this music had a very specific message
[Music]
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
songs that criticize America
[Music]
before we begin you publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list will be ranking the most
popular or influential songs that carry
a lyrical message criticizing America or
pointing out negative aspects of its
culture style or politics we’re not
taking sides with regards to the content
behind these songs but rather commenting
about how successful each artist was
with how they executed their ideas
number 10 this is America childish
gambino this is America maybe the most
recently released song on the list but
that doesn’t make it any less powerful
in fact the video has been viewed over
200 million times on YouTube which means
that it’s lyrical message is reaching an
incredibly large group of people that
message is multifaceted as well bringing
together commentary on gun culture
violence and race relations in America
with video as captivating as it is
frightening childish gambino was already
a popular artist before releasing this
as America but it’s safe to say at this
point that the actor writer and musician
is well on his way to being a massive
have you cried Marvin Gaye had released
a whopping ten studio albums prior to
unleashing what’s going on to the masses
an epic concept album touching on all of
the hot-button topics of the day the
album’s title track is a reflection on
how the Vietnam War affected every
American at home and abroad
the song is melodic and soulful focusing
his message head-on as Gaye delivers his
vocals from the perspective of a
disheartened Vietnam vet the 70s may be
over but what’s going on is timeless and
still possesses an incredible amount of
power to this day number 8 the
revolution will not be televised
Jill scott-heron the next song on our
list may have been released in the same
decade as Marvin Gaye’s what’s going on
but it couldn’t be more different in
terms of tone the revolution will not be
televised as the angry and passionate
brother to gays troubled melancholy
delivered with righteous indignation by
beat poet and jazz musician Jill Scott
we play Heron rattles off rapid-fire
pop-culture references while hammering
home the song’s title in what can only
be described as an embryonic form of
hip-hop the revolution will not be
televised as simple yet who’s so
effective a construct of vocals bass
drums and flute that captured lightning
in a bottle almost 50 years ago number
seven the lonesome death of Hattie Carol
Bob Dylan as Martin Luther King jr.
delivered his famous I have a dream
speech in 1963 a decision was being
levied against baltimore’s Williams and
singer Zant singer was only given six
months and a $500 fine for the racist
assault of a black barmaid named Hattie
Carroll an incident that reportedly
contributed to the brain hemorrhage that
lonesome death of Hattie Carroll was
written by Bob Dylan in response to Zant
singers reported verbal abuse and
beating of Carol at Baltimore’s Emerson
hotel the song is more about Dylan’s
powerful lyrics than a memorable
arrangement or key melody yet is this
directness that reinforces Dylan as one
of music’s most unique wordsmiths and
number six fortunate son Creedence
Clearwater Revival
the Vietnam conflict rears its head once
again this time with fortunate son by
CCR the song is a counterculture and
anti-war anthem commenting on the huge
gap between the rich and the poor
specifically on how the sons of
influential and powerful families
fortunate son is a short song at just
over two minutes but this doesn’t stop
frontman and guitarist John Fogerty from
getting all of his thoughts out in the
open with raw and impassioned vocals
[Music]
number five fight the power Public Enemy
one could argue that hip-hop is a
musical genre tailor-made to
successfully deliver a lyrical message a
form of communication that gets right to
fight the power is a great example of
this notion as Public Enemy are all
about providing intelligent and
insightful social commentary the song
discusses social injustice is faced by
the black community and negatively calls
out specific celebrities by name
including Elvis Presley and John Wayne
fight the power wouldn’t be the first
time Public Enemy criticized the
American status quo and it wouldn’t be
the last but it might be the group’s
best
number four sleep now in the fire Rage
Against the Machine
okay we admit that you could feasibly
pick out any Rage Against the Machine
song for this list and it would probably
fit killing in the name anyone
for our money though sleep now in the
fire brings it all home with some raw
lyrical fire funky ass drumming and an
ingenious guitar solo from the mind of
Tom Morello
[Music]
lyrically sleep now in the fire touches
upon many controversial acts committed
by America during wartime such as the
use of chemical and atomic weapons
meanwhile the video features rage and
full-on takeover mode playing at the New
York Stock Exchange with documentarian
