Protest Songs

Woody Guthrie with his iconic guitar that says, “This machine kills fascists.”

American folk music has long been a loudspeaker against fascism, tyranny, and subjugation. Artists are often moved to turn their pens, guitars, keyboards, banjos, wash boards, paint brushes, microphones, and whatever other medium is available directly toward the evil powers that hold down people of color, other religions or less powerful or rich types of folks who can’t fight for themselves.

Well, not everyone will agree with me on this, but the time has come for us to pick up our weapons again. If you believe like me, then you feel as if democracy itself and the United States that you’ve grown to love is absolutely in danger of obliteration.

The days of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Barry McGuire, Country Joe and the Fish don’t come close to the political danger that we face at this moment. This is the time to stand. It’s all hands on deck.

But wait, how the hell do you write a protest song? I remember so many times trying to figure out how to make a protest song feel artistic and not too “on the nose” but also to the point, clear, and concise. It’s very difficult to say an exact thing without saying it exactly.

That’s what songwriting is though. We figure out poetic ways to say universal truths or get a point across. A lot of times we really beat around the bush until we get to the bridge where we kind of state the thesis of the song, so that folks finally understand what we’re talking about or there’s some kind of twist that illuminates the meaning.

Protesters in Minneapolis

With protest songs it’s very different. We’re trying to incite and excite the righteous anger and indignation of good, loving, and brave people. Essentially, we’re trying to unite people under an idea and cause them to take positive action.

There is no formula for this. It’s up to you to decide how to get it across. I think we have to be conversational about it, but that’s just my own take on it. Somehow we need to get the point across without punching down or insulting people who might believe differently. We’re trying to change their minds, not piss them off.

That might be the main difference between our time now and the ’60s. In the ’60s, it was just as much about generational differences as it was about political differences. They almost seemed to go hand-in-hand then. Now, all different ages believe different things and it isn’t about the young pissing off the old anymore. It’s really about uniting everyone and trying to change the hearts and minds of people who have been completely deceived and are stuck in their bubble and don’t know how to get out. They don’t even know they’re stuck. It’s an almost insurmountable task, but we have to do it now!

How do you let people know they’re wrong without them feeling judged or attacked? How do you do it in a kind but stern way that opens their heart rather than their anger?

I still haven’t figured out a way to answer these questions, but I am working every day to try and figure out ways to simply say things about love and acceptance, and not hating others. We can’t serve up that message filled with hate and vitriol. It must be completely devoid of negative energy. That’s not to say we can’t be dark or edgy. There’s a way to do it that doesn’t hit. The message has to be delivered in a way that is digestible and not a turn off to folks who might be stuck in that terrible bubble.

Part of that is to get out of your own damn bubble. Yes, you! Getting out of your bubble will give you the understanding it takes to talk to others who may be stuck in theirs.

Believe it or not the left is not right about everything! In fact, they’re incredibly flawed and need to be repaired in so many ways. We need to protest about that as well.

Truth is not limited to right or left politics. Truth is just truth and that’s what we need to sing about.

We just passed the one year mark of Donald Trump’s occupation. I absolutely don’t know what’s coming next and neither do you. This is a terrifying time, but I will not give up my country.

I have a pen and a voice and a guitar. I have a microphone and a recording device I’m prepared to fight for it. Are you?

Jeff Berkley is a San Diego songwriter, musician, and producer, whose soulful writing, guitar mastery, and visionary production have shaped the Southern California music scene. He has collaborated with icons like Jackson Browne, David Crosby, the Indigo Girls, and Ben Harper; in 1999 won the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Award. With his bands Berkley Hart and Jeff Berkley & the Banned, he has earned multiple San Diego Music Awards, including Artist of the Year in 2023, and was inducted into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. Berkley has released numerous acclaimed albums and continues to perform, produce, and create music rooted in heart and storytelling.