U2, Guns N' Roses, The Clash - The 20 Greatest Protest Songs
Raging against the machine...
8. Buffalo Springfield: 'For What It's Worth' – One of two Stephen Stills entries on the list, while many musicians were embracing the hedonistic love of the sixties Stills was dealing with much grittier subject matter. Essentially an ode to the violence, social paranoia and brutalities of the Vietnam War, what differentiates 'For What It's Worth' from the vast majority of other protest songs is it's overtly positive chorus - “stop killing, what's that sound? everyone look what's going down.” If only the leaders of the world would pay notice. " />
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8. Buffalo Springfield: 'For What It's Worth' – One of two Stephen Stills entries on the list, while many musicians were embracing the hedonistic love of the sixties Stills was dealing with much grittier subject matter. Essentially an ode to the violence, social paranoia and brutalities of the Vietnam War, what differentiates 'For What It's Worth' from the vast majority of other protest songs is it's overtly positive chorus - “stop killing, what's that sound? everyone look what's going down.” If only the leaders of the world would pay notice.
To mark May Day on Monday – a date synonymous with public demonstrations – we're counting down the 20 greatest protest songs of all time.
From Marvin Gaye's soul classic 'What's Going On?' to Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit', we present 20 anthems that rage against racism, war, society and, of course, the machine.
Other acts included are The Beatles, John Lennon, Guns N' Roses, Kate Bush, Black Sabbath, U2, Rage Against The Machine, The Rolling Stones and Neil Young.
Check out the full top 20 below:
May Day Special: The 20 Greatest Protest Songs