Michael Moore behind the camera
[Music]
number three rocking in the free world
Neil Young
[Music]
who said you had to be an American to
criticize the United States if that’s
the case the one told Canada’s Neil
Young who used his 1989 hit rocking in
the free world to take on George Bush
Senior and his thousand points of light
speech
[Music]
young was no stranger to speaking his
mind in song as evidenced by the track
southern man which took on civil rights
and slavery in the South
[Music]
rocking in the free world directly
comments about the problems that affect
drug users and the poor doing so with a
simple yet heavy riff which practically
[Music]
number two Mississippi goddamn Nina
Simone the name of this tune is
Mississippi god damn Mississippi goddamn
may sound like a tune from a Broadway
show but it only takes one quick listen
to Nina Simone’s incredible lyrics to
realize that this song is not playing
nice Alabama’s got me sharp shit
Tennessee made me lose my rest everybody
knows about Mississippi Mississippi
goddamn is a call to arms a song which
doesn’t beg for civil rights
but demands it thanks to Simone’s
inspiring vocals Alabama’s show up
shittin governor Wallace made me lose my
there’s a touch of sadness and
exasperation to Simone’s voice as she
rattles off the injustice is committed
against her people by a racist America
yet there’s also a certain surety that a
change is going to come and it’s coming
soon Mississippi goddamn is one of those
perfect songs released at the perfect
time a masterpiece that begs for
before we name our number one pick here
[Music]
[Applause]
black body swinging in the southern
breeze strange number one born in the
USA Bruce Springsteen it’s perhaps one
of the most misconstrued pop songs of
all time Bruce Springsteen’s born in the
USA was thought by many to be the sort
of pro-american anthem that would have
felt right at home during the 1980s
[Music]
however a deeper listen to the lyrics
would reveal that born in the USA
actually possesses a very melancholic
attitude towards life for a
working-class man in opposed to Vietnam
America
Springsteen has never shied away from
personal and political messages in his
songs even in the modern day with the
track American skin 41 shots
[Music]
but this 1984 mega hit was an example of
Bruce the sound firing on both critical
and commercial cylinders
[Music]
[Applause]
do you agree with our picks check out
these other great clips from watch mojo and subscribe for new videos every day
[Music]
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
songs that criticize America
[Music]
before we begin you publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list will be ranking the most
popular or influential songs that carry
a lyrical message criticizing America or
pointing out negative aspects of its
culture style or politics we’re not
taking sides with regards to the content
behind these songs but rather commenting
about how successful each artist was
with how they executed their ideas
number 10 this is America childish
gambino this is America maybe the most
recently released song on the list but
that doesn’t make it any less powerful
in fact the video has been viewed over
200 million times on YouTube which means
that it’s lyrical message is reaching an
incredibly large group of people that
message is multifaceted as well bringing
together commentary on gun culture
violence and race relations in America
with video as captivating as it is
frightening childish gambino was already
a popular artist before releasing this
as America but it’s safe to say at this
point that the actor writer and musician
is well on his way to being a massive
have you cried Marvin Gaye had released
a whopping ten studio albums prior to
unleashing what’s going on to the masses
an epic concept album touching on all of
the hot-button topics of the day the
album’s title track is a reflection on
how the Vietnam War affected every
American at home and abroad
the song is melodic and soulful focusing
his message head-on as Gaye delivers his
vocals from the perspective of a
disheartened Vietnam vet the 70s may be
over but what’s going on is timeless and
still possesses an incredible amount of
power to this day number 8 the
revolution will not be televised
Jill scott-heron the next song on our
list may have been released in the same
decade as Marvin Gaye’s what’s going on
but it couldn’t be more different in
terms of tone the revolution will not be
televised as the angry and passionate
brother to gays troubled melancholy
delivered with righteous indignation by
beat poet and jazz musician Jill Scott
we play Heron rattles off rapid-fire
pop-culture references while hammering
home the song’s title in what can only
be described as an embryonic form of
hip-hop the revolution will not be
televised as simple yet who’s so
effective a construct of vocals bass
drums and flute that captured lightning
in a bottle almost 50 years ago number
seven the lonesome death of Hattie Carol
Bob Dylan as Martin Luther King jr.
