List of songs about animal rights
Animal rights has been a subject of both popular and independent music since the 1970s.[1] Associated with the environmentalist musical counterculture of the previous decade, animal rights songs of the 1970s were influenced by the passage of animal protection laws and the 1975 book Animal Liberation .[1] Paul McCartney has cited John Lennon 's Bungalow Bill , released in 1968, as among the first animal rights songs.[2]
Popular themes include anti-whaling (prompted by the Save the Whales movement),[1] [3] [4] opposition to hunting , animal testing and vegetarianism .[5] Bullfighting has been a prominent theme in Spain and some Latin American countries; while folk and pop music have traditionally identified with bullfighting traditions, several ska , rock and punk groups have emerged which oppose them.[6]
Anarcho-punk and veganism have a long association dating back to the 1980s.[5] During this period, American hardcore punk and straight edge scenes became increasingly concerned with animal rights, spawning the vegan straight edge and hardline punk ideologies .[7] [8] An increase in Animal Liberation Front activism in the 1990s corresponded with the rise of vegan straight edge and hardline bands.[9] [10] The more peaceful Krishnacore subgenre, which also advocates vegetarianism and animal rights, developed around this time too.[11] The association between punk subculture and animal rights has continued in the 21st century, with vegan punk festivals including Fluff Fest in the Czech Republic and Verdurada in Brazil.[8] [12]
List of songs about animal rights
Song
Artist
Album
Themes
Year
Language
Ref.
"Instinctive Fact"
Celestial Dreams
Single
Cruelty to animals, anti-hunting, anti-animal blood sports, anti-animal testing
2023
English
"All the Good Girls Go to Hell "
Billie Eilish
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Climate change
2019
English
[13]
"40-year old Vegan"
Chokeules
Stay Up
Veganism
2014
English
[14]
"A Life Embossed"
Protest the Hero
Volition
Opposition to legislations against specific dog breeds
2013
English
[15]
"Acà toro"
Punkreas
Paranoia e potere
Anti-bullfighting
1995
Italian
[16]
"Animal Grace"
Laura Nyro
Angel in the Dark
Animal rights
2001
English
[17]
"Animal Kingdom"
Prince
The Truth
Veganism
1998
English
[18] [19]
"Animal Liberation"
Los Fastidios
Guardo avanti
Anti-animal testing , direct action
2001
Italian and English
[20] [21]
"As Long As It Tastes Good"
Acerbic Wit
Single
Turning a blind eye to animal cruelty
2022
English
"Beat the Meat"
Good Clean Fun
On the Streets Saving the Scene From the Forces of Evil
Vegetarianism
2000
English
[22]
"Behind the Mask"
Goldfinger
Disconnection Notice
Animal rights activism, veganism
2005
English
[23]
"Blood Sports"
The Style Council
"Walls Come Tumbling Down! "
Anti-hunting, anti-animal blood sports
1985
English
[24]
"Cats and Dogs"
Gorilla Biscuits
Start Today
Speciesism
1989
English
"Civilized Man"
Shelter
Mantra
Vegetarianism
1995
English
[25]
"Clams Have Feelings Too (Actually They Don't)"
NOFX
Pump Up the Valuum
Vegetarianism, ethics of eating seafood
2000
English
[22] [26]
"Consume & Kill"
Manliftingbanner
Ten Inches That Shook the World
Vegetarianism
1992
English and French
[27]
"Cow"
Linda McCartney and Carla Lane
Wide Prairie
Vegetarianism
1998
English
[28]
"Cruel Circus"
The Colourfield
Virgins and Philistines
Opposition to animal acts in circuses, anti-trophy hunting , anti-animal testing
1985
English
[29] [30]
"Cruelty to Animals"
Frenzal Rhomb
Forever Malcolm Young
Cruelty to animals
2006
English
"Death Camps"
Cro-Mags
Best Wishes
Vegetarianism
1989
English
[25]
"Don't Kill The Animals"
Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich
1986
English
"Don't Kill the Whale "
Yes
Tormato
Anti-whaling
1978
English
[3] [31]
"Excuse Me"
The Decline
Are You Gonna Eat That?
