Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jun 03 - 09:10 AM

Sad, powerful and emotive anti war songs have their place but there is noting more derisive than an anti song to laugh in the faces of the mongers. The sad anti war song somehow is self defeating and self effacing.

Tom Lehrer captured the rag time tone of FOX news network coverage of war - 20 years ago:

So long Mom
I'm off to drop the bomb
so don't wait up for me
although you may swelter
way down in your shelter
you can see me
bum bum bum
on your TV
you'll see us attack frontally
reporting contrapuntally
with sickening finality
the cities we have lost

No need to miss
a single moment of the agonizing Holocaust...


Tom also had that classic line of "20 million tons of well done steak"

Capturing the cowardice and invisibility of todays bio war threats in humor is sure to be a hit...


ANTHRAX IS EASY

We like enemies large
not little ity bitish.
We'll try to be strong
we're just a mite scared
best way I know
is with a good song:


I paid a toll,
I got some change,
I went to town and bought some stuff and then I took the train
I ate a burger, a soda, and crap I shouldnt oughta ,
cuz now I got the anthrax and I'm wondrin where its from...

[CHORUS]
Anthrax is easy if you're startin to sneeze your gonna wonder if you'll ever grow old.
Anthrax is easy cuz its cured with Cipro and not contagious like the uncommon cold - like SARS - not contagious like the uncommon cold

I went to work,
and like a jerk,
I used the water fountain and got somthin on my shirt and in a letter,
I opened, I really should know better,
but Ed McMann just said I'd won and now I'm wondrin where its from .. .(chorus)

I came right home ,
I used the phone,
I called my doc in quarantine and asked him for some pills and in the bathroom, later,
I used some toilet paper now I've got a sore not there before I'm wondrin where its from.

( chorus)

I watched the news,
took off my shoes,
I took a shower for an hour then I went to bed but in my dreams,
I screamed , the duct tape burst its seams,
We're told we should beware the air you don't know where its been

(chorus)

In the morning,
I got changed,
I went to town and bought some stuff and then I took the train
I ate a pizza,
eclair, and some stuff that had grown hair,
but now I got the anthrax and I'm wondrin where its from...

Anthrax is easy if you're startin to sneeze your gonna wonder if you'll ever grow old. Anthrax is easy cuz its cured with Cipro and not contagious like the uncommon cold - like SARS - not contagious like the uncommon cold [-take it james- piano riff-],,I'm telling ya they make buggers...[-more piano-]... every wheeeeere. cough cough cough

Dhakman 2001 edit 2003

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Gurney
Date: 08 Jun 03 - 04:51 AM

I'll go along with Banjomad about 'The Old Mans Tale,' although it isn't strictly anti-war, it a powerful and emotive song.

The lyrics in DT may have four verses collated. I remember verses going:

At the age of twelve I left the school, and went to find a job.
with growing kids, my Ma was glad of an extra couple of bob'
............................................................
............................................................

                   and

I struggled through the 30's, out of work now and again,
I saw the Blackshirts marching, and the things they did in Spain.
I brought my kids up decent, and I taught them wrong from right,
but Hitler was the man who came and taught them how to fight.

Has anyone a better memory of it?

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 08 Jun 03 - 02:28 AM

waltzing,mmatilda=E.Bogle.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Bert
Date: 08 Jun 03 - 01:13 AM

If you introduce it by reminding the audience of the many millions of young men who sung it in WWI but never returned; "Untill we meet again" makes a very good anti war song.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Amergin
Date: 07 Jun 03 - 06:56 PM

I don't know Joe....The Ballad Of Bobby and June from A Mighty Wind is pretty powerful stuff...

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Jun 03 - 06:52 PM

My vote for most powerful anti-war song is Song of Peace (Finlandia). Many of the major churches have this song in their hymnals. It's hard to believe that anybody could sing this song and still believe in war.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Ely
Date: 07 Jun 03 - 06:32 PM

Another vote for "Where Have All the Flowers Gone". I also like the satire "Benjamin Bowmaneer" (from the Golden Ring series).

