Best anti war song

[dofus]

Here's my nomination, "Come and Dance" by Janis Ian.

And when the war was over
I went dancing in the streets
with the corpse of my dead brother
to the sacrificial beat

the Boy Scouts and the Legionnaires
come home from overseas
singing Glory Hallelujah!
to the swank Gestapo beat

Hallelujah
I've never been
In the whole of my life
an intelligent sacrifice
Hallelujah
Give me a reason
to go on believing
and I'm ready
to pay the price

I heard of a plan
in the president's mansion
(high up in the sky)
It called for a sacrifice
and my brother paid the price

Sent him home in a bag,
Tha American flag
was draped around the box
The coffin lid was locked
The note said Thanks a lot

Some and dance with me
I'm home from overseas
I'm a corpse up to my knees
Celebrate the victory

Do you want to dance
and hold me tight?
I'm feeling most diseased
but I'm easier to please
Come and dance

[Liberal Veteran]

1. What's goin' on? - Marvin Gaye

Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today - Ya

Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on

In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Tell me what's going on
I'll tell you what's going on - Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby

[DBoon]

2. Black Sabbath "War Pigs"

Generals gathered in their masses,
just like witches at black masses.
Evil minds that plot destruction,
sorcerers of death's construction.
In the fields the bodies burning,
as the war machine keeps turning.
Death and hatred to mankind,
poisoning their brainwashed minds.
Oh lord, yeah!

Politicians hide themselves away.
They only started the war.
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor, yeah.

Time will tell on their power minds,
making war just for fun.
Treating people just like pawns in chess,
wait till their judgement day comes, yeah.

Now in darkness world stops turning,
ashes where the bodies burning.
No more War Pigs have the power,
Hand of God has struck the hour.
Day of judgement, God is calling,
on their knees the war pigs crawling.
Begging mercies for their sins,
Satan, laughing, spreads his wings.
Oh lord, yeah!
--Black Sabbath, War Pigs

[el_gato]

6. one line

isn't it
"they leave peril to the poor"

it has always sounded that way to me

[proud patriot]

11. I second that with an honorable mention to Disposable Heroes and

The Entire "Rust in Peace" megadeth CD
also these songs from Megadeth
"Peace Sells"
"Countdown to Extinction"
"symphony of destruction"
"Architecture of aggression"

System of a Down
"BOOM"
System of a Down
"deer dance" lyrics
Round, Round,

Circumventing circuses,
Lamenting in protest,
To visible police,
Presence sponsored fear,

Battalions of riot police,
With rubber bullet kisses,
Baton courtesy,
Service with a smile

Beyond the Staples Center you can see America,
With its tired, poor, avenging disgrace,
Peaceful, loving youth against the brutality,
Of plastic existence.

Pushing little children,
With their fully automatics,
They like to push the weak around,
Pushing little children,
With their fully automatics,
They like to push the weak around.

Round, Round,

A rush of words,
Pleading to disperse,
Upon your naked walls, alive,
A political call,
The fall guy accord,
We can't afford to be neutral on a moving train,

Beyond the Staples Center you can see America,
With its tired, poor, avenging disgrace,
Peaceful, loving youth against the brutality,
Of plastic existence.

Pushing little children,
With their fully automatics,
They like to push the weak around,
Pushing little children,
With their fully automatics,
They like to push the weak around.

Push them around,
A deer dance, invitation to peace,
War staring you in the face, dressed in black.
With a helmet, fierce,
Trained and appropriate for the malcontents,
For the disproportioned malcontents,
The little boy smiled, it'll all be well,
The little boy smiled it'll all be well,

Pushing little children,
With their fully automatics,
They like to push the weak around,
Pushing little children,
With their fully automatics,
They like to push the weak around.
Pushing little children,
With their fully automatics,
They like to push the weak around,
Push the weak around,
Push the weak around,
Push the weak around,
They like to push the weak around.

[dolo amber]

17. I gotta give it up for

"Disposable Heros" myself. Ever notice how many young military types just LOVE that song?? Very odd, Metallica gets them all pumped to go to war, and that song is pointing out what sheeple they are.



