Best Conservative Rock Songs

“Livin’ Thing” by ELO. The singer wrestles with his conscience when his girlfriend/wife seeks an abortion. He knows it’s wrong, but it’s not cool to try to stop her. The phrase “I’m takin’ a dive” is repeated in the background to show he hasn’t got the courage of his convictions.

“Takin’ a dive ’cause you can’t halt the slide
Floating downstream.
So let her go, don’t start spoiling the show
It’s a bad dream.”

Metallica, Master of Puppets (consequences of hedonism; warns of enslavmentby the vices in which one partakes; an admonishment to a culture of incontinence which finds fulfilment only in “release”)

I know it wasn’t intended as a conservative rock song, and the band Midnight Oil were notorious lefties. (Their lead singer is now the Environment Minister in Australia.) But tell me the chorus of ‘The Dead Heart’ couldn’t be a tea-party anthem:

“We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken”

I’ve also thought Weezer’s “Pork and Beans” should be a conservative anthem.

“I’m a do the things that I wanna do
I ain’t got a thing to prove to you
I’ll eat my candy with the pork and beans
Excuse my manners if I make a scene
I ain’t gonna wear the clothes that you like
I’m fine and dandy with the me inside
One look in the mirror and I’m tickled pink
I don’t give a hoot about what you think”

Talking Heads’ “Nothing But Flowers” is a terrific takedown of tree-hugging ec0-politics:

The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we’d start over
But I guess I was wrong

David Byrne fires one zinger after another:

I miss the honky tonks,
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
(you got it, you got it)

I dream of cherry pies,
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
(you got it, you got it)

We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
(you got it, you got it)

And the best line of all:

If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawnmower…

Rush – 2112

Read the lyrics! About a futuristic government that controls everything to the point where one of their key messages to the people is with us in control “you never need to wonder how or why”

Two more from Metallica:

–Don’t Tread on Me (obvious–there’s a whole t-shirt industry that plays off this song now, despite Hetfield’s apparent reluctance to play it in concert)

–Creeping Death (reprising the Biblical story of God’s avenging Angel killing the Egyptian first born males but sparing the Israelites (“BLOOD, every painted door, I shall pass…”)

California Uber Alles by Dead Kennedys

Carter Power will soon go away
I will be Fuhrer one day
I will command all of you
Your kids will meditate in school
Your kids will meditate in school!

Zen fascists will control you
100% natural
You will jog for the master race
And always wear the happy face

And Queensryche wouldn’t make anyone’s list of right-wing groups, either. But the lyrics of “Revolution Calling” make a fine conservative anthem – especially now:

“Got no love for politicians
Or that crazy scene in D.C.
It’s just a power mad town
But the time is ripe for changes
There’s a growing feeling
That taking a chance on a new kind of vision is due

I used to trust the media
To tell me the truth, tell us the truth
But now I’ve seen the payoffs
Everywhere I look
Who do you trust when everyone’s a crook?

Revolution calling
Revolution calling
Revolution calling you
[There's a] Revolution calling
Revolution calling
Gotta make a change
Gotta push, gotta push it on through

I’m tired of all this bullsh!t
They keep selling me on T.V.
About the communist plan
And all the shady preachers
Begging for my cash
Swiss bank accounts while giving their
Secretaries the slam…”

The Trees – another Rush song:

There’s no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe and saw

So much for the whole “Equal Outcome is more important than Equal Opportunity” song-n-dance number, eh?

Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise’s song “Governor.”
http://www.absolutelyrics.com/lyrics/view/robert_bradley,27s_blackwater_surprise/governor/

Also by the Dead Kennedys (the name of the bans is just about the best flip-off to that dynasty) Holiday in Cambodia:

“Well you’ll work harder
With a gun in your back
For a bowl of rice a day
Slave for soldiers
Till you starve
Then your head is skewered on a stake

Now you can go where people are one
Now you can go where they get things done
What you need, my son:.

Is a holiday in Cambodia
Where people dress in black
A holiday in Cambodia
Where you’ll kiss ass or crack”

Speak English or Die and/or F*ck the Middle East by Stormtroopers of Death. Tongue-in-cheek, but humor that would appeal to many conservatives.

