What are the best peace songs, anti-war songs, protest songs of all time. Some of my favorites include:
I ain’t marchin anymore Phil Ochs
Ohio Neil Young
Blowin’ in the Wind Bob Dylan
Peace, Love, and Understanding Elvis Costello
That’s just to get the juices flowin…
Eve of Destruction…by Barry McGuire.
War is one of the more emphatic ones, and one of my favorites.
Most are pretty lame, but Where Have All the Flowers Gone is good.
Peace Train by Cat Stevens
Fortunate Son
Imagine
One of my faves, and it’s a very obscure one: Requiem for the Masses by The Association (yes, the same group that gave us Cherish and Windy).
A sample of the lyrics (or see the link for the full text):
Also one of the few that has lines in Latin, as well.
“I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag” by Country Joe and The Fish.
“Well it’s one, two, three what are we fightin’ for?
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn.
My next stop is Viet Nam …”
Another vote for Eve of Destruction.
I love CCR’s “Fortunate Son,” although i realize that it’s only really the last verse that actually refers to war. Still, i think it fits the bill.
I also love Buffalo Springfield, “For What It’s Worth.”
oops, on preview i see that sleeping already nominated “Fortunate Son.” I second.
“Alice’s Restaurant.”
Two favourites from Down Under:
“And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda”, and “The Green Fields of France”, both by Eric Bogle
More in a “the absurdity of war” vein:
“Alice’s Restaurant”, by Arlo Guthrie
And finally, two of the most searing protest songs I know (civil rights in this case, not anti-war):
“Here’s to the State of Missisippi”, by Phil Ochs
“Strange Fruit”, by Abel Meeropol, Billie Holliday, and Sonny White.
“Four Days Gone” by Buffalo Springfield
"Ball of Confusion"by the Temptations
“What’s Goin’ on?” not only Marvin Gaye’s version, but Les McCann’s incredible performance at the 1971 Montreaux Jazz Festival
“Compared to What” by Les McCann (I prefer the version with Eddie Harris accompanying him on sax)
“Machine Gun” by Jimi Hendrix. The Band of Gypsys version is good, but the Isle of Wight version is better
2 songs that are not anti-war, per se, but are protest songs
“Morning Dew” Jeff Beck and the Grateful Dead have both recorded versions
“Strange Fruit” – Billie Holliday
I recall Pete Seegar did a song “Big Muddy”. In a real life training exercise, soldiers drowned because an officer ordered them to march into a river that was too fast and wide to cross. The last lines were about the war in the papers and “We`re waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool says to push on…”
Let me raise the old punk rock flag!
‘Tommy Gun’, ‘The Call Up’, and ‘Washington Bullets’
by the Clash.
Not your usual strum guitars and pick daisies type protest.
I was going to add ‘I’m So Bored with the USA’, but that’s a song for a different thread.
Masters of War by Bob Dylan (Eddie Vedder did a very nice cover of this too). Also from Bob, God On Our Side.
“The words fill my head then they fall to the floor,
if God is on our side, He’ll stop the next war!”
Donovan did an interesting song, Universal Soldier. (“Hes the one who gives his body as a weapon of the war, and without him all this killin cant go on…”) It ended with the thought that the soldiers` orders came from you and me.
A lot of great songs have been mentioned here. I will have to listen to the few I have not heard and add my favorite to the list.
Elvis Costello’s " Ship Building."
I’ll third “Eve of Destruction”
and I’ll second “The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda”
Anyone in the US who hasn’t heard that one should check it out.
I think the version I have is sung by Priscilla Herdman, and I most likely spelled her name wrong. Actually that whole album is very good (bought it before CDs were common).
David Wilcox, *A Different Kind of War*. The last few verses choke me up:
And everything by Malvina Reynolds, who was the sweetest and toughest ol’ lady you could ever have hoped to meet, bless her. Her lyrics are powerful but gentle. Most people probably know Little Boxes. My favourite of hers is probably The Money Crop.
I like Boraxo, too:
Excerpts of her lyrics don’t really do her songs justice. Reading the whole song is a bit better, but you really have to hear her voice to appreciate what a genius she was.
My favourite version of this song was sung by The Pogues. It’s the last track on their “Rum, Sodomy and the Lash” album.