Late at night, I would disappear into my headphones, drowning in the lyrics and anthems of Green Day, Led Zeppelin, and the Dead Kennedys. Music was a way for someone to speak their truth when the voices around them felt too loud and rehearsed. Throughout history, musicians have used that voice to challenge the mainstream: Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” confronted the horror of racial violence, Bob Dylan’s protest songs became anthems of the civil rights and anti-war movements, and punk bands like the Dead Kennedys turned frustration with political authority into noise that could not easily be ignored. From anti-war songs to music confronting racism, censorship, and inequality, music has given people a way to protest, preserve their stories, and fight for what they believe in. There is something extraordinary about realizing that a song, written by one person and carried through thousands of voices, can become a form of resistance.
Year: 2024
Artist: BERWYN
Genre: R&B / Soul, spoken-word influenced
Favorite line: “You make me feel like a fugitive and runaway.”
“Dear Immigration” takes the form of a letter addressed to the immigration system, expressing the fear, frustration, and uncertainty that can come with an insecure immigration status. Rather than treating immigration as an abstract political issue, BERWYN shows how borders, both physical and mental, can shape a person’s everyday life. The song resonates with anyone who has felt that an institution or label has defined how others see them, especially when something as fundamental as belonging is made conditional.
Year: 1970
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Genre: Hard Rock
Favorite line: “On we sweep with threshing oar. Our only goal will be the western shore”
Inspired by Norse mythology, “Immigrant Song” imagines Vikings crossing the sea toward new lands, presenting migration with an almost triumphant sense of power and adventure. Unlike many narratives of immigration that focus on displacement or struggle, the song emphasizes the agency of those who leave and the determination that drives them forward. It reminds us that migration can be more than a story of loss as it can also be a story of courage and ambition. Immigration, going back to the fundamentals of it, often points to someone seeking a better life --- their versions of an American Dream.
Year: 2009
Artist: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Genre: Indie Folk / Folk Rock
Favorite line: “Home is wherever I’m with you.”
“Home” reimagines home not as a particular country or house but as something created through love and connection. Its warmth and simplicity make the idea feel universal, especially for people whose relationship with a physical home is complicated. For immigrants, travelers, and anyone who has ever felt caught between places, the song offers the possibility that home is not something we have to find, but something we can carry and create wherever we go.
Year: 2017
Artist: Keala Settle & The Greatest Showman Ensemble
Genre: Musical Theatre / Pop
Favorite line: “When the sharpest words wanna cut me down. I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out. I am brave, I am bruised. I am who I'm meant to be, this is me”
“This Is Me” is an anthem about refusing to hide the parts of yourself that others have judged or rejected. In the film, it gives voice to characters who have been made to feel that their differences make them unworthy of belonging. Its message can resonate with anyone who has ever felt pressured to change themselves to fit someone else’s idea of what is acceptable, reminding us that belonging should not require us to erase who we are.
Artist: KAYE
Genre: Pop
Favorite line: “I feel that bamboo ceiling keeping us under.”
“Bamboo” confronts the stereotypes and invisible barriers experienced by Asian people, particularly within American culture and entertainment. KAYE uses the idea of the “bamboo ceiling” to describe the ways Asian identities can be confined by assumptions about what we should look like, sound like, or become. The song resonates with anyone who has felt reduced to a stereotype, while also celebrating the act of breaking beyond the expectations placed upon us.
Year: 1998 / 2018
Artist: David Rudder; Gaby Moreno & Van Dyke Parks
Genre: Calypso / Latin Pop
Favorite line: “Fighting for a better life, fighting through the grunge, yeah. America remember Ellis Island, we all came here to take the plunge”
Originally written in response to violence against Haitian immigrants, “The Immigrant” explores the complicated relationship between immigrants and the societies they enter. Rather than portraying immigrants as outsiders passing through, the song emphasizes their role in building and shaping their adopted homes. It resonates with anyone who has wondered who gets to claim a place as “home,” and challenges the idea that belonging can be determined simply by where someone was born.
Year: 2023
Artist: Olivia Dean
Genre: Soul / Pop
Favorite line: “You transplanted a family tree, and a part of it grew into me.”
“Carmen” is Olivia Dean’s tribute to her grandmother, who migrated from Guyana to Britain as part of the Windrush generation. Through her grandmother’s story, Dean reflects on how one person’s journey across borders can shape the lives and identities of generations who come after them. The song resonates even beyond immigrant families because it speaks to a universal truth that we are all shaped by the choices and sacrifices by those who came before us.