NationStates Jolt Archive

What do you think about them?

Do you like them?

Hate them?

Does anyone really care what they have to say?

Or is it more for angry teens to establish their anti-establishment ideas?

(Anti-) War (songs)!
Uhhh!
Good God y'all.
What are they good for?
Absolutely nothin'!
(Say it again!)

I don't like them. I listen to singers because I like their music, not because I want to hear their asinine opinions.

its so overdone and stale that I have started humming about getting those japs on their japa-knees

Or is it more for angry teens to establish their anti-establishment ideas?

though don't forget to mention the poor and getting drafted (if ever in doubt just listen to the "suicide machines" as they call themselves)

I feel the same way about anti-war songs that I do about any other songs - if they're good, I'll listen to them; if they're bad, I won't. Anyone who rejects, say, "For What It's Worth" or "Blowin' in the Wind" just because they're anti-war is being absurd.

And I think they certainly have the potential to make a difference; whether or not any given song actually does so is another question.

They're usually terrible, so I avoid them.

Whose anti-war songs are we talking about, here?

It depends. If they're not done for commercial gain and if they're intelligent (something like Counting Down The Hours) they can be great. I doubt they're ever going to change the world but they're beautiful and valuable in themselves.

Too often "war and death is bad and stuff" is rushed out to make a quick buck.

Vietnam had some good songs. But this war just isn't as artistically driven.

I'm more a fan of anti-war poetry (usually written by soldiers--wilfred owens, leroy v. quintana, etc.) but I like some anti-war songs. The ones I listen to are more because they encapsulate an era than because they're anti-war. I don't really listen to modern anti-war songs, but I haven't really heard any, either.


And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, the only answer's more, more, more...

Death and hatred towards mankiiiinnd.
Posining their brainwashed miiinnds...
OH LORD YEAH!

I'll listen to anti-war songs if I like them. I'm not listenen' to something just because it's anti-war.

I agree, I am happen to be a fan of Punk Rock, System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, et cetera so I get exposed to a lot of anti-war music...

I don't really think they make a difference but I tend to like them...

"Where have all the flowers gone?" is the only one I can think of off hand. I've heard them but I don't think they make a difference.

I'm more a fan of anti-war poetry (usually written by soldiers--wilfred owens, leroy v. quintana, etc.) but I like some anti-war songs. The ones I listen to are more because they encapsulate an era than because they're anti-war. I don't really listen to modern anti-war songs, but I haven't really heard any, either.


And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, the only answer's more, more, more...

War songs. . .

It ain't me. It ain't me.

When an anti-war song is good (as most of them are) I listen to them.

we're waist deep in the big muddy and the big fool says to push on.

http://www.tvacres.com/music_songs_muddy.htm

"Where have all the flowers gone?" is the only one I can think of off hand. I've heard them but I don't think they make a difference.

Your nickname´s interesting.

Good anti-war songs (these are all modern songs for the Iraq War):

Linkin Park - Hands Held High
Lamb of God - Now You've Got Something to Die For
Against Me! - White People for Peace
Serj Tankian - Empty Walls

And pretty much all of Anti-Flag. Good fucking music comes out of our shit governments.

I like some anti-War songs from the 1960's

For What It's Worth (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=vJV44YV69z0)
Fortunate Son (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=JBfjU3_XOaA)

And, of course who can forget this classic Anti-War song (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU)

I like Anti-Flag they have a lot of good music...

Oh and nice ATTEMPT at a Rick Roll... pah!

I don't hate them but I don't think they do anything at all.

And, of course who can forget this classic Anti-War song (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU)

Dear Abby,
Whenever I'm on the Internet, I seek out Rickrolls and click them whenever possible.
Is there something wrong with me? :(

I love anti-war music, and left-wing political music broadly.

I voted that it doesn't make a difference, and on the margin, it doesn't--writing more protest music doesn't solve much of anything. But protest music does have a value insofar as it helps create a culture in which political convictions can be expressed: it makes abstract opinions more broad, more human.

