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Music and song have always been an essential share of humane expression and experience. Song writers and performers use the art form to convey their thoughts and emotions. Listeners listen to the music that resonates with them. We all have personal “soundtracks” in our lives, consisting not only of the music we like to listen to now, but of the dissimilar pieces of music we’ve identified with all around our lives. There is likewise a musical soundtrack to history itself. Through the music of a period, we may grasp more when it comes to the important issues and emotions of that period. And by listening to the music, we may even make an aroused connection with a lot of of the views kept for the duration of that period.
This is exceptionally the case with Vietnam War Music, which provides superb clear or deep perception into the US involvement in the Vietnam War in the ’60s and early ’70s.
Soldiers had full access to the abundance of rock and folk music being produced back home. Sophisticated and powerful stereos were lowcost and readily available, and became pervasive allround soldier life. Many songs that were recorded without any reference to the war became soundtracks to their lives. Songs such as The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, whose main lyric had queer resonance. Or Simon and Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound”, which is regarding a homesick musician, but again, the key emotion was relevant. The list of examples is enormous.
As in all wars, musicians within the soldier population also performed popular songs, and conventional folk and military tunes, as well as composing new songs. One widely known and esteemed example is the “Boonie Rat Song”, a folk song developed in the 101st Airborne Division, counting down the days until they go home, describing the introductory few days, and then the emotions of a few points for the duration of the tour of duty. The pervasiveness of tape recording and playback engineering science meant that soldier musicians’ performances could be without apparent effort recorded. Popular recordings speedily found their way allround the US soldier population in Vietnam, and back home to the States with returning soldiers.
There was a big social motion in the US protesting the war. Many frequent songs were composed and freed that were either in general anti-war, or specifically anti-Vietnam-War. For example, there was: the quirky “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die-Rag” by Country Joe and the Fish; or the moving “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, when it comes to the killing of four students at Kent State University for the duration of a protest; or John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance”, or Edwin Starr’s powerful soul performance “War”.
There were also a great deal of songs that were patriotic or that supported the troops. The most ordinary example is Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler’s “Ballad of the Green Berets”, which topped the charts for 5 weeks in 1966. The after-effects of the war on society may also be seen from the songs freed in the decades since that make reference to the War. For example, Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 “Born in the USA”, is regarding the issues faced by Vietnam War veterans when they returned.
Vietnam War Songs provide outstanding clear or deep perception into the emotions, issues and viewpoints of the period.
Universal Soldiers Songs Peace Protest Photo
Universal Soldiers Songs Peace Protest Picture
Universal Soldiers Songs Peace Protest Photo
Universal Soldiers Songs Peace Protest Photo
Most helpful client reviews
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful.
 Jammed with the politics and poetry of the sixties
By Thomas Lapins
This cd is everything you want in a specialized anthology. “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” is pure art and poetry. It takes you full circle and makes your heart sink. “Eve Of Destruction” is full of rage and clear or deep perception and truth. It’s atomic in it is message and presentation. “With God On Our Side” is one of Dylan’s best songs (best version is by Baez). Pure poetry again. And the whole cd goes on like that. Great sound. The somber “Society’s Child” and the hauntingly barefoot on shards of glass “Abraham, Martin And John” slices you in two. “Ball Of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today)” is Motown exploding. “War” keeps the message movin’. “Signs” was always one of my favored radio songs. This is a must for anybody who lived through the late sixties and early seventies and felt the rage and fear at the destruction and insanity from sea to sea. This collections serves as both great music and powerful inspiration. Buy it!
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
The Sixties Weren’t Just About Peace And Love
By Steve Vrana
As a child of the Sixties, I have a very strong aroused connection to these songs and as such find this a very gratifying collection. If, however, you were to unearth these songs from a time capsule and listen to them for the primary time thirty-plus years after they were introductory recorded, you might wonder what the fuss is all about. Certainly some of these songs were of the moment. To use an old cliche: You had to be there. After all, at age 30, Sonny Bono was a bit long in the tooth to play the angry young man. And “It’s Good News Week” sounds more comical than biting satire.
But a good deal of of these songs retain their potency. Certainly, the carnival sound of “The ‘Fish’ Cheer/I Feel Like I’m Fixin’-To-Die Rag” is the perfective antithesis of the brutality of the Vietnam War. The Rascal’s “People Got To Be Free” evokes John Lennon’s sentiment that “All You Need Is Love.” The Kingston Trio’s version of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” is a sad reminder of the price to be paid for war. Dion’s “Abraham, Martin And John” still gives me chills. The one genuinely glaring omission from this set is Dylan’s “Masters of War.” Only Edwin Starr’s “War” comes close to matching Dylan’s outrage.
If you need to remind yourself that the Sixties weren’t all peace and love, this collection does a more than adequate occupation of showcasing the protest genre. RECOMMENDED
17 of 17 humans found the following review helpful.
 Protest songs reflecting the anger of the Viet Nam era
By Steve Meng (Steve@CSM-Consulting.com)
Songs of Protest presents a collection of tracks from the Viet Nam war era. While most of the music protests the war, a few tracks express anger on other topics.
From the early war years are the Kingston Trio’s “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction,” “With God on our Side” by Manfred Mann, and Donovan’s “Universal Soldier.” Anyone of music listening age in the mid 60′s surely remembers McGuire’s angry voice and the questions he asks.
More recent war protest tracks show the songwriters maturing in the message. From the Woodstock era, Country Joe and the Fish performed “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-die-rag”, more normally known as “The Fish Cheer.” This isn’t the Woodstock version, you don’t have to worry when it comes to your kids overhearing it. Gimmie an F!
Rounding out the later war protests are Hedgehoppers Anonymous with “It’s Good News Week”, the Temptations “Ball of Confusion,” and The Animals masterful “Sky Pilot.”
The remaining tracks focus on personal freedoms and relationships. One of the better known classics is Janis Ian’s interracial love dilemma in “Society’s Child.” Phil Ochs sings “I Ain’t Marchin’ Any More,” the Rascals classic “People Got To Be Free,” and the Five Man Electrical Band’s “Signs” each state their protest of the “over thirty generation”
This collection is sure to fetch back memories for all baby boomers.
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