A new project to catalogue the history of the English protest song from 1600 to the present day is underway. Through this, many of the songs that have inspired radical action through the pivotal events of English history, from the Civil War to the anti-Thatcher protests, will be preserved.
The project is called ‘Our Subversive Voice’ and it includes notes, lyrics, recordings and, for more contemporary fare, interviews with key songwriters. So far, the website contains details of 750 songs.
The project has an academic aspect, providing resources for current and future researchers. The project has been established by the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The earliest songs are from both sides of the English Civil War and the most recent is Grace Petrie‘s 2016 song ‘I Wish The Guardian Believed That I Exist’.
Looking through the songs, the diversity and range is vast. From 1860 there is ‘Lay of the Lash’, described as “A compelling articulation of the power of female appeal to effect legislative change”; and from 1982 there is ‘Shipbuilding’, written by Elvis Costello and first sung by Robert Wyatt. ‘Shipbuilding’, a Falklands War protest song was banned from broadcasting by the BBC at the time of its release.
In terms of objectives, the website sets out three questions that it is seeking to understand:
- What does the protest song look and sound like when considered within its long-term history?
- What conditions are necessary for the creation, circulation and appreciation of protest songs?
- How do protest songs communicate ideas and how can they best be analysed?
The project has been endorsed by singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, who has often said that while music cannot change the world it can alter how people think about topics and help to bring people with common concerns together, cementing solidarity. Bragg himself has two of his songs in the catalogue: ‘Between The Wars’ and ‘It Says Here’, the latter song taking a swipe at the tabloid press.
Bragg explains to the BBC that the project was important to show the political tradition of songs in England: “People think political pop music was something invented in the 1970s, but traditionally song has been used to get messages out, without them being edited by the government or establishment.”
Professor John Street, who is leading the project, tells the New Musical Express there are many examples of how protest songs have become integrated into the social fabric, reflecting and sometimes helping to propel societal change. He cites The Special AKA’s ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ as a key example, with the song bringing to attention Mandela’s unjust imprisonment and the apartheid system in place in South Africa to the youth in other parts of the world.
Street also states that Tom Robinson’s ‘Glad To Be Gay’ as an example of another song that helped usher in change, together with The Smiths‘ ‘Meat is Murder’.
The protest song is particularly tied to the English tradition, where folk music represents music that is reflective of time and place. Bragg himself regularly updates his songs to meet current issues. An example is with his song ‘Sexuality’, which he has updated to be trans-inclusive.
The original lyrics to the song include the couplet: “Just because you’re gay, I won’t turn you away/ If you stick around, I’m sure that we can find some common ground”.
Bragg’s updated version, which forms part of his touring repertoire, is now: “Just because you’re they, I won’t turn you away/ If you stick around, I’m sure that we can find the right pronoun”.
