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Top Ten Songs About Economic Injustice

The condition of being dead broke is a perennially popular theme in music, so, regardless of your taste in genre, there's a song for you.

Peter Rothberg

September 11, 2012

The condition of being dead broke is a perennially popular theme in music, so, regardless of your taste in genre, there’s a song for you. In tribute to Occupy Wall Street’s first anniversary, I’ve foolishly taken a stab at naming ten of the best songs ever written about class and economic injustice. I couldn’t use even a fraction of the great songs suggested to me on Twitter and Facebook so please use the comments field to let me know what I’ve missed, and check out my colleague Allison Kilkenny’s rundown on OWS’s anniversary plans.

1. Bob Marley, Them Belly Full

2. Dolly Parton, Coat of Many Colors

3. Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner’s Daughter

4. Gil Scott-Heron, Whitey on the Moon

5. Billy Bragg, Between the Wars

6. Johnny Cash, Sixteen Tons

7. Judy Collins, Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

8. Bruce Springsteen & Tom Morello, The Ghost of Tom Joad

9. Odetta, Pastures of Plenty

10. American Ruling Class, Nickel and Dimed

Peter RothbergTwitterPeter Rothberg is the The Nation’s associate publisher.


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