Best protest song ever?

The Nation would like your opinion on the best protest song of all time.

After some thought, I settled on my own choice: “Ohio" by Neil Young.

For me, a great protest song has to convey pain and outrage, and “Ohio” does that to perfection. Though the song was prompted by a single act of violence on the campus of Kent State University, and although the first line of the song invokes a long-gone president, the song has staying power. It transcends the topical.

Other well-known songs may succeed as well or better as works of art, but not as acts of protest. “We Shall Overcome” is too lofty and aspirational, “Strange Fruit” too inwardly pained, and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” too pretty to really say “protest.” “Here’s to the State of Richard Nixon” hasn’t dated as well as “Ohio,” and “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You into Heaven Anymore” is too focused on the Vietnam War to have wider applications.

That still leaves some worthy candidates, each of which does express the pain and outrage necessary: “Paradise” by John Prine, “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” by Bob Dylan, “If I Had a Rocket Launcher,” by Bruce Cockburn, and “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye.

What’s your favorite?