“Glory to Ukraine! Glory to Georgia! Fu*k Russia” is heard, and the chorus of the song World in my eyes, a same favorite of Millennials and Gen Z, is sung. If you are already singing, then you are well aware of one of the most popular TikTok trend of recent times and you have seen many videos where girls and boys dressed in flags, banners and colorful raincoats are seen.

The music changes, now it sounds even louder and louder “glory, glory to our homeland”. You can see the same thing in the footage – colorful people protesting loudly, walking from street to street, waving original posters. And suddenly, as if there is nothing to do with it, a more sad but rhythmic melody is replaced by the words: “sadness tells its own sadness”. Now you can see cranes, a ball in a circle, rock paper scissors, and thousands of other games.

Do not be surprised, this is not just your TikTok feed, it is already a “playlist” of the streets of Tbilisi. More precisely, not only Tbilisi – all those cities and streets where protests are held and the river of people is flowing. In this article, we will talk about those songs that the participants of the protests especially loved and turned into protest anthems.

Group Kvela — Motherland

This song by Group Kvela is already 10 years years old, and we have sung it together at many festivals and protests, but nowhere with as much enthusiasm and energy as at Rustaveli. Regardless of whether or not we have the high timbre to hit the “black sea” note correctly, this song belongs to everyone and suits us all.

Irakli Charkviani — Georgia

At protests, we chant “Georgia” once every 5 minutes, but “Georgia” said with Charkviani’s rhythm sounds completely different. Probably, because we all know “it’s time to win over ourselves once again”.

Niaz Diasamidze — Gaumarjos

We may not be guarding the land in the literal sense and we are not wearing military uniforms, but we opposers of the Russian law know for sure that we are protecting peace and the motherland. Thanks to this song, “glory to Georgia”, once turned into a banal toast, now sounds completely different.

Bakuri Burduli — Georgia

“Our feelings will be on fire today” – with these words we start giggling and try to remember the next phrases. Maybe we don’t know the full text, but we are eagerly waiting for the part where “victory seems to be getting closer” and where we shout in unison: “we want to sing these words forever: we are all together, we are Georgia”.

I am Georgia

We started following the rhythms of this song before the protests, when our national team got to the European football championship for the first time in history. Along with this song, we have saved the saying from those days: “where are we going? — to Europe”.

LIO with ILA – IAWO

I don’t know who and why decided that this song would be appropriate for the shots of the protests, but it was not wrong, and as one of the users mentioned, it is already associated with the fight for freedom.

Pskeri | Dzuki & Badzu – Dzuntsi Bidzina

The reason for its popularity really needs no explanation.

Qaji Todia – PARTIA

Don’t be surprised if you notice surprised looks from people standing next to you while listening to the first minutes of this track. For many, the introduction is associated with a painful experience. The goal of the author is to remember the Soviet past and evaluate it.

Merab Sepashvili – The End of the Fairy Tale Is Kind

This is another song that we brought from cheering for the national team and turned it into a protest anthem. Although there was an attempt to prevent it, it did not work, because the end of the tale is kind in this case too.

“Stand Up” — Performed by Cynthia Erivo

Harriet’s soundtrack, which tells us about the struggle with our people, we all don’t really know fully, but we learned to sing the chorus and felt the spirit.

The Hanging Tree

The Hanging Tree, sung by Katniss Everdeen, who fought against the dictatorship in The Hunger Games, became a symbol of not only Georgian but also world protests.

MAO — FU

The works that came out in the late period of time, which respond to current events, deserve special attention. We haven’t memorized Mao’s entire text yet, but we definitely don’t forget it: “Fu** romance and aerodynamics”.

Outsider — Come Out

When Robi Kukhianidze calls us to go out with the musical “come back”, even 2 words are enough for the song to take a worthy place in Georgian protest anthems.

LOUDspeakers — How Can We Last Here?

A lot of LOUDspeakers’ music deserves to be included in this list, but today we will focus on this one, which is only a few days old, and it is also special because the group rarely spoils us with works in Georgian.

Stephane — If You Want So

And finally, but not in order of importance, Stephen’s new song, at the end of which a pessimistic but hopeful question appears at the end: “dear homeland, when will you flourish?”