# The Best Anti-War/Protest Songs of All Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374 "2003-03-06T00:21:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Broodha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@Broodha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broodha)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/1 "2003-03-06T00:21:08Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/2 "2003-03-06T00:54:23Z")
**Eve of Destruction** …by Barry McGuire. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/3 "2003-03-06T01:02:36Z")
**War** is one of the more emphatic ones, and one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/4 "2003-03-06T01:04:46Z")
Most are pretty lame, but Where Have All the Flowers Gone is good. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/5 "2003-03-06T01:21:23Z")
Peace Train by Cat Stevens Fortunate Son Imagine ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/6 "2003-03-06T01:30:33Z")
One of my faves, and it’s a very obscure one: [Requiem for the Masses](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/association/30427.htm) 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): > [@](#): > > Black and white were the figures that recorded him > Black and white was the newsprint he was mentioned in > Black and white was the question that so bothered him > He never asked, he was taught not to ask > But was on his lips as they buried him. Also one of the few that has lines in Latin, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/7 "2003-03-06T01:34:43Z")
“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 …” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/8 "2003-03-06T02:14:15Z")
Another vote for Eve of Destruction. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/9 "2003-03-06T02:42:28Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/10 "2003-03-06T03:19:04Z")
“Alice’s Restaurant.” ---
**Author:** ![burntsand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@burntsand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burntsand)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/11 "2003-03-06T03:21:59Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/12 "2003-03-06T03:24:06Z")
“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 ---
**Author:** ![dr\_hermes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@dr\_hermes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dr_hermes)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/13 "2003-03-06T03:35:07Z")
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…” ---
**Author:** ![gorillacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@gorillacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gorillacus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/14 "2003-03-06T03:35:27Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/15 "2003-03-06T03:43:43Z")
**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!” ---
**Author:** ![dr\_hermes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@dr\_hermes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dr_hermes)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/16 "2003-03-06T03:49:48Z")
Donovan did an interesting song, Universal Soldier. (“He`s the one who gives his body as a weapon of the war, and without him all this killin can`t go on…”) It ended with the thought that the soldiers` orders came from you and me. ---
**Author:** ![SatyrDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@SatyrDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SatyrDave)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/17 "2003-03-06T03:50:52Z")
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." ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/18 "2003-03-06T03:55:36Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/19 "2003-03-06T03:58:43Z")
David Wilcox, [\*A Different Kind of War](http://folkies.net/lyrics/diffrent.html)\*. The last few verses choke me up: > [@](#): > > his is not a nation that we’re up against > If it’s good against evil what’s our best defense? > The man on the street was drawing a crowd > Some people got angry and voices got loud > > The crowd answered back to the sidewalk guy > That we must have revenge for the people that died > But the man kept talking about love and light > As if that were any way to fight the fight > > And a scuffle started and they hauled him in > He was convicted of crimes and convicted of sins > And for national safety and religious pride > That sidewalk preacher was crucified And _everything_ by [Malvina Reynolds](http://www.sisterschoice.com/eartogroundlyrics.html), 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_. > [@](#): > > Many a child goes hungering > Because the wage is low, > And men die on the battlefield > To make the money grow. > And those that take the money crop > Are at it without end, > They plant it in the tenements > To make it grow again. I like _Boraxo_, too: > [@](#): > > The student is protesting, > The copper clubs his hair, > His head is private property > But no one seems to care, > The happiness he’s fighting for > Is earth and life and green, > And it can’t be scoured clean > With Boraxo 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. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374/20 "2003-03-06T03:59:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Mace \* > \*\*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). \*\* My favourite version of this song was sung by The Pogues. It’s the last track on their “Rum, Sodomy and the Lash” album. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-anti-war-protest-songs-of-all-time/159374.md?page=2)