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Political songs

02 Apr 12 - 08:16 AM (#3332452)
Subject: Political songs
From: Northerner

A new monthly venue has started in my area. It's not a folk club but a venue to promote political ideas using words and music. They prefer material with a political slant but will accept material that is non-political. I've asked for a short spot; this is to gain more experience. I'm considering doing The Jute Mill Song and The Dalesman's Litany. I believe these fit in well with the ideas in spite of not being contemporary. I also write poetry but don't have anything political.

If these go down well are there other songs that might fit? I have a copy of the Iron Muse CD.


This is a good audience, they are keen and attentive and appreciative. Above The Parapet, Thursday, 7.30 pm, Westgarth Social Club, Middlesbrough.

02 Apr 12 - 08:35 AM (#3332465)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Jack Campin

The Bottom 99

02 Apr 12 - 09:08 AM (#3332475)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Scabby Douglas

The Pound a Week Rise

02 Apr 12 - 09:12 AM (#3332478)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Thank you Jack. I don't know that one; it sounds promising. I imagine there is plenty of material out there and I am keen to add to my reportoire. Thank you very much.

02 Apr 12 - 09:12 AM (#3332479)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Scabby Douglas

Or if I may be immodest for a moment.. Coming Home

02 Apr 12 - 09:24 AM (#3332485)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Thank you Scabby! Some good songs there! My parents were Scots and I lived in Scotland when I was younger; I love singing Scottish songs. Brilliant! Sharing is what Mudcat does so well.

02 Apr 12 - 09:32 AM (#3332490)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Sailor Ron

Not contempory but there's Peterloo {Harvey Kershaw's] & With Henry Hunt we'll go [also about Peterloo], and of course When the King comes home in peace again.

02 Apr 12 - 09:57 AM (#3332503)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Owen Woodson

I'm involved with a radical folk club, so it's a case of fraternal greetings from us here in Liverpool to all the radical folks in Middlesborough.

I really wouldn't be worried about singing traditional songs in such an environment. I do and nobody's assassinated me yet. But pick ones with a good hard social message, and be prepared to explain their history. And if you can link them to contemporary events and struggles, you're really flying.

Regarding sources, I would raid A.L. Lloyd's Come All You Bold Miners and Sam Richards' and Tish Stubbs The English Folksinger. Also, Roy Palmer's A Touch on the Times, although you'd be advised to steer clear of some of the dross which appears in that volume.

Also, I'd guess that Working Songs: Industrial Ballads and Poems from Britain and Ireland, 1780s-1980s, again by Roy Palmer would be a good choice. However, I haven't caught up with that one yet, so please don't quote me.

Finally, there's a lot of contemporary songs out there which lend themselves to folk/traditional type treatment. I'm thinking particularly of compositions by Ewan MacColl, Eric Bogle etc. But there are many more by unknown/lesser known writers. You've just got to find them.

02 Apr 12 - 10:03 AM (#3332506)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Thank you both. Some really helpful resources. One of the organisers, another lady, sang a folk song last time, so I will conact her and tell her about this thread; she may find it helpful too.

02 Apr 12 - 10:15 AM (#3332517)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Jack Campin

More contemporary songs:

Leon Rosselson: Song of the Olive Tree

or

Alistair Hulett: He Fades Away

02 Apr 12 - 10:35 AM (#3332527)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Dave Hanson

Get a Copy of Karl Dallas's 100 Songs Of Toil and or The Big Red Songbook.

Dave H

02 Apr 12 - 11:04 AM (#3332540)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Bobert

A couple of oldies:

"For What it's Worth"

"Masters of War"

Google Jim Page and check out his stuff...

Also Mark Germino's "Economics" (Rat 'n the Snake)

B~

02 Apr 12 - 11:09 AM (#3332542)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: GUEST

Lots and lots of homework! Thsnk you all, this is very helpful.

02 Apr 12 - 11:27 AM (#3332546)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Morris-ey

I assume it is left wing rather than fascist songs - but then why should that be the case in this free world?

02 Apr 12 - 11:36 AM (#3332552)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Jack Campin

Because the free world isn't.

02 Apr 12 - 12:36 PM (#3332577)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Yes, it is indeed left wing. I think the audience has probably just come for a good evening out so I will have to be careful not to be overtly political. I am liberal rather than socialist. I will choose songs I love and believe in.