I wonder if Aenima by Tool would be considered conservative…describing LA as “One great big festering neon distraction” and reflecting on the priorities in society today:
“Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.”

Procol Harum’s A Salty Dog is a gorgeous song, one of the greatest of the psychedelic era, and a moving Christian allegory: http://www.procolharum.com/w/w0301.htm

For more recent concerts Latin verses have been added by the composers. They translate:
“A ship driven by winter storms will not reach port unless it will take, as its master, Father Son and Holy Ghost

If indeed the helmsman will hold his course by the truth, then certainly he will steer the ship by a straight course toward heaven.”

A great song, and conservative in that it calls the wandering hipster home.

One of the most conservative bands actually hails from Canada -the aptly named “Rush.”
Give “The Trees” a listen…a great little parable on social justice and communism.
“There is unrest in the forest
there is trouble with the trees,
For the Maples want more sunlight,
and the Oaks ignore their pleas……
So the Maples formed a union
and demanded equal rights
‘The Oaks are just too greedy,
we will make them give us light.’
Now there’s no more Oak oppression,
because they passed a noble law,
and the trees are all kept equal
-by hatchet, axe, and saw!”

Or my personal favorite, “Red Barchetta”…a fabulous science fiction tale about a young guy and his uncle who elude the “motor law” and electronic “eyes” to indulge in the illegal pleasures of a country drive in a Ferrari.

Here’s a paean to common, old fashioned decency from The Staple Singers that cultural conservatives could surely appreciate:

If you disrespect anybody
That you run in to
How in the world do you think
Anybody’s s’posed to respect you

If you don’t give a heck ’bout the man
With the Bible in his hand
Just get out the way
And let the gentleman do his thing

You the kind of gentleman
That want everything your way
Take the sheet off your face, boy
It’s a brand new day

Respect yourself, respect yourself
If you don’t respect yourself
Ain’t nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na
Respect yourself, respect yourself

If you’re walking ’round
Think’n that the world
Owes you something
‘Cause you’re here

You goin’ out
The world backwards
Like you did
When you first come here

Keep talkin’ ’bout the president
Won’t stop evolution
Put your hand on your mouth
When you cough, that’ll help the solution

Oh, you cuss around women
And you don’t even know their names
And you dumb enough to think
That’ll make you a big ol man

Respect yourself, respect yourself
If you don’t respect yourself
Ain’t nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na
Respect yourself, respect yourself
Respect yourself, respect yourself

Also The Freshman by Verve Pipe, supposedly based on a true story, the song is written from the perspective of a man who regrets participating in a decision for his girlfriend to have an abortion during his first year in college.

“Uprising” by Muse has become an anthem for the Tea Parties.

Paranoia is in bloom,
The PR transmissions will resume,
They’ll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down,
And hope that we will never see the truth around

Another promise, another scene,
Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed,
And all the green belts wrapped around our minds,
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined

Interchanging mind control,
Come let the revolution take its toll,
If you could flick a switch and open your third eye,
You’d see that
We should never be afraid to die

Rise up and take the power back,
It’s time the fat cats had a heart attack,
You know that their time’s coming to an end,
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend

They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
We will be victorious

“Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2″ – Pink Floyd

We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher, leave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave those kids alone

“The Prisoner” – Iron Maiden

I’m not a number, I’m a free man,
Live my life where I want to.

Looks like Rush has a lot of conservative songs going for them. Might as well throw in “Closer to the Heart” which makes you feel like you are living back in 1776 with Madison and Mason and others.

I think a lot of southern rock songs could be considered traditionally conservative in their celebration of place, family, and in their melancholy for things past. You mentioned Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Simple Man,” which are surely of this type of conservatism, but what about “All I Can Do Is Write About It”? The lyrics- “there ain’t no place I ain’t never gone… well there just ain’t no place like home;” and “I’m not tryin’ to put down no big cities/but the things they write about us is just a bore”- aren’t necessarily political, but they remind us that neither is conservatism. They’re about a place and a way of life being crowded out by creeping modernity. Very Burkean.

