We’ve collected some stand-out tracks about solidarity, crossing the genres and eras of music, from retro anti-war rock anthems to rap tracks in breathtaking support of the BLM movement.
Songs About Solidarity
1. Pete Seeger – Solidarity Forever
Originally composed in 1915 by Ralph Chaplin, Pete Seeger’s rendition of Solidarity Forever is an old-school worker’s anthem harbouring an ever-relevant message.
This unionist track peacefully demands equal rights and pay for labourers against their bosses, fortifying the strength of the workforce through community spirit and support;
“It is we who ploughed the prairies; built the cities where they trade, dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid, now we stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made, but the union makes us strong.”
Solidarity Forever recognises the workforce as the backbone of society, rallying workers against the capitalist structure which contains them, whilst empowering their revolution with solidarity;
“They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn, but without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn, we can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn that the union makes us strong.”
2. Shinedown – Unity
Shinedown’s 2012 rock track, Unity, resounds with an overwhelming pop aura, imparting light upon an impassioned message of solidarity; “So have you ever been caught in a sea of despair? And your moment of truth is the day that you say “I’m not scared.”
Alongside the understanding of another’s misery, Shinedown bind their audience in unity by summoning the sanctuary of a group, welcoming their pain with protection;
“Put your hands in the air if you hear me out there, I’ve been looking for you day and night, shine a light in the dark, let me see where you are, ’cause I’m not gonna leave you behind.”
A theme of heartbreak underlies Shinedown’s lyrics, crafting a track of solidarity and mutual support for the lovelorn as well as the lost; “I’ve seen a million miles, met a million faces, took all I knew to reach all these places, and I’d do it again if it brings me back to you.”
3. Twisted Sister – We’re Not Gonna Take It
Twisted Sister’s iconic 1984 release, We’re Not Gonna Take It, is a glam rock anthem about standing with the smaller man.
The band’s rebellious teen attitude translates across the ages, their vague yet striking lyrics applying to an array of situations where one seeks solidarity, whether in political matters or personal;
“We’ve got the right to choose and there ain’t no way we’ll lose it, this is our life, this is our song, we’ll fight the powers that be just, don’t pick our destiny ’cause you don’t know us, you don’t belong.”
4. Bill Withers – Lean On Me
Another hit song, this time plucked from the realms of soul and R&B, Bill Withers’ 1972 hit, Lean On Me, is a landmark track about solidarity.
Anchored in a message of offering mutual support to another through thick and thin, Lean On Me embodies the significance of finding strength in others when all is lost, whether the lyrics inspire your imagination of friends, family, a church congregation, or one specific person in your life;
“Lean on me when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on, for it won’t be long ’til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.”
5. Dave – Black
Dave’s grime masterpiece, Black, stands boldly in solidarity with people of colour around the world, highlighting the generational trauma of the black community.
Closely aligning his message with the Black Lives Matter movement, Dave devotes his lyrics to the beauty of melanin, finding pride, strength and solidarity in one’s unique culture;
“Black is beautiful, black is excellent, black is pain, black is joy, black is evident, it’s working twice as hard as the people you know you’re better than, ’cause you need to do double what they do so you can level them.”
Dave’s ingenious grasp on poetry gives way to an array of profound sentiments illustrating what it truly means to be black, from the most glorious moments of culture’s history and heritage to its cruellest, whilst reaching out in solidarity to brothers across the world;
“Black is deadly, black is when you’re freezing in your home and you can’t get sleep, but never feeling empty ’cause you got 20 cousins in your country living stress-free, walking for their water, daughter wrapped inside a bed sheet.”
6. The Youngblood – Get Together
The Youngblood’s only single to reach the charts; Get Together captures the late-60s ideals of free love, world peace and solidarity across mankind.
Whilst this clean psychedelic rock track was released in 1967, time fails to drag its message into irrelevancy; rather the passing decades have allowed this track to blossom into a time capsule of the hippie era, embodying a generation’s ageless sentiments of anti-war and comradery.
Get Together is a song about building bridges and practising peace, its mesmerising retro ambience crafting an otherworldly meditative state within each verse before unfolding its energy exponentially with each rallying chorus;
“Love is but a song we sing, fear’s the way we die, you can make the mountains ring or make the angels cry, though the bird is on the wing and you may not know why … Come on, people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now.”
7. Creed – With Arms Wide Open
Creed’s US #1 single, With Arms Wide Open, conjures its wild distortions in blissfully intense empowerment to its unexpectedly delicate lyrical theme.
Illustrating the solidarity of a husband with his wife upon hearing the news of her pregnancy, this rock track grounds all sense of fear and fragility in eternal commitment; “Well I don’t know if I’m ready to be the man I have to be, I’ll take a breath, I’ll take her by my side, we stand in awe, we’ve created life.”
Creed’s devotion to family extends to the unborn, their track of family solidarity resonating with any new parent pondering the life they’ll bestow to their child;
“If I had just one wish, only one demand, I hope he’s not like me, I hope he understands, that he can take this life and hold it by the hand, and he can greet the world with arms wide open.”