Favorite Socially Conscious Songs

USA for Africa - We are the World

"Mercy Mercy Me" (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye

Brother Louie - Stories

William Butler Yeats and Where were You in Chicago

Sympathy for Beelzebub

Isley Bothers - Caravan of Love

City of New Orleans

Whodini - Growing Up

Brothers Gonna Work it Out - Willie Hutch

Lean Horne
Silent Spring

Anything by the rapper Immortal Technique, but it's all too explicit to post here.

Midnight Oil -- "Beds Are Burning"

This was one my favorite songs, period, growing up.
I only realized in the last decade or so, thanks to the Internet, that it was political.

I remember hearing this one when my parents took me to hear an obscure folksinger in the mid-90s.
I looked for it on Youtube, and it seems like mostly mens' choruses sing it.

"Not in Our Town"

Ballad of a Thin Man

Ballad Of A Thin Man
Bob Dylan, The Band
You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard but you don't understand
Just what you will say when you get home
Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
You raise up your head and you ask, "Is this where it is?"
And somebody points to you and says, "It's his"
And you say, "What's mine?" and somebody else says, "Well, what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God, am I here all alone?"
But something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
You hand in your ticket and you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you when he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel to be such a freak?"
And you say, "Impossible!" as he hands you a bone
And something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
You have many contacts among the lumberjacks
To get you facts when someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect, anyway they already expect you to all give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations
Ah, you've been with the professors and they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well-read, it's well-known
But something is happening here and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you and then he kneels
He crosses himself and then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice, he asks you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your throat back, thanks for the loan"
And you know something is happening but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Now, you see this one-eyed midget shouting the word "Now"
And you say, "For what reason?" and he says, "How"
And you say, "What does this mean?" and he screams back, "You're a cow"
"Give me some milk or else go home"
And you know something's happening but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Well, you walk into the room like a camel, and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket and your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law against you comin' around
You should be made to wear earphones
'Cause something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Songwriters: BOB DYLAN

Stop the Violence Movement - Self Destruction
[Official Video]

God Bless the Child