But really, there are songs like this on just about every southern rock album because the conflict between modernity and the traditional way of living is one of the genre’s themes. Just look at some of the Allman Brothers’ or Marshall Tucker Band’s lyrics. As long as we’re thinking of conservatism as something more than a political movement, it really isn’t that hard conservative rock songs.

Not necessarily a conservative rock song, but an insightful commentary on modern American politics – Living Colour’s Cult of Personality:

Look in my eyes, what do you see?
the Cult of Personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I’ve been everything you wanna be
I’m the Cult of Personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I’m the Cult of Personality
the Cult of Personality
the Cult of Personality

Neon lights, Nobel Prize
When a mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You won’t have to follow me
Only you can set me free

I sell the things you need to be
I’m the smiling face of your T.V.
I’m the Cult of Personality
I exploit you; still you love me
I tell you one and one makes three
I’m the Cult of Personality
Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi
I’m the Cult of Personality
the Cult of Personality
the Cult of Personality

Neon lights, Nobel Prize
When a leader speaks, that leader dies
You won’t have to follow me
Only you can set you free

You gave me fortune, you gave me fame
You gave me power in your God’s name
I’m every person you need to be
I am the Cult of Personality

I am the Cult of Personality

The Dead Kennedys later rewrote California Uber Alles after Reagan took office. They renamed it “We’ve got a bigger problem now”:

Last call for alcohol. Last call for your freedom of speech. Drink up. Happy hour is now enforced by law. Don’t forget our house special, it’s called a Trickie Dickie Screwdriver. It’s got one part Jack Daniels, two parts purple Kool-Aid, and a jigger of formaldehyde from the jar with Hitler’s brain in it we got in the back storeroom. Happy trails to you. Happy trails to you.
I am Emperor Ronald Reagan / Born again with fascist cravings / Still, you made me president / Human rights will soon go ‘way / I am now you Shah today / Now I command all of you / Now you’re gonna pray in school / I’ll make sure they’re Christian too / Chorus: California Uber alles / Uber alles California / Ku Klux Klan will control you / Still you think it’s natural / Nigger knockin’ for the master race / Still you wear the happy face / You closed your eyes, can’t happen here / Alexander Haig is near / Vietnam won’t come back you say / Join the army or you will pay / (Chorus)
Yeah, that’s it. Just relax. Have another drink, few more pretzels, little more MSG. Turn on those Dallas Cowboys on your TV. Lock your doors. Close your mind. It’s time for the two-minute warning.
Welcome to 1984 / Are you ready for the Third World War?!? / You too will meet the secret police / They’ll draft you and they’ll jail your niece / You’ll go quietly to boot camp / They’ll shoot you dead, make you a man / Don’t you worry, it’s for a cause / Feeding global corporations’ claws / Die on our brand new poison gas / El Salvador or Afghanistan / Making money for President Reagan / And all the friends of President Reagan / (Chorus)

John, in your original list you included Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden, asking what other rock song is based upon a Coleridge poem. What about Xanadu by Rush? Also Coleridge inspired, and a better song (IMHO). I know you were trying to keep the list from having too many Rush and Kinks songs though. Which, on that note, I would also like to nominate the Kinks Gallon of Gas and Low Budget, both of which perfectly sum up the late 70′s Jimmy Carter malaise era.

The Grateful Dead. Everything they played. They are the Lewis and Clark’s of rock’nroll. They tapped into 200 years of American music that started on the East coast and ended of the shores of California. All these amazing of genres of music expanded as America did. The Grateful Dead took them to the Moons of Neptune. Really one of the most American bands there was.

