# Anti-war songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699 "2015-04-28T04:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/81 "2015-04-30T01:01:42Z")
“Russians,” by Sting. Sure, it’s about the cold war, but war nonetheless. > [@](#): > > How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer’s deadly toy > There is no monopoly in common sense > On either side of the political fence > We share the same biology > Regardless of ideology > Believe me when I say to you > I hope the Russians love their children too ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/82 "2015-04-30T01:21:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > “Russians,” by Sting. > > Sure, it’s about the cold war, but war nonetheless. I listened to that song a lot when I was in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/83 "2015-04-30T04:32:54Z")
This has been going on for some time, mind you. It’s been speculated that 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home" was a lot more cynical/ironic than the plain lyrics would suggest. Small town USA, North or South: the troops come home, and you can’t help but notice that a LOT fewer came home than marched off. Of those marching home, well, a number aren’t ‘marching’ as much as they’re hobbling on crutches, maybe on peg legs. Or maybe that’s why they aren’t even in the parade, but sitting on the side in a chair. But it was a great war, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/84 "2015-04-30T07:52:28Z")
[I Come And Stand At Every Door](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vZ0KgLifjI) (AKA Hiroshima/Little Girl) - **This Mortal Coil** version, there’s lots of folkier versions too (Seeger, Byrds, Baez)) but I much prefer this one. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/85 "2015-04-30T09:09:31Z")
Since you mention the Byrds, their version of “Turn! Turn! Turn!” is one of my favorite songs of any kind, and IMO anti-war enough for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/86 "2015-04-30T14:19:27Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Several years ago Wrangler used “Fortunate Son” in a jeans ad. They only used the first few lines: > _Some folks are born made to wave the flag > Oh they’re red, white and blue_[URL=“[http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Fogerty-to-Wrangler-Song-in-ad-ain-t-me-2757730.php](http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Fogerty-to-Wrangler-Song-in-ad-ain-t-me-2757730.php)”] Ad history is full of such flubs, but that’s the searing example that comes to mind when someone raises the matter. O deer ghod… ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/87 "2015-04-30T14:24:50Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > [I Come And Stand At Every Door](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vZ0KgLifjI) (AKA Hiroshima/Little Girl) - **This Mortal Coil** version, there’s lots of folkier versions too (Seeger, Byrds, Baez)) but I much prefer this one. +1 I’ll add Don McLean’s **The Grave** which is devastating the way he sings it. > [@](#): > > He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear. > “They can’t let me die! They can’t let me die here! > I’ll cover myself with the mud and the earth. > I’ll cover myself! I know I’m not brave! > The earth! the earth! the earth is my grave.” Would you kindly ignore the tepid George Michael version, well-meaning though it was. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/88 "2015-04-30T14:32:29Z")
The Oyster Band - [Fiddle or a gun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEMjZ_fCb4k) Jellyfish - [The man I used to be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mxWGdGyagQ) Levellers - [Another mans cause](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScoJcxam7D4) ---
**Author:** ![bunyupp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@bunyupp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bunyupp)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/89 "2015-04-30T15:32:39Z")
[Uli Roth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBsKSMbVs5k) “Enola Gay”. And for Mister Rik, [Vinushka](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdceudJz8jA) by the Japanese band Dir En Grey. NSFW because of some images. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/90 "2015-04-30T18:35:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Ad history is full of such flubs, but that’s the searing example that comes to mind when someone raises the matter. “Born on the Fourth of July” has been used in some jingo militaristic contexts too. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/91 "2015-04-30T22:54:12Z")
Redgum - [I was only 19](https://youtu.be/Urtiyp-G6jY) > [@](#): > > And the Anzac legends didn’t mention mud and blood and tears > And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real > I caught some pieces in my back that I didn’t even feel > God help me, I was only 19 ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/92 "2015-05-01T02:35:54Z")
[Frankie Goes to Hollywood: “Two Tribes”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6-2b_3Dmxw) – which btw predates Tyson/Holyfield. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/93 "2015-05-01T02:46:01Z")
I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, and I didn’t expect it to be, and I certainly wouldn’t call it a “favorite,” but dammit, every time I see this thread, I can’t help thinking of [The War Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBd5W9IA7n0) by Culture Club. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/94 "2015-05-01T02:49:17Z")
Oh, wow. I just thought of Pink Floyd’s “[Us and Them.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDbeqj-1XOo)” > [@](#): > > God only knows it’s not what we would choose to do > Forward he cried from the rear > and the front rank died > And the General sat, as the lines on the map > moved from side to side > Black and Blue > And who knows which is which and who is who ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/95 "2015-05-01T03:16:10Z")
I came to mention “Us and Them”, but you beat me to it. So, I’ll mention most of the album “the Final Cut.” ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/96 "2015-05-01T06:42:59Z")
> [@bunyupp](#): > > [Uli Roth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBsKSMbVs5k) “Enola Gay”. And also OMD’s “Enola Gay”. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/97 "2015-05-01T15:14:42Z")
A shout out to 80’s anti-nuke-armeggeddon… [Pink Floyd - Two Suns in the Sunset](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOJHz6Przdw) [Camper Van Beethoven - Sweethearts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLt4e-l4DxQ) [Nena - 99 Luftballon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akajFVSFQNQ) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/98 "2015-05-01T19:07:21Z")
While I agree with the other Dylan choices, here are two more: [John Brown](http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/john-brown) - a very early song,. done on the 1962 official bootleg and then done on Unplugged. [Tombstone Blues](http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/tombstone-blues) - which is about Vietnam if you analyze it. [QUOTE=Mr. Zimmerman] The king of the Philistines his soldiers to save Puts jawbones on their tombstones and flatters their graves Puts the pied pipers in prison and fattens the slaves Then sends them out to the jungle [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/99 "2015-05-01T20:34:47Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > “Russians,” by Sting. > > Sure, it’s about the cold war, but war nonetheless. I was listening to the radio the other day and heard a song by Jimmy Dean called “[Dear Ivan](http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=dear+ivan+youtube&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=C8EFE6D715A84882A7B7C8EFE6D715A84882A7B7)”. I was expecting it to be jingoistic, but it’s actually about peace and universal brotherhood… quite surprising to me considering it was not only a country song from 1961 but was in fact a hit (#9 on the country charts). ---
**Author:** ![JimInJersey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@JimInJersey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimInJersey)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699/100 "2015-05-01T21:16:28Z")
[quote=“kopek, post:80, topic:718699”] Tom Lehrer – So Long Mom This is one of his set-ups for the song This year we’ve been celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the civil war and the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of world war I and the twentieth anniversary of the end of world war II. All in all it’s been a good year for the war buffs and a number of lps and television specials have come out capitalizing on all this “nostalgia” with particular emphasis on the songs of various wars. I feel that if any songs are going to come out of world war III we’d better start writing them now. I have one here. you might call it a bit of pre-nostalgia. This is the song that all of the boys sang as they went bravely of to world war III. [/QUOTE] +1. An untarnished-by-popular-acclaim masterpiece. Hard to believe it was fifty years ago - 1964ish, from That Was The Week That Was - David Frost, and a Python-esque skit news program that predated SNL’s Saturday Update and Stewart and all the rest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-songs/718699.md?page=6)