Protest Songs in American Culture

The phenomenon of protest song is closely tied to American culture, from the work chants sung by slaves to the contemporary pop singers whose music is used at street rallies to speak out against racism and social inequality. Protest always goes with the song, especially today, with the dominance of pop culture and the spread of the Internet, when any social or political conflict involves a huge number of people including musicians who create music and reflect on the events taking place. With its statements about societal concerns, protest music can influence perceptions of both current and past events. The intention of the paper is to point pot the main sociocultural and linguistic features of protest songs in American culture. The study will use lexis-stylistic and content analyses of song lyrics to identify specific patterns used to reflect on the modern events and episodes of the past. The outcome of the study can help contribute to future research on this topic.