Pearl Jam is far left, but I always thought their song Grievnace was conservative:

Have a drink, they’re buying
Bottom of, bottle of denial

Big guy, big eye watching me
Have to wonder what it sees
Progress laced with ramifications
Freedom’s big plunge

Pull the innocent from a crowd
Raise the sticks, then bring ‘em down
If they fail to obey
If they fail to obey

For every tool they lend us
A loss of independence

I pledge to my grievance to the flag
‘Cause you don’t give blood, then take it back again
We’re all deserving of something more

Progress, taste it, invest-it-all
Champagne breakfast for everyone

Break the innocent when they’re proud
Raise the stakes, then bring ‘em down
If they fail to obey
If they fail to obey

Pledge my grievance to the flag
Aw come on, don’t give blood, then take it back again
We’re all deserving of something more

(have a, have a, drink, drink…)
(have a, have a, drink, drink…)
I want to breathe
follow the scene
I want to taste
everyone I see
I want to run when I’m up high
I want to run into the sea
I only want life to be…
I just want to be…
I will feel alive as long as I am free…

I made up a sort of ironic list:

http://www.nelsonguirado.com/index.php/music/2010/02/03/top-ten-conservative-rock-and-roll-songs

Extreme, “Rest In Peace”. It sounds like a hippie anthem of peace, but if you look at the lyrics, it’s actually tearing apart that whole concept.

Let’s talk of peace,
Sounds so cliche
A novelty,
Catch phrase of the day
Middle, index,
Sign of the time
Just as complex,
As water to …

Someone said
Give peace a chance
And, that’s all that we’re saying
While we’re sitting
On the fence
Pretending,
Our hearts are in the right place
But, your face
Shows a trace of,

Hypocrisy,
Don’t tread on me,
Now you can see

MAKE LOVE NOT WAR,
SOUNDS SO ABSURD, TO ME
WE CAN’T AFFORD
TO SAY THESE WORDS, LIGHTLY
OR ELSE OUR WORLD,
WILL TRULY, REST IN PEACE

Back when the band KISS was in their heydey, that group’s producers took another band under their wing called “Starz”. (I don’t know how much success the band’s members had individually before or after that group, but their bass player had been with the group “Looking Glass” which had a hit with “Brandy” (…you’re a fine girl, what a goood wife you would be…)

Anyway, Starz had some interesting music but never took off commercially. However, they had a concept album called “Violation” that seemed a send up of the type of so-called leadership that our current president and congress would hold dear. Here are lyrics to the title track of the album:

Empty pockets, empty bed
Empty bottles, empty head
Thee committee says shape up
Or they’ll fix me quick enough

1.(We are with you everywhere,
We protect you from yourself,
We are watching)

I wanna rock and roll
(No, that’s a violation)
I wanna lose control
(No, that’s a violation)
I wanna love someone
(No, that’s a violation)
I wanna have some fun
(You better not try it)

Lousy jobs, down in holes
Join the union, learn to bowl
Lovely houses of cement
Thee committee pays the rent

Repeat 1 and Chorus

Thank you for electing us
We appreciate your trust
There’s a problem, we’re aware
That many of your children share
But we’ve developed new techniques
The process takes about two weeks
It’s based upon electro-shock
A dailey dose of microwatts
And when we’re through
With what we do
We’ll ship the beggar back to you
And then he’ll be as good as new

Doctor says, I’m almost fine
And they’ll let me out in time
I’m a very stubborn case
And my tape’s not quite erased

I recommend the album Voice of America by Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul. While “Little Steven” Van Zandt is no conservative by any means, there’s a lot on this album for a conservative to like. There is, at the core of the album, a strong commitment to human liberty which comes across in tracks like “Solidarity” (about the Polish trade union) and “Checkpoint Charlie” (a call to tear down the Berlin Wall).

Lots of Rush songs, a Peart is as close to an Objectivist as I’ve ever seen in Rock.

Red Barchetta
Tom Sawyer
Free Will

How about Blue Oyster Cult’s “Divine Wind”?

The refrain is hard to beat when we think of our enemies: “If he really thinks we’re the devil, then let’s send him to hell.”

I would argue that this is a better perspective on American Foreign Policy than our president has.

John Kay, the lead singer and all-round generalissimo of STEPPENWOLF, was actually born in what became East Germany (his original name was Joachim Fritz Krauledat), and he was bundled out to the West by his escaping family when he was 5.