Disposable Heroes

Bodies fill the fields I see, hungry heroes end
No one to play soldier now, no one to pretend
running blind through killing fields, bred to kill them all
Victim of what said should be
a servant `til I fall


Soldier boy, made of clay
now an empty shell
twenty one, only son
but he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care
just do as we say
finished here, Greeting Death
he's yours to take away


Back to the front
you will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front
you will die when I say, you must die
Back to the front
you coward
you servant
you blindman


Barking of machinegun fire, does nothing to me now
sounding of the clock that ticks, get used to it somehow
More a man, more stripes you bare, glory seeker trends
bodies fill the fields I see
the slaughter never ends


Soldier boy, made of clay
now an empty shell
twenty one, only son
but he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care
just do as we say
finished here, Greeting Death
he's yours to take away


Back to the front
you will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front
you will die when I say, you must die
Back to the front
you coward
you servant
you blindman



Why, Am I dying?
Kill, have no fear
Lie, live off lying
Hell, Hell is here



I was born for dying



Life planned out before my birth, nothing could I say
had no chance to see myself, molded day by day
Looking back I realize, nothing have I done
left to die with only friend
Alone I clench my gun


Soldier boy, made of clay
now an empty shell
twenty one, only son
but he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care
just do as we say
finished here, Greeting Death
he's yours to take away

Back to the front
you will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front
you will die when I say, you must die
Back to the front
you coward
you servant
you blindman



Back to the front.

[monkeyboy]

3. I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die, By Country Joe McDonald and Fish

Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Gotta go out and get those reds —
The only good commie is the one who's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Huh!

Well, come on Wall Street, don't move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

[Section_43]

41. Salut, monkeyboy!

Greatest protest song of all time, kept them from appearing on Ed Sullivan (along with an appearance on the David Frost show.)

This song pissed a whole nation off!

[2cents]

56. Yep, Country Joe

Straight-up and right between the eyes...yet, an antiwar song that's a lot of fun and you sing it with a smile.

[LuLu550]

4. Fortunate Son

Is particularly appropriate at this time, given the Unelected Fraud went AWOL from his cushie National Guard duty and struts around aircraft carriers and urges terrorists to blow up our troops in Iraq.."Bring 'em on."
LuLu

[Mikimouse]

8. Defintely the very best; CCR rules!

n/t

[Richardo]

5. "Billy Don't Be a Hero"

BWA----HAHAHAHAHAHA!

[ChesWickatWork]

21. damn , now you've done it

that damn song will be in my head all day x(

[slackmaster]

7. Fish Cheer by Country Joe & the Fish!

Gimme an F…
Gimme a U…
Gimme a C…
Gimme a K…

What’s that spell?
What’s that spell?
What’s that spell?
What’s that spell?
What’s that spell?

yeah, c’mon on all you big strong men
Uncle Sam needs your help again
he’s got himself in a terrible jam
way down yonder in Vietnam
so put down your books and pick up a gun
we’re gonna have a whole lot of fun

and it’s 1, 2, 3, what’re we fighting for?
don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn
next stop is vietnam
and it’s 5, 6, 7, open up the pearly gates
ah, ain’t no time to wonder why
whoopee! we’re all gonna die

well c’mon generals, let’s move fast
your big chance has come at last
gotta go out and get those Reds
the only good Commie is one who’s dead
and you know that peace can only be won when we’ve blown ‘em all to kingdom come

chorus

well c’mon on Wall Street
don’t be slow
.................
there’s plenty good money to be made
by supplin’ the Army with the tools of the trade
just hope and pray that if we drop the bomb
they drop it on-a Vietnam

chorus

well c’mon mothers throughout this land
pack your boys off to Vietnam
c’mon pops, don’t hesitate
send ‘em off before it’s too late
be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box

and it’s 1, 2, 3, what’re we fighting for?
don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn

http://www.lyricsdownload.com/cgi-bin/frames.cgi?http://www.lyricsdownload.com/country-joe-and-the-fish-fish-cheer-lyrics.php4?r=1

[Duncan Grant]

52. Agreed!

This is the first song I thought of --

"so put down your books and pick up a gun
we’re gonna have a whole lot of fun"

Kinda says it all, doesn't it?