These aren't anti-war songs, but I recently got bullied into performing "Vacant Chair" and "Faded Coat of Blue" and had everyone in tears. I don't think it was my singing, either. I have a pretty good immunity to Victorian schmaltz but can't get through "Faded Coat if Blue" without choking.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: GUEST,trish
Date: 07 Jun 03 - 12:00 PM

Normandy Orchards and My Son John (comes home today)
are a couple more worth listening to.
Closer to home there's a beautiful song about the "Troubles" in Ireland I'm not sure of the title but the chorus is
And there were roses, roses
And the tears of the people fell together

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: GUEST,1969 draft resister
Date: 31 Mar 03 - 05:00 PM

Thanks to all for their contributions, especially for reminders of the Phil Ochs and Buffy Ste. Marie classics, which hadn't crossed my mind in years. (The Bob Dylan classics & Country Joe McDonald's one great contribution are touchstones from that era that I *never* forgot, while I've only heard Bogle's wonderful tunes in much more recent years.)

I have to go along with Bennet Z., who votes for the simplest songs for their sing-along-ability. The sheer intensity of experience that comes from being part of a large group united in anti-war fervor *and* in song -- to me -- outweighs whatever eloquence might be involved in any of those long poems set to music.

That said, my #1 fave has to be "Down By the Riverside" for its wonderfully rousing musicality. The tune offers so much more room for vocal harmonies, counterpoint, and general soulful improvisation than, for example, the lachrymose "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

Unfortunately, not everyone who hears it, or even who knows it well enough to participate, thinks of this old favorite as "anti-war." I don't know what they think "I ain't gonna study war no more" means, but they somehow manage to completely miss the point.

Must be the same mentality that prompts a certain US President to believe that the thoughts that come into his head encouraging invasions and bombing runs are direct personal communications from the Prince of Peace Himself....

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Felipa
Date: 31 Mar 03 - 02:39 PM

the line "I Ain't Marching Anymore" isn't applicable to a lot of us who are still participating in anti-war marches!

There are a lot of newer songs which I don't know well, but if we don't go beyond the 80s, my vote would also be for "Masters of War". Yes, Ringer, it is about arms manufacturers and profiteers, but it also seems applicable to politicians and military hawks. I make a number of small changes when I sing the song, and now I am singing "all the power you had/made" or "all your power on earth" instead of "all the money you made won't buy back your soul", even though the "money" goes better with the word "buy". But then I always thought it strange to "hurl" fear, although the metaphor is nicely warlike, reminiscent of grenades. That verse about fear to bring children into the world is the one that has always stuck in my mind. And it is lines like that which make the song as anti-war as anti-arms race/business. I don't like the "my" in "you play with my world like it's your little toy", but it is easy to substitute with "the".

A couple of songs worth adding to the honourable mention list are "Andora" and Woody Guthrie's "I've Got to Know".

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: MAG
Date: 31 Mar 03 - 01:58 PM

At Open Mike last night I sang one I heard at Singtime Frolics just last week: very new, very topical.

"Freedom Toast" by Zeke Hoskin. Zeke is another live wire I ws very glad to meet st Singtime. For his stuff you can go to companyhalt.com.

-- enjoy! He has (lots) more.

I sang the Pat Humphrey song mentioned above, also.

(and one for my friend Trish, who just came out of 3 weeks in critical care. Waft positive vibes, please.)

Subject: Lyr Add: I AIN'T MARCHING ANYMORE (Phil Ochs)
From: Jazzyjack
Date: 30 Mar 03 - 04:01 PM

I AIN'T MARCHING ANYMORE
Written by Phil Ochs
As recorded by Phil Ochs on "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (1965)

1. Oh, I marched to the battle of New Orleans
At the end of the early British wars.
The young land started growin'.
The young blood started flowin',
But I ain't a-marchin' anymore.

2. For I've killed my share of Injuns in a thousand different fights.
I was there at the Little Big Horn.
I heard many men a-lyin'.
I saw many more a-dyin',
But I ain't a-marchin' anymore.

CHORUS: It's always the old to lead us to the wars.
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?

3. For I stole California from the Mexican land,
Fought in the bloody Civil War.
Yes, I even killed my brothers
And so many others,
But I ain't a-marchin' anymore.

4. For I marched to the battles of the German trench,
In a war that was bound to end all wars.
Oh, I must 'a' killed a million men,
And now they want me back again,
But I ain't marchin' anymore. CHORUS

5. For I flew the final mission in the Japanese skies,
Set off the mighty mushroom roar.
When I saw the cities burnin',
I knew that I was learnin'
That I ain't a-marchin' anymore.