As such, he not only wrote and sang one but two great anti-communist songs — one called “Renegade” from the 1970 “Steppenwolf 7″ album, and “The Wall”, from Steppenwolf’s 1990 “Rise and Shine” album.

http://www.steppenwolf.com/lyr/rengad.html

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/steppenwolf/the+wall_20344078.html

I should also like to mention another great anti-communist rock song, “Miami” by “the poor man’s Bruce Springsteen”, i.e., the incomparable Bob Seger, (your fellow Michigander, John), from his 1986 album “Like A Rock”. It’s a nice tribute to the the freedom-seeking Cuban “rafters”.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/miami-lyrics-bob-seger.html

Finally, it’s really nice to see T.B. Root (above) give credit to the sublime Procol Harum. Those guys are also responsible for the following deathless lyric, from “As Strong As Samson” on their 1974 “Exotic Birds and Fruit” album:

“Psychiatrists and Lawyers destroying mankind
Drivin’ ‘em crazy… and stealing ‘em blind “

Try “Girl America” by Mat Kearney.

Think For Yourself – by The Beatles

“your telling all those lies/about the good things we can have if we close our eyes”

I think a very obvious choice has been overlooked: Long Haired Country Boy by Charlie Daniels. Consider the following:

‘Cos I ain’t askin’ nobody for nothin’,
If I can’t get it on my own.
If you don’t like the way I’m livin’,
You just leave this long-haired country boy alone

AND, towards the end:

…I don’t want much of nothin’ at all,But I will take another toke.

I dare say, that last line sweeten the pot (no pun intended) for Nick Gillespie and the Reason crowd, AND it is also congruent with National Review’s pot legalization stand. This song is made for the Top50 List, I tell you!

James Brown’s “Papa Don’t Take No Mess” is the funk version of the Moynihan Report.

“Beat on the Brat” by the Ramones seems a fitting response to the sense of entitlement so many young punks have.

Clampdown by The Clash. As with most of the English punk movement, they thought the problem was the Right, when in fact England of the 70′s was a socialist disaster. You could easily put an Obama montage to the song today.

John mentioned Teen Angst by the libertarian group Cracker in his second list, but an even better one by them is Get Off This:

All these cats with holey jeans,
Dirty hair and titty rings
Say “what’s your scene man? we got these questions…
Is it true that you have sold your soul?”
I say “hey man, i don’t know
Lend me a quarter won’t you?
I’ll call my accountant.”

Chorus:
Let’s get off this,
And get on with it,
If you wanna change the world
Shut yer mouth and start to spin it
Get off this
Get on with it
If you wanna change the world
Shut your mouth and start this minute

Petty little ayatollah’s
Come around to judge and stone ya
All’s we’re trying to do is make a fortune.
Yeah, we ain’t got no government loans,
And no one sends a check from home
But get this: we’re just doin’ what we wanna.

“I’m An Adult Now” by the Pursuit of Happiness – the lyrics below are excerpted from the 1986 hit by this underrated Canadian band

I can’t take any more illicit drugs
I can’t afford any artificial joy
I’d sure look like a fool dead in a ditch somewhere
With a mind full of chemicals
Like some cheese-eating high school boy

-goin mobile-THE WHO-

THE WHO-I’m free

-
I don’t care about pollution
I’m an air-conditioned gypsy
That’s my solution
Watch the police and the tax man miss me
I’m mobile
Oooooh, yeah, hee!

Mobile, mobile, mobile yeah goin mobile-THE WHO-

-THE WHO I’M FREE
I’M FREE- I’m free,
And freedom tastes of reality,
I’m free-I’m free,
AN’ I’m waiting for you to follow me.

If I told you what it takes
to reach the highest high,
You’d laugh and say ‘nothing’s that simple’
But you’ve been told many times before
Messiahs pointed to the door
And no one had the guts to leave the temple!

I’m free-I’m free
And freedom tastes of reality
I’m free-I’m free
And I’m waiting for you to follow me.

