I Just Heard the Most Amazing Antiwar Song - Anybody heard this?

[liberalpragmatist]

It's a minor classic, apparently. I happened to be browsing through my library yesterday, picking up CD's, and picked up "Absolute Animals" - The Best of The Animals, 1964-1968. It included a number of tracks from the succeeding group, Eric Burdon & The Animals:

Writen about one war, but totally applicable to another:

Sky Pilot, Pts. 1 & 2
by Eric Burdon & the Animals:

He blesses the boys as they stand in line
The smell of gun grease and their bayonets they shine
He's here to help them all that he can
To make them feel wanted he's a good holy man.

Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly
You'll never never never reach the sky.

He smiles at the young soldiers
Tells them it's all right
He knows of their fears in the forthcoming fight
Soon there'll be blood and many will die
Mother and fathers back home they will cry.

Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly
You'll never never never reach the sky.

He humbles a prayer and it ends with a smile
The order is given they move down the line
But he'll stay behind and he'll meditate
But it won't stop the bleeding or ease the hate.

As the young men move out into the battle zone
He feels good with God you're never alone
He feels so tired and he lays on his bed
Hopes the men will find courage
In the words that he's said.

Sky pilot, sky pilot, how high can you fly
You'll never never never reach the sky.

You're soldiers of God you must understand
The fate of your country is in your young hands
May god give you strength do your job really well
If it all was worth in only time it will tell.

In the morning they returned with tears in their eyes
The stench of death drifts up to the skies
A young soldier so it looks at the sky bright
Remember the words thou shalt not kill.

[bemildred]

1. Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag (Next Stop Vietnam)

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 Viet Nam so
put down your books and pick up a gun we're
gonna have a whole lotta fun

(CHORUS)
And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for
don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam
And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates
ain't no time to wonder why, whoopee we're all gonna die

Come on generals, let's move fast
your big chance has come at last
now you can go out and get those reds
cos 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

Come on wall street don't be slow
why man this war is a go-go
there's plenty good money to be made by
supplying the army with the tools of its trade
let's hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
they drop it on the Viet Cong

Come on mothers throughout the land
pack your boys off to Viet Nam
come on fathers don't hesitate
send your sons off before it's too late
and you can be the first ones on your block
to have your boy come home in a box

http://www.ocap.ca/songs/vietnam.html

[Whoa_Nelly]

8. My recent rewrite

That is a great song!

Now, updated...

Yeah, come on all of you, big children,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself on the attack
Way over yonder in the big Iraq
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 fuck,
Next stop is on an Iraq truck;
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 ragheads
The only good Muslim 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 fuck,
Next stop is on an Iraq truck;
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 all Islam.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a fuck,
Next stop is on an Iraq truck.
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 children off to the new 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 kid 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 fuck,
Next stop is on an Iraq truck.
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.

[bemildred]

17. LOL. Well, it deserves preservation. nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. Very good!

:applause:

[cascadiance]

26. Wow... I thought of a similar rewrite earlier...

Had the exact same line for "Don't ask me, I don't..." but next line was:

Next stop is in Iraq!

Another song is "Universal Soldier" by Donovan...

He's five foot-two, and he's six feet-four,
He fights with missiles and with spears.
He's all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen,
Been a soldier for a thousand years.

He'a a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain,
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew.
And he knows he shouldn't kill,
And he knows he always will,
Kill you for me my friend and me for you.

And he's fighting for Canada,
He's fighting for France,
He's fighting for the USA,
And he's fighting for the Russians,
And he's fighting for Japan,
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way.

And he's fighting for Democracy,
He's fighting for the Reds,
He says it's for the peace of all.
He's the one who must decide,
Who's to live and who's to die,
And he never sees the writing on the wall.

But without him,
How would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone,
He's the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war,
And without him all this killing can't go on.

He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame,
His orders come from far away no more,
They come from here and there and you and me,
And brothers can't you see,
This is not the way we put the end to war.

---------------------------------------------------


But a song that still gets me to cry sometimes is
Marvin Gaye's old tribute... "What's Goin' On?"

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, hey

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, oh

Picket lines - sister - and picket signs - sister
Don't punish me - sister - with brutality - sister
Talk to me - sister - so you can see - sister
Oh, what's goin' on - what's goin' on, what's goin' on - what's goin' on
Heah, what's goin' on - what's goin' on, oh, what's goin' on - what's goin' on
Ah ah - ay-ay-ay-ay-ay - right on - right on - ay-ay-ay-ay-ay

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

Picket lines - brother - and picket signs - brother
Don't punish me - brother - with brutality - brother
Come on, talk to me - brother - so you can see - brother
Now what's goin' on - what's goin' on, yeah, what's goin' on - what's goin' on
Tell me what's goin' on - what's goin' on,
I'll tell you now what's goin' on - what's goin' on
Ooooh - right on - right on - ay-ay-ay-ay-ay

[regnaD kciN]

29. "Universal Soldier" was recorded by Donovan...

