In that spirit, I present five worthy tunes whose lyrics make one think and maybe even take some action. This is not an exhaustive list nor necessarily a historically significant one. I'm sure there are songs "missing." Why don't you use your democratic prerogative and let us know what songs have meant something to you.

1. "Hurricane," Bob Dylan -- Possibly the first protest song I knew all of the lyrics to. My mom is one of Mr. Zimmermann's biggest fans and his voice is certainly the soundtrack to my youth. A definite eye-opener for a little white kid from New York City, this ten-minute wonder led me to the library and scrolling through old microfilm copies of the New York Times to read about Rubin Carter's exploits in and out of the ring. The recent movie starring Denzel Washington was a bit too slick by half and the song is more historically accurate. Though the fact that Denzel was denied a best actor award for the second time (Malcolm X, anyone?) makes me think America still has a long way to go.

2. "911 Is a Joke," Public Enemy -- Too frequently relegated to court jester status, Flavor Flav rapped lead on one of the best PE tunes. Above, Dylan sang, "If you're black, you might as well not show up on the street/Unless you want to draw the heat." Flav let the world know that nearly two decades later, not much has changed. Blacks in non-integrated neighborhoods are more likely to die on the way to the hospital than any other group, provided the ambulance comes to get them at all. "911 is a fake life saver" indeed.

3. "New Year's Day," U2 -- I loudly and similarly unapologetically proclaim myself a U2 fan. As I have grown up I've grown apart from the Dublin Four and the direction their music and lyrics have taken, but for several formative years they were very important to me. The haunting piano and minor chords still couldn't hide the message of hope proclaimed loudly on War's standout track. Bono paraded around that white flag and dared you to dream with him.

4. "Warakurna," Midnight Oil -- It's nearly impossible for me to pick one moment from the Oils discography, let alone one from that burning ball of passion Diesel and Dust. Peter Garrett and friends have never shied away from the bully pulpit of a stage and Marshall stacks. I particularly like them because, like my sheepskin says about me, they're historians of a sort. Less obvious than "Beds Are Burning" or "Dreamworld" and more musically complex than "the Dead Heart," "Warakurna" is the soul of the Diesel album for me. "Some people laugh, some never learn/This land must change or land must burn."