Steely Dan: Only a Fool Would Say That

A world become one/Of salad and sun/Only a fool would say that…

Another vote for Rush’s “2112″…the self-appointed leaders of this new world state:

“We’ve taken care of everything
The words you hear, the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
It’s one for all and all for one
We work together, common sons
Never need to wonder how or why

We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls

Look around at this world we’ve made
Equality our stock in trade
Come and join the Brotherhood of Man
Oh, what a nice, contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the Red Star proudly high in hand”

I can’t believe no-one’s mentioned “Opportunity” by Rossington-Collins. If ever there was an old-school conservative leave-me-the-hell-alone anthem this is it …

There have been times when I have stumbled over my mistakes
And there have been times when I have fallen flat on my face
But you tell me there’s been a day like that for you
Then I’ll stop and listen to what you think I should do

Now I can take this pressure that you think you’re handing down
So take off the robe, and put the gavel down
‘cause nothing changes in this life but everything my friend
Don’t go crying ‘bout the day because of what has been

Opportunity, it’s for the taking
Look inside yourself, you’ll see
Then go clean up your own back yard
Leave my yard to me

Now if the cup had really not been meant to pass to me
Surely I would not presume to drink
Ah but there they are, and they’re reaching out for me
What else would you have me to think?

The driving beat, the fury of Dale Krantz’s singing, the fabulous guitar work by Barry Harwood and Gary Rossington – the glorious vehemence of this song is the perfect response to every kind of liberal meddling.

“Walk, Don’t Run” by the Ventures.

Yeah, it’s an instrumental, I know.

A lot of the music by the Swedish power metal band Sabaton would certainly qualify, in my opinion.

Like ‘In The Name Of God’ about Islamic Terrorists

Hide from the public eye, choose to appear when it suits you
Claim you’re just, killing women and children
Fight, when you choose to fight, hide in a cave when you’re hunted
Like a beast spawned from hell, utilizing fear

Chosen by god or a coward insane?
Stand up and show me your face!

Suicidal, in a trance
A religious army
Fight without a uniform and hide in the crowd
Call it holy, call it just
Authorized by heaven
Leave your wounded as they die, and call it gods will

Run when its time to pay, fear consequence of your action
Reappear, when you’re almost forgotten
Dream of a world in peace, yet you cause pain and destruction
Kill your own, a response of your actions

Captured in all you lies, fear is in your eyes
Creature who’s gone insane, your war is in vain
Trapped in a cage of stone, we’ll destroy your home
Consequence of your action

I’m as conservative as most NRO readers and I listen to both Pearl Jam (quite often) and Midnight Oil. There’s no way any Oils song is conservative — The Dead Heart is a paean to the aboriginal peoples of Australia and essentially says they are the true soul of that nation.

And the inspiration for Grievance was the left-wing nutter protest of the WTO meetings in Seattle in ’99. Pearl Jam wasn’t decrying the protesters, it was sympathizing (see Wikipedia). Remember, this is the same group that wrote Down as a tribute to Howard Zinn (the philosopher king of the uneducated and unwashed) and Bu$hleaguer (which I never listen to). Reading an Oils or PJ song as a conservative one is just reapplying the lyrics outside of the songwriter’s intent.

Politics isn’t everything, of course — Eddie Vedder was good friends with one of rock’s few conservatives, the great Johnny Ramone.

THE WHO-I’m free

How about a more well known song that I never saw mentioned in any of the original lists. Not political, but conservative morals are being displayed.

Van Halen: Jamie’s Cryin

She saw the look in his eyes
N’ she knew better
He wanted her tonight
And it was now or never
He made her feel so sad
Oh, whoa, whoa, Jamie’s cryin’
Oh, whoa, whoa, Jamie’s cryin’ Now Jamie wouldn’t say all right
She knew he’d forget her
N’ so they said ah-good night
Oh, and now he’s gone forever

The Offspring seems to consistently put out songs with a tilt to the right. Why don’t you get a job? about freeloaders, Walla Walla about someone getting their just punishment for crime, She’s Got Issues about the Oprah society of victimhood and dealing with someone who lives with that. Other titles include Pay the Man, The Kid’s Aren’t Alright, Cool to Hate, Stuff Is Messed Up, Neocon, When You’re In Prison. If you listen you also appreciate their humor. Opening song on their Ixnay on the Hombre CD is called Disclaimer:
“Ladies and gentlemen
Welcome to the disclaimer
That’s right, the disclaimer

