I Protest
1965 · Capitol 5554 · Los Angeles, California
- Artist
- Mac Davis
- Title
- I Protest
- Release
- Bad Scene / I Protest
- Year
- 1965
- Label
- Capitol # 5554
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Songwriter
- M. Davis
- Genre
- Country · Country
- Primary theme
- US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Annotation
Mac Davis, country artist, born on 21 January 1942 in Lubbock, Texas, USA, and died 29 September 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. This record (Capitol Records # 5554) took a strong anti-protest perspective, mocking protest singers and the anti-war movement on both side. In the song "I Protest", he declared "I protest against you protesters... you're only conforming to non-conformity". The first track especially presented an anti-hippie perspective - criticism of hippie [or hippy] culture. Often presented as a youth movement, related to psychedelic music, drugs use (e.g. LSD and marijuana), long hair (both men & women), jeans, flairs, pop art, free love (sex, love-in), travelling, spirituality: "I won't grow myself a long black beard, wear a pair of grimy sandals which will make me look weird". It contained a patriotic Vietnam-related message: "when I try to go and fight for the right to be free you're lying on your back". The B-side song, "Bad Scene" again mocked the anti-war movement and protest singers: "I got the right to be a singer for the cause until I know what the cause is about, until then I'll shout". It referenced many 1960s issues, especially Civil Rights: "Alabama…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Born Lubbock, Texas, USA (21 January 1942). Currently Los Angeles, California, USA.
Themes
Anti-Protest · Demonstration · Patriotic · Counter-Culture & Hippies
In collections
Civil Rights Songs · Garage Rock Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs