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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsName a song that was written or used as a peace or protest song, Mine is "For What It's Worth" -Buffalo Springfield"
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Ocelot II
(129,677 posts)
debm55
(57,518 posts)Last edited Thu Jan 29, 2026, 12:31 PM - Edit history (1)
Response to Ocelot II (Reply #1)
Mpo4261 This message was self-deleted by its author.
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
justaprogressive
(6,510 posts)For What It's Worth
debm55
(57,518 posts)
Endlessmike56
(143 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
gab13by13
(31,554 posts)Dylan.
debm55
(57,518 posts)
stopdiggin
(15,150 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts)Vets Thank you very much,stopdiggin.
Dulcinea
(9,834 posts)Bruce Springsteen had to tell him that he missed the whole point of the song & that he couldn't use it as a campaign song.
debm55
(57,518 posts) justaprogressive
(6,510 posts)Dylan's Hurricane
UB40s Guilty
debm55
(57,518 posts)
stopdiggin
(15,150 posts)
Not Heidi
(1,553 posts)I'll be 63 next month.
But Fast Car is forty years old?
THAT makes me feel old. Wow.
stopdiggin
(15,150 posts)but it damned well FELT like forty years! ( Forty looong years - to those that were looking at, "We gotta make a decision ... Leave tonight or live and die this way ... " )
See, my old man's got a problem
He live with the bottle, that's the way it is
He say his body's too old for working
His body's too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody's got to take care of him
So I quit school and that's what I did
debm55
(57,518 posts) Americanme
(425 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Lifeafter70
(799 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Coventina
(29,420 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,735 posts)As Warren Zevon sang:
In Ireland, in Lebanon, in Palestine and Berkeley
Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson gun and bought it
John Mellencamp:
Scarecrow on a wooden cross blackbird in the barn
Four hundred empty acres that used to be my farm
debm55
(57,518 posts) JMCKUSICK
(5,357 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
MadLinguist
(902 posts)One of my all time favorite resistance songs. Calypso is the perfect medium for protest
debm55
(57,518 posts) discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,735 posts)Luka - Suzanne Veya
Hell is for Children - Pat Benatar
debm55
(57,518 posts)
stopdiggin
(15,150 posts)had enough burn that Lynyrd Skynard responded ..
by advertising their unrepentant belligerent ignorance in the push back 'Sweet Home Alabama' - which in turn went on to become 'anthem' for the unreconstructed hillbillies and rednecks.
debm55
(57,518 posts)
catbyte
(38,808 posts)&list=RDvwSRqaZGsPw
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Boyrask
(25 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
debm55
(57,518 posts)
Polly Hennessey
(8,644 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts)
ballardgirl
(182 posts)Vietnam Song - aka I Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die Rag
WestMichRad
(3,049 posts)
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Jilly_in_VA
(14,016 posts)ballardgirl
(182 posts)live at a Piano Drop in rural Washington state, April 1968
cloudbase
(6,190 posts)Woody Guthrie (a national treasure)
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
thomski64
(866 posts)Also Woody Guthrie, about Krasnov's unloving father, racist slum lord Fred.
debm55
(57,518 posts) cloudbase
(6,190 posts)Yet another by Guthrie.
bpj62
(1,066 posts)What's Going On was a big anti Vietnam war song.
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
OmegaX
(36 posts)"Killing In The Name"
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Harker
(17,537 posts)Woody Guthrie.
debm55
(57,518 posts) Harker
(17,537 posts)Nice work, Deb!
debm55
(57,518 posts)
EYESORE 9001
(29,505 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
DBoon
(24,817 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) DBoon
(24,817 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) pandr32
(13,890 posts)By Barry McGuire
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Enter stage left
(4,362 posts)Bob Dylan, and covered beautifully by Peter, Paul and Mary.
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Niagara
(11,639 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Niagara
(11,639 posts) 
NotASurfer
(2,366 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Niagara
(11,639 posts)Green Day is chanting
debm55
(57,518 posts) Niagara
(11,639 posts)It's not really a song per say, but it was a freestyle that Eminem did in protest of TSF.
debm55
(57,518 posts) WestMichRad
(3,049 posts)
debm55
(57,518 posts)
LogDog75
(1,153 posts)Last edited Thu Jan 29, 2026, 01:55 PM - Edit history (1)
From Les Miserables
I even heard this being played at the No Kings March in San Diego last October.