This American apple pie institution
Known as parental discretion
Will cleanse any sense of innuendo or sarcasm
From the lyrics that might actually make you think
And will also insult your intelligence at the same time

So protect your family.
This album contains explicit depictions
Of things which are real.
These real things are commonly known as life.
So, if it sounds sarcastic, don’t take it seriously.
If it sounds dangerous,
Do not try this at home or at all.
And if it offends you, just don’t listen to it”

I can’t believe no one has mentioned “New WorldMan” by … Rush (AGAIN!). Check out these lyrics:

He’s a rebel and a runner
He’s a signal turning green
He’s a restless young romantic
Wants to run the big machine

He’s got a problem with his poisons
But you know he’ll find a cure
He’s cleaning up his systems
To keep his nature pure

Learning to match the beat of the Old World Man
Learning to catch the heat of the Third World Man

He’s got to make his own mistakes
And learn to mend the mess he makes
He’s old enough to know what’s right
But young enough not to choose it
He’s noble enough to win the world
But weak enough to lose it
He’s a New World Man…

He’s a radio receiver
Tuned to factories and farms
He’s a writer and arranger
And a young boy bearing arms

He’s got a problem with his power
With weapons on patrol
He’s got to walk a fine line
And keep his self-control

Trying to save the day for the Old World Man
Trying to pave the way for the Third World Man

He’s not concerned with yesterday
He knows constant change is here today
He’s noble enough to know what’s right
But weak enough not to choose it
He’s wise enough to win the world
But fool enough to lose it
He’s a New World Man…

[...] John’s soliciting additions to his list here. [...]

From Was (Not Was), and later covered by Ozzy Osborne comes “Shake Your Head,” which stands as a punchy rebuke to change-the-world liberals and Leftists. Yes, Bruce Hornsby, that’s just the way it is.

You can’t stare into the sun
You can’t pretend to have fun
Shake your head
You can’t read a robot’s mind
Can’t expect vultures to be kind
Shake your head
Can’t tune a radio to heaven
You can’t live seven lives
Shake your head
You can’t win money at the horses
You can’t fight the armed forces
Shake your head

Shake your head (let’s go to bed)

You can’t sing underwater
You can’t have the boss’ daughter
Shake your head
You can’t make missles out of mud
You can’t purify bad blood
Shake your head
You can’t sue Buddah for libel
You can’t rewrite the Bible
Shake your head
You can’t hit homers like Babe Ruth
Can’t put your finger on the truth
Shake your head

Shake your head (let’s go to bed)

You can’t feed the hungry
Can’t talk Shakespeare to a monkey
Shake your head
You can’t bounce a square ball
You can’t fight city hall
Shake your head
You can’t argue with death
Can’t break a burly sailor’s neck
Shake your head
You can’t drink lava from plastic glasses
You can’t influence the masses
Shake your head
You can’t become invisible
Can’t bullshit the devil
Shake your head
You can’t ban the bomb
And there’s no way to stay calm
Shake your head

Shake your head (let’s go to bed

I know I’m late to the party, but you might consider “Excitable Boy” by Warren Zevon. It’s a darkly comic story of a rapist/murderer who society, including the justice system that sentences him to ten years in a home for his horrendous crime, says is “just an excitable boy”.

Also arriving late to the dance, but am I correct that no one has mentioned Meat Loaf’s “For Crying Out Loud?” I’m not an overtly religious person, but I don’t think I’ve heard a more passionate song of devotion and redemption:

I was lost till you were found
But I never knew how far down
I was falling
Before I reached the bottom

I was cold and you were fire
And I never knew how the pyre
Could be burning
On the edge of the ice field

* * *
I’m in the middle of nowhere
Near the end of the line
But there’s a border to somewhere waiting
And there’s a tankful of time
Oh give me just another moment
To see the light of the day
And take me to another land
Where I don’t have to stay
And I’m gonna need somebody
To make me feel like you do
And I will receive somebody
With open arms, open eyes
Open up the sky and let the planet
That I love shine through

* * *
For taking in the rain when I’m feeling so dry
For giving me the answers when I’m asking you why
My oh my, for that I thank you
For taking in the sun when I’m feeling so cold
For giving me a child when my body is old
Don’t you know for that I need you

* * *
Ah but most of all
For crying out loud
For that I love you
When you’re crying out loud
You know I love you

——————————–
It also doesn’t hurt that when he recorded this song on the masterpiece “Bat Out of Hell,” Meat Loaf had the most powerful voice in all of rock and roll.

