The word “revolution” conjures up images of protest, rage, bloodshed, redrawing of borders or toppling autocratic rulers.
But a look at the history of revolutions sometimes reveals “sweeter” results: songs born in turmoil that have stood the test of time.
Across centuries and continents, songs were created during times of political and social upheaval, either in rebellion or repurposed into tunes of resistance from folk traditions.
And even some of what people might think are funny ditties — like “Yankee Doodle” or the Spanish “La Cucaracha” — have backstories that pack a punch.
inspiration for the beatles
Perhaps “La Marseillaise” – whose inspirational intro was used by The Beatles for their 1967 peace anthem “All You Need Is Love” – is one of the most recognizable revolution songs.
In April 1792, as Revolutionary France prepared for war against Austria, the mayor of Strasbourg, PF von Dietrich, lamented the lack of a motivational anthem to rally the troops.
Captain Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, an amateur musician in the garrison, stepped up to the task, and reportedly – with the aid of champagne – wrote “The Battle Song of the Army of the Rhine” overnight. The piece was immediately adopted by the volunteer army units of Marseille, which explains its current name.
Its vivid imagery of blood and sacrifice was matched by a defiant call to unity: “To arms, citizens!”
“La Marseillaise” was declared the national anthem of France in 1795. The anthem was discontinued during the early restoration of the monarchy, then reinstated in 1879. Interestingly, its composer was a royalist, not a republican. De Lisle narrowly escaped the guillotine during the French Revolution and died peacefully in 1836.
When the carnation hit the bullets
In the final hours of 24 April 1974, when they were broadcast on Portuguese radio, the two songs served as a coded signal for a military coup that would end almost five decades of dictatorship.
Portugal’s first Eurovision entry that year was Paulo de Carvalho’s “E Depois do Adios” (“And After the Farewell”), which aired at 10:55 pm, alerting rebel units to prepare for action.
Just after midnight, José Afonso’s “Grándola, Vila Morena” – a banned protest song with lyrics advocating equality and brotherhood – was played on Radio Renasença, confirming that the operation was underway.
Both were chosen by the Movement of the Armed Forces (MFA) to discreetly coordinate actions against the Estado Novo regime, which had been founded in 1933 by António de Oliveira Salazar and which continued under Marcelo Caetano.
And this is how the Carnation Revolution unfolded: as MFA troops entered Lisbon, civilians placed carnations on their rifles – giving the largely bloodless coup its name. By the morning of April 25, 1974, the regime collapsed, ending decades of censorship, colonial war, and political repression, and Portugal began its transition to democracy.
remembering through melody
Argentina’s Ernesto “Che” Guevara trained as a doctor before becoming one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century revolution.
After witnessing poverty and injustice throughout Latin America, he joined Fidel Castro’s guerrilla movement and played a key role in the success of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Guevara was made a minister in Cuba’s new government, but he eventually left the island in 1965 to support revolutionary struggles abroad, inspiring Cuban songwriter Carlos Puebla to compose “Hasta Siempre, Comandante”. Farewell tribute.
The song’s lyrics praising Guevara’s courage and ideals soon became a pan-Latin American anthem. After his capture and execution in Bolivia, the song posthumously became a symbol of defiance, reinterpreted across cultures and genres from folk to punk to hip-hop.
of reverse insults and insects
Ultimately, not every revolutionary song was born in an instant. There were some old tunes that people reused to serve new purposes.
The tune of the famous nursery rhyme “Yankee Doodle” was already circulating in the 1750s, but it gained a sharp political edge in 1755 when a British army surgeon, Richard Shuckburgh, reportedly wrote lyrics to the tune: his verses portrayed American fighters as uncivilized and cowardly, using the word “doodle” to mean a yokel and “dandy” to denote arrogance. Did it for. British soldiers sang it during the French and Indian War to ridicule their colonial allies. The origin of the word “Yankee” remains controversial.
But during the American Revolution, the song was boldly reclaimed by the American Continental Army and turned into a patriotic anthem. Thus, “Yankee Doodle” With the state of Connecticut’s adoption of it as its anthem in 1978, it became one of the earliest musical symbols of American identity.
“La Cucaracha” begins as a traditional Spanish-language song with obscure origins. It gained popularity during the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). The playful tune about a cockroach unable to walk without marijuana was originally satirical, providing an opportunity for Mexicans to vent their frustrations during the Revolution.
However, the true identity of the titular character is unclear. Some associate the Cockroaches with then-President Victoriano Huerta, with the song taking a dig at his alleged corruption and drug abuse. Others say it refers to “soldaderas” – women who followed and supported the revolutionary soldiers.
The song’s street credibility was further cemented in George Orwell’s 1945 book “Animal Farm”. The animals’ anthem, titled “Beasts of England”, has been described as “a rousing tune, something between ‘Clementine’ and ‘La Cucaracha'”.
Although this is hardly an exhaustive list, some revolutionary songs have outlived the regimes they challenged. These tunes show that revolutions are not just marked by rupture and change. Sometimes, they are remembered in songs that have endured.
Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier