Falling flat?

Users clicking onto the video probably did not expect much. With his LED lights and home studio, the artist looks like many up-and-coming Gen ZShort for Generation Z, meaning people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. TikTok stars seeking publicity from casual social media swipers. But from its introductory piano chords and the first honeyed, melancholic tones, it becomes clear that this song, described by some as the "anthem of a generation", is different.

The singer is Shervin Hajipour, a 25-year-old Iranian artist who has risen to instant fame thanks to his hit single Baraye. Dedicated to recent protests across the country and posted on Instagram on 28 September, the song quickly racked up more than 40 million views before authorities took it down and arrested the musician the following day.¹

The lyrics are compiled from tweets written by Iranians about the country's woesTroubles., and the title, which means "for" or "because of" in FarsiAlso known as Persian, a language spoken in Iran. , is a refrain that echoes throughout the song. Its opening lines declare: "For dancing on the streets/for fear of kissing/for my sister, your sister, our sisters."²

Videos show the song being sung by mutinousRebellious. schoolgirls, blared through speakers across Tehran and played on repeat at protests across the country. One expert wrote that "the single best way to understand Iran's uprising is not any book or essay, but Shervin Hajipour's Baraye".

For some, the emergence of this anthem was no surprise. Negar Mottahedeh, Duke University's professor of Middle Eastern studies, remarks that "every wave of political change in Iran has been defined by key songs, slogans and media".

However, others argue that this song is helping to differentiate the new wave of protests which started last month after the death of Mahsa AminiA 22-year-old woman who died after being arrested by Iran's strict morality police in September 2022, sparking widespread protests. . They claim that the song is helping to raise global awareness of what is happening in Iran and causing the movement to expand.

Music theorist Mariusz Kozak has his own explanation for this phenomenon. Where rational arguments might not be fully understood, he argues, the emotions roused by a melody help to bring people together, creating a "powerful social bond".

Some of the subtleties of lyrics such as "for the ruins of poorly built homes", which refers to a building that collapsed fatally last May due to government corruption,³ and "for never experiencing this moment", inspired by the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in 2020,⁴ may be lost on listeners. Nonetheless, it is impossible not to be moved by the ballad.

Protest music is a long and proud global tradition. During protests following the death of George Floyd, Lean on Me by Bill Withers came to express the mood of the masses. Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit raised stark awareness of racism in America in the 1940s, and anti-war anthems such as John Lennon's Imagine and Zombie by the Cranberries remain popular today. Yet even the artists of these songs have expressed their doubts that a song can really change the world.

Yes: This song has hit a chord that no other song from Iran has ever hit. It has not only inspired people in the country to fight for their own happiness, but it has also helped to raise awareness about Iran's issues far beyond its borders.

No: We cannot use this song to judge whether or not the protest is "going global". A song is like a trend - people connect to it for as long as it is catchy and stays on their social media feed, but it will not live long enough to sustain these protests.

Or... Music can contribute to a movement, and raising awareness outside of Iran is important. But few believe a song can really have the power to bring down a repressive regime.