#Protest Song
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A while ago, the first season of the Voice Of Persia was aired. Of course the competition took place outside of Iran, and only those who have immigrated could participate.
In the last couple of decades, Persian music have been in a slumber. Music is kind of forbidden in Iran because the regime deems it anti Islamic. Women aren't aloud to sing at all and men can only sing in specific genre and topics that the regime considers appropriate. It's understandable why good music, with a couple of exceptions, wasn't being made and new talents were being buried.
So the voice of Persia was a great opportunity to showcase new talents who have managed to skip Iran.
Anyway, I said all of this to get to this song. The finalist and winner of the competition performed this song on the show and I realized even though I knew the original singer for years (he's a political singer and had to flee Iran years ago), I somehow missed this poetic piece. So I've been obsessed with it ever since. I wanted to share it with y'all.
This is a protest/critical song with some symbolizations. The lyrics are from Iranian poet, Yaghma Golrouee. He's also the lyricist of the song Our Dream. The song came out about 10 years ago. I added explanations for the lyrics in parentheses:
Driving Drunkenly by Shahin Najafi
من یه گلایلم که تو این سرزمین شوم
راهم به قبر و سنگ گرانیت میرسه
I'm a Gladiolus flower who in this ill fated land
Find my way to a grave and granite gravestone
(In Persian culture gladiolus is used in funerals and to visit graveyards. It's the flower of the dead)
هر روز به قتل میرسم و شعر من فقط
به انتشار شعله کبریت میرسه
I get murdered everyday and my poem only
reaches to spread the match's fire
دردم هزار ساله مثه درده حافظه
درمونشم همونیه که کشف رازیه
My pain is a thousand years old pain like Hafez's pain (a Persian poet)
The cure is Razi's discovery (alcohol)
نسلی که سر سپرده عصر حجر شده
به ساقیای ارمنیه پیر راضیه
وقتی که زندگی یه تئاتر مزخرفه
تنها به جرعه های فراموشی دلخوشم
The generation who became a devotee of the stone ages
Is now happy with the old Armenian wine dealers
When life is a trashy theatrical show
I only find comfort in to-forget gulps
راسکول نیکف یه پیرزنو شقه کرده و من
با اون تبر فرشته الهامو میکشم…
Raskolnikov chopped an old lady but I
would kill the angel of revelation with that axe
هی مست میکنم مثه یه بطری شراب
که وقتی پاش بیفته یه کوکتل مولوتوفه
I get drunk like a wine bottle
that would turn into Molotov cocktail when the need arises
یه مجرم فراری شدم که تو زندگیش
درگیر یه گریز بدون توقفه
I became a wanted criminal who in life
he's stuck in a fatal car chase (x2)
فرقی نداره جادۀ چالوس و راه قم
من مستی ام که خوش داره رانندگی کنه
There's no difference between Chalus Road (a touristic road) and highway to Qom (a religious city) for me
I'm a drunk who likes to drive
یه ماهی که تو آکواریوم زار میزنه
تا توی اشکهای خودش زندگی کنه
I'm a fish who is crying in an aquarium
So that he can live in his own tears
باید تلو تلو بخوری این زمونه رو
وقتی که مست نیستی به بن بست میرسی
You should stumble drunkenly in this life
Because when you're not drunk you reach a dead end
تو مستی آدما دوباره مهربون میشن
حتی برادرای توی ایست بازرسی
When you're drunk people are kind again
Even the brothers (police officers) in roadside checkpoints
میخندن و به دست تو دستبند میزنن
راهو برای بردن تو باز میکنن
They laugh while they're handcuffing you
They clear the way to take you
تو دام مورچه ها به سلیمان بدل میشی
قالیچه ها بدون تو پرواز میکنن
In ants presence you become the Solomon
The carpets fly without you
این بار چندمه که به یه جرم مشترک
هشتاد تا ضربه پشت تو هاشور میزنه؟
How many times for the same crime,
Your back has been shaded in with 80 counts of hits?