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
TBF
(35,926 posts)I saw Dolores and her band live in 1995 - she was on fire during this song
debm55
(57,518 posts) TBF
(35,926 posts)another good one
debm55
(57,518 posts) TBF
(35,926 posts)there are many versions of this song but this is one I like a lot
Easterncedar
(5,725 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Oppaloopa
(941 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Endlessmike56
(143 posts)Monster by Steppenwolf
debm55
(57,518 posts) Bob in the Land
(58 posts)A close second is The Revolution Starts Now by Steve Earle.
debm55
(57,518 posts) DBoon
(24,817 posts)"Don't give up the fight"
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
boonecreek
(1,422 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
PJMcK
(24,872 posts)Lyrics:
Can't stand it no more
People dying
Crying for help for so many years
But nobody hears
Better end soon, my friend
It better end soon my friend, yeah
Can't take it no more
The people hating
Hurting their brothers
They don't understand
Or they can't understand
Better end soon, my friend
It better end soon, my friend
Yeah, yeah
I just think about it
debm55
(57,518 posts) DBoon
(24,817 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Wiz Imp
(9,232 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Wiz Imp
(9,232 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts)Miss him
Wiz Imp
(9,232 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) waterwatcher123
(486 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Zambero
(9,933 posts)Bob Dylan
debm55
(57,518 posts) livetohike
(24,069 posts)The songs of the wars are as old as the hills
They cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills
They tell of the boys who went down to the tracks
In a patriotic manner with the cold steel on their backs
The patriot's dream is as old as the sky
It lives in the lust of a cold callous lie
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills
The train pulled away on that glorious night
The drummer got drunk and the bugler got tight
While the boys in the back sang a song of good cheer
While riding off to glory in the spring of their years
The patriot's dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills
Well, there was a sad, sad lady, weeping all night long
She received a sad, sad message from a voice on the telephone
Her children were all sleeping as she waited out the dawn
How could she tell those children that their father was shot down
So she took them to her side that day and she told them one by one
Your father was a good man ten thousand miles from home
He tried to do his duty and it took him straight to hell
He might be in some prison, I hope he's treated well
Well, there was a young girl watching in the early afternoon
When she heard the name of someone who said he'd be home soon
And she wondered how they got him, but the papers did not tell
There would be no sweet reunion, there would be no wedding bells
So she took herself into her room and she turned the bed sheets down
And she cried into the silken folds of her new wedding gown
He tried to do his duty and it took him straight to hell
He might be in some prison, I hope he's treated well
Well, there was an old man sitting in his mansion on the hill
And he thought of his good fortune and the time he'd yet to kill
Well, he called to his wife one day, "Come sit with me awhile"
Then turning toward the sunset, he smiled a wicked smile
"Well, I'd like to say I'm sorry for the sinful deeds I've done"
"But let me first remind you, I'm a patriotic son"
They tried to do their duty and it took 'em straight to hell
They might be in some prison, I hope they're treated well
The songs of the wars are as old as the hills
They cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills
They tell of the boys who went down to the tracks
In a patriotic manner with the cold steel on their backs
The train pulled away on that glorious night
The drummer got drunk and the bugler got tight
While the boys in the back sang a song of good cheer
While riding off to glory in the spring of their years
The patriot's dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
GreenWave
(12,446 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
FM123
(10,343 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) duckworth969
(1,292 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Doc_Technical
(3,746 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Alansworld
(18 posts)Whitey's on the Moon
The Revolution will not be Televised
debm55
(57,518 posts) Laffy Kat
(16,889 posts)"Something in the Air"
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Keepthesoulalive
(2,171 posts)A change is gonna come -Sam Cooke
Take a look in the mirror -Aretha Franklin
We shall overcome- Traditional Black Spiritual
People get ready- Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions
You haven’t done nothing- Stevie Wonder
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Coloradan4Truth
(402 posts)Gordon Lightfoot.
The backing guitar and drums are amazing.
Coloradan4Truth
(402 posts)Read about them.
1967 Detroit riot - Wikipedia https://share.google/BWESGSxAxRitqzN7a
debm55
(57,518 posts) debm55
(57,518 posts) 
OutNow
(912 posts)Also covered by Donovan.
[Verse 1]
He's five feet two, and he's six feet four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He's all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen
He's been a soldier for a thousand years
[Verse 2]
He's a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain
A Buddhist, and a Baptist, and a Jew
And he knows he shouldn't kill, and he knows he always will
Kill you for me, my friend, and me for you
[Verse 3]
And he's fighting for Canada, he's fighting for France
He's fighting for the USA
And he's fighting for the Russians, and he's fighting for Japan
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way
[Verse 4]
And he's fighting for democracy, he's fighting for the Reds
He says it's for the peace of all
He's the one who must decide who's to live and who's to die
And he never sees the writing on the wall
[Verse 5]
But without him, how would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him, Caesar would have stood alone
He's the one who gives his body as a weapon of the war
And without him all this killing can't go on
debm55
(57,518 posts) OutNow
(912 posts)"Fuck the war Bring my Brothers Home"
I'll remember this forever.
debm55
(57,518 posts) JMCKUSICK
(5,357 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
rampartd
(4,132 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Response to debm55 (Original post)
Nanuke This message was self-deleted by its author.