[Section_43]

67. Another vote here, check this link out....

variations on the fish cheer from Joe McDonald's page:

http://www.countryjoe.com/fixins.htm#iraq

[makeanoise]

9. FORTUNATE SON-CCR

Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Yeah, the red, white, and blue
When the band plays 'Hail To The Chief'
Yeah, they'll point the cannon at you
It ain't me, it ain't me
I'm no millionaire's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand
Well, they help themselves, yeah
When the taxman comes to the door
House looks a like a rummage sale
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no millionaire's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, no
Some folks inherit star spangled eyes
Yeah, when they send you down to war
Well, when you ask them how much you should give
Yeah, it's always more, more, more
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no senator's son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I'm no fortunate one
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no military son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate son
Take it away...

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

29. CCR kick!

[Stanchetalarooni]

10. "Compared To What" by Les McCann

" Another night, a night of love
Hangin' on to push and shove
Possession is the mo-to-va-tion that is
Hangin' up the goddam nation
Looks like we always end up in a rut
Tryin' to make it real
Compared to what!

"The president he's got his war
Folks don't know just what it's for
Nobody gives us rhyme or reason
Have one doubt they call it treason

Les McCann wrote this one and it is the best if you can get the live recording from Montroux Switzerland - Swiss Movement. Eddie Harris on trumpet.
Anyone know more of the lyrics.

[mac56]

12. Masters Of War - Bob Dylan

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead

[samsingh]

13. Imagine by John Lennon

Lyrics available all over the internet.

[study_war_no_more]

23. I love imagine

But Sam Stone Is my favorite

[zekeson]

46. I'll second that

I even had the lyrics in my cache ready to post when I spotted yours. Good call.

[cherryperry]

70. How About "With God On Our Side" by Bob Dylan?

by Bob Dylan (1963)

Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.

WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE
(Words and Music by Bob Dylan)
1963 Warner Bros. Inc
Renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.

[CanuckAmok]

14. Eric Bogle/Billy Bragg "My Youngest Son Came Home Today"

My youngest son came home today
His friends marched with him all the way
The fife and drum beat out the time
While in his box of polished pine
Like dead meat on a butcher's tray
My youngest sone came home today

My youngest son was a fine young man
With a wife, a daughter and two sons
And a man he would have lived and died
Till by a bullet sanctified
Now he's a saint, or so they say
They brough their young saint home today

An Irish sky looks down and weeps
Upon the narrow Belfast streets
At childrens' blood in gutters spilled
In dreams of glory unfulfilled
As part of "freedom's" price to pay
My youngest son came home today

My youngest son came home today
His friends marched with him all the way
The fife and drum beat out the time
While in his box of polished pine
Like dead meat on a butcher's tray
My youngest sone came home today
And this time he's here to stay




ALSO...

"1916" by Motorhead(!)

16 years old when I went to war
To fight for a land fit for heroes
God on my side, and a gun in my hand
Counting my days down to zero
And I marched and I fought and I bled and I died
And I never did get any older
But I knew at the time that a year in the line
Is a long enough life for a soldier

We all volunteered and we wrote down our names
And we added two years to our ages
Eager for life and ahead of the game
Ready for history's pages
And we fought and we brawled and whe whored till we stood
Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder
A thirst for the Hun, we were food for the gun
And that's what you are when you're soldiers

I heard my friend cry, and he sank to his knees
Coughing blood as he screamed for his mother
And I fell by his side, and that's how we died
Clinging like kids to eachother
And I lay in the mud, and the guts and the blood
And I wept as his body grew colder
And I called for my mother and she never came
Though it wasn't my fault and I wasn't to blame
The day not half over and ten thousand slain
And now there's nobody remembers our names
And that's how it is for a soldier

[TheBigGuy]

45. That was a good CD....The Internationale by Billy Bragg.

Actually Billy has done some other good antiwar songs, too.