6. Now the labor leader's screamin' when they close the missile plants.
United Fruit screams at the Cuban shore.
Call it "Peace" or call it "Treason."
Call it "Love" or call it "Reason,"
But I ain't a-marchin' anymore.
No, I ain't a-marchin' anymore.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 30 Mar 03 - 02:14 PM

The greatest anti-war song is the one that changes the minds of all the hawks, and like the lion with the lamb, induces those carnivorous birds to bed down serenely with the doves !!!

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: sharyn
Date: 29 Mar 03 - 10:09 PM

El Greko,

I posted a new anti-war song on another thread. You can find it (I hope) under brand new anti-war song.

Sharyn

Subject: Lyr Add: WHAT LIFE FOR A SOLDIER (G Papavgeris)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 29 Mar 03 - 05:09 PM

OK, I've been owing the 3rd installment, so here it is. Heavier than the other two, and I have been criticised for the fourth verse by those who would be heros in their dreams. But I stand by it, it's my view; and its borne out by several friends and acquaintances who have been in real wars; and at the end of the day I love the damned too, not just the angels...

WHAT LIFE FOR A SOLDIER

What life for a soldier when soldiering's over?
What life for a fighter when fighting is done?
As you put the gun down, what dreams for the future?
What plans for the peacetime you helped bring around?
As home you return now all covered in glory
For helping the wrongs of this world to put right
When you try to sleep it's a different story
The battles you fought now you'll fight every night.

You come back a hero, with medals to prove it;
Your friends they will praise you, your family proud.
But no praise can cover the sounds of your nightmare
The shots that you fired in your ears will ring loud.
No reason or logic, your training took over;
It was you or him and the better man won.
But louder than gunshots the sound that will haunt you:
Your enemy calling in some foreign tongue.

You don't speak his language, but you can be certain
He called for his mother, a lover or wife.
You know you would do just the same if you were him,
If all you had left was one second of life.
Though letting him go then it would have been treason
Your dreams from his voice now will never be free.
When life you have taken, no matter the reason,
The man that you were you no longer can be.

Please don't get me wrong, for I'm not criticising.
You did what you had to, and you did it well.
His death I am mourning, but only in passing.
It's just that I feel that I'm sharing your hell.
To know that despite of all my good intentions,
If I was in your place I'd do just the same.
I would pull the trigger without any questions;
And knowing all that is what fills me with shame.

Copyright 2003 George Papavgeris

Fire at will...

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: gary213
Date: 29 Mar 03 - 03:45 PM

I heard North sea gas sing a song called The strangest dream. Here's what i can remember
Last night i had the strangest dream i'd ever dreamt before
i dreamt the world had all agreed to put an end to war
i dreamt i saw a crowded room, And the room was filled with 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 shook hands and bowed their heads and gratefull prayers were said
and the people in the streets below were dancing round and round
and guns and bombs and uniforms were scattered all around
last night i had the strangest dream i'd ever dreamt before
i dreamt the world had all agreed to put an end to war
i dreamt i saw a crowded room and the room was filled with men
and the paper they were signing said they'd never fight again.


If only dreams came true.........

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Strupag
Date: 29 Mar 03 - 01:11 PM

This thread has grown some since I last looked at it!
Forgive me if I have missed it already but how about "There were Roses" by Tommy Sands.
It's got the line, "Another eye for another eye untill everyone is blind"

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: GUEST,saulgoldie (guess my cookie went away)
Date: 29 Mar 03 - 12:57 PM

Oooh, oooh, just remembered: "Powder Monkey" by Schooner Fare. About using children as soldiers. Again, perhaps not "the greatest", but certainly worth including in a list. And also again, I have a transcription with chords, etc...

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From:
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 12:15 AM

All entries are terrific. I haven't found one I disagree with. On an old Irish Rovers album called "Tales to Warm Your Mind" is one called "The Village of Brambleshire Wood" that may qualify. It always moved me.

Another one, which may surprise, is "Taps". Anytime I hear it I know someone is being laid to rest. After 25 years in the Army, I've buried far too many. I have yet to make it through without crying for a life that ended or changed far too soon.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: The Walrus
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 08:03 PM

How about Mike Harding's "Bomber's Moon?

Walrus

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: gnomad
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 08:02 PM

EG - The Gift of Years, yes Bogle again, and another strong contender. Some talent he has.

Unusual in that it is a song from the viewpoint of a survivor, long after the event, I like it a lot.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: reggie miles
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 06:43 PM

In response to the Happy Spring! thread this one came to mind. Sung to the melody of Springtime For Hitler and Germany from the movie The Producers by Mel Brooks.