...but written by Buffy Ste. Marie, a Native American leftist folksinger who is, sadly, practically forgotten by now.

[msongs]

36. original lyric = "how could hitler KILL the people at dachau..." nt/

[msongs]

38. or "how could hitler condemned him at Labau" which i believe is a

district near Berlin. not sure of the meaning of that tho.

Msongs
www.msongs.com

[bananas]

53. Marvin Gaye's old tribute... "What's Goin' On?"

That's a great song, thanks for reminding me of it.

[El Supremo]

2. My gawd! The 60's are back!

Hadn't thought of this one in some time. The music is very good too.

[regnaD kciN]

32. I wish the 60's WERE back...

...rather than just the worst parts of the U.S. Government and its policies from that time.

:-(

[paineinthearse]

3. I don't remember the 60's

:hippie:

Seriously, it was considered somewhat of a "pop" song. Coincidentally, I saw a 60's folk/rock special on PBS last week. Burden has not aged well.

[liberalpragmatist]

5. But do you like the song?

I just thought I'd bring back some recognition, because it's not one people tend to remember.

[paineinthearse]

14. Of course I remember it

But I was never a big Animals fan.

[Generic Other]

4. I remember it being on the radio constantly in my youth

Good song.

[achtung_circus]

6. Are you younger? No disrespect, but there's lots of it.

EVE OF DESTRUCTION
Barry McGuire

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’
And 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
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

And 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 sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’

And 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
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.

[liberalpragmatist]

12. I'm pretty young

But I'm not trying to say this one is better than any others or anything - it's just that I've heard quite a few antiwar songs other people have referred to and I've never seen this one mentioned.

[riverwalker]

31. military chaplain

"Sky Pilot"

[Solly Mack]

7. It was on the anti-war CD (homemade) my husband took to Iraq with him

Sky Pilot is a favorite song of mine

[enigmatic]

9. That's a classic

Very, very famous song from the 60's. Great one, too.

[BlueJac]

58. Great song!

I remember it well.

[achtung_circus]

10. I won't post lyrics here

but Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie is the best.

"I went over to the sargent, said, "Sergeant, you got a lot a damn gall to
ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm
sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench
'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women,
kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." He looked at me and
said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprints
off to Washington."

<http://www.arlo.net/lyrics/alices.shtml>

[SoCalDem]

23. I remember the day I bought that album

we all gathered in our sociology prof's apartment and played it over and over :)

Fond memories.. The movie turned out ok too :)

[bananas]

55. lyrics and legal listening

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4458071

7. For those of you who would care to give a listen... (legally)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4458071&mesg_id=4458601

[TomInTib]

11. Sky Pilot was 'Nam speak for..

the chaplains that met the MedEvac choppers.
The last guy you wanted to encounter.
I can still see and hear them.

[marmar]

13. Another great antiwar song that flew under the radar last year...

was "Cinnamon Girl" by Prince (my favorite artist ever). It was on his "Musicology" CD from last year. The lyrics:

PRINCE LYRICS

"Cinnamon Girl"

As war drums beat in Babylon
Cinnamon girl starts 2 pray
Eye've never heard a prayer like this 1
Never b4 that day

Tearful words of love 4 people she had never met b4
Asking God 2 grant them mercy in this face of a holy war

Cinnamon Girl

Cinnamon Girl of mixed heritage
Never knew the meaning of color lines
911 turned that all around
When she got accused of this crime

So began the mass illusion, war on terror alibi
What's the use when the god of confusion keeps on telling the same lie?

Cinnamon Girl

Don't cry, don't shed no tears
1 night won't make us feel
Cause we know how this movie's ending

Cinnamon Girl

As war drums beat in Babylon
And scorch the blood red sky
Militants bomb the foreign gun
Both sides truly die

Cinnamon girl opens the book she knows will settle all the scores
Then she prays after the war that there will not b anymore

Cinnamon Girl

[flowomo]

15. Skyyyyyyyyyyy ..... pilot

Remember it well! A classic. The Animals were my favorite band (House of the Rising Sun). They actually played at my high school once (Boston College HS, Dorchester Mass.)

[mcscajun]

16. It's a classic...glad it's getting a reprise...sorry 'bout why it has to.

:(

[mcscajun]

19. "He blesses the boys as they stand in line"

not "in life".

and he doesn't "humble a prayer" -- he mumbles one.

[liberalpragmatist]

25. Ah. Well, I didn't transcribe the lyrics

I just googled and copied and pasted.

But I'll correct that. I had earlier caught a couple of other mistakes. Thanks!

[SoCalDem]

20. I liked the Animals better than the Stones back then.. Yes I know the song

everything old is new again:)

[B Calm]

21. Thanks for jogging my memory. I loved that song!

[mmonk]

22. Yes, I remember

I remember a lot of anti-war songs. I personally liked War Pigs by Black Sabbath the best. But yes, Sky Pilot was a great song.

