Topical song

A topical song is a song that comments on political and/or social events. These types of songs are usually written about current events, but some of these songs remain popular long after the events discussed in them have occurred. Typically, these songs offer a mix of narrative and commentary, although some (such as Neil Young's song "Ohio", reacting to the Kent State shootings) assume that the events are so well known that only commentary is called for.

Topical songs are often, but not always, protest songs. Two examples whose titles should be self-explanatory in this respect are "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" by Bob Dylan (c. 1963) and "The Marines Have Landed on the Shores of Santo Domingo" by Phil Ochs (1965). However, they may also celebrate the events described, such as the 1936 calypso "FDR in Trinidad" (a.k.a. "Roosevelt in Trinidad") recorded by several artists in Trinidad at the time (probably most famously by a singer who went by the name Atilla) and covered decades later by Ry Cooder, or Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock", about the Woodstock Festival.