Springtime For Geedubya and USA by Reggie Miles 2003

USA was having trouble, what a sad, sad story
Needed a new leader to restore its former glory
Where, Oh where was he? Where could that man be?
We looked around and then we found
The man for you and me.
And now it's..

Springtime for Geedubya and USA
Our homeland is happy and gay
We're marching to a faster pace
Look out, here comes the master race

Springtime for Geedubya and USA
Winter for Iraq and France
Springtime for Geedubya and USA
Come on, Americans, go into your dance

I was born in a Texas gorge, and that is why they call me George
Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Republican party

Springtime for Geedubya and USA
Goosestep's the new step today
Bombs falling from the skies again
Dow Jones is on the rise again

Springtime for Geedubya and USA
Patriots are sailing once more

Springtime for Geedubya and USA
Means that soon we'll be going
We've got to be going
You know we'll be going to WAR!

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Bennet Zurofsky
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 05:45 PM

I believe "Never Turning Back" credited to Judy Small above, is actually by Pat Humphrey. It is a good one and I am glad to be reminded of it.

Subject: Lyr Add: IT TAKES A SOLDIER
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 05:14 PM

OK, here's the next installment - brisk tune, a bit like a march. The news item referred to in verse one was about the UK shipyards winning a contract to build 2 aircraft carriers; I saw a shop steward being ever so enthusiastic about the jobs that meant, conveniently ignoring that he would be building instruments of war. Chorus at the bottom, sung after each verse.

IT TAKES A SOLDIER

I heard it yesterday on the news
And to believe it I refused
To hear the working man enthused
That more guns would be built.
And I remember thinking then
That wallet wins the heart again
And we will sing the old refrain
As further blood is spilt:

The circle is a vicious one,
It's been like this since time began,
For after all is said and done
The soldier needs his bread.
But no one can explain to me
With all this land and all this sea
Why we don't turn our soldiery
To farm and fish instead.

And I can almost hear you say
"the world has always been that way,
"for peace and freedom you must pay
"and nothing is for free".
But vicious circles you can break,
'Tis but an easy step to take:
Just throw the guns into the lake
But keep just one for me;-)

If only we could understand
Before things spiral out of hand
It's not supply, but our demand
That does the monster feed.
And still our leaders never cease
To manufacture enemies
It isn't them that threaten peace,
The problem is our greed.

(chorus)
    It takes a soldier to fire the gun
    To make it you need a working man
    To feed him the farmer will plough the land
    It all goes hand in hand.
    But to feed the soldier and the man
    Who makes the gun, you need more land,
    And to get more land of course
    You need a soldier.

Subject: Lyr Add: DIED IN THE WAR (Margaret Nelson)
From: Bruce
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 04:40 PM

Eric Bogle is hard to beat, and gets my vote ... Band Played Waltzing Matilda and No Mans Land, both great.

A very moving anti-war song was written 1995 by Margaret Nelson:

"Died in the War"

She's middle-aged now. She uses her time
For her friends and her work and improving her mind.
She's lonesome tonight. She knows who it's for:
Her sweetheart, who died in the war.

When her lover came home, she thought that her life
Would be husband and babies, mother and wife,
But the man was a stranger who walked through her door.
Her sweetheart had died in the war.

(Bridge tune): Died of the bullets, the mines and the shells,
Died with his buddies in two years of hell
With a wall round his heart where love needs a door.
Her sweet heart he died in the war.

He's a pretty good boss. he works with his crew
Taking old buildings and making 'em new.
Some nights he drinks less. Some nights he drinks more.
His sweetheart, she died in the war.

(Bridge tune again) Died of the hard words, the booze and the pain,
Died of the distance, he couldn't explain.
The girl was a stranger who walked out the door
His sweetheart, she died in the war.

She's middle-aged now. She uses her time
For her friends and her work and improving her mind.
She might have done less. She might have had more.
Her sweetheart he died in the war.

Copyright 1995 by Margaret J. Nelson

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Fran
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 12:22 PM

Also there is "When the Wind Blows" by Eric Bogle

This is a very chilling song about Nulcear War

Subject: Lyr Add: DUCT AND COVER (Reggie Miles)
From: reggie miles
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 10:34 AM

El Greko, there is a submission by a Mudcatter above. Mrrzy posted a link to one of his here in this thread that was originally posted in the Why Sack Iraq thread. While we're on the subject, here's one I posted to the songbook and elsewhere here.

