250 Songs That Argue for a Better America

The American protest song dates back before the country of America, when revolutionary colonists rewrote verses of “Yankee Doodle” and hurled them back at the British. Even American heroes were not spared from the early nation’s scorn. One famous version thumbs its nose at George Washington, mocking the future Founding Father for being full of himself and loving a crowd:

And there was Captain Washington,
And gentlefolks about him,
They say he’s grown so tarnal proud,
He will not ride without them!

But if Washington minded, he never let on, and today those words are displayed by the museum at his old house in Mount Vernon. There is no tradition more proudly American than demanding better for ourselves, and no music more closely aligned with freedom than the protest song. It is the thing we fought to be able to do and a continuation of the fight; the pursuit and prize all in one.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, Consequence is joining in with 250 songs that argue for a better country. While you won’t find “Yankee Doodle,” plenty of songs from across the 1900s remain frustratingly relevant, and modern artists have responded to a country in flux with potent contributions to the canon.

The list represents our staff taste, and is meant to capture the breadth of protest in all its varieties: from more mainstream like Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” to Body Count’s radical “Cop Killer;” “Blowing in the Wind” to “Alright” to a lot of Rage Against the Machine. Even the most pessimistic of these songs has the same optimism at the core: If we can sing about it, we can change it.

Find the Spotify playlist below. Note, a few songs are unavailable on streaming, so the complete 250 Songs That Argue for a Better America list is ahead.