[rainman99]

24. From the Beyond the Sea movie w/Kevin Spacey :

A song that Bobby Darin wrote during the Vietnam war:

Simple Song of Freedom

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war.

Hey, there, mister black man, can you hear me?
I don't want your diamonds or your game
I just want to be someone known to you as me
And I will bet my life you want the same.

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you’ve never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don’t want a war.

Seven hundred million are ya list'nin’?
Most of what you read is made of lies
But, speakin’ one to one ain't it everybody's sun
To wake to in the mornin’ when we rise?

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you’ve never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don’t want a war.

Brother Solzhenitsyn, are you busy?
If not, won't you drop this friend a line
Tell me if the man who is plowin' up your land
Has got the war machine upon his mind?

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you’ve never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don’t want a war.

Now, no doubt some folks enjoy doin' battle
Like presidents, prime ministers and kings
So, let's all build them shelves
Where they can fight among themselves
Leave the people be who love to sing.

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you’ve never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don’t want a war.

I say … let it fill the air …
Tellin’ people everywhere …
We, the people, here don't want a war.

[SoCalDem]

27. The Sixties Project...

some of you might enjoy this stuff too :)



SoCalDem (1000+ posts) Tue Aug-23-05 08:29 PM
Original message
The Sixties Project..Narratives
Edited on Tue Aug-23-05 08:37 PM by SoCalDem

http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Nar...


Sixties Personal Narrative Project

The following narratives have been contributed by visitors to the Sixties Project Web site. If you'd like to contribute a narrative, please fill out our form. If your browser doesn't handle forms, just write us an email. For permission to reprint narratives, please contact Viet Nam Generation, Inc.

Submitted 20 September, 1996. Mary Dodson, b. 1953. Long before I was old enough to legally stick my thumb into a south-bound lane of traffic, I was running away....
http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
-----------------

Submitted 30 September, 1996. John Cruddas, b. 1948. I was standing guard at the Oakland Army Terminal in 1966, en route to Nam.... http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
-------------------------------------------

Submitted 15 October, 1996. Tim Geoghegan, b. 1961. I was born in 1961. I grew up in a working class neighborhood in New York City.... http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
-------------------------------------------

Submitted 21 October, 1996. Phil Carter, b. 1947. I had ADD before it was cool to have ADD. In fact, like PTSD, ADD didn't even have a name, much less an acronym, when I joined the Marines and left for boot camp in January of 1967.... http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
-----------------------------------------

Submitted 8 January, 1997. Patrick Cosper, b. 1949. I grew up with Howdy Doody, Davy Crockett, twenty five cent movies, and nickel colas as a child. Life was fun in the fifties.... http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
-------------------------------------------

Submitted 21 January, 1997. Brent Green, b. 1949. I saw a tapestry of images woven with mop-top hair, stringy recording tape and tattered denim... The songs I nodded to were of silence, wind and JFK.... http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
----------------------------------------------

Submitted 23 March January, 1997. Daniel Raphael, b. 1948. The Viet Nam war was the main, defining event of my young adulthood. It taught me what evil is, in human form. I learned about the seemingly limitless capacity of people to lie, rationalize, and perform every sort of inhumanity.... http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
-------------------------------------------------

Submitted 10 April, 1997. Jim Campbell, b. 1946. I was a youthful Republican in 1960 -- Nixon all the way, but by 1968 I progressed to the point where I could cast a write-in vote for Eugene McCarthy.... http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
-----------------------------------------------------

Submitted 27 April, 1997. Rich Partain, b. 1946. I was a navy officer who spent 2 1/2 years as ship's company on a CVA with one tour in the Gulf of Tonkin.... http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Sto...
---------------------------------------------------




Sixties Project: Poetry Archive


Quintana, Leroy

"A Restaurant in Munich," Viet Nam Generation 3:3 (November 1991). Poem.
"Brownie," Viet Nam Generation 3:3 (November 1991). Poem.
"Hopper," Viet Nam Generation 3:3 (November 1991). Poem.
Interrogations (Viet Nam Generation) 1990. Poetry
Richman, Elliot

Walk on Trooper (Viet Nam Generation) 1995. Poetry.


Poniewaz, Jeff

"Burning the Flag," Viet Nam Generation 5:1-4 (March 1994). Poem.
"Why Young Men Wore Their Hair Long in the Sixties," Viet Nam Generation 5:1-4 (March 1994). Poem.


MANY MANY more @

http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Res...


Films of the sixties..documentaries

http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Res...

[riverwalker]

28. I've seen him sing it about 3 times

Eric Burdon is the man.

[cascadiance]

30. John Prine's "Sam Stone"...

Sam Stone
©John Prine

Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back.