[Malikshah]

15. THE GRAVE & LULLABY

THE GRAVE

The Grave by Don McLean


The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
And the brown earth bleached white
At the edge of his gravestone
He’s gone
When the wars of our nation did beckon
The man, barely twenty, did answer the calling
Proud of the trust
That he placed in our nation
He’s gone
But eternity knows him
And it knows what we’ve done
And the rain fell like pearls
On the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown, muddy clay
Where the earth had been dry
And deep in the trench
He waited for hours
As he held to his rifle
And prayed not to die
But the silence of night
Was shattered by fire
As the guns and grenades
Blasted sharp through the air
One after another
His comrades were slaughtered
In the morgue of marines
Alone, standing there
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.”
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors
And the brown earth bleached white
At the edge of his gravestone
He’s gone

LULLABY

Poem by William Blake
Music by Loreena McKennitt
Composed for the Stratford Festival
production of BLAKE by Elliot Hayes.


O for a voice like thunder, and a tongue
to drown the throat of war! - When the senses
are shaken, and the soul is driven to madness,
who can stand? When the souls of the oppressed
fight in the troubled air that rages, who can stand?
When the whirlwind of fury comes from the
throne of God, when the frowns of his countenance
drive the nations together, who can stand?
When Sin claps his broad wings over the battle,
and sails rejoicing in the flood of Death;
when souls are torn to everlasting fire,
and fiends of Hell rejoice upon the slain,
O who can stand? O who hath caused this?
O who can answer at the throne of God?
The Kings and Nobles of the Land have done it!
Hear it not, Heaven, thy Ministers have done it!

[Abaques]

16. boysetsfire - foundations to burn

Justify, as if it were our right to say
Now decide, which liar you trust and which one chose our fate
Fed in time as a choice we think we’re making
It’s the guns that we know vs. the guns we never will
When illusions burn where will we be left standing
Still with the guns that we know vs. the guns we never will
Pacify, with false hope of safety within
Never mind that they were never there where could we begin
We call upon god for which killing’s permitted, and then brag out loud that our side made the grade We better pray, with this as our position
Our wrongs don’t come back and burn us down to the ground
And what gives us the right to judge without reprisal
To strike retaliation and wash our hands of blood
And who gave us the crown to claim that we’re divine
Without needing repentance and drive them into hell



Of course Anti-Flag's 911 for Peace probably comes in a close second for me.

[4_Legs_Good]

18. War by the late great Edwin Star

War
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
War
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
War is something that I despise
For it means destruction of innocent lives
For it means tears in thousands of mothers' eyes
When their sons go out to fight to give their lives

War
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing

War
It's nothing but a heartbreaker
War
Friend only to the undertaker
War is the enemy of all mankind
The thought of war blows my mind
Handed down from generation to generation
Induction destruction
Who wants to die

War
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing

War has shattered many young men's dreams
Made them disabled bitter and meanLife is too precious to be fighting wars
each day
War can't give life it can only take it away

War
It's nothing but a heartbreaker
War
Friend only to the undertaker
Peace love and understanding
There must be some place for these things today
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord there's gotta be a better way
That's better than
War

War
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
War
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing

[CO Liberal]

25. (What Is It Good For?) Absolutely NOTHING!!!

Say it again..............

[noonwitch]

28. I agree, whether it's the original or Bruce's cover

It's an in your face anti war song.

[4_Legs_Good]

36. Ahhh, I haven't heard the cover yet

Though I heard he was opening his concerts with it earlier this year. I'll have to look around for a boot...

david

[AntiCoup2K4]

66. Bruce's cover is good, but DOA's is even better!

[ChesWickatWork]

19. Last night I had the Strangest Dream

I ever dreamed before.
I dreamt the world had all agreed to put
an end to war.
.......................