(The punishment for drinking alcohol is 80 lashes)
برگرد خونه حتی اگه با خبر باشی
تنها دل خودت برای تو شور میزنه…
Come back home even if you know
You are the only one who gets worried about you
تو یه گلایلی و تو این سرزمین شوم
راهت به قبرو سنگ گرانیت میرسه
You are a gladiolus and in this ill fated land
You find your way to a grave and granite gravestone
هر روز به قتل میرسی و شعر تو فقط
به انتشار شعله کبریت میرسه
You get murdered everyday and your poem only
reaches to spread match's fire
هی مست میکنی مثه یه بطری شراب
که وقتی پاش بیافته یه کوکتل مولوتوفه
You get drunk like a bottle of wine
That will turn into a Molotov cocktail when the need arises
یه مجرم فراری شدی که تو زندگیش
درگیر یه گریز بدون توقفه
You are a wanted criminal who in life
Is stuck in a deadly car chase (x2)
Ps; If you're interested in checking the voice of Persia I recommend watching Amin yahyazadeh, the winner who is the main vocalist of an English language metal band. Also Maria who is a new female rock singer.
Ps2; drunk driving stands for living in defiance of the regime./ Killing the angel of revelation is the poets disdain for religious ideologies./ Deadly car chase is the dangerous life of an opposition./ The generation who became the devotees of the stone ages are the people who in 1979 revolution rooted for today's theocracy. And now they beg for the scraps of the freedom they willingly gave up./
Hafez is one of the greatest Persian poets who used wine and drinking metaphorically a lot in his poems. I guess this poet was inspired by that./ Razi was a Persian physician, philosopher and alchemist who discovered a way to extract alcohol from fermented materials./ Getting drunk like a bottle of wine that could turn into Molotov cocktail means living in defiance of the regime and also be ready to fight it actively./ The surface meaning of the poem about drinking and getting punished is valid too.
That's all I could think of in case you missed any metaphor or double meanings.
#SoundCloud#music#protest song#persian music#iran#iran protests#human rights#politics#iran revolution#middle east#lyrics#poetry#metaphor#double meaning#protests#the voice#persia#drunk
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War Isn't Murder (song sung by Jesse Welles)
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My latest track, "Criminally Hot", is out! It's about the climate crisis, written during the big July heat wave
. Give it a listen!
#Music#New Music#Song#Mine#Rock#Punk Rock#Climate Change#Climate Catastrophe#global warming#protest song#K/DY#SoundCloud
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Happy Pride Month 🏳️🌈
In one of my last posts, I talked about how I wished people used real lgb people to celebrate our culture and history instead of using straight celebs and calling them "queer icons 😍😍", and it made me decide to do something : everyday, I am gonna post about a real same sex attracted celebrity, or tell the real story of real lgb people in history.
For this first day I am just going to talk about my favourite singer ! She's very famous, so you probably already know her, but all opportunities to talk about how amazing she is are good haha.
Yes, that's Tracy Chapman !
Born on 30 March 1964 in Cleveland, Tracy Chapman is a singer and song writer, whose musical style combines blues, folk and soul. She is known for her pure, beautiful voice, as well as for her strongly protesting and committed lyrics - and for her wonderful music in general ! Although she always refused to talk about her sexual orientation in public, which is totally valid, we know she had romantic relationships with women, like the writer Alice Walker.
Her songs are deeply feminist, and also denounce poverty, inequality, discrimination, and so on. For example, one of her best songs, a song lasting less than two minutes, entirely a capella, called "Behind the Wall" evokes violence against women. The entire song is a masterpiece, her voice is absolutely breathtaking and the lyrics get me everytime.
youtube
"Last night I heard a screaming
Loud voices behind the wall
Another sleepless night for me
It won't do no good to call
The police
Always comes late
If they come at all"
She has performed at concerts in support of various causes. She supports Amnesty International and in 1988, she played at a concert organized by Amnesty International to celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2004, she took part in a bicycle race against AIDS.