Chorus:
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...

Repeat Chorus:

Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.

Repeat Chorus

[jillan]

33. Another one from the 60's (btw, excellent find, I have that album:)

From the words of peace activist John Lennon-
see how these words ring true today!

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No Hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
No religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope one day you join us
and the world will live as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope one day you'll join us
and the world will be as one

[SeattleGirl]

34. Remember it I do!

(Geez, I sound like Yoda!)

[RetroLounge]

35. I just bought this 45 at a garage sale!

great song.

(a 45 is a small 7" vinyl record :D)

RL

[alfredo]

37. Merry Minuet

They're rioting in Africa
They're starving in Spain
There's hurricanes in Florida
And Texas needs rain
the Whole world is festering with unhappy souls
The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch
And I don't like Anybody very much.


But we can be tranquil and thankful and proud
For man's been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud
And we know for certain that some lucky day
Someone will set the spark off and we will all be blown away


They're rioting in Africa
There's strife in Iran
What nature doesn't do to us
Will be done by our fellow Man

-- Sheldon Harnick @1958

[cascadiance]

39. Times They Are A Changin' - Bob Dylan

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'
by Bob Dylan

Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters Around you have grown
And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who That it's namin'.
For the loser now Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled |
There's a battle outside And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land
And don't criticize What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command
Your old road is Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn The curse it is cast
The slow one now Will later be fast
As the present now Will later be past
The order is Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

[jbm]

40. Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore

I'm not certain if this was a 60s song, but I'm thinking it had to have been close to that time. It could have been written today!


John Prine

While digesting Reader's Digest
In the back of a dirty book store,
A plastic flag, with gum on the back,
Fell out on the floor.
Well, I picked it up and I ran outside
Slapped it on my window shield,
And if I could see old Betsy Ross
I'd tell her how good I feel.

Chorus:
But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.

Well, I went to the bank this morning
And the cashier he said to me,
"If you join the Christmas club
We'll give you ten of them flags for free."
Well, I didn't mess around a bit
I took him up on what he said.
And I stuck them stickers all over my car
And one on my wife's forehead.

Repeat Chorus:

Well, I got my window shield so filled
With flags I couldn't see.
So, I ran the car upside a curb
And right into a tree.
By the time they got a doctor down
I was already dead.
And I'll never understand why the man
Standing in the Pearly Gates said...

"But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
We're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more."

[titoresque]

42. wow, I have never heard this one!

I think these lyrics would make good fliers to put on cars with "W" stickers and yellow ribbon magnets!
Thanks for this!!!!

[mcscajun]

43. From his self-titled debut - 1971 -- A Must Listen Experience

A fuckin' GREAT Album, lots of anti-war stuff in it.

"Donald and Lydia" - "...a young PFC -- Donald. There were spaces between Donald and whatever he said, strangers had forced him to live in his head."
"Sam Stone" - about a returning Vietnam veteran: "There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes, Jesus Christ died for nothin', I suppose."
"Hello in There" -- "We lost Davy in the Korean war,
And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore.

It isn't anti-war, but it bears mentioning anyway: "Illegal Smile". If you've never heard it, you need to. :evilgrin:

[OneBlueSky]

41. are you kidding? . . . "Sky Pilot" is a GREAT song! . . .

a classic from Eric Burdon and the Animals from the late 60s . . . I know I have it on vinyl somewhere, but probably haven't listened to it in years . . . thanks for the reminder! . . .

[WCGreen]

44. Sky Pilot one of my favorite songs.....

But I ain't a marchin anymore by Phil Ochs is my favorite anti war song....

[tomg]

60. Phil Ochs was truly one of the finest

"It's always the old to lead us to the war
It's always the young to fall
Now look at all we've won with the sabre and the gun
Tell me is it worth it all" I Ain't Marchin Anymore.

And then for all of the Operation Yellow Elephants there is "Draft Dodger Rag."

He was in the great tradition of Guthrie and Leadbelly and Seeger. His "The Crucixfion" from "Pleasures of the Harbor" is genius, and "Tape From California" is still a joy to listen to. He was a real casualty, hanging himself in 1976. He was the real deal.

Oh, and he had a sense of humor. This is "Love Me, Love Me, Love Me, I'm a Liberal"

I vote for the democratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me,
I'm a liberal

[WCGreen]

61. It's too bad he doesn't get the credit he deserves....

It's probably what tip him over the top.....

[tomg]

62. It seems a few things did it.

Part of it was his own feelings of failure. Part of it was a deepening alcoholism. There was some talk of a developing schizophrenia. I don't know. I met him at a party in 1968 when I was 18 and he played at my college. He was maybe 28. He just walked into a party I was at and hung out and drank with us all night. Genuinely nice, warm, and funny. Saw him perform every chance I got after that. Last time I saw him was in winter of 1975 (same college, now as a grad student). He had been touring (in Europe, I think), and he got in a bar fight and was punched in the throat. It ruined his voice. First half of the concert was great; the second half, it just gave out. A couple of months later he was dead. Sorry to go on. We could use him now.