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

61. Deserves the Whole Lyric

It's one of my favorites, too.

Last night I had the strangest dream
I'd ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

I dreamed I saw a mighty room
Filled with women and men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again

And when the paper was all signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful pray'rs were prayed

And the people in the streets below
Were dancing 'round and 'round
While swords and guns and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground

Last night I had the strangest dream
I'd never dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war.

I forgot to copy the link, but this same site has the complete lyrics to Ruben Clamzo. Now that's what the internet is for!

[ET Awful]

20. Lives in the Balance

by Jackson Browne (and re-recorded by Richie Havens, which was the better version in my opinion)

I've been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you think that you've heard it before
How governments lie to their people
And how nations are driven to war

And there's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs

On the radio talk shows and the T.V.
You hear one thing again and again
How the U.S.A. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends--
These governments killing their own?
Or is it the ones who can't take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

There's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
We can't even remember their names

I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never around to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

[4_Legs_Good]

22. Or, if you're a hippie at heart... Get Together

Get Together by the Youngbloods

Love is but a song to sing
Fear's the way we die
You can make the mountains ring
Or make the angels cry
Though the bird is on the wing
And you may not know why

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Some may come and some may go
We shall surely pass
When the one that left us here
Returns for us at last
We are but a moment's sunlight
Fading in the grass

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

If you hear the song I sing
You will understand (listen!)
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It's there at you command

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

Right now ... Right now.....

[MaineDem]

24. Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

Well, I'm not going to point any moral;
I'll leave that for yourself
Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking
You'd like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man'll be over his head, we're
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!

Words and music by Pete Seeger (1967)

Written during Vietnam, the song is actually about an event during WWII but the reminder was there about the "current"(1967) situation. In any case, the theme is universal and I can't count the number of times I've felt "waist deep in the big muddy" lately. And the little fool says to push on!

[mac56]

34. This song led to the Smothers Brothers walking off their show.

Pete Seeger was scheduled to sing it on their show, accompanied by news footage from Vietnam. CBS censors got a hair up their collective asses and cut the sequence. Tom and Dick found out about this and walked off the show. After a few weeks they were coaxed back, but it got pretty ugly.

[NightTrain]

26. Bob Seger's "2+2=?" (1968)

I wouldn't necessarily call it the best anti-war song, but it's a very good one that never gets mentioned anywhere. Here are some sample lyrics:

Well, I knew a guy in high school,
Just an average, friendly guy
And he had himself a girlfriend,
And you made them say goodbye.

Now he's buried in the mud
of a foreign jungle land
And his girl just cries and cries.
She just doesn't understand.

So you say he died for freedom.
What if he died to save your lies?
Go ahead and call me yellow.
Two plus two is on my mind.

[Richardo]

27. Not specifically anti-war, but "Ball of Confusion" has always been a fave.

:thumbsup:

[AlabamaYankee]

30. When Johhny Comes Marching Home

The original Irish - I think - version was a bitter lament about the return of a maimed soldier. The words to the last vers are:

"Ye haven't an arm and ye haven't a leg, Aroo, Aroo
Ye haven't an arm and ye haven't a leg, Aroo, Aroo
Ye haven't an arm and ye haven't a leg,
You're an eyeless, boneless Chickenless egg
Ye'll have to be put with a bowl to beg.
Johnny I hardly knew ye."

Not at all like the chirpy version I sang in elemetary school.

[FireHeart]

31. Requiem For The Masses

by the Association. Written back in the Vietnam era.

Requiem For The Masses
By The Association


Requiem aeternam, requiem aeternam

Mama, mama, forget your pies
Have faith they won't get cold
And turn your eyes to the bloodshot sky
Your flag is flying full

At half mast, for the matadors
Who turned their backs to please the crowd
And all fell before the bull

Red was the color of his blood flowing thin
Pallid white was the color of his lifeless skin
Blue was the color of the morning sky
He saw looking up from the ground where he died
It was the last thing ever seen by him

Kyrie Eleison

Mama, mama, forget your pies
Have faith they won't get cold
And turn your eyes to the bloodshot sky
Your flag is flying full

At half mast, for the matadors
Who turned their backs to please the crowd
And all fell before the bull

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:

Rex tremendae majestatis?