Mpo4261
(10 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Nanuke
(910 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Borogove
(572 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts)Find the cost of freedom
Buried in the ground
Mother Earth will lift you up
Lay your body down.
Sorry if I got some words mixed up
flying rabbit
(4,937 posts)Springsteen.
debm55
(57,518 posts) Rustynaerduwell
(782 posts)Always loved this hopeful plea for peace, mixed with a tinge of sad despair.
"For sometime when we have reached the end
With a velvet hill in the small of the back
And our hands are clenched in the sand
Will our blood become a part of the river?
All of the rivers are givers
To the ocean according to plan
According to man"
debm55
(57,518 posts) Wiz Imp
(9,232 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Mpo4261
(10 posts)Rolling Stones
debm55
(57,518 posts) debm55
(57,518 posts) 
The Wizard
(13,627 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) The Wizard
(13,627 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
KitFox
(514 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Coldwater
(1,100 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
RandySF
(81,933 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Tikki
(15,060 posts)Just about any Oi song is a protest song. I picked this one.
Tikki
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
retread
(3,895 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Eugene
(66,914 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
lark
(25,945 posts)Peace Frog - Doors
Ohio is my all time fave protest song but it was already mentioned. The above are #'s 2 and 3.
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
walkingman
(10,454 posts)about racism and the Civil Rights Movement. Specifically, the "Little Rock Nine".
debm55
(57,518 posts) Moostache
(11,093 posts)&list=RDmmo3HFa2vjg&start_radio=1
&list=RDam9BqZ6eA5c&start_radio=1
debm55
(57,518 posts) Jilly_in_VA
(14,016 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) Dulcinea
(9,834 posts)All three of them!
&list=RD1EKCAE1vDzY&start_radio=1debm55
(57,518 posts) 
Deuxcents
(25,910 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) 
CanonRay
(16,018 posts)White Buffalo. Pretty obscure but it was used in Born on the Fourth of July.
debm55
(57,518 posts) Eugene
(66,914 posts)Also from the Vietnam era, "Bring the Boys Home" - Freda Payne
debm55
(57,518 posts) 
IbogaProject
(5,686 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) IbogaProject
(5,686 posts)For another more obscure one
Public Enemy,
Party for Your Right to Fight
It was written as a political rebuttal for the Beastie Boy's Fight for Your Right to Party, produced by the same guys who produced that Beastie track.
debm55
(57,518 posts) fargone
(568 posts)This song was written by the husband and wife team Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne in October 1962. They were famous for writing pop songs. Regney was born in France but when France was overrun in World War II he was drafted into the German Army. He hated the Nazis and joined the French resistance while still in the German Army. The horrors of war scarred him. After the war he came to the US. In October 1962 Regney and Shayne were commissioned to write a Christmas song for the B-side of a single. It was the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis and Regney was really down with the thoughts of another war. Walking home in New York he passed two moms and their babies. The babies were smiling at each other and it changed Regney's mood completely. He wrote the lyrics when he got home. It was never intended to be either a religious song , but a song for peace, a political statement. It had bits and pieces of imagery that paralleled the Nativity story and people grabbed on to that. The little babies he saw became the lamb which was an often used symbol for peace. There was a shepherd but shepherds and sheep are not unique to the Nativity. The star with a tail as big as a kite was intended as a nuclear missile but most people turned that into the Bethlehem star. The line "A child, a child, shivers in the cold," was a reference to the real babies that inspired the song as well as a plea to the king in his warm castle to help the poor children.
The last verse brings brings the key message that Regney intended, "Pray for peace, every one." The song has been recorded over 130 times. The Harry Simeone Choral was the first in 1962 and sold a quarter million copies in one week. A year later Bing Crosby recorded it and sold over a million copies and a new Christmas classic was established. The song starts out quietly and builds up. Regney's favorite recording was by Robert Goulet because he almost shouted the line "Pray for peace, every one."
debm55
(57,518 posts)song. Thank you so much for sharing the story behind the song. I wish you peace.
debm55
(57,518 posts) justaprogressive
(6,510 posts)Revolution The Beatles
debm55
(57,518 posts) debm55
(57,518 posts) 3825-87867
(1,818 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts) FuzzyRabbit
(2,203 posts)debm55
(57,518 posts)