley: The official Reggae/Rastafari (Jamaican Christianity) national anthem, "One Love" is a call for international brother/sisterhood and sternly admonishes those who commit acts of violence and hatred in the name of religion. On a personal note, I was treated to an excellent cover version of this anthem, which was performed by a band called The Roots Rock Society, at a multicultural festival at EIU. Everyone got up and danced-- just like at the original Woodstock. LOL! It was the time of my life.
6.) "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"-- Bob Dylan: Bobby D dominates this list, and rightly so. In "Hard Rain," he prophetically warns listeners that their complacency could lead to big problems.
5.) "Blowin' in the Wind"-- Bob Dylan: This one brought folk/protest music to the masses and is undeniably a key song of the anti-war and civil rights movements.
4.) "Ohio"-- Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young: With lead vocals performed by Neil Young, this is an expression of CSNY's anger and sadness following the tragic outcome of the anti-war protest at Kent State University in May, 1970.
3.) "Dear Mr. President"-- Pink: Okay, some of you might object to my placement of this song over a few of the others in this countdown, but I feel that it deserves this ranking solely based on the fact that Pink exposes Dubya for what he is: an ignorant, war-mongering hypocrite. This is the closest thing we have to an Iraq-era protest song. Like Dylan's "Masters of War (#20)," however, I admit that this one's lost some of its bite, but not its relevance.
2.) "Imagine"-- John Lennon: You knew this had to be in the Top 5, right? Anyway, most of us hear those lyrics and think, "Yeah, wouldn't that be nice?" This song has even more meaning today than when it was originally written. Interestingly, this song hit #1 on 9/11/71. Lennon had just moved to NYC. I could write a dissertation on that man, so I'll just end it right there.
1.) "We Shall Overcome"-- Various Artists: How could this not be #1? Derived from lyrics to a gospel song penned by Rev. Charles Tindley, the version of this civil-rights-anthem-to-end-all-civil-rights-anthems we conscientious beings all know and love was published in 1947 in the Peoples' Songs Bulletin. It has since been covered by the likes of folk pioneers, such as Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. There is a particularly notable (pardon the pun) gospel version by Mahalia Jackson. Most recently, numero uno appeared on Bruce Springsteen's album "We Shall Overcome": The Seeger Sessions, an homage to one of the Boss' great musical heroes. Most importantly, it seems that, in a sense, we have indeed overcome.
(Note: I will publish a Top-10 List of Honorable Mentions later this weekend.)
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