When the eleven members of Santa Fe Raging Grannies gathered together in one of the members’ living rooms, they looked like a charming choir about to sing one of the old standards. However, as some Music Man readers might have picked up from their name, this was no regular, cuddly choir. They were going to record a cover of Ray Charles’ single ‘Hit The Road, Jack’ with a twist. In an unexpected act of protest, they changed the song to ‘Hit The Road, ICE.’

The Santa Fe Raging Grannies completely transformed the song, changing the lyrics to protest against the presence of ICE officers on US streets. While this group of women might not be the first people many would expect to protest in this way, their performance tapped into a long legacy of political protest through music. The video of their song racked up thousands of views in a matter of weeks, with listeners leaving comments calling the members “the type of grandma I would want.”

I wasn’t surprised to see division in the comments of the video. While one viewer told the Raging Grannies, “The song gives all of us hope,” another showed their disapproval by calling for a third term for Trump, writing, “TRUMP 2028.” No matter the viewer’s opinions, it was clear that the Grannies’ message struck a chord. Despite protest songs sometimes seeming relegated to eras of the past, like the 1960s, Hit The Road ICE proved to me that they still hold power.

With the channel having 37K subscribers, it’s clear that it’s not just me who feels that way. The Raging Grannies have recorded protest songs about topics ranging from anti-surveillance to nuclear disarmament. However, it may not be a surprise to our Music Man readers that in the current climate, their most popular song is a version of ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ reworked into ‘Battle Hymn of the Donald’. With nearly 1M views, their protest songs only seem to be gaining momentum.

In recent years, there has been plenty of debate about the internet of the modern era, with many going so far as to call it a tool for propaganda and surveillance. However, perhaps the Raging Grannies videos represent what still remains positive about the world of social media. Their videos have enabled their music to reach listeners across the world, giving these ladies a voice and allowing them to freely express their concerns through a time-honored musical tradition. Their work proves that, even now, in the modern internet age, protest songs are just as effective as they’ve ever been.