[WCGreen]

65. yea I wrote some extra lyrics for I ain't a marchin anymore

The son of a president is at it again
He continues the endless oil war.
And when we see his lips a movin'
We know that we are loosin'
how many innocent more.....

[tomg]

66. You got it.

[WCGreen]

67. I'm gonna sing them at a coffee shop a week from Tuesday

[DelawareValleyDem]

45. Great song.

Here's one of my favorites. Hope it's not a dupe.


Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?


Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?




words and music by Pete Seeger

[Redleg]

46. Robert Cray's new song "Twenty" is a protest song...

Twenty
words and music by Robert Cray
© 2005 Robert Cray Music, Inc (BMI)

When you’re used up, where do you go
Soldier
Mother dry your eyes, there’s no need to cry
I’m not a boy, it’s what I signed up for

When you’re used up, where do you go
Soldier
I can’t take the heat, and I hardly sleep anymore
What’d we come here for

Standing out here in the desert
Trying to protect an oil line
I’d really like to do my job but
This ain’t the country that I had in mind
They call this a war on terror
I see a lot of civilians dying
Mothers, sons, fathers and daughters
Not to mention some friends of mine
Some friends of mine

Was supposed to leave last week
Promises they don’t keep anymore
Got to fight the rich man’s war

When you’re used up, where do you go
Soldier
Late in 2004
Comes a knock at the door
It’s no surprise
Mother dry your eyes

Mother don’t you cry, no, no
Someone told you a lie
Yes they did, why
Mother don’t you cry, oh no
Mother don’t you cry

When you’re used up, where do you go
Soldier

[cascadiance]

48. Is this the sequel to Paul Hardcastle's 19

In 1965 Vietnam seemed like
just another foreign war,
but it wasn't.
It was different in many ways,
as so were those that did the fighting.
In World War II
the average age of the combat soldier was 26...
In Vietnam he was 19.
In inininininin Vietnam he was 19.

The shooting and fighting
of the past two weeks
continued today
25 miles west of Saigon
I really wasn't sure
what was going on
Nininini Nineteen, 19,
Ni-nineteen 1919,19,19,19

In Vietnam the combat soldier
typically served a twelve month
tour of duty but was exposed
to hostile fire almost everyday
Ninininininininininin 19
nininininninin 19

Hundreds of Thousands of men
who saw heavy combat in Vietnam were arrested
since discharge
Their arrest rate is almost
twice that of non-veterans of the same age.
There are no accurate figures
of how many of these men have been incarcerated.
But, a Veterans Administration study
concludes that the greater of Vets
exposure to combat could more likely affect
his chances of being arrested or convicted.

This is one legacy of the Vietnam War

All those who remember the war
They won't forget what they've seen..
Destruction of men in their prime
whose average was 19
Dedededededede Destruction
Dedededededede Destruction
War, War
Dededede Destruction,
wa-wa-War, wa-War, War
Dedededededede-Destruction
War, War

After World War II the Men came home
together on troop ships,
but the Vietnam Vet often arrived home
within 48 hours of jungle combat
Perhaps the most dramatic difference
between World War II and Vietnam was
coming home.. .
none of them received a hero's welcome
None of them received a heroes welcome,
none of them,
none of them
Nenene Nenene None of them,
none of them,
none of them
None of them received a hero's welcome
None of them received a hero's welcome

According to a Veteran's Administration study
Half of the Vietnam combat veterans suffered
from what Psychiatrists call
Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder
Many vets complain of alienation, rage, or guilt
Some succumb to suicidal thoughts
Eight to Ten years after coming home
almost eight-hundred-thousand men
are still fighting the Vietnam War

Dedededededede-Destruction

Nininininininininin Nineteen, 19,
Ni-nineteen 1919,19,19,19
Nininininininininin Nineteen, 19,
Ni-nineteen 1919,19,19,19

When we came back it was different..
Everybody wants to know "How'd it
happened to those guys over there
There's gotta be something wrong somewhere
We did what we had to do
There's gotta be something wrong somewhere
People wanted us to be ashamed of what it made us
Dad had no idea what he went to fight and he is now
All we want to do is come home
All we want to do is come home
What did we do it for
All we want to do is come home
Was it worth it?

[cascadiance]

47. Elvis Costello - Peace, Love, and Understanding...

Reaching a little later than the 60's... Here's an old tune from Elvis Costello that hits home today...

Also, for those who haven't heard, he changed the lyrics of his hit theme song for Cold Mountain to also be more relavent about the Iraqi War too... Looking to see if I can get a digital audio performance of that someplace online...

Elvis Costello - Peace, Love & Understanding Lyrics

As I walk through
This wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.

