Playlist: Music and revolution

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Music has an undeniable ability to move people; musicians can reach across borders and boundaries, pull at the heartstrings and say the unsayable. As a result, music has long been used to call for revolution, urging listeners to rise up against injustice and power. For the launch of Index on Censorship magazine’s summer 2017 issue, 100 Years On: What difference Russia’s revolution makes to our freedom today, we have compiled a playlist themed around the idea of revolution.

Tracy Chapman – Talkin ‘Bout A Revolution

In a world gripped by the denouement of the Cold War, Tracy Chapman saw change on the horizon. “Poor people gonna rise up /And get their share/ Poor people gonna rise up/And take what’s theirs” sums up the sentiment of Talkin ‘Bout A Revolution. Optimistic, perhaps, but the song arrived in 1988, at the cusp of a global uprising that saw the fall of Apartheid South Africa, the Soviet Union and several smaller communist regimes, as well as a Western ideological shift away from the ruthless capitalism of Thatcher and Reagan.

Gil Scott-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was released in 1970, at the end of a turbulent decade that saw the assassinations of several civil rights heroes including John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Fred Hampton. It calls on people to unite and take action beyond watching a television screen, warning that the revolution will not come with the glitz and glamour of television, and that the television will not be on their side.  Gil Scott-Heron, an important figure and musician during the US Civil Rights movement, is keen to call for realistic understandings of how change can be achieved in this song.

The Specials – Nelson Mandela

The Specials’ Nelson Mandela drew popular attention to Mandela’s mistreatment in South Africa when it was released in 1984, bringing the injustice of his then two-decade imprisonment into common knowledge. When it was performed at a Wembley concert on Mandela’s 70th birthday in 1988, its chorus of “free Nelson Mandela” became a global rallying cry for the end of apartheid. Two years later, Mandela walked out of prison, and the apartheid regime fell shortly after.

David Zé – Mwangolé (O guerrilheiro)

One of Angola’s most renowned revolutionary artists, David Zé is particularly adept in his descriptions of the suffering and abuse of Angolans under Portuguese colonial rule. Mwangolé O guerrilheiro may not call for a specific course of revolutionary action, but its representation of the enduring pain and intolerable living conditions of Angolans remind listeners of what can drive a person to risk everything and revolt for their freedom. In a country that suffered through a generation-long civil war, that context can never be forgotten.

Carlos Puebla Y en eso llego Fidel

“The fun was over, El Comandante came and ordered them to stop”, Puebla sings in this famous hymn to the Cuban revolution. Throughout the song, Carlos Puebla celebrates Castro’s arrival and overtake of the island, putting an end to capitalism’s prior corruption and exploitation of the island’s people. The droves of people who fled the subsequent corruption and exploitation by Castro’s communist regime might dispute the song’s celebratory tone.

The Korean People’s Army State Merited Chorus Defend the Headquarters of the Revolution (혁명의 수뇌부 결사옹위하리라)

In North Korea, even revolutionary music – what should be defined and expressed by the people, free of censorship – is an unyielding expression and promotion of state power. Defend the Headquarters of the Revolution provides no mention of Korean culture or history preceding Kim Jong II, instead extolling the virtue of picking up arms for the Kims and fighting to the death, viewing this fight as a revolution against the rest of the world.

Vasily Agapkin – Farewell of Slavianka

Farewell of Slavianka (Proshchaniye slavyanki) became so popular during the 1917 Revolution that, despite its non-communist roots, the Soviet Union eventually adopted it as an official national song. This piece represents two fundamental components of revolution: popular sentiment during the people’s initial rebellion, and post-revolutionary appropriation of that sentiment into state propaganda.

Yulduz Usmonova – Ayting Ayting

Songs which explicitly detail Soviet occupation in Uzbekistan are scarce. However, songs sung in Uzbek instead of Russian (especially before the country’s independence) have long served as expressions of nationalism and rejection of the Russian hierarchy. Ayting Ayting is not a typical revolutionary song, but its defiance lies in its subtle refusal to conform to Russian norms.

