Of all the MAD Magazine song parodies I wish I had memorized (and I did soak up a few), one of the most perennially relevant is one I read briefly as a college freshman in 1968. Here's some quick background: I had been sentenced to an all-male Ivy-League wannabe thanks to its snob-appeal, although I hated the snobbery that abounded there. I had to convince my folks that I had a stake in my own future, and I spent three miserable semesters before peptic ulcers and Penn State rescued me. Now the grandest intimidator for keeping fellows there was the draft-fed war in Vietnam, which MAD addressed in a parody that shall apparently never become irrelevant. It was a take-off on one of the most beloved songs of the 1960's, "More," and was aptly labeled "War."
I can recall its second line, "War helps to keep the population down;" and its transition: "War brings the USO's/And war brings the John Wayne shows/Yes, war brings us much enjoyment/It cuts down on unemployment!" I believe this issue in question was published at nearly the same time that MAD also parodied the musical "Camelot" with "Can A Lot;" perhaps they were in the same issue. Can anyone find the entire lyrics for "War?" Thanks!