Gil Scott-Heron - "Gun" (1981)

This one is hip and helpful. It comes from the frequently played great Gil Scott Heron (b. 1949). The song tells the blues of the society, a violent society, in which we (in the United States) live. Although the song dates from early in the Reagan presidency, it remains relevant today, perhaps even more than it was in 1981. Since that year, which saw the destruction of Saddam Hussein's nuclear capacity (note: on this date 2 years ago this particular tyrant (al-Tikriti) was executed), we have observed lots of decline in American culture, like the emergence of gangsta rap, to cite a particularly pernicious example.