Songs with a message
Learning English is fun, but it's even better when you can learn both English and about events/causes at the same time while listening to a great song ! Here is a selection of songs "with a message". Enjoy !
And do not hesitate to look for the lyrics if you don't understand them.
Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit (1939)
Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Ani DiFranco - Lost Woman Song (1990)
I opened a bank account when I was nine years old,
I closed it when I was eighteen.
I gave them every penny that I'd saved,
And they gave my blood and my urine a number.
Now I'm sitting in this waiting room,
Playing with the toys.
And I am here to exercise
My freedom of choice...
Here are other examples of songs with very different messages, from the 1930s to today, ranging from blues to trash metal...
Christina Aguilera (featuring Lil' Kim) - Can't Hold Us Down (2002)
Lily Allen – Everyone's At It (2009)
Toby Keith – Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (the Angry American) (2002)
Tracy Chapman – Behind the Wall (1988)
Bing Crosby – Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? (1932)
West Side Story – America (1957)
Shania Twain – Ka-Ching! (2003)
Sting – Russians (1985)
Bruce Sprinsgteen – Born in the USA (1984)
Sex Pistols – God Save the Queen (1977)
U2 – Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1983)
Ben Harper – Like a King (1994)
Slayer – Read Between the Lies (1988)
Bob Marley – Redemption Song (1980)
Pink – Dear Mr. President (2006)
Malvina Reynolds – Little Boxes (1962)
John Lennon – Working Class Hero (1970)
The Offspring – Come Out and Play (1994)
