Blowin' in the Wind
1963 · From The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Nine questions, no answers, and the song the civil rights movement adopted whole and never gave back.
★ 9.2
The Songs canon
Sourced and sung.
Every song chosen by hand, with the recording to play it.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Living for the CItyStevie Wonder
Living for the CIty
1973 · From Innervisions
Wonder played most of it himself, then broke it open with a spoken street scene running past seven minutes.
★ 7.8
Get Up, Stand Up
1973 · From Burnin'
Written with Tosh after Marley toured Haiti, and the last song he ever sang onstage, Pittsburgh, September 1980.
★ 7.7
The Harder They Come
1972 · From Original Soundtrack (The Harder They Come)
Cliff coined the phrase on set, Henzell made it the film's title, and the Dynamic Sounds session was filmed.
★ 7.5
I Shot the SheriffBob Marley and the Wailers
I Shot the Sheriff
1973 · From Burnin'
Marley swapped police for sheriff to avoid a government fuss, and Clapton's 1974 cover became his only American number one.
★ 7.3
54-46 Was My NumberToots and the Maytals
54-46 Was My Number
1969
Hibbert's prison number for a title, eighteen months served on a charge he disputed, Leslie Kong producing.
★ 6.7
Fall On Me
1986
Conceived as an acid rain protest, the melody rewritten before release; Stipe called it a general oppression song.
★ 6.0
Clandestino
1998 · From Clandestino
Recorded on portable gear while Chao roamed Latin America, an undocumented migrant's lament carried by the lightest guitar.
★ 5.8