02 Apr 12 - 12:40 PM (#3332581)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: JedMarum

The South Wind

02 Apr 12 - 01:02 PM (#3332587)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Thank you Jed.

02 Apr 12 - 02:49 PM (#3332647)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Mark Ross

Check out Utah Phillips' I WILL NOT OBEY

Mark Ross

02 Apr 12 - 03:14 PM (#3332653)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Bert

Here's a few.

Joe Hill
The Red Flag
The Harry Pollitt song
The March of the Workers
The D Day Dodgers
Free Beer for all the Workers

02 Apr 12 - 03:36 PM (#3332661)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: GUEST,petecockermouth

dick gaughan's 'handful of earth' and 'what you got?'- can't remember the writer but a great song and maybe easier for a liberal than some of his - 'John MacLean's march' a beautiful song about a socialist hero coming back to the clyde. i can't remember who called the clash the greatest folk band we have (or had) but there is plenty there to choose from that i would like to hear in a folk club -you could try joe strummer's 'bhindi bhagee' a very warm and jolly song with an inclusive, internationalist message. and there's always the internationale - though like the marseillaise the tune is probably better than the lyrics (unless you are backed by a couple of hundred soviet sailors)
peace, love and revolution -pete

02 Apr 12 - 05:47 PM (#3332716)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Leadfingers

Any of Robb Johnston's CDs have there share of Left Wing Social Comment songs as well as lot of other bloody good stuff !!

02 Apr 12 - 05:57 PM (#3332725)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Jack Campin

More American stuff: look up Anne Feeney, on YouTube and her own site. (Motto: "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable"). Unlike a lot of political singers, her stuff is wonderfully upbeat.

02 Apr 12 - 07:09 PM (#3332763)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Thank you all so much! These songs look really interesting.

03 Apr 12 - 02:08 AM (#3332837)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: GUEST,Mike Yates

Some years ago I wrote an article called "Stand Up You Men of Labour - The Socio-Political Songs of Walter Pardon". It's on the Musical Traditions web-site and may be of interest.

03 Apr 12 - 05:34 AM (#3332897)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE MEETING AT PETERLOO
From: Jim Carroll

Nice historical piece here - came from a song-sheet in the home of Eddie and Ruth Frow, the founders of the Working Class Library in Salford
Jim Carroll

THE MEETING AT PETERLOO

Come lend an ear of pity while I my tale do tell.
It happened at Manchester a place you know right well.
For to redress our wants and woes reformers took their ways,
A lawful meeting being called upon a certain day.

The sixteenth day of August eighteen hundred and nineteen
There many thousand people on every road were seen
From Stockport, Oldham, Ashton and from other places too,
It was the largest meeting that reformers ever knew.

Brave Hunt he was appointed that day to take the chair.
At one-o-clock he did arrive, our shouts did rend the air.
Some females fair in white and green close by the hustings stood
And little did we all expect to see such scenes of blood.

Scarcely had Hunt begun to speak: Be firm, he said, My friends.
But little still did we expect what was to be the end
For around us all so hard and cruel regardless of our woes
Our enemies surrounded us on the plains of Peterloo.

The soldiers came unto the ground and thousands tumbled down
And many armless females lay bleeding on the ground.
No time for flight was gave to us, still every road we fled.
There were such heaps were trampled down, some wounded and some dead.

Brave Hunt was then arrested and several others too.
They marched us to the New Bailey, believe me, it is true
And numbers there was wounded and many there was slain
Which makes the friends of those dear souls so loudly to complain.

Oh God above look down on those for Thou art just and true
And those that can no mercy show thy vengeance is their due.
Now quit this hateful mournful scene, look forward with this hope
That every murderer in this land may swing upon a rope.

But soon reform shall spread around for sand with the tide won't stay.
May all the filth that's in the land right soon be washed away.
And may sweet harmony from hence in this our land be found
May we with plenty all be blessed in all the country round.

03 Apr 12 - 12:59 PM (#3333138)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Thank you all. You've given me plenty to think about.

04 Apr 12 - 03:38 AM (#3333419)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: GUEST,Van

Freedom come all ye by Hamish Henderson would be good. You'll probably find a recording by Dick Gaughan.

04 Apr 12 - 05:08 AM (#3333455)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Thank you, yes I know that one. I have sent the link to my friend at Above The Parapet and she is very interested.