Requiem aeternam, Requiem aeternam

[MaineDem]

33. That song gives me chills

To this day!

One of my favorites.

[FireHeart]

35. Yes...it does.

everytime I listen to it...chills run up and down my spine.

It's not an easy thing to take.

[Richardo]

38. WOW! I forgot about that one - and I was a *big* Association guy...

:thumbsup: FireHeart!

[FireHeart]

60. I could never forget that one.

Performed to make you *have* to remember.

*sigh*

[BurtWorm]

32. Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock

[KamaAina]

37. Kill the Poor - Dead Kennedys

Specifically about everyone's favorite weapon of mass destruction, the neutron bomb (say, how come Bush* never lied about Saddam having those?):

Efficiency and progress is ours once more
Now that we have the Neutron bomb
It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done
Away with excess enemy
But no less value to property
No sense in war but perfect sense at home­

The sun beams down on a brand new day
No more welfare tax to pay
Unsightly slums gone up in flashing light
Jobless millions whisked away
At last we have more room to play
All systems go to kill the poor tonight

Gonna
Kill kill kill kill Kill the poor ­Tonight

Behold the sparkle of champagne
The crime rate's gone
Feel free again
O' life's a dream with you, Miss Lily White
Jane Fonda on the screen today
Convinced the liberals it's okay
So let's get dressed and dance away the night

While they
Kill kill kill kill Kill the poor ­Tonight

[LuLu550]

39. also

"3 5 0 0" from the musical Hair is chilling. It was the number of US troops killed in Vietnam when the play came out. Kind of sad given that the death toll for US troops was well over 50,000 when it finally ended.
Kind of makes you wonder what the number will be when Iraq finally winds down.
LuLu

[Gato Moteado]

40. front line by stevie wonder

also, steve goodman's "penny evans" comes to mind. here are the lyrics:

My name is Penny Evans and my age is twenty-one
A young widow of the war that's bein' fought in Vietnam
I have two infant daughters and I do the best I can
They say the war is over but I think it's just begun

I remember I was seventeen when first I met young Bill
At his father's grand piano we played good old 'Heart and Soul'
I only knew the left hand part, and he the right so well
He's the only boy I slept with, and the only one I will

First we had a baby girl, then we had two good years
And next the warning notice came, we parted without tears
Then it's nine months from our last goodbye our second babe appears
And it's ten months and a telegram confirming all our fears

Now every month I get a check from some army bureaucrat
And it's every month I tear it up and I mail the damn thing back
Do they think that makes it all right? Do they think I'd fall for that?
They can keep their bloody money, sure won't bring my Billy back

I never cared for politics, speeches I don't understand
Likewise never took no charity from any living man
But tonight there's fifty thousand gone in that unhappy land
And fifty thousand 'Heart and Souls' being played with just one hand

My name is Penny Evans and my age is twenty-one
A young widow of the war that's bein' fought in Vietnam
And I have two infant daughters, and I thank God I have no sons
Oh, they say the war is over but I think it's just begun

[Kolesar]

42. "Oliver's Army" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Another favorite is "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda". That one will tear your heart out.

[SiobhanClancy]

44. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda ..

gets my vote.


Now when I was a young man I carried my pack
And lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's Green Basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915 my country said "Son,
It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done."
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they marched me away to the war


And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As the ship pulled away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers, flag waving and tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli


And how well I remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
And of how in that hell that they called Souvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
'Johnny Turk' he was ready, he'd primed himself well
He rained us with bullets and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia



And the band played Waltzing Matilda
While we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again

And those that were left, well we tried to survive
In that mad world of death, blood and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse-over-head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
Never knew there was worse things than dying



For I'll go no more waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and free
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So, they collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
And shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
The proud, wounded heroes of Souvla
And when our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity



But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away

So now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams and past glories
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore
They're tired old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question



But the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a'waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong
Who'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me?

