Throughout the years, citizens of the United States have expressed their beliefs and rights through protests. This can be especially seen through the art of musical expression. For example, the song “Universal Soldier” by Buffy Sainte-Marie was used to protest war. The “soldier” in the song represents every soldier of every war ever fought. The purpose of the song is to show that if soldiers and people in general did not blindly follow orders, there would be no wars. This may be a little naive to believe, but it is definitely a form of protest of the 1960’s. The style of this song differs greatly from protest songs of today, but the purpose remains the same.
A verse from the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYEsFQ_gt7c
“But without him,
how would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone
Hes the one who gives is body
as a weapon to the war.
And without him all this killing cant go on”
This verse goes on the emphasize that without the soldier, being used as a weapon for war, the leader who is the true evil cannot carry out a war.
This day and age, things are done a little differently. There is more thought and effort put into the entertainment aspect of the song while withholding the purpose of the song- protest. An example of this would be John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change.” This protest song calls out the American people for being idle and just “waiting” for things to happen instead of taking action.
A verse from the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIxScJ5rlY
“Now we see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change”
As i previously stated, this song was created more as a form of musical entertainment. It does still provide a social reform that needs to take place. Mayer expresses his disgust with people for their lack of action. The expression of protest and reform through music has withstood the grueling test of time, as we see with “Universal Soldier” and “Waiting on the World to Change.”