I knew Ed McCurdy in New York. He was an accomplished singer and performer. He said that he wrote this song rather in a cynical mode since he didn't actually believe that we could achieve world peace. It was such a "dream".

It caught on as an anthem.

Pete I believe changed the words to include men and women.

Ed has recorded a bit and you can hear his performance backed by Erik Darling,
a great tasteful five string banjo player, IMHO, one of the best after Pete.

I think he did the album called "Pills to Purge Melancholy" if I'm not mistaken. (Or was the Will Holt?)

Ed was known for being a knowledgeable authority on bawdy songs.

I think his album was on Elektra Records. He was a fine man.