The aim of the article is to analyze the use of the red, blue and yellow colours in modelling protest. The iconic level (album cover artwork) of British and American rock-discourse has served as the material for the research. The key method is metaphorical modelling as a means of analyzing meaning shifts which are typical of a certain culture. The author provides an overview of what has been previously achieved in the sphere of semiotic colour analysis. Such metaphorical models of British and American rock-discourse as RED - REVOLUTION / RADICALITY, BLUE - ROWDINESS, YELLOW - PROTEST are considered in the article. The author provides an in-depth comparative analysis of a range of examples to illustrate the linguacultural specifics of the models in question. The exception is the metaphorical model of protest based on the blue colour as it can be distinguished only in American rock-discourse.