I like "Fortunate Son (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMsMfOlaWV0)" by CCR, "Still in Saigon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOfrnKqk3zw)" by the Charlie Daniels band(?) and "Universal Soldier (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohXsdbF-7jc)" by Donovan. I think they are anti-war.

I don't know if it counts, but I was recently introduced to the song A Tout le Monde (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzuQSCYGCD8) by Megadeth.

Against Me! - White People for Peace

Quite appropriate to this thread.

I love anti-war music, and left-wing political music broadly.

I voted that it doesn't make a difference, and on the margin, it doesn't--writing more protest music doesn't solve much of anything. But protest music does have a value insofar as it helps create a culture in which political convictions can be expressed: it makes abstract opinions more broad, more human.

Ted Leo said something like "It's not about stopping a war, it's about helping us get through a war" but then he counter intuitively moved from reflective songs about what it means to be an artist and to what extent we can make a difference and to what extent we can accept "nice guys" with political beliefs that make them part of 'the problem' to these way more confrontational, explicitly political songs. And I guess that goes with what you're saying insofar as expressing ourselves is valuable even if it doesn't practically change that which is the subject of our expression.

I enjoy them only if they contain wit.

The heart of every man in our platoon must swell with pride,
For the nation's youth, the cream of which is marching at his side.
For the fascinating rules and regulations that we share,
And the quaint and curious costumes that we're called upon to wear.

Now Al joined up to do his part defending you and me.
He wants to fight and bleed and kill and die for liberty.
With the hell of war he's come to grips,
Policing up the filter tips,
It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier!

When Pete was only in the seventh grade, he stabbed a cop.
He's real R.A. material, and he was glad to swap
His switchblade and his old zip gun
For a bayonet and a new M-1.
It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier!

After Johnny got through basic training, he
Was a soldier through and through when he was done.
Its effects were so well rooted,
That the next day he saluted
A Good Humor man, an usher, and a nun.

Now, Fred's an intellectual, brings a book to every meal.
He likes the deep philosophers, like Norman Vincent Peale.
He thinks the army's just the thing,
Because he finds it broadening.
It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier!

Now, Ed flunked out of second grade, and never finished school.
He doesn't know a shelter half from an entrenching tool.
But, he's going to be a big success,
He heads his class at OCS.
It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier!

Our old mess sergeant's taste buds had been shot off in the war.
But his savory collations add to our esprit de corps.
To think of all the marvelous ways
They're using plastics nowadays.
It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier!

Our lieutenant is the up-and-coming type,
Played with soldiers as a boy, you just can bet.
It is written in the stars
He will get his captain's bars,
But he hasn't got enough box tops yet.

Our captain has a handicap to cope with, sad to tell.
He's from Georgia, and he doesn't speak the language very well.
He used to be, so rumor has,
The Dean of Men...at Alcatraz.
It makes a fellow proud to be,
What as a kid I vowed to be,
What luck to be allowed to be a soldier. (At ease!)

When someone makes a move
Of which we don't approve,
Who is it that always intervenes?
U.N. and O.A.S.,
They have their place, I guess,
But first - send the Marines!

We'll send them all we've got,
John Wayne and Randolph Scott;
Remember those exciting fighting scenes?
To the shores of Tripoli,
But not to Mississippoli,
What do we do? We send the Marines!

For might makes right,
And till they've seen the light,
They've got to be protected,
All their rights respected,
Till somebody we like can be elected.

Members of the corps
All hate the thought of war;
They'd rather kill them off by peaceful means.
Stop calling it aggression,
Ooh, we hate that expression!
We only want the world to know
That we support the status quo.
They love us everywhere we go,
So when in doubt,
Send the Marines!

this is okay

FIGHTING FOR STRANGERS

cho: What makes you go away, fighting for strangers,
When you could be save at home, free from all dangers?

A recruiting sergeant came my way,
To an inn nearby at the break of day.
He said: "Young Johnny you're a fine young man,
Do you want to march along behind a military band,
With a scarlet coat, a big cocked hat
And a muscet on your shoulder?"
A shilling he took and he kissed the book,
Oh Johnny, what will happen to ya?

