Protest Songs Essay

A detailed Summary of Protest Songs Essay

Over the years, there have always been songs, and things to protest about. And what do you get when you put them together? You get...Protest Songs!! Protest songs have been around for almost for ever, song artists used and still use their music to voice their opinion against things, therefore making it a form of protest. I am going to compare and contrast a poem from the Great Depression by Langston Hughes, and a modern song by Cake.

Let me start by describing the protest poem by Langston Hughes. This poem is about the great depression that was going on in the time that it was written, it compares and contrasts opposites; The joy and happiness of Christmas, which the anger, hatred, and sadness of war. It describes how the war not only effects the U.S., but also the whole world. It brings up places ranging from China and India to Cuba and Haiti (first half of poem.) The poem is trying to bring to your attention about these things like war, and bad "economic laws," (paragraph six) but in a subtle way, it's asking you to change these things for the better.

The song You Turn The Screws is also a similar protest song. This song was written and performed by Cake. The song is subtle in it's poi

Both song bring up important and controversial issues. The songwriters were some of the only people who would speak up and out for and against issues. The piece- Merry Christmas, by Langston Hughes brings up the issues of economics, the great depression, and the hope for peace. You Turn the Screws brings up the topic of the government's actions, the government officials and followers, and just the government in general. (For example, when it says in Merry Christmas about the down-and-outers, it blames it on the economic laws made by the government,) Both are against the government for making faulty decisions, laws, and acts, and just the way the government does things. For example, in Merry Christmas, when it says "And to you down-and-outers, ("Due to economic laws") it is saying that many people are poor, and down on their luck without jobs etc. due to the bad and faulty laws made by the government that were supposed to help the U.S. In You Turn the Screws, "you tear down the bridge, flimsy as it is, it's business like," means that the government just destroys instead of building a stronger nation, even while we're still flimsy after these years. That it's just their (the government's,) job/busine

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 818
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Music

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Protest Songs Essay

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