Yoko Ono and John Lennon – Imagine

“Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do, nothing to kill or die for”, sings John Lennon. This song co-written by Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono asks us to contemplate a different kind of revolution – not a singular uprising or struggle, but a new peaceful world where the divisions of religion and nationality have disappeared. The chorus of “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one” hints at the faint possibility of this future, if people could only come together long enough to realise how similar they are. In a sad irony, he was eventually assassinated by a mentally ill Christian extremist who considered this blasphemy.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – Ohio

The Vietnam War and its national impact are deeply entrenched within US society, and have inspired countless pieces of art, film and music. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s song Ohio was written in response to the 1970 Kent State University massacre, in which national guard soldiers opened fire on anti-war student protesters leaving four dead and nine wounded. The song was released just a few weeks after the incident, and placed the blame directly on the Richard Nixon administration. It was soon adopted as an anthem of the US’s anti-establishment movement.

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Music as resistance playlist

Music has long been used as a form of resistance, from civil rights movements to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The latest issue of Index on Censorship magazine, focusing on taboos and the breaking down of social barriers, features an exclusive new short story by Ariel Dorfman about a military trumpeter who plays a defiant, rebellious song on his instrument.

In honour of the story, we have compiled a playlist of music that has been used as protest and resistance from all over the world. The influence of these songs show just how powerful music can be as a form of rebellion.

Many artists on the list have been forced into exile or censored. Index on Censorship has teamed up with the award-winning makers of the documentary They Will Have To Kill Us First to launch the Music in Exile Fund, which will help support musicians in similar situations.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – Ode to Joy

Ode to Joy has been adopted by many protest movements around the world. Most notably the song was played on the streets of Chile in resistance to the Pinochet dictatorship. Demonstrators gathered outside prisons singing Ode to Joy, giving strength to the prisoners who suffered torture there at the hands of the regime.

Joan Baez – We Shall Overcome

We Shall Overcome is a key protest song of the civil rights movement. The song, which has been covered by various artists, was first used in 1945 by tobacco workers fighting for better pay in Charleston, South Carolina. The song, with its message of solidarity and hope, has been used in many protests around the world, not least in the 1950s and 1960s by activists in the American civil rights movement.

Vuyisile Mini – Ndodemnyama we Verwoerd

Ndodemnyama we Verwoerd (Watch Out, Verwoerd) is one of the most well-known songs in South Africa due to its association with the campaign against apartheid. Hendrik Verwoerd, who served as prime minister of South Africa until his assassination in 1966, became known as the “architect of apartheid” for his role in implementing the system of racial segregation. Unsurprisingly, he became the subject of many protest songs, including Ndodemnyama we Verwoerd by Vuyisile Mini. Mini became one of the most powerful organisers of the resistance, earning himself the moniker the “organiser of unorganised”. He was sentenced to death in 1964 on charges of sabotage and political crimes and is said to have sung the song while being led to the gallows.


Winter 2015: What’s the taboo?

Editorial: Talk does not cost lives, silence does
Ariel Dorfman interview: Writer unveils new short story lost after Chilean coup
The Music as Resistance playlist
Full contents of the winter issue
Subscribe to the magazine


The Scorpions – Wind of Change

November 2015 marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Many songs have been associated with the demise of the wall, which divided Berlin for nearly three decades, particularly Wind of Change by German heavy metal band The Scorpions. The song, one of peace and hope, was released a few months after the wall was torn down and became one of the top-selling singles of 1991. The music video to Wind of Change shows footage of the wall being removed.

Songhoy Blues – Al Hassidi Terei

The four members of Songhoy Blues met as refugees after being forced into exile by Muslim extremists who banned all music in Mali in 2012. In defiance of the extremists, they formed the desert blues band, refusing to have music taken away from them. They have since gone on to work with Damon Albarn of Blur and Nick Zimmer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, been on an international tour and were nominees for the arts category of the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards 2014.

Ramy Essam – Irhal

Irhal became known as the anthem of Egypt’s uprising against President Mubarak’s after singer Ramy Essam performed the song during the 2011 protests in Tahrir Square. Irhal, which urges the president to resign, became internationally known after Essam’s performance was posted on YouTube during the protests. After the revolution, Essam returned to Tahrir Square where he was arrested and tortured by the military council. He was offered safe city residence in Sweden following his arrest and has been living there since 2014.