[MaineDem]

49. I thought of this one, too.

It's hard to pick just one.

[dofus]

68. I went to Australia

in 1970 and arrived in time for Anzac Day, which commemorates the Battle of Souvla Bay -- which "Waltzing Matilda" is about. There were still the the tired old heroes of a forgotten war around then. I knew nothing at all about the Battle fo Souvla Bay then, and have learned only a little since then. The movie "Gallipoli" (with a very young Mel Gibson) is about it, and worth seeing.

Added on edit:

In 1990, on the 75th anniversary of that battle, NPR did an amazing story, which they framed with that song. It haunts me still.

[jayfish]

43. Disposable Heroes...

by Metallica. Lyrics posted in #17.

Jay

[UnbrainwashedYouth]

47. "Eve Of Destruction"

I always liked that one by Barry McGuire, written about the Cold War.
Hey everybody, this is my first post here. I would have started a thread to introduce myself, but I have to have a few postings first, I guess. Well, I'm probably a little younger than most of you (17), but I have a ton of animosity towards the Thief-in-Chief and the rest of the current administration. I despise most righties, so do I fit the criteria?
Anyway, here's the lyrics:

The Eastern world, it is explodin'
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'?
An' even the Jordan river has bodies floatin'

But you tell me, over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say
An' can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today?
If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave
Take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy

An' you tell me, over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Yeah, my blood's so mad feels like coagulatin'
I'm sittin' here just contemplatin'
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation
Handful of senators don't pass legislation
An' marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin'
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'
An' you tell me, over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
Ah, you may leave here for four days in space
But when you return it's the same ol' place
The poundin' of the drums, the pride an' disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace

An' tell me, over and over and over again, my friend
You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction
No, no, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

[BrotherBuzz]

48. Yes, A powerful song in 1965...

when I first heard it, and it's just as powerful today. Barry McGuire actually updated 'Eve of Destruction' with new lyrics for a 2002 PBS special entitled "American Soundtrack: This Land Is Your Land" hosted by the Smothers Brothers. Check it out if you can find it. The more things change, the more the stay the same.

Welcome to DU
Brother Buzz

[redwitch]

50. all of them!

but don't forget "LYndon Johnson told a Nation" -Tom PAxton
Universal Soldier-Phil Ochs
Green Fields of France-?
Christmas in the Trenches-John McCutcheon
Not in My Name-John McCutcheon
I Aint Marching Anymore
Sky Pilot- Eric Burdon

[sleepyhead]

55. I Ain't Marching Anymore

Oh, why did Phil Ochs have to leave us so soon? We need him now!

[SPICYHOT]

51. the best fortunate son

CCR kick!

[dofus]

53. Wow!

What a fantastic bunch of replies! Usually my topics die with one or two replies. Thanks to everyone. You've managed to post several of my personal favorites. And here's one more anti-war song-- at least I think it qualifies as anti-war. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes when I hear it:


The Green Fields of France
by Eric Bogle

Well, how do you do, Private William McBride?
Do you mind if I sit down here by your graveside?
And rest for awhile in the warm summer sun,
I've been walking all day, and I'm nearly done.
And I see by your gravestone you were only 19
When you joined the dead heroes in 1915.
Well, I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean
Or Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?



Did they beat the drum slowly, did they sound the pipes lowly?
Did the rifles fir o'er you as they lowered you down?
Did the bugles sing Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind?
In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined?
And, though you died back in 1915,
In that faithful heart are you forever 19?
Or are you a stranger without even a name,
Forever enshrined behind some glass pane,
In an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained,
And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame?



The sun's shining down on these green fields of France;
The warm wind blows gently, and the red poppies dance.
The trenches have long vanished under the plow;
There's no gas and no barbed wire, no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard it is still No Man's Land.
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man,
And a whole generation who were butchered and damned.