Duct and Cover by Reggie Miles 2003


The threat of war is loomin',
Anthrax bombs may soon be zoomin',
To your bedrooms in the suburbs but don't despair.

From deep within his mountain bunker,
Where Gee Dubbya's gonna hunker,
A solution to our dilemma he's sure to share.

Our best scientific minds,
Were charged to seek and find,
An all American answer to our plight,

And with the billions spent,
On defense research by government,
They finally discovered one that works just right.

Yes they've found it girls and boys.
Protection from those evil toys,
Affordable and available throughout the land,

Yankee ingenuity,
Has triumphed once again you see,
Providing safety to every woman, child, and man.

And what miracle is this,
That secures our freedom bliss,
And ensures all our blessed liberties?

What treasure is it, made by man,
That can do, what no other can,
This creation of our modern techno-lull-ogies?

It's the simplest things they say,
That can always save the day,
And it's oh so very true in this case too.

You needn't build a big bomb shelter,
You can avoid the helter skelter.
Listen closely here is what they say to do.

Just duct tape and cover your windows and your door,
With plastic sheeting you can buy at any hardware store.

It's an easy thing to do no matter if you're rich or poor,
And much cleaner than crawling 'neath your desk down on all four.

It's a lesson we've all learned in school, fifty years ago.
When we feared that the idea of droppin' A-bombs would grow.

*They've changed the words to suit our times.
*Yesterday's of duck and cover rhymes.

*Are now just duct tape and cover instead.

It kind of makes you wonder,
Why Gee Dubbya's way down under,
Neath the mountain in his little hidy hole.

When all he needs to do,
Is just follow me or you,
To buy some plastic sheeting and some duct tape by the roll.

Then he could duct tape and cover the Whitehouse windows and door,
With plastic easily bought from any hardware store.

No need to kiss his butt goodbye,
When missiles fall down from the sky,

When he can duct tape and cover instead.

(repeat*)

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: saulgoldie
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 10:12 AM

And let me add: "Global Carnival" from Dick Holmes circa 1987. (I heard it presented by The Limeliters at a WFMA benefit.) It contains a few time markers that are no longer relevant. But it is still a very nice song about everyone getting along. Again, if anyone cares, I have it transcribed (as I do many of the songs I mention).

Subject: Lyr Add: FLOWERS AND THE GUNS (George Papavgeris)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 07:02 PM

Oh, well, I waited for almost 90 mins, nobody has objected (or nobody has read the thread, perhaps you're all glued to the TV screens). So here goes the first installment. Slow laid-back rhythm, the tune is supposed to be wistful:

THE FLOWERS AND THE GUNS
(an indictment for my generation)

Where are the flowers that we put
    into the muzzles of the guns?
Dried up and pressed inside a frame,
    they never get a second glance.
The love that we would banish war with,
    on bombed out streets now naked stands.
Where are the flowers that we put
    into the muzzles of the guns?

Where is the innocence of youth,
    the stars that once were in our eyes?
When did we learn to cover truth
    with our excuses and our lies?
When did our ideals falter?
    Tell me, when did we change our plans?
Where are the flowers that we put
    into the muzzles of the guns?

Our lives from others we have learned to separate
From evil we avert our eyes.
More often war it is, and not love, that we make
And all the time we compromise.

We used to turn the other cheek,
    but now we turn our face away.
We were the blessed and the meek;
    our future brighter than the day.
But we've forgotten Luther's message;
    we never ask ourselves, not once:
Where are the flowers that we put
    into the muzzles of the guns?

But we've arrived, and as we pat each other's backs,
Our principles we now betray
And year on year as we progress and we advance,
It's not just hair that's turning grey...

Where are the flowers that we put
    into the muzzles of the guns?
Where are the lessons we would pass
    on to our daughters and our sons?
And did we ever make a difference?
    and did we ever stand a chance?
Where are the flowers that we put
    into the muzzles of the guns?

(Copyright 2002 George Papavgeris)

Next installment tomorrow.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 06:04 PM

No reaction yet...I'll wait a little longer.
I know for a fact that Hovering Bob has written a cracking anti-war song ("Don't let the music die"). How about the rest of you?
My personal all-time favourite is "The gift of years", I think it's Eric Bogle's, not sure.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 05:24 PM

What a wonderful thread, and what great songs mentioned!
But in 140+ postings, I saw not a single song offered by a Mudcatter, at least not directly; with so many singer-songwriters among us, that surprises me. Is humility the reason? If so, and in order to "open the door of shame for others", I will post in subsequent messages three offerings of mine, which are about to be published in my new album, "Silent Majority", under the UNLaBELLED subsidiary label of Robb Johnson's Irregular Records:
a) The Flowers and the Guns
b) It takes a soldier
c) What life for a soldier

I am NOT proposing that they are in any way "greatest ever..."; just offering them for constructive criticism and just for the hell of it. In the context of what is happening on our TV screens, I think they are all apt.