I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?

And each time I feel like this inside,
There's one thing I wanna know:
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

And as I walked on
Through troubled times
My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
So where are the strong
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony?
Sweet harmony.

'cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me wanna cry.
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

So where are the strong?
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony?
Sweet harmony.

'cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me wanna cry.
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

[Dr Fate]

49. World Leader Pretend By R.E.M. (Bush Jr. theme song)

World Leader Pretend

(Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)

I sit at my table and wage war on myself
It seems like it's all, it's all for nothing
I know the barricades, and
I know the mortar in the wall breaks
I recognize the weapons, I used them well

This is my mistake. Let me make it good
I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down

I've a rich understanding of my finest defenses
I proclaim that claims are left unstated,
I demand a rematch
I decree a stalemate
I divine my deeper motives
I recognize the weapons
I've practiced them well. I fitted them myself

(chorus)
It's amazing what devices you can sympathize, empathize
This is my mistake. Let me make it good
I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down

Reach out for me and hold me tight. Hold that memory
Let my machine talk to me, let my machine talk to me

This is my world
And I am world leader pretend
This is my life
And this is my time
I have been given the freedom
To do as I see fit
It's high time I've razed the walls
That I've constructed

(repeat chorus)

You fill in the mortar. You fill in the harmony
You fill in the mortar. I raised the wall
And I'm the only one
I will be the one to knock it down

[RedCloud]

50. The Ballad of Isaac Woodard. Woody Guthrie

My name is Isaac Woodard, my tale I'll tell you;
I'm sure it'll sound so terrible you might not think it true;
I joined up with the Army, they sent me overseas;
Through the battles of New Guinea and in the Philippines.
On the 13th day of February of 1946
They sent me to Atlanta and I got my discharge pin;
I caught the bus for Winsboro, going to meet my wife,
Then we were coming to New York City to visit my parents both.

About an hour out of Atlanta, the sun was going down,
We stopped the bus at a drugstore in a little country town;
I walked up to the driver and I looked him in the eye,
"I'd like to go to the washroom, if you think we got time."

The driver started cursing, and then he hollered, "No!"
So, then I cussed right back at him, and really got him told.
He said, "If you will hurry, I guess I'll take the time!"
It was in a few short minutes we was rolling down the line.

We rolled for thirty minutes, I watched the shacks and trees,
I thought of my wife in Winsboro waiting there for me.
In Aiken, South Carolina, the driver he jumped out;
He came back with a policeman to take me off the bus.

"Listen, Mr. Policeman," I started to explain,
"I did not cause no trouble, and I did not raise no cain."
He hit me with his billy, he cursed me up and down,
"Shut up, you black bastard"; and he walked me down in town.

As we walked along the sidewalk, my right arm he did twist;
I knew he wanted me to fight back, but I never did resist;
"Have you your Army discharge?" I told him, yes, I had;
He pasted me with his loaded stick down across my head.

I grabbed his stick and we had a little run, and had a little wrastle;
When another cop run up with a gun and jumped into the battle;
"If you don't drop that sap, black boy, it's me that's dropping you."
So I figured to drop that loaded sap was the best thing I could do.

They beat me about the head and face and left a bloody trail
All down along the sidewalk to the iron door of the jail;
He knocked me down upon the ground and he poked me in the eyes;
When I woke up next morning, I found my eyes were blind.

They drug me to the courtroom, and I could not see the judge;
He fined me fifty dollars for raising all the fuss;
The doctor finally got there but it took him two whole days;
He handed me some drops and salve and told me to treat myself.

It's now you've heard my story, there's one thing I can't see,
How you could treat a human like they have treated me;
I thought I fought on the islands to get rid of their kind;
But I can see the fight lots plainer now that I am blind.

[Sparkman]

57. absolutely. this is a sick f'g country.

[Lilith Velkor]

51. Winter of the Long Hot Summer

This one's from my generation's splendid little war, by Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.
--------------------------


It all seemed so idiotic all the accusations of unpatriotic
The fall we'll always remember, capitulating silence
election November before the winter
of the long hot summer
Somewhere in the desert
we raised the oil pressure
and waited for the weather
to get much better
for the new wind to blow in the storm
We tried to remember the history in the region
the French foreign legion, Imperialism,
Peter O'Toole and hate the Ayatollah
were all we learned in school
Not that we gave Hussein five billion
Not of our new bed partner the Syrian
and of course no mention of the Palestine situation
It was amazing how they steamrolled
They said eighty percent approval
but there was no one that I knew polled
No one had a reason for being in the Gulf
We waited for congress to speak up illegal build up
But no one would wake up
Our representatives were Milli Vanilli's
for corporate Dallas Cowboy Beverly Hillbillies
With perfect timing
the politicians rhyming their sentiments
so nicely oil gold and sand
my sediments precisely....
We regretfully support the lunacy
I'm afraid there is no time for more scrutiny
National unity preserve our community
Teflon© election opportunities
were in profundant abundance