Critical Acclaim, Avenged Sevenfold

One of the great rock bands of the 21st century, this song was written as a response to the number of punk bands who have taken to complaining about America and yet profiting off of it. Matt Sanders even has a hint of a Southern accent as he rips into the Green Days, Anti-Flags, and NOFXs of the world for their blatant hypocrisy.

Shhhh quiet you might piss somebody off
Like me motherf*cker you’ve been at it for too long
While you feed off others insecurities
You stand here in front of me and bite the hand that feeds

Self-righteousness is wearing thin (Lies inside your head your best friend)
Heart bleeds but not for fellow man (Broken glass your fake reflection)

I’ve had enough its time for something real
Don’t respect the words your speaking
Gone too far, a clone

So how does it feel to know that someone’s kid in the heart of America has blood on his hands fighting to defend your rights so you can maintain a lifestyle that insults his family’s existence? Well where I’m from we have a special salute that we aim high in the air towards all those pompous assholes who spend their days pointing fingers (F*ck you!!!)

Shhhh quiet you might piss somebody off
Like the heartbeat of this country when antagonized too long
I’ll be damned if you count me in as part of your generous hypocrisy, collecting enemies

Tabloid gossip queen, worthless man (There’s no need for us to bury you)
Selfish agenda once again (Right this way, you’ve dug your own grave)

I’ve had enough its time for something real
Don’t respect the words your speaking
Gone too far, a clone

All the way from the East to the West we’ve got this high society looking down on their very foundation, constantly reminding us that our actions are the cause of all their problems. Pointing their fingers in every direction, blaming their own nation for who wins elections, they’ve never contributed a f*cking thing to the country they love to criticize

Excuse the obscene
Ignore the untrue
Depictions we see try and get through
Admitting mistakes can hurt
I’m not the last but I sure ain’t the first

Shhhh quiet you might piss somebody off!!!!

I’ve had enough its time for something real
Don’t respect the words your speaking
Gone too far, a clone

Conservative Rock is what we do – LOVE the list and comments! Great songs and artists. Check out the sample of the song Mother government at the website http://www.mothergov.us!

Mother Government (the song) Wrote this from comments liberal friends of mine have made – astonishing but true. These underpinnings of liberal philospohy make a truly sad belief, but a great rock song.

Mother government tax the rich
Tax that blonde- hair BMW yuppie bitch
It’s not my fault that I’m a broken man
Daddy always to me that you’d fill my empty hand
The system works like Robin Hood if you play the part
This war between the classes is tearing us apart

Mother Government where’s my share
You gonna tax that over bloated businessman he won’t care –he got enough
It’s not my fault you see that everyone has it all but me
I feel I’ve been victimized by the grand old party’s policies
How do you tell ten kids there’s gonna be a better day
Thank God for Robin Hood we got another baby on the way –
(yea, here it comes…..PUSH)

I’m always hearin the same old story, livin this hypocracy
I’m stuck in the same category, people with needs-
(calling your, calling your name)

I need a stimulus, to get me through this
I’ve got problems, you’ve got problems, they want to solve them
Their solution, distribution you’ll be better off tomorrow with
Mother Government taking care
Mother Government it’s not fair

I want mine, gimme mine, come on momma
I want mine, gimme mine, come on momma
Gimme mine

Hey boner, ballsac!

He knows it’s wrong, but it’s not cool to try to stop her. The phrase “I’m takin’ a dive” is repeated in the background to show he hasn’t got the courage of his convictions.

I thought they should be a conservative anthem.

I want mine, gimme mine, come on momma