So, unless I see some negative reaction in the next 15 minutes, I will start posting...

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 03:32 PM

Yes - Cranes over Hiroshima has to be the saddest. And The Plains of Waterloo - or any broken token song - to make you think how the experience of war makes you unrecognisable to your loved ones.
And the time to sing them is now.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: saulgoldie
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 10:28 AM

Many excellent mentions, here, and some new ones that I will have to look into.

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "Christmas in the Trenches" (by John McCutcheon, by the way) are two of my tops. God on Our Side, I Ain't Marching Anymore, Universal Soldier, The Box, and so many others. Wow! Non-war has inspired some really great material.

Let me add:
"Cranes Over Hiroshima" and also "Peace Is..." both by Fred Small, and almost on topic: "Let The Band Play Dixie" by the late, great Bob Gibson; and then "Peace Will Come" by Tom Paxton. (I have transcriptions for all four of these and "Christmas ITT", too if anyone wants.)

Don't know if I can say "greatest", but they are all great and so important! Thanks for the thread! Humanity will only survive if peace prevails.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: The Walrus
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 06:08 AM

mary garvey,

I find myself singing "Gethsemene" to the tune of "There is a Green Hill" (I suppose it's the Easter link that did it.

Walrus

Subject: Lyr Add: WHAUR DAE YE LIE? (Karine Polwart)
From: michaelr
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 07:08 PM

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Whaur Dae Ye Lie" (Where do you lie) by Malinky singer Karine Polwart. It's about the Bosnian war, and reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It's simple enough to use in a sing-along... if you can get through it. A devastating song.


Whaur Dae Ye Lie? (Karine Polwart)

Chorus: Whaur dae ye lie my faither?
Whaur dae ye lie my son?
Whaur dae ye lie my ane true love?
When will the truth be won?

Oor friends they came to protect us
Oor friends they bade us bide
Oor friends left us standing there naked
Wi' nae place left to hide (CH)

Oor neighbours they came wi' a hundred years' hate
Oor neighbours they came wi' guns
Oor neighbours they came for oor menfolk
An' they slew them every one (CH)

I hae sought oot yer grave wi' my mither
I hae sought oot yer grave in vain
I hae sought the bare banes o' the truth and the men
Faither whaur are ye lain? (CH)

I hae cried oot yer name to the four winds
I hae cried oot yer name till the dawn
I hae cried in the arms o' yer sister dear
Whaur dae ye lie my son? (CH)

I hae dreamed o' yer breath upon me
I hae dreamed o' yer yellow hair
I hae dreamed o' the sounds o' yer dying, love
Whaur dae ye lie my dear? (CH)

From the album "Last Leaves" (Greentrax, 2000)

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Mar 03 - 08:39 PM

"Universal Soldier" by Buffy Sainte-Marie

"With God On Our Side" by Bob Dylan

"Brothers In Arms" by Dire Straits

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Beccy
Date: 20 Mar 03 - 10:25 AM

I have to say, "Let There Be Peace On Earth" by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson 'cause my Mom always sang it to me.

Beccy

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: GUEST,ta2
Date: 20 Mar 03 - 10:06 AM

why has no one mentioned "Where have all the flowers gone ?"

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Mar 03 - 07:36 AM

It's been a while since I looked at this thread (dunno why)

Loke Snuffy I love Ian Campbell's Sun is burning.

check out some (mainly) Australian songs on this link

The Union Songs website (http://crixa.com/muse/unionsong/) has a number of anti-war songs including

Call to Arms    Richard Mills
The Cavemen    Peggy Seeger
Coalition of the Willing    John Warner
The Crow on the Cradle Sydney Carter
Four Strong Women   Maurie Mulheron
Hey, Mr. President, Don't You Kill for Me! Ron and Tom
Piechota
International Cowboy    John Warner
Iraqi War Song Country Bumpkin and the Hogs
No Blood For Oil    Jim Lesses
P.E.A.C.E. Ken Stewart
Paul Robeson    Sumishta Brahm
Terrorist Song John Dengate
Warsong Bernard Carney
Water to the Trenches   Steve Barnes

There is also a ready to print ebook called "Peace is Union Business" at: http://crixa.com/muse/unionsong/ebooks/peacesongs.pdf

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: sharyn
Date: 19 Mar 03 - 11:56 AM

Bennet,

How about "We're Going to Keep on Walking Forward" by Judy Small. It's a "zipper song," will take any verses you put into the form:

We're going to keep on walking forward,
Keep on walking forward,
Keep on walking forward:
Never turning back,
Never turning back.

