Comparative Analysis: Biko and War Songs, Music and Lyrics

This report provides a comparative analysis of two protest songs: 'Biko' by Peter Gabriel and 'War' by Edwin Starr. The analysis delves into the lyrical content, musical styles, and underlying themes of each song. 'Biko' is examined in the context of the anti-apartheid movement, highlighting its message of resistance and its impact. 'War' is analyzed for its anti-war stance, its message against the violence caused by war and the historical context of the Vietnam War. The report explores how both songs utilize music and instrumentation to convey their respective messages. It also highlights the differences between the two songs, including the specific social and political issues they address. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the significance of both songs as powerful forms of protest music.

Running head: COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO SONGS
Comparison Between Two Songs
Name of the Student
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Author Note

1COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO SONGS
Music is something that is loved and enjoyed by all human beings. Music is
something that relieves the human beings in their daily lives. It gives a soothing feeling to the
listeners. The type of music depends on the type of listeners who listens to the music. The
song “Biko” is an anti-apartheid song sung by English musician Peter Gabriel. Similarly, War
by Edwin Starr is a protest song which was released by the singer in the year 1970.
The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the songs Biko by Peter
Gabriel and War by Edwin Starr.
When one tries to compare and contrast the two songs, it is found that the song Biko
by Peter Gabriel is about an anti-apartheid activist by the name of Steve Biko while War is a
song by Edwin Starr as part of the Temptations band which is against the destruction and the
atrocities that is caused by the war on countries and its people (Drewet, 110). Both songs can
be classified as protest songs but the main difference is while one of them speaks about the
apartheid in South Africa, the other speaks about the violence during the Vietnam War. Both
the songs feature music which makes use of the instruments as used in the band music.
However, it is the main theme of the music which is different in both the songs, making it
different from each other (Hall,650).
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the although both the songs talk
about protest to some form of injustice that is happening around the world, it is the type of
the music played as well as the use of musical instruments that makes the songs different to
each other.

2COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO SONGS
Reference List
Drewett, Michael. "The Eyes of the World Are Watching Now: The Political Effectiveness of
‘Biko’by Peter Gabriel 1." Peter Gabriel, From Genesis to Growing Up. Routledge,
2017. 99-112.
Hall, Abigail R. "Benjamin Ginsberg, The Worth of War." (2016): 649-653.