Down the centuries, songs have been written for all kinds of reasons. To celebrate happy events, to mourn the passing of loved ones, to pray or even fight for a better world. Music is a way of expressing what is going on. This is the first of a series of stories by Radio Netherlands Worldwide about protest songs from all over the world.

When US folk singer Pete Seeger reworked an old gospel song in the late 1940s to sing at a political rally, he couldn’t have imagined the impact. We Shall Overcome became the battle song of the US civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s and is still a symbol of musical resistance today.

Not bad for a six-line song. But those six lines arguably had a greater impact on the civil rights movement than the most eloquent political speech.

Watch video of We Shall Overcome

From home to society
Writing and singing protest songs isn’t something new; people have been doing it for centuries. You only have to take a look at the texts of early European folk songs to learn what was going on at the time. And in the 19th century, black slaves in the United States sang spirituals to express their frustration and sorrows.

The songs often told about the hardships of daily life at home, in the factories and mines, on the plantations and farms. But at the beginning of the 20th century the focus of the lyrics changed. They started to deal with important social issues such as women’s rights, the impact of the First World War, the rich and the poor.

Powerful medium
Modern media made it possible for the songs to reach larger audiences. In the 1930s, Strange Fruit - a song about the brutal lynching of African Americans in the south of the United States - caused a huge stir as people all over the place could listen to Billie Holiday singing the song on the radio.

Socialist songs are also a form of protest songs. For decades the Amsterdam choir De Stem des Volks (Voice of the People) sang songs such as Morgenrood (Red Morning Sky) and The Internationale at Labour Day demonstrations on 1 May and other socialist events.

Watch video of Strange Fruit

Goodnight Mr President
In the 1960s, the protest culture almost became part of the establishment. It was commercially viable for artists to get involved in the protests against the Vietnam War and the US civil rights movement. Millions of people bought records by Bob Dylan, Donovan and Joan Baez.

Singer-songwriter Boudewijn de Groot became the most important Dutch protest singer thanks to his song Welterusten Mijnheer de President (Goodnight Mr President), in which he complained about the US interference in Vietnam. The young artist wasn’t too happy at being labelled a protest singer as all he wanted was to sing great songs.

In other parts of the world, musicians also came to realise how powerful protest songs could be. During the years of dictatorship in Latin America there was a rich tradition of protest songs. The Chilean singer and activist Victor Jara, who was killed during General Pinochet's military coup in 1973, became a symbol of resistance. His songs and poems are still alive today.

Watch video of Welterusten Mijnheer de President

Free Nelson Mandela
The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa was supported by various Western artists who questioned apartheid in their music. In 1984, the British group The Special AKA made the single Free Nelson Mandela.  As a result, Mandela’s name became known among Western teenagers who were dancing to this hit song in the discos.

Ten years later, Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa and many a pop star – from Bono to the Spice Girls – went to South Africa to be photographed with the symbol of the anti-apartheid fight. Getting involved in political and social issues was considered good for your image as a musician. Protest and resistance in music had become fully accepted.

(hs/as/imm)