songs of praise and protest
This list of congregational songs and online resources is for communities seeking to be more intentional about singing both praise and protest in worship. The list draws from a range of musical traditions and countries. Please feel free to add additional songs in the comments below!
Songs and Hymns:
Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round - African-American Spiritual
Hold On (Keep Your Eyes on the Prize) - African-American Spiritual
Oh, I Woke Up This Morning Stayed on Jesus/Freedom - African-American Spiritual
Freedom, Come - Ben Allaway (Des Moines, IA)
Enviado soy de Dios / Our God Now Sends Us Forth - Anonymous Latin American
Bendice, Señor, nuestro pan / God Bless to Us Our Bread - Argentina, trans. Federico Pagura
Lead with Love - Melanie DeMore (Oakland, CA)
Freedom Bound - June Jordan
We Rise - Batya Levine
Another World - Kerri Meyer (San Francisco, CA)
Gonna Bring that Light - Kerri Meyer (San Francisco, CA)
With My Voice Alone - Moon Seong Mo, trans. Andrew Donaldson (Korea)
Liberate Us / Sikhulule - South African Freedom Song
Freedom is Coming - South African Freedom Song
Jukkeso wangwiye / The God of Glory - Ryu Hyung Sun (Korea)
Pray with Our Feet - Paul Vasile (New York, NY)
Inspired by Love and Anger - John Bell and Graham Maule
Jesus Christ is Waiting - John Bell and Graham Maule
Sing a New World into Being - Mary Louise Bringle
Canticle of the Turning - Rory Cooney
Justice Like a River - Dan Damon / Swee Hong Lim
God Has Work for Us to Do - Carl Daw, Jr. / Mark Miller
When You Walk from Here - Linnea Good / Thomas Witt
We Are Called - David Haas
My Love Colours Outside the Lines - Gordon Light
Until All Are Fed - Bryan McFarland and Tommy Brown