04 Apr 12 - 04:02 PM (#3333742)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Ged Fox

Sing a song of Europe, highly civilised;
Four and twenty nations completely hypnotised.
When the battle opens, the guns begin to sing.
Isn't that a silly thing to do for any king?

The King is in the background, issuing commands;
The Queen is in the parlour, by etiquette's demands;
Thw bankers in the counting house, busy multiplying;
The common people at the Front, doing all the dying.

04 Apr 12 - 05:11 PM (#3333761)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Oh that's good! I'm really enjoying checking out these songs. Thank you.

04 Apr 12 - 06:49 PM (#3333799)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Big Al Whittle

If you fancy something a bit more controversial. Heres my song. I think its why the BNP may have targetted me setting up crazy websites with me an Nick Griffin side by side on Twitter.

http://www.bigalwhittle.co.uk/id35.html

Course I doubt it counts as folk music.

05 Apr 12 - 10:15 AM (#3334010)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Stringsinger

One of the high water marks of political song in my opinion is Woody Guthrie's
"Ludlow Massacre" which recounts the famous Colorado coal mining strike. It was
the impetus for the career of Howard Zinn and his book "The People's History of
the United States".

05 Apr 12 - 12:10 PM (#3334062)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Jim Carroll

WW2 parody from memory - learned from MacColl

That lovely night, the night we met, There were whistling bombs in the air; No bankers dining at the Ritz And the refugees slept in Berkely Square.

It may be right, it may be wrong, But the newspapers say it's no lie; The rich mens' children sailed away And left all the workers' kids to die.

Would agree with Stringsinger's choice, though Ludlow is neck-and-neck with Deportees IMO Jim Carroll

05 Apr 12 - 07:18 PM (#3334251)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Northerner

Thank you all. You've given me some interesting ideas to follow up. I've just returned from Above The Parapet; Jill had read this thread and checked out the songs suggested. It was a successful evening. They are getting good audiences, and more requests for floor spots than they can use in one eveving. Eeveryone is friendly. My two songs, The Jute Mill Song, and The Dalesman's Litany were well received, the latter particularly so. I've bought a ticket to see Leon Rosselson performing locally soon. A very satisfying evening

18 Jul 20 - 11:23 AM (#4064765)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Joe Offer

I came across an article dated 8 March 2010 in the New Statesman. It's titled The Greatest Political Songs of All Time: Do you agree with the Political Studies Association's list?

Here's the article:
    o mark its 60th birthday, the Political Studies Association is compiling a list of the greatest ever political songs.

    As you can see below, its longlist is a varied beast, ranging from Verdi's opera Aida, to the righteous Afrobeat of Fela Kuti, to Woody Guthrie's folky "This Land is Your Land" -- the latter a favourite of US progressives in the 1950s and 1960s that had a brief resurgence in 2009 when it was performed (including the "communist" verses) at Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony.

    But what to make of the choices? You'll notice that the politics of these songs are overwhelmingly right-on -- the Italian anti-Fascist staple "Bella Ciao", the utopian "Imagine" -- or infused with a campaigning spirit -- the Special AKA's "Free Nelson Mandela", Public Enemy's "Fight the Power".
    But are these the only kind of political songs? How about a song that actively supports the status quo, for example?

    Here's the blogger Tom Ewing on Chris de Burgh's "The Lady in Red", not only one of the most cringeworthy number-one singles of all time, but also, according to Ewing, an encapsulation of market values: "the actual identity of the Lady In Red is quite irrelevant: what matters is her value, not her self".

    Or, further still, perhaps the politics of a song are not only carried in its lyrics. J S Bach allegedy wrote a coded attack on his patron Frederick the Great into one of his final works, "The Musical Offering", but how about the tinny, repetitive beats carried over the PA of a high-street chain store? Is their insistence on shopping as a mechanical, compulsive activity a political message, too?

    We'll be podcasting the PSA's top 20 on 25 March, but for now tell us what you think. What songs would make your top ten? Which ones have been missed?

      Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin: "Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves"

      Anon: "Bella Ciao"

      Barry McGuire: "Eve of Destruction"

      Billie Holiday: "Strange Fruit"

      Billy Bragg: "Which Side Are You On?"

