Bob Marley, Get Up Stand Up
Don Henley’s “End of the Innocence”.
The Ballad of October 16th (the Almanac Singers, May 1941) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhbrYhL3OPk
Chorus:
Washington Breakdown (Pete Seeger, May 1941) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6zn8TyWYCQ
Another one from Henley: Little Tin God, with a couple of lines about Reagan.
The cowboy’s name was “Jingo”
And he heard that there was trouble
So in a blaze of glory
He rode out of the west
No one was ever certain
What it was that he was sayin’
But they loved it when he told them
They were better than the rest
Also some references about televangelists such as Jim Bakker.
John Fogerty wrote some political songs when he was with CCR, such as Fortunate Son and Run Through the Jungle. He wrote a few more in the 2000s.
John Mellencamp wrote Country Gentleman, about Ronald Reagan, and Rodeo Clown, and. To Washington, about George W. Bush,
Waiting For The Great Leap Forward - Billy Bragg
Shipbuilding - Elvis Costello
The Ghosts of Cable Street - The Men They Couldn’t Hang
51st State - New Model Army
Heartland - The The
Biko - Peter Gabriel
Rise - PIL
Ghost Train - Madness
Inglan Is A Bitch - LKJ
Margaret On The Guillotine - Morissey
Like 88% of punk lyrics. The trick is sorting out the crappy, preachy ones from the inspired ones. Dead Kennedys are one of the good ones even if you don’t agree with the message, because they used sarcasm and POV shifts rather than being humorless revival meetings if not occasionally good like some bands (Anti-Flag, Propagandhi, and RATM though not punk).
Rocket Launcher is one of my all-time favorites. And Bruce is excellent at all times.
Iris DeMent pulls no punches:
There’s a Wall in Washington Iris Dement There's a Wall in Washington - YouTube
Livin’ In the Wasteland of the Free Livin' in the Wasteland of the Free Iris DeMent - YouTube
Better Days - Supertramp
Holiday - Green Day
*Lowdown * - Chicago
Public Enemy, Fight the Power
“Tramp the Dirt Down” by Elvis Costello
“Nixon’s the One” by the Vic Caesar Orchestra and Chorus.
Anything from Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime album.
As someone has already said, Tom Lehrer was the master of political songs. One not remembered as well is “The MLF Lullaby”
Taryn Southern did a response video, Hot for Hillary
It was Southern’s first YouTube video but she went on to develop her own channel. Here she is looking back on the video from nine years later.
Eddie Grant Electric Avenue
Men at Work It’s a Mistake
Toby Keith Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)
Black Sabbath War Pigs
Black Sabbath The Mob Rules
“A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” by Bob Dylan, though I prefer Edie Brickell’s cover
Pete Seeger, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”
Just released – Seriously written by Sarah Bareilles, performed by Leslie Odom Jr
Brilliant.
Pearl Jam - Bu$hleaguer
Clutch - The Mob Goes Wild, Worm Drink, and The Swollen Goat