We’ve got to get together sooner or later/
Because the revolution’s here, and you know it’s right.

What happened to all the great protest music? Thunderclap Newman was a one-hit wonder, but what a hit they had in “Something in the Air”! In 1969, there was something in the air, and they were feeling revolution. The impetus behind the protest at the time was the Vietnam war. This song is a little more insidious than other protest songs. It talks about handing out ammo to all the instigators because the revolution is here. You know it’s right, the time is now; it is in the air. The lyrics are actually quite radical.

The music is great. The verse and chorus have a great melody. Following the trend of many of the songs of the psychedelic movement, the bridge seems like it could stand alone as a different song. It doesn’t have much similarity with the rest of the song, but it works. (Also see Tuesday Afternoon, Live for Today, A Day in The Life). The bridge has piano and hand-clapping and the rest of the song has a full symphony. It is an interesting juxtaposition.

Something in the Air Lyrics

Call out the instigators,
Because there’s something in the air,
We’ve got to get together sooner or later.
Because the revolution’s here, and you know it’s right!
And you know that it’s right.

We have got to get it together,
We have got to get it together, now.

Lock up the streets and houses,
Because there’s something in the air.
We’ve got to get together sooner or later,
Because the revolution’s here, and you know it’s right!
And you know that it’s right.

We have got to get it together,
We have got to get it together now.

Hand out the arms and ammo,
We’re going to blast our way through here.
We’ve got to get together sooner or later,
Because the revolution’s here, and you know it’s right!
And you know that it’s right.

We have got to get it together,
We have got to get it together now.

Songwriters: John Keen

We said we’d all go down together/
Yes we would all go down together.

Billy Joel’s “Goodnight Saigon” is one of the most devastating songs about the Vietnam War. Any war really. Joel sings the song in the first person, but he never fought in the war. However, the picture he paints sounds as if he was really there. I read in interviews that he did research for this song. From the helicopter in the beginning to the slow, dreary lyrics and the weary music, this song is one of the best war songs.

It is not a typical protest song, though Joel would certainly be anti-war. The message of the song is that the soldiers fight for each other, and that a special bond develops between them because of their closeness to death. Also, Joel emphasizes how young the soldiers are that are fighting the war.

The sing-along at the end is a great use of the medium. He imagines a song that they might all sing while doing rounds: “And we will all go down together…” I can imagine later soldiers adopting this line and calling it out as they march for miles. It fits in the song well and is very inventive.

Goodnight Saigon Lyrics

We met as soulmates
On Parris Island,
We left as inmates,
From an asylum.
And we were sharp,
As sharp as knives.
And we were so gung ho to lay down our lives.

We came in spastic,
Like tameless horses.
We left in plastic,
As numbered corpses.
And we learned fast,
To travel light.
Our arms were heavy,
But our bellies were tight.

We had no homefront,
We had no soft soap.
They sent us playboy,
They gave us bob hope.
We dug in deep,
And shot on sight.
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might.

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape.
We passed the hash pipe,
And played our Doors tapes.
And it was dark,
So dark at night.
And we held onto each other,
Like brother to brother,
We promised our mothers we’d write.

And we would all go down together,
We said we’d all go down together,
Yes we would all go down together.

Remember Charlie?
Remember Baker?
They left their childhood,
On every acre.
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn’t matter
In the thick of the fight.

We, held the day,
In the palm of our hands.
They, ruled the night.
And the night, seemed to last
As long as six weeks
On Parris Island.
We held the coastline,
They held the highland.
And they were sharp,
As sharp as knives.
They heard the hum of the motors,
They counted the rotors,
And waited for us to arrive.

And we would all go down together,
We said we’d all go down together,
Yes we would all go down together.

Songwriters: Billy Joel

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery/
None but ourselves can free our minds.

Musically, Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” sounds sparse. In a sense it is. Marley recorded it with just an acoustic guitar—and the guitar is mixed low at that. But the melody really comes through despite the minimalist production. It adds power to the lyrics. It makes you take note of them.

Lyrically the song is loaded. It speaks to slavery, environmentalism, religion and civil action all in a four-minute song. Marley’s voice sounds especially poignant. He realizes he is saying something important and it touches him as he is singing it. He asks us to sing along with him–a song of freedom, emancipation…a song of redemption.

Redemption Song Lyrics

Old pirates, yes, they rob I
Sold I to the merchant ships
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pits

But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly

Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery
None but our self can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
‘Cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look?
Some say it’s just a part of it
We’ve got to fulfill di book

Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever had
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our mind
Oh, have no fear for atomic energy
‘Cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall dey kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look?
Some say it’s just a part of it
We’ve got to fulfill di book

Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever had
Redemption songs
All I ever had
Redemption songs
These songs of freedom
Songs of freedom

written by Bob Marley