100 Best Songs About Politicians
Songs That Name Names or Call the Shots in Politics
There’s a kind of noise that shows up when politics trickles into a song. Not fanfare. Not outrage. Something closer to a mutter you catch mid-sentence. A sideways glance. That creeping tension of realizing the suit on TV might actually know less than your neighbor’s dog. Artists feel it, too, and sometimes the only only thing they can do is press record while the mess spills out. These aren’t tracks that aim for neutrality. They lean in. They call people out. They make you want to rewind and make sure you heard that name right.
The good ones don’t come at it with a lecture. They’re sly, blunt, exhausted, fired up, jaded, idealistic, all in the same three minutes. Dylan didn’t sing pretty when he rattled cages. Erykah Badu didn’t need to shout to make her point land. Green Day brought stadium-sized sneers, while Kacey Musgraves slipped side-eye between harmonies. Some songs whisper like a backroom deal. Others hit like someone slammed their fist on the table. There’s no single mood here. No party line. Just pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that punch up, punch sideways, or throw their hands in the air.
Not every track goes for clarity. Some smudge the message on purpose. Some get so specific they stop sounding like songs and start sounding like transcripts with a hook. But that’s what makes them hit different. These aren’t clean protest songs with neat little slogans. They live in the confusion, the finger-pointing, the eye-rolling, the deep-breath-before-the-next-news-cycle kind of space. These are the best songs that take on politicians in one way or another.
Top 10 Political Songs
1. 'Fortunate Son'—Creedence Clearwater Revival
2. 'War Pigs'—Black Sabbath
3. 'American Idiot'—Green Day
4. 'Killing in the Name'—Rage Against the Machine
5. 'Blowin' in the Wind'—Bob Dylan
6. 'What's Going On'—Marvin Gaye
7. 'Fight the Power'—Public Enemy
8. 'Ohio'—Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
9. 'Masters of War'—Bob Dylan
10. 'Changes'—2Pac
Essential Political Protest Songs #11—30
11. 'This Land Is Your Land'—Woody Guthrie
12. 'God Save the Queen'—Sex Pistols
13. 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised'—Gil Scott-Heron
14. 'Strange Fruit'—Billie Holiday
15. 'Mississippi Goddam'—Nina Simone
16. 'A Change Is Gonna Come'—Sam Cooke
17. 'Born in the U.S.A.'—Bruce Springsteen
18. 'Impeach the President'—Neil Young
19. 'We Shall Overcome'—Pete Seeger
20. 'The Times They Are a-Changin''—Bob Dylan
21. 'For What It's Worth'—Buffalo Springfield
22. 'Holiday in Cambodia'—Dead Kennedys
23. 'California über Alles'—Dead Kennedys
24. 'Anarchy in the U.K.'—Sex Pistols
25. 'White America'—Eminem
26. 'Banned in the U.S.A.'—Luke (Luther Campbell)
27. 'Dear Mr. President'—P!nk
28. 'Get Up, Stand Up'—Bob Marley & The Wailers
29. 'I Ain't Marching Anymore'—Phil Ochs
30. 'Talkin' Bout a Revolution'—Tracy Chapman
Influential Political Commentary Songs #31—50
31. 'The Sound of Silence'—Simon & Garfunkel
32. 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'—U2
33. 'Where Is the Love?'—The Black Eyed Peas
34. 'Zombie'—The Cranberries
35. 'Give Peace a Chance'—John Lennon
36. 'Imagine'—John Lennon
37. 'We the People....'—A Tribe Called Quest
38. 'Run the World (Girls)'—Beyoncé
39. 'This Is America'—Childish Gambino
40. 'Alright'—Kendrick Lamar
41. 'Cult of Personality'—Living Colour
42. 'Cochise'—Audioslave
43. 'Bullet in the Head'—Rage Against the Machine
44. 'Know Your Enemy'—Rage Against the Machine
45. 'Bulls on Parade'—Rage Against the Machine
46. 'Testify'—Rage Against the Machine
47. 'Uprising'—Muse
48. 'Citizens of the World'—The Poodles
49. 'The Government Totally Sucks'—Tenacious D
50. 'Fuck Authority'—Pennywise
Global Political Awareness Songs #51—75
51. 'Revolution'—The Beatles
52. 'The Price of a Mile'—Sabaton
53. 'The Trooper'—Iron Maiden
54. 'Disposable Heroes'—Metallica
55. 'One'—Metallica
56. 'And Justice for All'—Metallica
57. 'Peace Sells'—Megadeth
58. 'Holy Wars... The Punishment Due'—Megadeth
59. 'Washington Is Next!'—Megadeth
60. 'The Kids Are Alt-Right'—Bad Religion
61. 'You Are (The Government)'—Bad Religion
62. 'White Riot'—The Clash
63. 'London Calling'—The Clash
64. 'Spanish Bombs'—The Clash
65. 'Straight to Hell'—The Clash
66. 'Should I Stay or Should I Go'—The Clash
67. 'Straight Outta Compton'—N.W.A.
68. 'Fuck tha Police'—N.W.A.
69. 'The Message'—Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
70. 'Sound of da Police'—KRS-One
71. 'Changes'—Phil Ochs
72. 'Waist Deep in the Big Muddy'—Pete Seeger
73. 'Big Yellow Taxi'—Joni Mitchell
74. 'Redemption Song'—Bob Marley & The Wailers
75. 'War'—Bob Marley & The Wailers
Songs About Political Power Dynamics #76—100
76. 'Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)'—Bob Marley & The Wailers
77. 'Buffalo Soldier'—Bob Marley & The Wailers
78. 'Revolution Rock'—The Clash
79. 'Guns of Brixton'—The Clash
80. 'Clampdown'—The Clash
81. 'The Guest'—The Faint
82. 'Power to the People'—John Lennon
83. 'Working Class Hero'—John Lennon
84. 'Taxman'—The Beatles
85. 'Eleanor Rigby'—The Beatles
86. 'Revolution 9'—The Beatles
87. 'Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos'—Public Enemy
88. 'By the Time I Get to Arizona'—Public Enemy
89. 'Welcome to the Terrordome'—Public Enemy
90. 'Miss Ghetto'—Public Enemy
91. 'Nobody's Hero'—Rush
92. 'Roll the Bones'—Rush
93. 'The Camera Eye'—Rush
94. 'A Farewell to Kings'—Rush
95. 'The Trees'—Rush
96. 'The Enemy Within'—Rush
97. 'Witch Hunt'—Rush
98. 'Dignity'—Deacon Blue
99. 'Election Day'—Arcadia
100. 'Elected'—Alice Cooper
© 2025 Carson McQueen
