What anti-Vietnam War songs were written, and what were their lyrics?

Question

I know there were a number of songs written to protest against the Vietnam War, but what were some of the most famous ones?

Also, what were some of the lyrics in them that signified their opposition?

For example, I know Country Joe and the Fish wrote one: "Now come on mothers throughout the land, pack your boys off to Vietnam / ... / Be the first one on your block, to have your boy come home in a box"

Answer 1

Blowing in the Wind is probably the most famous, by Bob Dylan.  If you google:  lyrics for "Blowing in the Wind" it should come up.

Answer 2

Born in the USA. By "the Boss" Bruce Springsteen

Born down in a dead man's town

The first kick I took was when I hit the ground

You end up like a dog that's been beat too much

Till you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam

So they put a rifle in my hand

Sent me off to a foreign land

To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.

Come back home to the refinery

Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me"

Went down to see my V.A. man

He said "Son, don't you understand"

I had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong

They're still there, he's all gone

He had a woman he loved in Saigon

I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary

Out by the gas fires of the refinery

I'm ten years burning down the road

Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go

Born in the U.S.A.

I was born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.

I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.

I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.

Answer 3

An odd one here is 'Galveston', by Glen Campbell.  One line standing out is, 'I clean my gun, and dream of Galveston.'  Given the time this was written, this is likely about a soldier who is stationed far away and misses his home town of Galveston, Texas.

Answer 4

Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire

Where Have All The Flowers Gone (Long Time Passing)? by Peter, Paul & Mary; also done by Pete Seeger

Answer 5

War - Edwin Starr

The best d**n anti-war song out there.

Answer 6

My favourite has always been "I Was Only 19" by Redgum, told from the point of view of an Aussie Vietnam vet years down the line. The song was basically about how the government shafted the Diggers, but it is catchy as h**l!

Answer 7

And it's one, two, three, four

What you think we're fighting for?

Don't know, and I don't give a d**n

We're all going to Vietnam

And it's five, six, seven, eight

Open up the Pearly Gate.

Ain't no time to wonder why.

Whoopee, we're all gonna die.

Country Joe and the Fish : Next stop Vietnam.

Answer 8

Not all songs were specifically written for Vietnam (there had been the Korean War) but these are fairly closely associated with the AV movement, often released when the protests were at their vehement. Paul Hardcastle's 19, seemed slightly after the event but remarkable non the less.

1. "Bring Em Home" - Pete Seeger

2. "This Land is Your Land" - Woody Guthrie

3. "Draft Dodger Rag" - Phil Ochs

4. "Give Peace a Chance" - John Lennon

5. "People Have the Power" - Patti Smith

6. "Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation" - Tom Paxton

7. "If I Had a Hammer" - Pete Seeger

8. "War" - Edwinn Starr

9. "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore" - Phil Ochs

10. "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" - Pete Seeger

Answer 9

I think '19' was the most famous one, recorded in 1985 by Paul Hardcastle, as an ex serviceman, it still makes me shiver when I hear it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byCCmBwRj...

The 1985 release of 19 brought Hardcastle acclaim and chart success. 19 was a dance record, featuring stuttering samples of television narrator Peter Thomas speaking about Vietnam war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD. Initially unhappy about having his voice used in this way, Thomas later relented and allowed the single to be released. A number one hit single for Chrysalis Records in the United Kingdom for five weeks, the record topped the charts in both France and Germany in two versions, the English language original and an authorised local language alternative. Altogether, it was number one in thirteen countries, selling just under three million copies worldwide.