Music and Politics -- the Essay

In his book Lynskey notes that during George W. Bush's administration, when Bush made anti-war people angry by invading Iraq, Neil Young sand "Let's Impeach the President." Earlier in his career Neil Young responded to the killing of four students (by the National Guard) in Kent State in 1970 by writing the protest song, "Ohio," which was performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Lynskey called it a "masterpiece" or protest that was full of "…fury, grief, and topical precision" (Wilentz, p. 3).

Lynskey contrasts the protest songs of Bob Dylan with Phil Ochs, which involves a massive amount of lyrics and music from the Sixties and Seventies. The author explains that Ochs was more of an in-person activist than Dylan, showing up at various anti-war rallies, and while Dylan's classic protest songs like "Masters of War" and "Only a Pawn in Their Game" far surpassed Ochs' "preachier material," Ochs made a name for himself in the peace movement with songs like "I Ain't a-Marchin' Anymore" (Wilentz, p. 4).

In conclusion, it is fascinating to see how music and politics -- from slavery days to the anti-Vietnam war and civil rights in the 1960s -- have played an important role in society.The madness of Hitler and the anger of workers that had to toil for 12 and 14 hours a day with little compensation -- it is all part of the blending of music and politics.

Works Cited

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust. (2005). Nazi Approved Music. Retrieved June 3, 2012,

From http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/musreich.htm.

Brainz. (2008). 10 Most Evil Propaganda Techniques Used by the Nazis. Retrieved June 3,

2012, from http://brainz.org.

Public Broadcast Service. (2007). Strange Fruit / Protest Music. Retrieved June 3, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/independentiens/strangefruit/war.html.

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