On January second the Bush administration
announced a recession had stricken
the Nation the highest quarterly
earnings in ten years were posted
by Chevron©
Meanwhile a budget was placed in our hands
as the deadline in the sand came to an end
so much for the peace dividend
one billion a day is what we spent
and our grandchildren will pay for it 'til the end
When schools are unfunded
and kids don't get their diplomas
they get used for gun boat diplomacy
disproportionately
black or brown we see
bullet catchers for the slave master

Then the conservatives called up reservists
to active service left families nervous
but more importantly broke nine hundred a month
but the check came late, army red tape you see,
this golden opportunity
We watched the tube and read the newspaper
The propaganda of the gas masked raper
was the proper slander to whip up the hatred

The stage was lit and the lights were all faded
The pilots in night vision goggles Kuwaited and
generals masturbated
'til the fifteenth two days later they invaded
Not a single t.v. station expressed dissension or
hardly made mention to the censorship of information
from our kinder and gentler nation
blinder and mentaler retardation
DISORIENTATION
The pilots said their bombs lit Baghdad
like a Christmas tree
It was the Christian thing to do you see
they didn't mention any casualties
no distinction between the real
and the proxy
only football analogies

We saw the bomb hole
We watched the Super Bowl
We saw the scud missile
We watched Bud© commercials
We saw the yellow ribbons
Saw pilots in prison
We never saw films of the dead...at eleven
Angela Davis addressed the spectators
and shouting above a rumbling generator said
if they insist on bringing us down
then let's shut the whole country down
Marching through the downtown
A hundred thousand became participants
and we heard the drums of millions off in the distance
rushing through the cities
some of them did things that weren't so pretty
most were there for primal scream therapy
news men concentrated
on the negative liked the jingoists more
peaceful protesters ended up
on the cutting room floor
Nintendo© casualties of the ratings war
More bombs dropped than in World War II
on in both Asian invasions, new world order persuasion,
Business as usual
for our nation
Could you imagine a hundred fifty thousand dead,
the city of Stockton
coffins locked in when we clocked in...not to mention
civilians
The loss of life on both sides
pushed the limits of resilience
The scent of blood in our nostrils
fuel of the fossil land of apostle
The blackness that covered the sky was not the only thing
that brought a tear to the eye or
the taste of anger to the tongues
of those too young to remember Vietnam

Is heroin better in a veteran's mind
than the memory of the dying laying in a line
Is it the smell or the shadows heaving and weeping
that keeps the soldier from sleeping
as he sings the orphan's lullaby
When the soldiers put down their bayonets
the strings are chained to the marionettes
Emir of Kuwait gets back in his jet
we replace the dead with new cadets
will we hate those who did the shelling
or will we hate those who weren't willing to do the killing
when the leaders of the bald eagles come home to roost
will we sing a song of praise and indebtedness
for our deliverance from evil
or will we sing a song of sadness
for the dreaded debt this mess delivered us PEOPLE.

[cascadiance]

52. "Work For Peace" - Gil Scott Heron

This is still one of my favorite more recent anti-war songs, back from the original Gulf war!...

WORK FOR PEACE
Gil Scott Heron

Back when Eisenhower was the President,
Golf courses was where most of his time was spent.
So I never really listened to what the President said,
Because in general I believed that the General was politically dead.

But he always seemed to know when the muscles were about to be flexed,
Because I remember him saying something, mumbling something about a Military Industrial Complex.
Americans no longer fight to keep their shores safe,
Just to keep the jobs going in the arms making workplace.
Then they pretend to be gripped by some sort of political reflex,
But all they're doing is paying dues to the Military Industrial Complex.

The Military and the Monetary,
The Military and the Monetary,
The Military and the Monetary.
The Military and the Monetary,
get together whenever they think its necessary,

They turn our brothers and sisters into mercenaries, they are turning the planet into a cemetery.
The Military and the Monetary, use the media as intermediaries,
they are determined to keep the citizens secondary, they make so many decisions that are arbitrary.

We're marching behind a commander in chief,
who is standing under a spotlight shaking like a leaf.
but the ship of state had landed on an economic reef,
so we knew he was going to bring us messages of grief.

The Military and the Monetary,
were shielded by January and went storming into February,
Brought us pot bellied generals as luminaries,
two weeks ago I hadn't heard of the son of a bitch,
now all of a sudden he's legendary.

They took the honour from the honourary,
they took the dignity from the dignitaries,
they took the secrets from the secretary,
but they left the bitch an obituary.

The Military and the Monetary,
from thousands of miles away in a Saudi Arabian sanctuary,
had us all scrambling for our dictionaries,
cause we couldn't understand the fuckin vocabulary.

Yeah, there was some smart bombs,
but there was some dumb ones as well,
scared the hell out of CNN in that Baghdad hotel.