She is an amazing woman and an amazing artist ! Here are some lyrics from some of her other songs, (that you should all listen to!) :
"Why do the babies starve
When there's enough food to feed the world
Why when there're so many of us
Are there people still alone
Why are the missiles called peace keepers
When they're aimed to kill
Why is a woman still not safe
When she's in her home"
-- Why, 1988
"Some claim to have crowned her
A queen
With cities of concrete and steel
But there is no glory no honor
In what results
From the rape of the world
Mother of us all
Place of our birth
We all are witness
To the rape of the world
She has been clear-cut
She has been dumped on
She has been poisoned and beaten up
And we have been witness
To the rape of the world"
-- The rape of the world, 1995
"While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Don't you know
Talking about a revolution?
It sounds like a whisper
Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what's theirs"
- Talkin' Bout a Revolution, 1988
She's also written songs about love, relationships, sorrow, feelings, and a lot of other things!
Remember her next time you want to talk about female lgb icons (instead of using Taylor Swift for I don't know what reason)
(Tracy Chapman is amazing and so so so talented and beautiful and oh my god her songs are wonderful and her voice is so so magnificent!!!! i love her i love her i love her)
See you tomorrow for the next lgb icon/history 🏳️🌈
#tracy chapman#gender non conforming#lesbian#female homosexuality#female homosexual#lgb community#homosexuality#lgbt artist#lgbt singer#lgb#pride#pride month#black lesbian#happy pride 🌈#music#80s music#folk#blues#soul#protest song#Youtube#radfem safe#radblr#radical feminism#radical feminist community#radical feminist safe#radical feminists do touch#radical feminists please touch#radfem#one lgb per day
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It's gonna take more than a bill or a law to kill our pride,
You can't write us off, you can't count us out, can't make us run and hide.
We're pushing right back, not gonna let anyone hold us down,
You will not erase us now!
#trans musician#transgender#lgbtq music#transgender music#protest song#queer music#trans creatives#new music#musicians on tumblr#music#spotify#lgbtqia#pop band#Spotify
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Diktador ba ang kailangan?
Ihanda na ang kadena kapalit ng kalayaan
Diktador ba ang kailangan?
Perlas ng silanganan
Pano na ang pinaglabanan?
—
Is a dictator what we need?
Prepare the chains in the place of freedom
Is a dictator what we need?
Pearl of the Orient
What about everything we fought for?
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Currently my fav anti cop song at the moment
Lyrics under cut:
Thank god for the cops
Who else is gonna show up and murder my neighbour's dog
Who else is gonna right a report when you get assaulted
Show up at the scene of the crime take a couple of pictures and then accuse you of lying
We love the cops! Who wouldn't ever lie on the stand
If you can't do the time you shouldn't have got that tan
We understand
They're trained to be afraid of the sun
So they should definitely be allowed
to shoot anyone
Chorus:
We love the cops
Stop resisting
Try thanking him for his service
Gotta be nice
You wouldn't like him when he's sad
Starin' down a barrel
Why are you so nervous
If I got mugged I'd just call ACAB
Call ACAB Call ACAB
If I got mugged I'd just call ACAB
Give it up for the cops
40 percent'll put you on shirt just for getting lost
Turn the blue lights on and cut the body cameras off
Detaining and tasing blind folks for looking at him wrong
It's fine as long as he's doing his job
Was that the cops
Who took an hour to open a door that was never locked
400 to 1 just ain't good enough it's tough
Remember the words of Martin Luther King
"When you're marching in the streets try not to break anything"
Chorus:
We love the cops
Stop resisting
Try thinking him for his service
Gotta be nice
You wouldn't like him when he's sad
Starin' down a barrel why are you so nervous
If I got mugged I'd just call ACAB
Call ACAB Call ACAB
If I got mugged I'd just call ACAB
Thank god for the cops
Stop resisting
Try thanking him for his service
Gotta be nice
You wouldn't like him when's he's sad
Starin' down a barrel
Why are you so nervous
If I got mugged I'd call ACAB
Call ACAB call ACAB
If I got mugged I'd call ACAB
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Richie Havens - Handsome Johnny (1966)
Richie Havens / Louis Gossett Jr.
from:
"Mixed Bag" (LP)
“Handsome Johnny” / “Sandy” (Single)
Contemporary Folk | Protest Song | Anti-War
JukeHostUK
(left click = play)
(320kbps)
Personnel:
Richie Havens: Vocals / Guitar
Howard Collins: Guitar
Paul Harris : Keyboards
Harvey Brooks: Bass
Bill LaVorgna: Drums
Produced by John Court
Recorded:
@ RKO Sound Studios (?)