So you can add things like

"We're going to work for peace and freedom..." etc.

Cheers!

Sharyn

Subject: Lyr Add: MOTHER'S PRIDE (George Michael)
From: GUEST,Jambo1874
Date: 18 Mar 03 - 05:48 PM

Sorry for drifting into the pop genre - and worse, into the "bubble gum" pop genre.

How and ever, one of my favourite anti-war songs was performed by George Michael.

It's the song "Mother's Pride" from his 1990 album "Listen Without Prejudice". According to the sleeve notes, GM wrote this as well. The lyrics are set out below, but you really have to hear the song (the lad really can sing) to fully appreciate it.


"Mother's Pride"

Oh she knows
She takes his hand
And prays the child will understand
At the door they watch the men go by
In the clothes that daddy wore
Mothers pride
Baby Boy
His father's eyes
He's a soldier waiting for war
Time will come
He'll hold a gun
His father's son

And as he grows
He hears the band
Takes the step from boy to man
And at the shore she waves her son goodbye
Like the man she did before

Mothers pride
Just a boy
His country's eyes
He's a soldier waving at the shore
And in her heart
the time has come
To lose a son

And all the husbands, all the sons, all the lovers gone
They make no difference
No difference in the end
Still hear the women say your daddy died a hero
In the name of God and man

Mothers pride
Crazy boy
His lifeless eyes
He's a soldier now forevermore
He'll hold a gun
till kingdom come

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Bennet Zurofsky
Date: 18 Mar 03 - 05:00 PM

I prefer songs that everyone in the room, or on the street, can join in with. Most of the songs mentioned above only work in a quiet dsetting with everyone listening. They have too many words to be effective with a crowd or with people who don't already know them. Sing-a-longs also have the benefit of promoting feelings of fellowship and solidarity among the assemblage.

I few good ones of the sort I favor have been listed above, here is a list of some that I have been singing at recent demonstrations:

This Little Light of Mine (with lyrics like We've got the peace light burning . . .); Blowing In the Wind; We Shall Overcome (We shall live in peace . . ., We are not afraid . . .); Down By the Riverside; Hinei Ma Tov; Lo Yisa Goy; We Shall Not Be Moved (We'll work for peace and freedom, we shall not be moved); Paz y Libertad; and Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream.

I would love to see (or be reminded of) other songs of this type.

Subject: Lyr Add: TROOPERS LAMENT (Bruce Phillips)
From: Mark Ross
Date: 18 Mar 03 - 04:18 PM

Check this one out.

Mark Ross


TROOPERS LAMENT
Bruce Phillips

I sailed from Seattle far away from friends and home,
Far across the blue Pacific to the Land of Morning Calm,
"Here's your helmet and your rifle and your prophylactics too,
And as sure as I'm your captain we will make a man of you."

The 105's were pounding and their thunder shook the night,
I asked my bold commander, "Who am I here to fight?",
"It's the slopes, and the slants, and the gooks and chinks," said he,
And I wondered if their captain ever said the same of me.

I have seen the mountain winter where the air was cold and still,
But, oh, that frozen Chosen it was a living hell,
With the fever, and the jaundice, and a hundred kinds of mold,
We were slaughtered in our mummy bags by bayonets and cold.

And everywhere I traveled from the gap at Kummaree,
The Yungsan Reservation and the camps at Moonsonee,
The frozen plains at Inchon my boots rotting on my feet,
All I heard were starving babies while their mothers walked the street.

We bought cameras, we bought watches, we bought whores and we bought booze,
With the little barefoot beggars bending down to shine our shoes,
We gave them back their candy and to answer our desire,
We gave them round-eyed babies who died outside the wire.

I got off in Seattle and I climbed on board a train,
I rode it through the mountains with a fever in my brain,
I could find no reason to remain here anymore,
There was not trace around me of the life I'd lived before.

