Bruce Springsteen – Lost in the Flood
In January 1973 Bruce Springsteen released his first album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.“, which contained “Lost in the Flood“, the first of many songs Springsteen would write about Vietnam Veterans. Born in 1949, Springsteen was the right age to serve in Vietnam, but managed to avoid that fate. Apparently he was classified 4-F (not [...]
Black Sabbath – War Pigs
In 1970, while recording their second album, Paranoid, British rock band Black Sabbath were working on a song called “Walpurgis”, which was basically a musical horror story, much like the song “Black Sabbath” on their first album. However, the band was getting tired of being accused of witchcraft and dabbling in the occult, and didn’t [...]
John Prine – Sam Stone | Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore
John Prine‘s self-titled 1971 debut album was a masterpiece of song writing. His country sound was captivating and easy to listen to, and his dry lyrics grabbed the listener’s attention with wit, sarcasm and irony, and delivered some deep and often depressing messages without being smug or preachy. Amazon.com WidgetsOf the two Vietnam War songs [...]
Buffy Sainte-Marie, Donovan – Universal Soldier
Donovan‘s Amazon.com Widgets 1964 #1 U.K. hit “Universal Soldier” was brought to the U.S. in 1965, where it was a minor hit, reaching #53, and was included in the U.S. release of his “Fairytale” album. Donovan wasn’t the first to record the song, but it’s his recording that made the song well known. The song [...]
The Guess Who – American Woman | No Time
Canadian band The Guess Who‘s 1970 song “American Woman” is often cited as an anti-American criticism of U.S. war policies, especially the draft. The American Woman being referred to could be a metaphor for the U.S. or the Statue of Liberty. The song can be seen as a rejection of the U.S., with lines like [...]
Steppenwolf – Monster | Draft Resister
Steppenwolf’s 1969 album “Monster” featured two Vietnam War songs: “Monster/Suicide/America” which sang about the injustice of America’s domestic and Vietnam War policies; and “Draft Resister” which portrayed the bravery and just cause of those who went to prison rather than go to war. Neither song has the anthem power of Steppenwolf’s earlier hit “Born to [...]
Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A Changin’
Bob Dylan intentionally conceived and wrote “The Times They Are A Changin’” as an anthem for the era of change he saw occurring. The early 60s had already seen the Cuban missile crisis, and almost a decade of the civil rights movement. Indeed, the recording of the album was completed only days before the assassination [...]
Edwin Starr – “War” and “Stop the War Now”
Edwin Starr‘s July 1970 single, “War“, Amazon.com Widgetsis a remarkably powerful performance of Vietnam War Music, expressing firm, impassioned and uncompromising opposition to the war. The well known chorus “War … What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” repeats with gusto throughout the song, with the word “War” followed with exclamations like “good God, y’all!”, [...]
The Beatles – Revolution
It was very uncommon for The Beatles to make an overt political statement in their songs, and 1968′s “Revolution” was a rare exception. Written by John Lennon, it suggests that he wants to see changes, but is uncomfortable with the violent radicalism many advocates for change are espousing, with lines like: “We all want to [...]
Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” is an anti-war folk song about the pointlessness of war, and the need for more peace and goodwill. The lines “Where have all the flowers gone | Young girls have picked them, every one” are a metaphor, and mean the same thing as lines like “Where have all the [...]
Joan Baez – Saigon Bride
Joan Baez sang “Saigon Bride” on her 1967 album “Joan”. Baez was politically active, and lent her voice to the social causes of the time, in particular the civil rights movement and anti-Vietnam War movement (and in the decades since, human rights, gay & lesbian rights, the environment, and against the wars in Iraq, against [...]
The Fugs – “Kill For Peace”
The Fugs are generally described as the “first underground rock group”, with a music style that foreshadows the punk bands of the ’70s and ’80s. Their opposition to the Vietnam War was present in their music, and in actions such as their “exorcism” of the Pentagon at a rally in 1967. Their first album, originally [...]
Jimi Hendrix – Machine Gun
Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” is a lengthy piece of anti Vietnam War music on the “Band Of Gypsys” live album, recorded on New Year’s Day 1970, released on March 25th 1970. No studio recording of the song exists, although there are a variety of recordings of live jams of the song, each of which is [...]
“Galveston” – Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb
Amazon.com Widgets“Galveston” is widely perceived to be an anti Vietnam War Song about a soldier at war, longing for the girl he left back home, transfixed with the memory of her crying as he sailed away: “I still see her standing by the water | Standing there lookin’ out to sea | And is she [...]
Jefferson Airplane’s Volunteers Album
Jefferson Airplane‘s 1969 Album “Volunteers” contains a number of anti Vietnam War songs that capture the mood of social movement of the time. The album was quite popular, reaching #13 in the charts. It was also the last album Jefferson Airplane recorded before undergoing significant transformation as band members changed. Amazon.com WidgetsThe title track, “Volunteers” [...]
For What It’s Worth
Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”, released in October 1966, wasn’t actually written about the Vietnam War, or any War for that matter. It was about riots in Sunset Strip L.A. involving police and a crowd of young people protesting the closing of a nightclub called “Pandora’s Box”. However, it’s one of those songs whose [...]
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel’s Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme L.P. was released on this day (October 10th) in 1966. It was extremely popular, reaching number 4 on the charts, and certified “gold” (500,000 copies) on July 7th 1967, only eight months after its release. With the hindsight of history we know that in 1966 the US involvement in [...]