Because music can evoke deep personal meanings, social studies educators often use songs to emphasize larger historical moments. Since music is a vital component of youth popular culture, preferred over even movies and television (Rideout, Roberts, and Foehr 2005), a teacher's understanding and application of popular music can be a powerful tool to enhance learning, to connect issues and the times in history, to illustrate a cultural identity, or to promote unity for a cause. In this article, the authors discuss how, through students' exploration of lyrics, music becomes a tool that offers social studies educators opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations about major social issues and to connect with students. Part of the responsibility of educators is to analyze the historical role that music has played in raising social consciousness, and teachers need to use these examples to connect to the struggles that are being waged now.