Now what's the pride in country if it robs a man of will,
And where's the pride in manhood if a man will rape and kill,
And what's the pride in killing if the dead will rise again,
Ah, but there's a pride in knowing there's and enemy within.

So listen all you troopers, here's a lesson you should know,
From an older brown-shoe soldier who marched off long ago,
They will use your pride and passion for to settle all their fights,
Keep your pride in your trousers and the captain in your sights.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Mar 03 - 12:30 PM

How about

The first I met was a grey haired father
Searching for his only son
I said to him there's no use searching
For up to HEaven your son has gone

The Dying Rebel

I have heard that only one US Congreeman or Senator has a child in the US Military.
Perhaps Bush should send his own Children to Iraq

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Orac
Date: 18 Mar 03 - 11:28 AM

Unfortunately this song has gone the way of "Streets of London" and has been done to death. Consequently, I squirm in my seat every time I hear it these days.. as I do also with "no-man's land" . Its a pity as both are good songs. I'm sure the Wild Rover was ok once but there is a limit to how often you can sit through something. What doesn't help I guess is that all are usually sung very badly by the finger in the ear brigade, who seem to think that a good song is all that matters and not how its sung.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LETTER (Boris Vian)
From: GUEST,NSC George Henderson
Date: 18 Mar 03 - 10:13 AM

The Letter

Written in French but I do not know the name of the composer, not do I know who translated the song. It was written, I think, in the early 1950's and was in protest at being called up to fight in the French-Algerian war.

The translation is excellent and how the translator managed to get the internal rhyming so perfect and at the same time keep the whole meaning of the song intact I will never know.

This is definitely the best anti war song I have yet come across.


This letter gentlemen is to you politicians
You men in high positions, please read it if you can.
When I woke up today orders were waiting for me
To go and join the army at once without delay
I shall not Gentlemen, That's why I write this letter,
To say that man had better refuse to fight again.
These words are true I'm sure, I don't mean to upset you,
I only want to let you know that men are sick of war.


For many years we've seen how men have fought each other,
Seen brother snatched from brother, seen children lost in tears.
Mother with swollen eyes cry whilst the rich not caring
Are too busy profiteering and grow fat on crimes and lies
I've seen the prisoners, what did they do to merit,
This sapping of the spirit, this theft of what they were.
Tomorrow I'll be gone, I'll slam the door behind me
On all that will remind me, of cruelty and war


Well then I'll make my way, around the world I'll travel
I'll speak out against evil and this is what I'll say
Man, it's great to be alive and all mankind are brothers
In this world and all others, so help your brothers thrive.
If blood is to be shed, shed yours you politicians
You men in high positions but be it on you head
Follow me if you will, bring out your men and arm them
Tell them that I will not harm them for disarmed I'm safe to kill.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 18 Mar 03 - 04:42 AM

no mans land.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: GUEST,Elfcall
Date: 27 Feb 03 - 03:16 PM

The song that Piff (guest) is aiming at is Rose of York by Ken Thompson and Leslie Hale (according to my insert anyway). The version I have is by Roy Bailey and whatever your view on Roy is, it is a feckin' cracking interpretation.

Subject: Lyr Add: PEACE IN THE END (from Sandy Denny)
From: GUEST,alinact
Date: 27 Feb 03 - 02:09 PM

You don't hear this one very often, but a great song by Sandy Denny and Fotheringay.

Allan

PEACE IN THE END

Come on Mary, Mary or you, John,
To which religion do you belong?
You and your lover, you and your friend,
Peace in the end.

What about me, me and my kind,
If we're unknown, are we left behind?
We have our lovers, too, and our friends,
Hope in the end.

You may think our lives are forever.
I think you could be wrong.
But if we were together, together,
I know we could get on.

Go ask your neighbours to come and sing songs,
You know they've wanted to all along.
I've seen them smile for their friends,
All in the end.

You may think our lives are forever.
I think you could be wrong.
But if we were together, together
I know we could get on.

I've seen them stand at the top of the hill,
And none of them coming down,
But who will be the last one to kill?
And who will be the clown?

Come on Mary, Mary or you, John,
To which religion do you belong?
You are our lovers, you are our friends,
Peace in the end.

Subject: RE: Greatest Anti-War Song Ever?
From: Cluin
Date: 27 Feb 03 - 02:04 AM

I see the same song mentioned here a number of times by it's 3 different names: "No Man's Land", "Willie McBride", and "Green Fields of France".

But Eric Bogle, who wrote it, called it "No Man's Land". The folk process in action again...