And I can't help but wonder, now, Willie McBride,
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you the Cause?
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
For the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame,
The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain,
For Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.

[dflprincess]

57. I was going to post "Green Fields of France"

What a great list of songs.

[Tom Kitten]

54. Maybe the best anti war song title...

maybe not the best anti war song..."War Sucks" by the Red Krayola...

Though I'd also mention "Kill for Peace" by the Fugs...

Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Near or middle or very far east
Far or near or very middle east
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
If you don't like the people
or the way that they talk
If you don't like their manners
or they way that they walk,
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
If you don't kill them
then the Chinese will
If you don't want America
to play second fiddle,
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
If you let them live
they might support the Russians
If you let them live
they might love the Russians
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
(spoken) Kill 'em, kill 'em, strafe those gook creeps!
The only gook an
American can trust
Is a gook that's got
his yellow head bust.
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, it'll
feel so good,
like my captain
said it should
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill it will give
you a mental ease
kill it will give
you a big release
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace
Kill, kill, kill for peace

[ScreamingMeemie]

58. Six White Horses...I cry every time...and then I play it again

SIX WHITE HORSES

performed by Waylon Jennings.

Come here and look through the window Marie
Open up the shutters,tell me what you see
Was that his knock that i heard at the door
Or is it six white horses coming down the road



Come here and touch me and say that it's alright
You know that to my eyes the days are as the nights
Read again the letter that tells me where he's gone
To hell with the fighting i want my son home



I taught him to fish and i taught him to be strong
I taught him that killing any man was wrong
But tommorrow in battle i'd run to where he stood
If the help of a blind man would do any good


Last night i went to his room for awhile
I've touched all the things that he used as a child
I rocked the cradle where he used to lay
I found his tin soldiers and threw them away



Come here and look through the window Marie
Open up the shutters,tell me what you see
Was that his knock that i heard at the door#
Or is it six white horses coming up the road

[kixot]

59. Civil War - Guns N' Roses

Look at your young men fighting
Look at your women crying
Look at your young men dying
The way they've always done before


Look at the hate we're breeding
Look at the fear we're feeding
Look at the lives we're leading
The way we've always done before


My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of God and our human rights
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars

(the next few lines always make me tear up)
D'you wear a black armband
When they shot the man
Who said "Peace could last forever"?
And in my first memories
They shot Kennedy
I went numb when I learned to see
So I never fell for Vietnam
We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all
That you can't trust freedom
When it's not in your hands
When everybody's fightin'
For their promised land


And
I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war


Look at the shoes your filling
Look at the blood we're spilling
Look at the world we're killing
The way we've always done before
Look in the doubt we've wallowed
Look at the leaders we've followed
Look at the lies we've swallowed
And I don't want to hear no more


My hands are tied
For all I've seen has changed my mind
But still the wars go on as the years go by
With no love of God or human rights
'Cause all these dreams are swept aside
By bloody hands of the hypnotized
Who carry the cross of homicide
And history bears the scars of our civil wars


"We practice selective annihilation of mayors
And government officials
For example to create a vacuum
Then we fill that vacuum
As popular war advances
Peace is closer" **


I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
And I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war
I don't need one more war


I don't need one more war
Whaz so civil 'bout war anyway

[Iris]

62. "It feeds the rich while it buries the poor" - good one n/t

[ArkDem]

63. Garry Owen

[MaineDem]

64. I'd love a CD with all of these

What a great album that would be!

[hussar]

65. What about the reggae one from the 60's ?

I think it was called Vietnam, Jimmy Cliff ? would love to hear that again, it really gets me going.

There is also one from the 70's called "soldier" by Harvey Andrews and is about Northern Ireland, it was banned at the time but I have a copy, very good too.

[Deja Q]

69. "Zor and Zam" and "For Pete's Sake"

It's interesting how 37 year old songs (the whole 60s movement) isn't dated whatsoever!

Most anti-war songs are good ones, well thought out and well written. Especially when made by groups labelled as "bubblegum"...