in New York City, New York USA
on September 20, 1966
Album Released:
December, 1966
Verve Folkways Records
Verve Forecast Records (1967)
MGM Records (1970)
Polydor Records (1993)
Single Released:
on August 28, 1970
Verve Forecast Records (UK)
MGM Records Records (US)
#Richie Havens#Handsome Johnny#Louis Gossett Jr.#Protest Song#Verve Folkways#Mixed Bag#Folk#Contemporary Folk#1960's#1966#Anti-War#The Sixties
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Richie Havens - Handsome Johnny (1966)
Richie Havens / Louis Gossett Jr.
from:
"Mixed Bag" (LP)
“Handsome Johnny” / “Sandy” (Single)
Contemporary Folk | Protest Song | Anti-War
JukeHostUK
(left click = play)
(320kbps)
Personnel:
Richie Havens: Vocals / Guitar
Howard Collins: Guitar
Paul Harris : Keyboards
Harvey Brooks: Bass
Bill LaVorgna: Drums
Produced by John Court
Recorded:
@ RKO Sound Studios
in New York City, New York USA
on September 20, 1966
Album Released:
December, 1966
Verve Folkways Records
Verve Forecast Records (1967)
MGM Records (1970)
Polydor Records (1993)
Single Released:
on August 28, 1970
Verve Forecast Records (UK)
MGM Records Records (US)
+++ +++ +++
Louis Gossett Jr.
May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024
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Dropkick Murphys feat. O'Hamsters "We Shall Overcome" (Ukrainian Version)
English Translation from Ukrainian Version:
United till the end
United till the end
United till the end, we go
Fire in our hearts
We’ll overcome
United till the end, we go
You see no fear
You see no fear
You see no fear in our eyes
Fire in our hearts
We’ll overcome
United till the end, we go
Whole world is with us
Whole world is with us
Whole world is with us together
Fire in our hearts
We’ll overcome
United till the end, we go
Whole world is with us
Whole world is with us
Whole world is with us together
Fire in our hearts
We’ll overcome
United till the end, we go
We won't forget the fear
We won't forget the fear
We won't forget the fear of these nights
Fire in our hearts
We’ll overcome
United till the end, we go
We will hear the kids
We will hear the kids
We will hear the kids laughing
Fire in our hearts
We’ll overcome
United till the end, we go
Fire in our hearts
We’ll overcome
United till the end, we go
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A very rare but very incredible piece of funk! That intro with the drums and the killer bass!
Fun fact: this singer was likely gay and definitely a drag performer/female impersonator. This is the last song he recorded before retiring from show biz! What a track to go out on!
Here is him ten years before the above came out, on video
youtube
#Larry Darnell#rock n roll#Funk#rnb#Blues#50s#soul music#drag history#queer history#protest song#tw slavery#Youtube
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Royaye Ma (Our Dream) by Ebi and Shadmehr
This is a Persian protesting song, released in 2013, that criticizes the governments and wishes for a better world. In the last couple of months this song has become popular again for its relatability.
