Something Old, Something New: Songs of Protest in 2026
No political action drive would be complete without a lineup of smart tunes to belt out along the protest route. Renée Good’s and Alex Pretti’s murders have propelled people around the country to demand justice and have their voices heard. They’re writing songs and chants conveying their anger, their heartbreak and their commitment to solidarity.
Beyond Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho
Here are a just few new tunes and chants to update your protest march repertoire:
“Hold On” by Heidi Wilson. This simple, easy-to-sing tune went viral after a group of 600 protesters sang it while marching in frigid Minneapolis. It has the grace of a spiritual and the power of an anthem.
Hold on, hold on.
My dear ones.
Here comes the dawn.
If you’re comfortable with the F-bomb, there’s the foot-tapping song-chant introduced recently by protesters in Times Square. The Caribbean flavored “o-le o-le o-le o-le, fuck Trump!” is particularly fun to sing.
Hey Nazis, fuck you
Hey Maga, fuck you
Hey Proud Boys, fuck you
Hey Elon, fuck you
Hey Fascists, fuck you!
O-le o-le o-le o-le, fuck Trump, fuck Trump
O-le o-le o-le o-le, fuck Trump, fuck Trump!
Church-goers in Minneapolis shared another song-chant in the spiritual mode, Who Keeps Us Safe? The melody is basic, made more potent by clapping.
Who keeps us safe?
Who keeps us safe?
We keep us safe.
We keep us safe.
Our love for our people
Will conquer hate
Our love for our people
Will conquer hate.
Songs for Your Message Mix Tape
Songs that set the stage for and then fueled the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War protests include:
“This Land Is Your Land,” Pete Seeger’s quiet cover of Woody Guthrie’s rebuttal to Irving Berlin’s sentimental “God Bless America,” imagins the country as an everyman’s paradise.
“Eve of Destruction.” Without apology, this raw, rough recording by Barry McGuire summed up the fear felt by young people facing the draft, racial divides and nuclear proliferation.
Along with the spiritual “We Shall Overcome,” “A Change Is Gonna Come,’” Sam Cooke’s plaintive ballad, became synonymous with the Civil Rights movement.
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 hit “Fortunate Son” expressed the fury felt by many American youth too aware of the economic inequities baked into the draft (bone spurs anyone?).
Editor Addition: In the early 90s, the band Rage Against the Machine brought their repertoire of protest and leftist music to the world. While often bafflingly misunderstood by conservatives, there can be no confusing the meanings in their lyrics as a call to a new paradigm.
In 2003, the Black Eyed Peas released “Where Is the Love?” a hip-hop anthem exposing the hypocrisy and injustice of George Bush Jr.’s war on terrorism.
“American Idiot” set to music the progressive mood of the early 2000s, with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong raging punk-style against the lies behind the Iraq War. Given Trump’s latest embarrassing, infuriating performance on the world stage, the song feels as relevant as the day it was written.
Editor Addition: If you’re a Millennial who came of age during the Dubbya years, it is impossible to overlook System of a Down’s fiery “B.Y.O.B.”
Editor Addition: Pearl Jam and Ben Harper released “No More” in 2008, written specifically for the anti-war documentary Body of War, which was also dedicated to Iraq war veteran Thomas Young.
Editor Addition: A personal 2000s-era favorite of mine is from the nearly undefinable punk band, Gogol Bordello. (Punk music as a genre having, of course, a long history of protest music and anti-fascist struggle.) Give “Immigraniada (We Comin’ Rougher)” a listen for an extra kick in your anti-ICE step.
Editor Addition: In 2015, Kendrick Lamar put his finger on the pulse of the exploding conversation about police brutality and racist oppression and penned the triumphant “Alright.”
Editor Addition: In 2018, right in the middle of the first Trump presidency, Childish Gambino dropped the eerily catchy “This is America,” which captures the contradictions inherent to Black life in the United States. The music video doubled down, every frame brimming with meaning.
Recently, Jesse Welles, the Arkansas folk singer in the Dylan mode, made waves with his protest songs, the satirical “Join Ice” and “No Kings,” among others.
And finally, brand spanking new is the song “Streets of Minneapolis” by Bruce Springsteen. Listen to it here.
What are your favorite protest songs to add to the list?