Protest Songs Quotes

• A protest song is a song that's so specific that you cannot mistake it for bullshit.

  Phil Ochs

  Song, Mistake, Bullshit

  Liner notes for compilation album "The Broadside Tapes 1" by Phil Ochs, 1989.

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• It wasn't my natural inclination to get into writing protest songs.

  David Sylvian

  Song, Writing, Natural

  "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• 

  There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

  Elie Wiesel

  Freedom, Philosophy, Military

  Elie Wiesel (2011). “From the Kingdom of Memory: Reminiscences”, p.182, Schocken

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• Get up, stand up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, Don't give up the fight.

  Bob Marley

  Inspirational, Life, Music

  "Get Up, Stand Up" (song) (1973).

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• The nice thing about a protest song is that it takes the complaint, the fussing, the finger-pointing, and gives it an added component of sociable harmony.

  Nicholson Baker

  Song, Nice, Giving

  "Four Protest Songs". www.newyorker.com. October 8, 2012.

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• The hardest song to write is a protest song, a topical song with meaning.

  Joan Baez

  Song, Writing, Protest

  "Joan Baez on the new protest era: The whole world's watching". Interview with Greg Kot, articles.chicagotribune.com. October 26, 2011.

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• In the ’60s, when I was growing up, one of the great elements of American culture was the protest song. There were songs about the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, the antiwar movement. It wasn’t just Bob Dylan, it was everybody at the time.

  George Clooney

  Song, Growing Up, Rights

  "George Clooney on Good Night and Good Luck". Interview with Rob Nelson, www.motherjones.com. November 2005.

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• Where have all the flowers gone

  Marlene Dietrich

  Nature, Flower, Gone

  Song: Where Have All the Flowers Gone

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• I understand why people get desensitized and roll their eyes when they hear a protest song, or even a politician making some flowery speech. It doesn't really change anything.

  Conor Oberst

  Song, Eye, People

  "Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes". Interview with Gregg LaGambina, www.avclub.com. December 11, 2007.

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• Long live protest songs, in whatever form they take.

  David Levithan

  Song, Long, Form

  David Levithan (2008). “Wide Awake”, p.5, Knopf Books for Young Readers

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• Playing on the streets of Iraq, or in Israel or the Gaza strip, I'd sing angry protest songs against war. People would say, 'Make us clap, make us dance, and laugh and sing.' It really made me think about the importance of happy music.

  Michael Franti

  Song, War, Thinking

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• I won't be indulging in anger anymore, vehemently and self-righteously singing protest songs, and expecting them to bring peace to me or anyone else.

  Susan Schneider

  Song, Self, Singing

  Source: thequietus.com

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• I suspect many readers might associate [Bob Dylan] with one of the shortest phases of his career, the time from 1963 to '65 when he wrote his most famous "protest songs," like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin.'"

  Jay Michaelson

  Song, Wind, Careers

  Source: www.thedailybeast.com

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