Tropicália/Gilberto Gil  – Miserere Nóbis

The Tropicália movement is a brief artistic movement that took place in Brazil in the 1960s. During the movement, which was co-founded by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, musicians expressed their resistance to the country’s military dictatorship through their music and their socially and politically charged lyrics. The movement only lasted around a year before being suppressed by the military regime. Gil and Veloso were arrested in 1969 and forced to live in exile in London for the political content of their work but returned to Brazil in 1972.

Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit

Strange Fruit, most famously performed by Billie Holiday, protests American racism and the lynching of African Americans. The song began as a poem written by teacher Abel Meeropol published in 1937; Who then set it to music and performed it as a protest song at various venues in New York in the late 1930s along with his wife and the singer Laura Duncan.

Chieftains and Sinead O’Connor – Foggy Dew

Foggy Dew is the name of several old Irish ballad. This version of the song chronicles the Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin when Irishmen fought for the cause of Irish independence. During World War I, thousands of Irishmen served in the British forces. Many Irish nationalists felt they should have stayed in Ireland and fought for Irish independence, which is reflected in the song.

Killing in the Name – Rage Against The Machine

American rap-metal band Rage Against the Machine released Killing in the Name in 1992, six months after the Los Angeles riots, which were triggered after four white police officers were acquitted of beating black motorist Rodney King. The song is institutional racism and police brutality. Known for its excessive use of expletives, Killing in the Name originally received little air time.

Joe Strummer (The Clash) mural, London. Credit: Flickr / Matt Brown

Joe Strummer (The Clash) mural, London. Credit: Flickr / Matt Brown

The Clash – White Riot

When The Clash released White Riot, many people thought it was a song advocating some kind of race war. This couldn’t be further from the truth. With the lyrics, Joe Strummer was appealing to white youths to find a worthy cause to fight (or riot) for, just as many black youths had in the UK at the time. At its heart, it is a song about class and race.

Bob Marley – Get Up, Stand Up

Bob Marley is renowned for his songs about peace, love and resistance. With Get Up, Stand Up being one of his most well-known protest songs. Marley wrote the song with fellow Jamaican musician Peter Tosh as a challenge to oppression. The song is famed for the lyrics: “You can fool some people sometimes but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”

Pete Seeger – Joe Hill

Joe Hill was a miner, songwriter and union organiser for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Hill was executed in America in 1915 following a controversial trial in which he was found guilty of the murders of John G Morrison and his son Arling. Hill refused to testify at his trial believing he would be worth more to the labour movement as a dead martyr than alive. After his death, Hill was the subject of songs by various artists, including Paul Robeson, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger.

Sam Cooke – A Change Is Gonna Come

A Change Is Gonna Come has been covered by various artist but was originally written by Sam Cooke. The song is another civil rights anthem concerning the struggles of African Americans during the 1960s. Cooke was said to have been inspired to write to song by various events in his life, predominantly being turned away from a “whites only” hotel. The singer was shot and killed just before the song was due to be released as a single in 1964.

Tinariwen – Lulla

Tinariwen are made up of musicians from the Tuareg community, whose music reflects the issues faced by the Tuareg people. The musicians received military training when they were living in exile in Libya in the 1980s, and many of the members of Tinariwen were rebel fighters in the 1990 revolt against the Malian government. In 1991, the collective, who’s name translates to “the people of the desert”, left the military to focus on music on a full-time basis.

Eagles of Death Metal – People Have the Power

On 8 December, Eagles of Death Metal joined U2 on stage in Paris, just three weeks after Muslim extremists launched an attack at their concert at the Bataclan Theatre, killing 89 people, plus 41 in two other attacks. Together the bands performed a cover of Patti Smith’s People Have the Power, showing bravery and resistance against the terrorists who left the city in fear.

 

You can read the Ariel Dorfman’s new short story, All I Ever Have, about music as a form of resistance in the latest Index on Censorship magazine. Each magazine sale helps Index on Censorship fight for free expression worldwide. Order your copy here, or take out a digital subscription via Exact Editions (just £18 for the year).