من رویایی دارم رویای آزادی
I have a dream, the dream of freedom
رویای یک رقص بی وقفه از شادی
The dream of dancing unstoppably out of happiness
من رویایی دارم از جنس بیداری
I have a dream, it is of awareness nature
رویای تسکینِ این درد تکراری
The dream of easing this old pain
درد جهانی که از عشق تهی می شه
The pain of a world that is getting void of love
درد درختی که می خشکه از ریشه
The pain of a tree that is dying from the roots
درد زنایی که محکوم آزارن
The pain of women who are sentenced to harassment
یا بچه هایی که تو چرخه ی کارن
Or children who are engaged in child labor
تعبیر این رویا درمون دردامه
If this dream comes true, that'll be the cure of my pains
درمون این دردا تعبیرِ رویامه
The cure of my pains are my dreams coming true
رویای من اینه دنیای بی کینه
This is my dream, a world without hatred
دنیای بی کینه رویای من اینه
A world without hatred is my dream
من رویایی دارم رویای رنگارنگ
I have a dream, a colorful dream
رویای دنیایی سبز و بدون جنگ
The dream of a world that is green and war-free
من رویایی دارم که غیر ممکن نیست
I have a dream that isn't impossible
دنیایی که پاکه از تابلوهای ایست
A world with no stop signs
دنیایی که بمب و موشک نمی سازه
A world that doesn't manufacture bombs and rockets
موشک روی خواب کودک نمی ندازه
(And) doesn't rain down missiles on a sleeping child
دنیایی که تو اون زندونا تعطیلن
A world where prisons are closed in it
آدم ها به جرم پرسش نمی میرن
(And) people aren't murdered for asking questions
نمی میرن
They aren't murdered
#SoundCloud#iran#iran protests#mahsa amini#jina amini#human rights#politics#feminism#middle east#protest song#song#jin jiyan azadi#women life freedom#persian song#anti war
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grupo de experimentación sonor del instituto cubano del arte e industria cinematográficos (ICAIC), cuba va ! songs of the new generation of revolutionary cuba, 1971
archive.org / discogs
#grupo de experimentación sonor del instituto cubano del arte e industria cinematográficos#ICAIC#1970s#70s#art#illustration#album cover#folk#protest song#cuban folk#album art#graphic design#design#cultreslut
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In the spirit of the holidays, please enjoy this anti-capitalist protest song about generational disenfranchisement!
Lyrics:
I will not place bets upon my soul
And I won't let your money eat me whole
Philosophy's no commodity
But it can give me what I need
And I won't let your money eat me whole
They sent my grandfather to Africa
In Italy he lost all of his friends
In France he disarmed mines,
and it was there he lost his mind
They sent him home where he learned to sell insurance
And my grandmother never wanted children
But the Catholic church said condoms were a sin
By his grace she brought up eight
On one salary, and ain't God great?
They were poor, but she sure could stretch a chicken
And the nuns were preaching gratitude
They'd smack you for your attitude
The pope would take their tithes,
but would he help keep them alive?
When the walls wouldn't close
And their baby'd gone cold,
I imagine they said,
"Eternal life sounds great, but,
God, I'd rather not be dead."
You mistake your profits for your prophets
You've been building gods out of gold
But no matter how you spin it, man
Someday you're gonna kick it and
I won't let your money eat me whole
My father put himself through law school
A seminary dropout on his way
He thought Reagan had it right,
for he'd worked hard and risen high
A wife and son and a house in the suburbs
Well, he worked for the county twenty years
Broke his mind working murders and rapes
Thought a change could get him right,
A different job, a different wife
But a change never paid the bills
When his clients couldn't pay,
he would not send them away
One divorce became two,
and now the alimony's due
You know he believed
in the American dream
Til one day he looked around, said,
"I've been waiting thirty years,
Hey, man, this shit ain't trickling down!"
There's brokers drinking Kool-Aid with their cocaine
Caught in a Dow-Jonestown massacre
They bet the house and the house did call
America's gonna lose it all
But we won't let your money eat us whole
I came of age to the Great Recession
Graduated to a call of "Yes we can!"
They said, "Kid, your time is here.
A change is coming, don't you fear.
Just give us a few years to end this war."
America the Beautiful, where are ya?
There's a racist mob knocking down your door
Too afraid to spook the sponsors,
so the kids are cannon-fodder
As long as they keep buying those new phones
They've cried wolf too many times,
and we can see right through their lies
Is that a congress or a board room?
Fuck 'em! They'll do nothing for you
And people today
Don't expect to be saved
They scream battle cries:
"Eat the rich, they're full of protein."
"Save the planet - God, it's smoking."
"You know money's only paper."
"Founding Fathers all are slavers."
"Join a union."
"Plant a tree."
"Black Lives Matter."
"Love is free!"
We've been eking change from our dollars
Trying to find someone who'll take care of the fold
But leaders never lead nowhere
We must go hand in hand and do our share
We will not let your money eat us whole
No, leaders never lead nowhere
We must go hand in hand and do our share
A revolution's coming, don't you know?
And we won't let your money eat us whole
A revolution's coming, don't you know?
And we won't let your money eat us whole
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