The recruiting sergeant marched away,
From the inn nearby at the break of day.
Johnny went too, with half a ring,
He was off to be a soldier, he'd be fighting for the king,
In a far off war, in a far off land,
To face a foreign soldier.
But how will he fare when there's lead in the air,
Oh poor Johnny, what will happen to ya?

The sun shone high on a barren land,
As a thin red line took the military stand.
Sling shot, chain shot, grape shot too,
Swords and bayonets thrusting through,
Poor Johnny fell but the day was won
And the King is grateful to ya.
With your soldier deeds done, we're sending you home,
Oh poor Johnny, what have they done to ya?

Oh, they said he was a hero and not to grieve
Over two wooden legs and an empty sleeve.
They carried him home and they sat him down
With a military pension and a medal from the crown.
You haven't an arm, you haven't a leg,
The enemy nearly slew ya.
You'll have to be put with a bowl to beg,
Oh poor Johnny what have they done to ya?

I like some Anti-war songs, but more of those that are not war specific.


Sun Is Also A Warrior
Leslie Fish (c) 1986

Two men walked on the beach in the sun.
One left footprints, the other left none.
One was a man who no man obeys;
The other a god from the ancient days.
"Look," said the man, "how my kind make war.
I summonned you here to ask what for."
"For wealth or land," the god replies,
"For life, or freedom, or some king's lies."

CHORUS:
"The sun is also a warrior.
Knowledge can also destroy.
Nor can the kindest will,
Preserve you from the kill.
Not all of wisdom brings joy."

"Four of those five," the first one said,
Are not enough to appease the dead.
To save my world all this strife must cease,
So now I bid you to conjure peace."
The god said "Yes. Though it grieves me sore,
For I was also a god of war,
And I remember what you forget,
Four of those five you may still regret."

CHORUS

He raised his voice and he raised his hand.
All strife stopped at the god's command.
No voice ventured an angry word,
No hand struck and no weapon stirred.
In time, the man called the old god back.
"Look," he cried, "what my people lack!
One lord rules over all the earth,
And we're all his slaves from the hour of birth."

CHORUS

"Look, he owns all wealth, and he owns all land,
We starve and die under his command.
He speaks the truth and he gives us peace,
But all that I hope for is our release."
The old god said, "This is what you willed.
For only thus is your wish fulfilled.
War's five sources I took away,
Yet I will give four of them back today."

CHORUS

He raised his hand and his voice once more,
And all the world overturned in war.
And when the last of those fires let fall,
There was no lord in the world at all.
"Go rebuild now," the old god said,
"Feed the living and bury the dead,
And remember this when you speak of war,
And think upon what is worth fighting for."

CHORUS

Technically not Anti-War, but more about the reasons for waging War

Best anti war song ever IMHO:

Well, 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.

Come on Wall Street, don't be 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 its trade,
But 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 generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those reds
'Cause the only good commie is the one that'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.

Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, and don't hesitate
To send your sons off before it's too late.
And you can be the first ones in 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.

Best anti war song ever IMHO:

I completely agree!! Also anti-war, and peace, and justice being related, anything by Micheal Franti works for me...

Meh, some is good, some is whiny.

I can't remember anything
Can't tell if this is true or dream
Deep down inside I feel to scream
This terrible silence stops with me

Now that the war is through with me
I'm waking up, I cannot see
That there's not much left of me
Nothing is real but pain now

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please God, wake me

Back in the womb it's much too real
In pumps life that I must feel
But can't look forward to reveal
Look to the time when I'll live
Fed through the tube that sticks in me
Just like a wartime novelty
Tied to machines that make me be
Cut this life off from me

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please God, wake me

Now the world is gone I'm just one
Oh God help me
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please God, help me

Darkness
Imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell

Landmine has taken my sight
Taken my speech
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Left me with life in hell

Well, the War Requiem by Benjamin Britten is rather good. I'm not sure you can state such an absolutist opinion on something so broad. 'Imagine' by John Lennon is another example of a good song with a pacifist basis.