Protest Songs

3 Pages 841 Words

Protest Songs
Protest songs flooded the air of college radios during the 1960’s. The Civil Rights movement was the biggest domestic news and a time was coming when action was going to be taken against legalized segregation. On the foreign front, the draft was tearing young men from their homes as soon as graduated from high school. During these times of protest, many music artists supported the rallies with songs challenging the social order. Protest songs of the 1960’s played an important roll in the most turbulent decade of the Twentieth Century.
P.F. Sloan’s “Eve of Destruction” sung by Barry McGuire and Bob Dylan’s “These Times They Are A-Changin’” have some similarities, but were aimed at different concerns. Both songs were written in the early to mid-1960’s and dealt with the political issues of Civil Rights act and the Vietnam War. However, “These Times They Are A-Changin’” is a folk song, and “Eve of Destruction” is of the rock genre.
“Eve of Destruction”, written in 1965, highlights the tragedies of war and seems to focus on Vietnam. Sloan writes “you’re old enough to kill but not for votin’”. This line is in reference to the fact that 18-year old males were eligible to be drafted and sent to fight for their country, yet didn’t even hold a political voice. Sloan’s line of “If the button is pushed, there’s no running away, There’ll be nothing to save with the world in a grave” seems to be referring to the chance of utilizing nuclear weapons as a solution would, in fact, be an end to humanity .
The next verse begins the section concerning the Civil Rights movement. Sloan says “handful of Senators don’t pass legislation, and marches alone can’t bring integration, when human respect is disintegratin’”. He’s talking about the Civil Rights amendment in congress and the fact that legal procedures need to be taken rather than just protests and marches. The first t...