A time for every purpose under heaven: Rhetorical dimensions of protest music

Abstract

This paper examines the role of a specific rhetorical form, the protest song, in social movements. Relying on a content analysis of songs from the tabor movement and the anti‐war movement of the 1960s, the paper advances the argument that such songs are pre‐eminently in‐group messages designed to reinforce feelings of solidarity. As such, the songs are generally negative in their reaction to external circumstances, simplistic in their world view, and expressive rather than instrumental in their intention.