The Military and the Monetary,
they get together whenever they think its necessary,
War in the desert sometimes sure is scary,
but they beamed out the war to all their subsidiaries.
Tried to make So Damn Insane a worthy adversary,
keeping the citizens secondary,
scaring old folks into coronaries.

The Military and the Monetary,
from thousands of miles in a Saudi Arabian sanctuary,
kept us all wondering if all of this was really truely, necessary.

We've got to work for Peace,
Peace ain't coming this way.
If we only work for Peace,
If everyone believed in Peace the way they say they do,
we'd have Peace.

The only thing wrong with Peace,
is that you can't make no money from it.

The Military and the Monetary,
they get together whenever they think its necessary,
they've turned our brothers and sisters into mercenaries,
they are turning the planet, into a cemetery.

Got to work for Peace,
Peace ain't coming this way.

We should not allow ourselves to be mislead,
by talk of entering a time of Peace,
Peace is not the absence of war,
it is the absence of the rules of war and the threats of war and the preparation for war.
Peace is not the absence of war,
it is the time when we will all bring ourselves closer to each other,
closer to building a structure that is unique within ourselves
because we have finally come to Peace within ourselves.

The Military and the Monetary,
The Military and the Monetary,
The Military and the Monetary.
Get together whenever they think its necessary,
they've turned our brothers and sisters into mercenaries,
they are turning parts of the planet, into a cemetery.

The Military and the Monetary,
The Military and the Monetary,
We hounded the Ayatollah religiously,
Bombed Libya and killed Quadafi's son hideously.
We turned our back on our allies the Panamanians,
and saw Ollie North selling guns to the Iranians.
Watched Gorbachev slaughtering Lithuanians,
We better warn the Amish,
they may bomb the Pennsylvanians.

The Military and the Monetary,
get together whenever they think its necessary,
they have turned our brothers and sisters into mercenaries,
they are turning the planet, into a cemetery.

I don't want to sound like no late night commercial,
but its a matter of fact that there are thousands of children all over the world
in Asia and Africa and in South America who need our help.

When they start talking about 55 cents a day and 70 cents a day,
I know a lot of folks feel as though that,
thats not really any kind of contribution to make,
but we had to give up a dollar and a half just to get in the subway nowadays.

So this is a song about tommorrow and about how tommorrow can be better. if we all,
"Each one reach one, Each one try to teach one".

Nobody can do everything,
but everybody can do something,
everyone must play a part,
everyone got to go to work, Work for Peace.

Spirit Say Work, Work for Peace
If you believe the things you say, go to work.
If you believe in Peace, time to go to work.
Cant be wavin your head no more, go to work.

[Sparkman]

54. Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground. Mother earth will swallow

you,
lay your body down.
Stephan Stills.

[Eric J in MN]

56. Yes, I've known that song for decades (nt)

nt

[robertpaulsen]

59. In light of the Taguba Report, this song deserves another look.

Cops of the World
by
Phil Ochs


Come, get out of the way, boys
Quick, get out of the way
You'd better watch what you say, boys
Better watch what you say
We've rammed in your harbor and tied to your port
And our pistols are hungry and our tempers are short
So bring your daughters around to the port
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

We pick and choose as please, boys
Pick and choose as please
You'd best get down on your knees, boys
Best get down on your knees
We're hairy and horny and ready to shack
And we don't care if you're yellow or black
Just take off your clothes and lay down on your back
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Our boots are needing a shine, boys
Boots are needing a shine
But our Coca-Cola is fine, boys
Coca-Cola is fine
We've got to protect all our citizens fair
So we'll send a battalion for everyone there
And maybe we'll leave in a couple of years
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

And dump the reds in a pile, boys
Dump the reds in a pile
You'd better wipe off that smile, boys
Better wipe off that smile
We'll spit through the streets of the cities we wreck
And we'll find you a leader that you can elect
Those treaties we signed were a pain in the neck
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

And clean the johns with a rag, boys
Clean the johns with a rag
If you like you can use your flag, boys
If you like you can use your flag
We've got too much money we're looking for toys
And guns will be guns and boys will be boys
But we'll gladly pay for all we destroy
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Please stay off of the grass, boys
Please stay off of the grass
Here's a kick in the ass, boys
Here's a kick in the ass
We'll smash down your doors, we don't bother to knock
We've done it before, so why all the shock
We're the biggest and the toughest kids on the block
And we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

And when we butchered your sons, boys
When we butchered your sons
Have a stick of our gum, boys
Have a stick of our bubble gum
We own half the world, oh say can you see
And the name for our profits is democracy
So, like it or not, you will have to be free
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

[proud2BlibKansan]

63. Wow I do remember that song

It's been a long time.

Thanks for the memories.

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

64. I love that song...

I have that on vinyl somewhere. Love Eric Burdon & the Animals!