Anti-animal testing
2011
English
"Human(e) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz)"
Propagandhi
Supporting Caste
Hypocrisy of ethical meat eating
2009
English
[32]
"Hunters Will be Hunted"
Heaven Shall Burn
Veto (album)
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society , anti-whaling
2013
English
[33]
"I Don't Eat Animals"
Melanie Safka
Leftover Wine
Vegetarianism
1970
English
[34]
"Kitten's World"
Brandy Sinco
Healing, Hope, and Transformation
MEOW Formula
2003
English
[35]
"Liberación Animal"
Chucho Merchán
El poder sagrado de la vida
Animal Rights, Animal Liberation
2017
Spanish
[35]
"Looking for Changes"
Paul McCartney
Off the Ground
Anti-animal testing
1993
English
[36]
"Long Leather Coat"
Paul McCartney
"Hope of Deliverance "
Anti-fur/leather
1992
English
[36]
"Lower Order (A Good Laugh)"
Propagandhi
Victory Lap
Speciesism , Ethics of animal consumption
2017
English
"Meat Is Murder"
The Smiths
Meat Is Murder
Against all types of meat eating.
1985
English
"Men In Helicopters"
Adrian Belew
Young Lions
Anti-hunting, Anti-fishing, Anti-speciesism
1990
English
"Nailing Descartes to the wall"
Propagandhi
Less Talk More Rock
For the end of the killing of animals for food.
1996
English
"Panda"
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Panda anti-hunting.
1989
English
"Pink Convertible"
MARINA
Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land
Climate change
2021
English
"Potemkin City Limits"
Propagandhi
Supporting Caste
Anti-animal husbandry , animal consciousness
2009
English
[37]
"Puppies and Friends"
Atrophy
Violent by Nature
Animal rights
1990
English
[38] [39]
"Ravenous Medicine"
Voivod
Killing Technology
Animal cruelty, Animal testing
1986
English
"San Fermín"
Attaque 77
Amén!
Anti-bullfighting
1995
Spanish
[16]
"Save the Whales!"
Country Joe McDonald
Paradise With an Ocean View
Anti-modern whaling
1975
English
[40]
"Show Us You Care"
Icons of Filth
Onward Christian Soldiers
Anti-animal testing
1984
English
[41]
"Shut Up Already"
NOFX
Liberal Animation
Anti-animal rights activism
1988
English
[42]
"Skin"
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Kaleidoscope
Anti-fur/leather
1980
English
[43]
"Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky"
Manic Street Preachers
Everything Must Go
Anti-zoos
1996
English
"Song of the World's Last Whale"
Pete Seeger
At 89
Anti-whaling
1970[nb 1]
English
[45]
"The Bullfighter Dies "
Morrisey
World Peace Is None of Your Business
Anti-bullfighting
2014
English
[46]
"TheHealingFields"
Bones
Powder
Veganism, anti-meat industry
2015
English
"The Last Leviathan "
Sheena Wellington
Kerelaw
Anti-whaling
1986
English
[47]
"The Slayer"
Refused
Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent
Slaughter , Selfishness , cruelty to animals
1996
English
"To the Last Whale..."
Crosby & Nash
Wind on the Water
Anti-whaling
1975
English
[1]
"Vergüenza"
Ska-P
Planeta Eskoria
Anti-bullfighting
2000
Spanish
[16]
"Voice of the Voiceless"
Heaven Shall Burn
Antigone
Animal rights
2004
English
"Waste"
Good Riddance
Ballads from the Revolution
Ethics of eating meat
1998
English
[48]
"Wild Life"
Paul McCartney and Wings
Wild Life
Opposition to anthropization that affects wildlife
1971
English
[36]
"Without A Choice"
Useless ID
State Is Burning
Animal rights
2016
English
See also
Notes
^ Pete Seeger composed "Song of the World's Last Whale" in 1970 and played it live, but did not officially record it until the album At 89 of 2008.[44]
References
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^ de Castro, Julian (2009). "Más All del Pasodoble y de la Copla: Un Acercamiento a la Tauromaquia Desde el Pop-Rock, el Jazz y Otras Manifestaciones Musicales Modernas" (PDF) . Revista de Estudios Taurinos (in Spanish). 26 : 205–254.
^ Haenfler, R. (2006). Straight Edge: Clean-living Youth, Hardcore Punk, and Social Change . Rutgers University Press. p. 53 . ISBN 978-0-8135-3852-5 . Retrieved 2018-08-09 .
^ a b Kuhn, Gabriel (2010). Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics . Oakland: PM Press . p. 137. ISBN 978-1-60486-051-1 .