      Bob Dylan: "The Times They Are a-Changin'"

      Bob Marley: "Redemption Song"

      Bruce Springsteen: "Born in the USA"

      Carl Bean: "I Was Born This Way"

      Cecil A Spring-Rice: "I vow to thee my country"

      Charles A Tindley: "We Shall Overcome"

      Charly García: "Nos siguen pegando abajo"

      Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle: "La Marseillaise"

      Donovan: "Universal Soldier"

      Edwin Starr: "War"

      Elvis Costello: "Tramp the Dirt Down"

      Enoch Sontonga: "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika"

      Eugène Pottier: "The Internationale"

      Fela Kuti: "Zombie"

      Gil Scott Heron: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"

      Horst Wessel: "Die Fahne hoch"

      Jim Connell: "The Red Flag"

      John Lennon: "Imagine"

      Joni Mitchell: "Big Yellow Taxi"

      Leonard Cohen: "The Partisan"

      Li Youyuan: "The East is Red (???)"

      Marvin Gaye: "What's Going on?"

      Midnight Oil: "Beds Are Burning"

      Nena: "99 Luftballons"

      Nina Simone: "Mississippi Goddam"

      Pete Seeger: "Where have all the flowers gone?"

      Peter Gabriel: "Biko"

      Plastic Ono Band: "Give Peace a Chance"

      Public Enemy: "Fight the Power"

      Randy Newman: "Political Science"

      Rage Against the Machine: "Killing in the Name"

      Robert Wyatt: "Shipbuilding"

      Rolling Stones: "Gimme Shelter"

      Sex Pistols: "God Save the Queen"

      The Beatles: "Revolution"

      The Clash: "Know Your Rights"

      The Cranberries: "Zombie"

      The Jam: "Eton Rifles"

      The Police: "Invisible Sun"

      The Special AKA: "Free Nelson Mandela"

      The Strawbs: "Part of the Union"

      Tracy Chapman: "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution"

      U2: "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

      UB40: "1 in 10"

      Verdi: "Chorus of Hebrew Slaves"

      Victor Jara: "Te Recuerdo Amanda"

      William Blake: "Jerusalem"

      Woody Guthrie: "This Land Is Your Land"

Daniel Trilling is the Editor of New Humanist magazine. He was formerly an Assistant Editor at the New Statesman.


Interesting list. Can't say I love all the songs on it, but it certainly gives some interesting songs to explore.

18 Jul 20 - 12:07 PM (#4064776)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Acorn4

Possibly Roy Harper:- "I Hate the White Man" - not sure of how well known he is - just to note that the "white" in the song refers to attitude more than skin colour.

18 Jul 20 - 01:21 PM (#4064784)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: GUEST,Modette

This has a particular resonance in Ireland.

Ry Cooder - No Banker Left Behind

18 Jul 20 - 01:24 PM (#4064786)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Joe G

Another vote here for Robb Johnson - also check out Joe Solo - a superb political songwriter and force of nature from Scarborough - his No Pasaran album about the Spanish Civil War is probably his best but there are also excellent albums about the Miner's Strike of the 80's and the Hull womens' campaign to improve safety on trawlers

Reg Meuross has also written some excellent political songs - especially the wonderful but tragic Faraway People about those who have died because of the failings of the Government's appalling Universal Credit system

Jez Lowe and John Tams are also great sources of tremendous songs

18 Jul 20 - 01:45 PM (#4064791)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: GUEST,Frank

It's got to be said that Woody didn't understand Deportees. It was a program by the US government at that time called the Braceros Program that imported Mexican labor. It was US policy. Of course we didn't know their names any more than we would have known the names of the people who worked on the WPA. The plane crash in Los Gatos was an unfortunate accident.
Naturally, all migrant workers are wage slaves like everyone else who has a job in the U.S. The "surplus" always goes to the bosses.

18 Jul 20 - 02:44 PM (#4064804)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton

There are some awfully good parodies on the net, these days. Randy Rainbow, The Bald Headed Piano Man and I loved "Vote Him Away" based on "Wimoweh" or as it was stolen and renamed, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." originally by Solomon Linder from South Africa who finally got some royalties from it.

You can google our organization, "Sing Out Defiance" now renamed "Zoom Out Defiance" devoted to writing contemporary topical and political songs. Check us out.

18 Jul 20 - 06:12 PM (#4064828)
Subject: RE: Political songs
From: Joe G

I forgot to mention Jess Silk - an emerging singer songwriter whose 'Stranger of a Train' is a beautiful take down of the far right. I reckon Jess could well go on to gain the success and popularity of Grace Petrie - another tremendous writer and performer