The Sound of Freedom – The Role of Music in Political Change

The project on Contested Histories primarily focuses on controversies over monuments, statues, street names, and other tangible representations of historical legacies. However, the project recognises that contested historical legacies can also include intangible heritage, such as music. In this blog post, Serena Jampel examines the role of music in political change.

Part of intangible history, music has long played an important role in historical events. Long a tool of protest, thousands of songs across the globe take aim at repression and authoritarianism and have done so for centuries. In some rarer cases, songs have a much more tangible power. From songs that push back against fascist regimes to songs that incite revolution to songs that demonstrate cultural radicalism and anti-establishment politics, music can be instrumental towards gaining and expressing freedom. From looking at different controversial and contested pieces of music, we can learn how music is a powerful political tool embedded in the histories of nations across the globe. 

The Baltics Are Waking Up by Boriss Rezniks (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)

The ‘Singing Revolution’ of the 1980s swept through the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia as a push for state independence from Soviet Russia. It was called the Singing Revolution because of the long heritage of music in the Baltics, and the prominence of songs as a unifying symbol of nonviolent resistance. Baltic song celebrations were included in the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2003. The anthem of the Singing Revolution was the trilingual song The Baltics Are Waking Up, sung in the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian languages. The song underscores the unprecedented unity between the three countries, which was also demonstrated in the epic 1989 ‘Baltic Way,’ a chain of people holding hands that spanned over 690 kilometres from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Tallinn, Estonia, and was formed by roughly two million people, a quarter of the total population of the Baltic nations at the time. The Singing Revolution demonstrated the power of music in the face of a nuclear superpower that outnumbered the population of the Baltics 50 to 1, and eventually resulted in the independence of all three nations. 

El Derecho de Vivir En Paz by Victor Jara (Chile)

Victor Jara was a Chilean poet, theatre director, composer, and communist who was murdered under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. El Derecho de Vivir En Paz (the right to live in peace) was released by Jara as a tribute to the Vietnamese communist leader Ho Chi Minh. Jara’s music was a touchstone for oppressed people across Chile, bridging overlooked social issues into the mainstream. After his assassination, his legacy lives on in the protest culture of Chile, and his songs are still used to fight oppression, particularly in the 2019 Chilean Protests.

La Muette de Portici by Daniel Auber (Belgium)

In 1830, King William I of the Netherlands was set to visit Brussels on the occasion of his birthday, but political turmoil caused some of the events to be cancelled. One event that was not cancelled was the performance of Daniel Auber’s opera La Muette de Portici on August 25th. At the time, people living in the territories in the south of the Netherlands (which then included present-day Belgium) were French-speaking Roman Catholics, which set them apart from the protestant Dutch to the north. The opera follows a fictionalised historical account of a revolt in Naples in the mid-17th century. It contains explicitly nationalistic themes, which the audience quickly picked up on. When the performers sang the lyrics ‘Aux Armes’ (Call to Arms), the audience rose from the concert hall and began openly protesting in the streets. The movement gained speed, and within days, dissidents in Brussels managed to unite the people of Belgium under a common cause under the flag of Independent Belgium. 

Pussy Riot (Russia)

The Russian Feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot has staged unsanctioned guerilla performances in Russia since 2011. They controversially staged an irreverent and anti-Putin performance in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in 2012, resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of members of the group. Two members of the group were sentenced to serve their punishment in two of the harshest penal colonies in Russia. The anonymous collective runs from a rotating group of performers, many of whom are now in exile. A member of the group told VICE in 2012, ‘We realised this country needs a militant, punk-feminist, street band that will rip through Moscow’s streets and squares, mobilise public energy against the evil crooks of the Putinist junta and enrich the Russian cultural and political opposition with themes that are important to us: gender and LGBT rights, problems of masculine conformity, absence of a daring political message on the musical and art scenes, and the domination of males in all areas of public discourse.’ The band continues to staunchly oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin despite harsh consequences for dissenters. 

E Depois Do Adeus by Paulo de Carvalho and Grândola, Vila Morena by José Afonso (Portugal)

E Depois Do Adeus (And After the Farewell) by Paulo de Carvalho was Portugal’s entry for Eurovision in 1974, finishing in 14th place. However, though it may not have gained wide acclaim across Europe, the song became unprecedentedly influential in Portugal. In the early to mid-1970s, discontentment with Portugal’s authoritarian Estado Novo government had been growing ( Portuguese for New State was developed in 1933 by António de Oliveira Salazar, president of the council of ministers 1932-1968). In 1973, within the military, a rebel alliance had formed called the Movimiento das Forças Armadas (MFA). E Depois Do Adeus became an unlikely tool of the rebel militia. In need of a secret symbol to begin the revolution, the radio station Emissores Associados de Lisboas was instructed to play the Eurovision entry at 22:55 local time on April 24, 1974. This was to be the signal for the coup to begin. A second song, Grândola, Vila Morena, was to play at 00:20 on April 25, at which point the rebels got into position at strategic sites. By the evening of April 25, President Marcelo Caetano had conceded, and the revolution was successful. Both songs became emblematic of what was known as the Carnation Revolution, and a monument to the fall of Portuguese authoritarianism was erected in Grandola, inscribed with the lyrics of Grandola, Vila Morena. 