^ Pieslak, Jonathan (March 2014). "The Music Cultures of Radical Environmental and Animal-Rights Activism (REARA)" (PDF) . Exit-Deutschland . ISSN 2196-8136 . Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2018 .
^ Cordova, R. (2016). DIY Punk as Education: From Mis?education to Educative Healing . Critical Constructions: Studies on Education and Society. Information Age Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-68123-577-6 . Retrieved 2018-08-11 .
^ Dines, Mike (2014). "The Sacralization of Straightedge Punk: Bhakti-yoga, Nada Brahma and the Divine Received: Embodiment of Krishnacore" . Musicological Annual . 50 (3). Department of Musicology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana : 148–150. doi :10.4312/mz.50.2.147-156 .
^ Denise de Paiva Costa Tangerino (May 2010). "Verdurada: uma breve reconstrução dos interdiscursos que constituem sua história" (PDF) . Intercom.org.br (in Portuguese). Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing . Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018 .
^ Twersky, Carolyn (2019-09-05). "Billie Eilish's New Music Video Has a Super Important Secret Message and I Stan Her Even More Now" . Seventeen . Retrieved 2020-09-22 .
^ "This 40-Year-Old Vegan Rap Is The Catchiest Not-Eating-Animals Tune Ever" . HuffPost Canada . 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2019-03-11 .
^ Pasbani, Robert (17 October 2013). "New PROTEST THE HERO Song "A Life Embossed" Goes To The Dogs" . Metal Injection . Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2018 .
^ a b c "Cinco canciones anti-taurinas" [Five anti-bullfighting songs]. KienyKe (in Spanish). 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018 .
^ Moser, Margaret (6 April 2001). "Angel in the Dark" . The Austin Chronicle . Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2018 .
^ Perone, J.E. (2008). The Words and Music of Prince . Praege. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-275-99474-7 . Retrieved 2018-08-09 .
^ Raven, Robin (17 March 2017). "7 Vegan Songs to Add to Your Playlist" . VegNews . Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2018 .
^ "LOS FASTIDIOS (IT), BLISTERHEAD (SWE)" . Czechcore.cz (in Czech). 18 April 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018 .
^ "Animal Liberation" . Genius.com . Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018 .
^ a b Fossum, Melissa (1 October 2012). "10 Meatless Songs in Honor of World Vegetarian Day" . Phoenix New Times . Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2018 .
^ Shari Black Velvet (Winter 2007). "GOLDFINGER" . Black Velvet Magazine . The Vegan Society . Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2018 .
^ "Internationalists 1985" . Wellerworld.co.uk . Archived from the original on 21 October 2004. Retrieved 30 June 2018 .
^ a b Lucchesi, Nick (1 October 2011). "Ten great punk songs about going vegetarian" . Westword . Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2018 .
^ "8 PRO-VEGETARIAN SONGS THAT ARE BETTER THAN PAUL MCCARTNEY'S 'MEAT FREE MONDAY' " . Forkedtongues.net . 6 October 2014. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018 .
^ Haenfler, Ross (11 June 2015). "Sober Revolution: The story of straight edge hardcore in 10 records" . The Vinyl Factory . Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2018 .
^ Bowen, Mark (6 September 2009). McCartney Solo: See You Next Time . Lulu.com . p. 219. ISBN 978-1409298793 . Retrieved 5 August 2018 .
^ Spotnitz, Frank (7 February 1986). "The Colour Field Exploits '60s Sound" . Sun-Sentinel . Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018 .
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^ Katharina. "Heaven Shall Burn - Interview zu "Veto" mit Matze" . www.burnyourears.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-08-30 .
^ Goddard, Simon (1 February 2013). Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982-87 (revised ed.). Titan Books . p. 154. ISBN 978-1781162590 . Retrieved 8 August 2018 .
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^ Bronner, Simon J. (1 December 2009). "Taking Aim" . Killing Tradition: Inside Hunting and Animal Rights Controversies . University Press of Kentucky . ISBN 978-0813138602 . Retrieved 27 July 2018 .
^ Glasper, Ian (2006). The Day the Country Died . Cherry Red Books . p. 250. ISBN 1901447707 . [...] every track is an essential listen, with the highlight for this writer being 'Show Us You Care', surely one of the most potent - and poignant - anti- vivisection songs.
^ Ambrosch, Gerfried (2018). The Poetry of Punk: The Meaning Behind Punk Rock and Hardcore Lyrics . Routledge. ISBN 9781351384445 .
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