delivered his famous I have a dream
speech in 1963 a decision was being
levied against baltimore’s Williams and
singer Zant singer was only given six
months and a $500 fine for the racist
assault of a black barmaid named Hattie
Carroll an incident that reportedly
contributed to the brain hemorrhage that
lonesome death of Hattie Carroll was
written by Bob Dylan in response to Zant
singers reported verbal abuse and
beating of Carol at Baltimore’s Emerson
hotel the song is more about Dylan’s
powerful lyrics than a memorable
arrangement or key melody yet is this
directness that reinforces Dylan as one
of music’s most unique wordsmiths and
number six fortunate son Creedence
Clearwater Revival
the Vietnam conflict rears its head once
again this time with fortunate son by
CCR the song is a counterculture and
anti-war anthem commenting on the huge
gap between the rich and the poor
specifically on how the sons of
influential and powerful families
fortunate son is a short song at just
over two minutes but this doesn’t stop
frontman and guitarist John Fogerty from
getting all of his thoughts out in the
open with raw and impassioned vocals
[Music]
number five fight the power Public Enemy
one could argue that hip-hop is a
musical genre tailor-made to
successfully deliver a lyrical message a
form of communication that gets right to
fight the power is a great example of
this notion as Public Enemy are all
about providing intelligent and
insightful social commentary the song
discusses social injustice is faced by
the black community and negatively calls
out specific celebrities by name
including Elvis Presley and John Wayne
fight the power wouldn’t be the first
time Public Enemy criticized the
American status quo and it wouldn’t be
the last but it might be the group’s
best
number four sleep now in the fire Rage
Against the Machine
okay we admit that you could feasibly
pick out any Rage Against the Machine
song for this list and it would probably
fit killing in the name anyone
for our money though sleep now in the
fire brings it all home with some raw
lyrical fire funky ass drumming and an
ingenious guitar solo from the mind of
Tom Morello
[Music]
lyrically sleep now in the fire touches
upon many controversial acts committed
by America during wartime such as the
use of chemical and atomic weapons
meanwhile the video features rage and
full-on takeover mode playing at the New
York Stock Exchange with documentarian
Michael Moore behind the camera
[Music]
number three rocking in the free world
Neil Young
[Music]
who said you had to be an American to
criticize the United States if that’s
the case the one told Canada’s Neil
Young who used his 1989 hit rocking in
the free world to take on George Bush
Senior and his thousand points of light
speech
[Music]
young was no stranger to speaking his
mind in song as evidenced by the track
southern man which took on civil rights
and slavery in the South
[Music]
rocking in the free world directly
comments about the problems that affect
drug users and the poor doing so with a
simple yet heavy riff which practically
[Music]
number two Mississippi goddamn Nina
Simone the name of this tune is
Mississippi god damn Mississippi goddamn
may sound like a tune from a Broadway
show but it only takes one quick listen
to Nina Simone’s incredible lyrics to
realize that this song is not playing
nice Alabama’s got me sharp shit
Tennessee made me lose my rest everybody
knows about Mississippi Mississippi
goddamn is a call to arms a song which
doesn’t beg for civil rights
but demands it thanks to Simone’s
inspiring vocals Alabama’s show up
shittin governor Wallace made me lose my
there’s a touch of sadness and
exasperation to Simone’s voice as she
rattles off the injustice is committed
against her people by a racist America
yet there’s also a certain surety that a
change is going to come and it’s coming
soon Mississippi goddamn is one of those
perfect songs released at the perfect
time a masterpiece that begs for
before we name our number one pick here
[Music]
[Applause]
black body swinging in the southern
breeze strange number one born in the
USA Bruce Springsteen it’s perhaps one
of the most misconstrued pop songs of
all time Bruce Springsteen’s born in the
USA was thought by many to be the sort
of pro-american anthem that would have
felt right at home during the 1980s
[Music]
however a deeper listen to the lyrics
would reveal that born in the USA
actually possesses a very melancholic
attitude towards life for a
working-class man in opposed to Vietnam
America
Springsteen has never shied away from
personal and political messages in his
songs even in the modern day with the
track American skin 41 shots
[Music]
but this 1984 mega hit was an example of
Bruce the sound firing on both critical
and commercial cylinders
[Music]
[Applause]
do you agree with our picks check out
these other great clips from watch mojo and subscribe for new videos every day
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