Rumble by Link Wray (USA)

Link Wray’s Rumble, released in 1958, was banned in the United States for its incendiary message. What’s so odd about that? Well, the song has no words. Still, some argued that its title and its innovative and gristly guitar riff called to mind images of gang violence and urban revolt. In the 1950s and 1960s, the United States was anxious about a perceived increase in juvenile delinquency and a burgeoning anti-government counterculture. Many radio stations banned the song because they believed it would potentially instigate violence. Rolling Stone said that the song ‘sounded like an invitation to a knife fight,’ and rock historian Dave Marsh said affectionately that the song was ‘Short. Nasty. Potentially Lethal.’ 

Wray, who faced discrimination for his Native American background while growing up in small-town North Carolina USA, is known for influencing some of the most famous guitarists of the 1960s, including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, and for his contributions to the development of rock and metal music. ‘Rumble’ laid the groundwork for a countercultural movement that would be instrumental in protesting US imperialism and militarism. 

Conclusion

With or without lyrics, whether hyper-contemporary or folk, music has been a driving force of protest and social change for centuries. In some cases, it has also remapped political landscapes and had a role in overturning regimes. Music is popular, and often populist, able to be employed by the people regardless of creed or class.  In its role of challenging and changing history, music rises above the individual singer to a collective force of passion and will and transcends any singular time period or institution. Though statues and regimes rise and fall, the music plays on in the hearts of the people. 

About the author

Serena Jampel is a senior at Harvard University studying History and Literature. Her thesis research focuses on contested colonial history in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. More broadly, Serena is interested in the invention of national mythologies through the use of material culture and folklore. She was a 2024 summer intern at Contested Histories in The Hague. 

References

Belgian Federal Government. “The Rebellion.” Belgium.be, 2024.  https://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/country/history/belgium_from_1830/foundation_and_growth/uprising 

Dell, Cary. “‘Rumble’ – Link Wray (1958),” Library of Congress, 2008. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/RUMBLE-FINAL.pdf. 

Eurovision, “The song that started a revolution: 50 years of Portugal’s ‘E Depois Do Adeus,’” Eurovision Song Contest, April 25, 2024. https://eurovision.tv/story/song-started-revolution-50-years-portugals-e-depois-do-adeus. 

Exposito, Suzy. “Chilean All-Stars Revamp Víctor Jara’s Protest Anthem, ‘El Derecho de Vivir en Paz.’” Rolling Stone, October 28, 2019. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/chile-all-stars-victor-jara-protest-song-el-derecho-de-vivir-en-paz-904667/. 

Langston, Henry. “Meeting Pussy Riot.” VICE, March 12, 2012. https://www.vice.com/en/article/kwnzgy/A-Russian-Pussy-Riot. 

Portocarrero, Marta. “25 de Abril: Uma revolução ao comando dos microfones.” JPN- JornalismoPortoNet, April 22, 2012. https://www.jpn.up.pt/2012/04/22/25-de-abril-uma-revolucao-ao-comando-dos-microfones/ 

Reilly, Lucas. “How the Performance of a French Opera About a Neapolitan Revolt Sparked a Belgian Revolution.” Mental Floss, September 11, 2018. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/556634/opera-sparked-revolution-belgium-mute-girl-of-portici 

Simon, Scott and Ned Wharton. “‘El Derecho de Vivir En Paz’ Gives Voice to Protesters in Chile.” NPR, November 2, 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/02/775533882/el-derecho-de-vivir-en-paz-gives-voice-to-protesters-in-chile 

Šmidchens, Guntis. “Singing REvolution: Past and Present.” Foreign Policy Research Institute, October 12, 2016. https://www.fpri.org/article/2016/10/singing-revolution-past-present/#:~:text=The%20Singing%20Revolution%20was%20so,struggle%20for%20national%20self%2Ddetermination/. 

Snapes, Laura. “Pussy Riot song protests against war in Ukraine and calls for Putin to be prosecuted.” Guardian, December 24, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/24/pussy-riot-song-protests-against-war-in-ukraine-and-calls-for-putin-to-be-prosecuted. 

Images

Cactusbones. “FREE Pussy Riot,” Flickr, July 31, 2012. https://www.flickr.com/photos/cactusbones/7689466690. 

d’Anjou, Bosc. “Grandola 02,” Flickr, August 2004. https://www.flickr.com/photos/boscdanjou/5652297324. 

Dxede5x. “Link Wray – 3-8-03 Photo by Anthony Pepitone,” Wikimedia Commons, March 8, 2003.  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Link_Wray_-_3-8-03_Photo_by_Anthony_Pepitone.jpg 

Gruodis, Saulius. “Baltic Way (Moletai Region, Lithuania),” Wikimedia Commons, August 23, 1989. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baltic_Way_%28Mol%C4%97tai_Region,_Lithuania%29.jpg 

Sailko. “File:Gustaf wappers, episodio delle giornate di settembre 1830 sulla piazza dell’hotel de ville di bruxelles, 1835,” Wikimedia Commons, March 9, 2016. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gustaf_wappers,_episodio_delle_giornate_di_settembre_1830_sulla_piazza_dell%27hotel_de_ville_di_bruxelles,_1835,_01.jpg.   

Urra, Marcelo. “File: Victor Jara – Danos tu fuerza y tu valor al combatir,” Wikimedia Commons, October 8, 2021. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victor_Jara_-_Danos_tu_fuerza_y_tu_valor_al_combatir.jpg.