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Billie Holiday - 'Strange Fruit' (1939) - Originally written as a poem, Billie Holiday's rendition of 'Strange Fruit' protested American racism, particularly lynchings of African Americans. It's considered by many social commentators as an early cry for civil rights, and Holiday said singing it made her fearful of retaliation.

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Bob Dylan - 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall' (1963) - Dylan was already a sharp social observer when he wrote this classic protest song communicating injustice, suffering, pollution, and warfare. He later acknowledged that the message was apocalyptic in tone.

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Janis Ian - 'Society's Child' (1965) - Written when she was just 14 years old, Janice Ian's commentary on the then-taboo subject of interracial romance horrified some, but was applauded by many.

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John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - 'Give Peace a Chance' (1969) - Written while Lennon was still a member of the Beatles, this anti-war chant became an anthem of the American anti-Vietnam war movement during the 1970s. It's since been embraced by millions as an evergreen message of peace and love.

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Simon & Garfunkel - '7 O'Clock News/Silent Night' (1966) - Paul Simon brilliantly juxtaposed a rendition of the famous Christmas carol with a simulated '7 O'Clock News' bulletin of the actual events of August 3, 1966— an ironic commentary on various social ills taking place at the time.

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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 'Ohio' (1970) - This was written and composed by Neil Young in reaction to the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, where Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four students.

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James Brown - 'Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud' (1968) - In this song, the godfather of soul addresses the prejudice towards blacks in America with lines like "We're tired of beating our head against the wall/and workin' for someone else."

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The Rolling Stones - 'Street Fighting Man' (1968) - One of the British band's most politically inclined works to date, 'Street Fighting Man' is nonetheless ambiguous in its intentions. Does Jagger want to join the students rioting in Paris, or would he rather "sing for a rock & roll band?"

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Bruce Springsteen - 'Born in the USA' (1984) - The Boss's powerful statement about how America had neglected Vietnam war veterans hit a raw nerve—except in the White House, it seems: US President Ronald Reagan adopted the track as an anthem while on the campaign for a second term in office. Springsteen was aghast!

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Tom Robinson - 'Glad to Be Gay' (1978) - Written by English musician Tom Robinson for a London gay pride parade in 1976, 'Glad to Be Gay' criticizes police raids on gay clubs, among other blatant acts of discrimination. It's since become Britain's national gay anthem.

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Rage Against the Machine - 'Killing In the Name' (1992) - Widely regarded as the band's signature song, 'Killing In the Name' rails against institutional racism and police brutality.

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Pink Floyd - 'Another Brick in the Wall-Part 2' (1979) - Floyd bassist Roger Waters wrote "Part 2" as a protest against rigid schooling, particularly boarding schools. The music video of children marching through a meat grinder is a classic of the genre.

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Kendrick Lamar - 'Alright' (2015) - A song about hope and subsequently aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement, 'Alright' features uncredited vocals from the song's co-producer Pharrell Williams during the chorus.

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Elvis Presley - 'In the Ghetto' (1969) - A rare show of social consciousness from the King of Rock and Roll, Presley's narrative of generational poverty and the boy struggling to survive in a Chicago ghetto struck a chord with audiences in the US and abroad.

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Bob Marley and the Wailers - 'Get Up Stand Up' (1973) - Co-written with Peter Tosh, Marley put pen to paper after touring the Caribbean island of Haiti and being alarmed by the poverty of the people there.

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M.I.A - 'Paper Planes' (2008) - English rapper Maya Arulpragasam (M.I.A.), the daughter of a Sri Lankan Tamil activist, was inspired by problems obtaining a US visa and American perceptions of immigrants from Third World nations when she penned this hip-hop protest song.

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U2 - 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' (1983) - A deliberate military drumbeat sets the tone for this strident political protest song by U2, which describes the horror felt by an observer of the troubles in Northern Ireland, and especially the highly controversial 1972 Bloody Sunday incident when British troops shot and killed unarmed civil rights protesters.

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The Beatles - 'Revolution' (1968) - The Beatles largely sat on the fence during the tumultuous events of 1968. But John Lennon began to ponder the Paris riots in May of that year and came up with 'Revolution.' However, he wasn't sure whether he was against violence or not. On the 'White Album' version of the song, Lennon sings: "When you talk bout destruction, don't you know that you can count me out/in". However, a second cut released as the b-side of 'Hey Jude' clearly has the man of peace declaring that you should count him out.

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Green Day - 'American Idiot' (2004) - Originally the band's response to US President George W Bush and the war in Iraq, 'American Idiot' has since enjoyed a second term after Donald Trump became the 45th White House incumbent.

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Sting - 'Russians' (1985) - Sting's first solo album after the break up of the Police included on it this criticism of the Cold War foreign policy and doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD) by the United States and the Soviet Union.

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The Cranberries - 'Zombie' (1994) - Written by Dolores O'Riordan, 'Zombie' is about the 1993 IRA bombing in Warrington, England, and is sung in memory of two young victims, Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry.

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The Sex Pistols - 'God Save the Queen' (1977) - Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977 was the platform on which Johnny Rotten launched his stinging tirade on the British monarchy.

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The Smiths - 'Meat is Murder' (1985) - The entire 'Meat is Murder' album is politically charged. But it's the single track of the same name that remains front man Morrissey's most impassioned plea against the slaughter of animals.

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Peter Gabriel - 'Biko' (1980) - South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko's death in police custody was the inspiration for this track, which by extension was critical of apartheid. The song was banned in South Africa, naturally.

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Against Me! - 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues' (2014) - The track's title (also the name of the album) refers to the gender dysphoria experienced by lead singer Laura Jane Grace and her subsequent gender transition and coming out. 

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Midnight Oil - 'Beds Are Burning' (1987) - This heartfelt plea to the Australian government to allow the Aboriginal group the Pintupi to return to their homelands went far beyond the outback. The song—and the appeal—went global!

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Special A.K.A. - 'Free Nelson Mandela' (1984) - Penned by British musician Jerry Dammers, this musical demand for the release of the anti-apartheid revolutionary was later performed at the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute, with Amy Winehouse on lead vocals.

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The Specials - 'Ghost Town' (1981) - England in the early 1980s was experiencing nationwide civil strife, with riots exploding in British cities. 'Ghost Town' addresses the parallel themes of urban decay, unemployment, and disenfranchisement.

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UB40 - 'One in Ten' (1981) - English reggae and pop band UB40 released 'One in Ten' in 1981, when much of the UK was experiencing civil strife and high unemployment. The song title refers to the 9.6% unemployed in the West Midlands, where the band's members hail from.

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Joan Baez - 'Nasty Man' (2017) -

The voice for civil rights and peace throughout the 1960s and '70s, Joan Baez broke a 27-year non-songwriting streak to pen a protest song for today's Trump era: "When the dirt on this man/finally hits the fan/and no one gives a damn about his tweets/he'll be finally and forever obsolete." Ouch!

See also: Meet Hollywood's A-list activists.

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