List of anti-war songs
An anti-war song is a musical composition that either states anti-war sentiments directly, or one which is written (by the public and/or critics) as having an anti-war theme. Some show the aspects of war, while others satirize war. Most promote peace, in some form or another, while others speak out against certain specific armed conflicts. Some speak about the physical and psychological destruction warfare causes to the soldiers and to innocent civilians. Many of these songs are considered protest songs, and some have been embraced by various peace movements.
Some popular songs of this variety include:
[edit] General peace
- "10th Man Down" - Nightwish (2001)
- "21 Guns" - Green Day (2009)
- "A Little Good News" - Anne Murray (1983)
- "All These Things That I've Done" - The Killers (2004)
- "Amani" - Beyond (1991)
- "Billy Don't Be a Hero" - Paper Lace (1974)
- "Bleed Red" - Ronnie Dunn (2011)
- "Blowin' in the Wind" - Bob Dylan (1963)
- "Boom!" - System Of A Down (2003)
- "Captured" - Malevolent Creation (2004)
- "Civil War" - Guns N' Roses (1990)
- "Come, Gentle Peace" - Roger Lee Hall (1981)
- "Crying Shame"- Jack Johnson (2005)
- "Disposable Heroes" - Metallica (1986)
- "The Fiddle and the Drum" - Joni Mitchell (1969), A Perfect Circle (2004)
- "Fight War Not Wars" - Crass (1978)
- "From a Distance" - Nanci Griffith (1982)
- "The General" - Dispatch (1998)
- "The Lost Children" - Michael Jackson (2001)
- "The Ghost Of You" - My Chemical Romance (2005)
- "G.I. Blues" - Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (2009)
- "Gimme Peace" - Tom T. Hall (1978)
- "Give Peace A Chance" - Plastic Ono Band (1969)
- "Gods Of War" - Def Leppard (1987)
- "Going Down In Flames" - Three Doors Down (2002)
- "Half A World Away" - Joe Cerisano(2010)
- "Handlebars" - Flobots (2008)
- "Harold Land" - Yes (1969)
- "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" - John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band (1971)
- "Harmony" - Never Shout Never (2010)
- "Heal The World" - Michael Jackson (1991)
- "Hero Of War" - Rise Against (2008)
- "HIStory" - Michael Jackson (1995)
- "Hymn For The Dead" - Anti-Flag (2006)
- "I Ain't Marching Anymore" - Phil Ochs (1965)
- "I Don't Want To Be A Hero" - Johnny Hates Jazz (1987)
- "I Hope You Get Drafted" - The Dicks (1984)
- "I Wish You Peace" - the Eagles (1975)
- "If I Can Dream" - Elvis Presley (1967)
- "Il Nostro Sogno (Our Dream)" - Alfio (2006)
- "Imagine" - John Lennon (1971)
- "In Our Garden" - Naomi Shemer (1995)
- "Jet Fighter" - Butthole Surfers (2001)
- "Just A Dream" - Carrie Underwood (2007)
- "Killing in the name of" - Rage Against The Machine (1992)
- "Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (Nero)" - Area (1973)
- "Lay Down Your Arms" - Doron Levinson (1973)
- "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" - Ed McCurdy (1950)
- "Life" - Elvis Presley (1971)
- "Living With War" - Neil Young (2006)
- "Love Can Build A Bridge" - the Judds (1990)
- "Love Train" - The O'Jays (1973)
- "Major General Despair" - Crass (1982)
- "Man of War" - The Jacksons (1977)
- "March With Me" - Montserrat Caballé And Vangelis (1997)
- "Mandatory Suicide" - Slayer (1989)
- "Masters of War" - Bob Dylan (1963)
- "Mercenary Song" - Steve Earle (1997)
- "M.I.A." - Avenged Sevenfold (2005)
- "Military Madness" - Graham Nash (1971)
- "Mr. President" - Janelle Monáe
- "Never Kill Another Man" - the Steve Miller Band (1970)
- "No Fuckin' War" - The Dicks (1984)
- "No More Trouble" - Bob Marley & The Wailers (1978)
- "No Nuclear War" - Peter Tosh (1987)
- "One Day" - Matisyahu (2009)
- "One Tin Soldier" - Original Caste (1969)
- "Part III" - Bad Religion (1982)
- "Part IV (The Index Fossil)" - Bad Religion (1988)
- "Peace Sells" - Megadeth (1986)
- "Peace Train" - Cat Stevens (1971)
- "Peace Will Come" - Tom Paxton (1977)
- "Pick Up The Bones" - Alice Cooper (2000)
- "Pipes Of Peace" - Paul McCartney (1982)
- "Power & the Glory" - Saxon (1983)
- "Potshot Heard 'Round The World" - Dead Kennedys (1986)
- "Prayer For Peace" - Perry Como (1958)
- "Protocol" - Gordon Lightfoot (1976)
- "Rainbow Stew" - Merle Haggard (1981)
- "Rambozo The Clown" - Dead Kennedys (1986)
- "Ratziti Sheteda" - Uzi Hitman (1979)
- "Road To Joy" - Bright Eyes (2005)
- "Rooster" - Alice In Chains (1993)
- "Sacrifice" - Motörhead (1995)
- "Saltwater" - Julian Lennon (1991)
- "Semper Fi" - John Gorka (1991)
- "Shir LaShalom" - Lehakat HaNachal (1970)
- "Short Memory" - Midnight Oil (1982)
- "Soldiers" - ABBA (1981)
- "The Soldier Has Come Home" - Barry Sadler (1966)
- "Soldier Blue" - Buffy Sainte-Marie (1971)
- "Soldier's Poem" - Muse (2006)
- "Soldier's Side" - System Of A Down (2005)
- "Some Mother's Son" - The Kinks (1969)
- "Still Spinning Shrapnel" - Skyclad (1995)
- "Stop The War" - Sugar Blue (2010)
- "Stupid, Stupid War" - Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
- "Survivor's Guilt" - Rise Against
- "Systematic Execution" - Malevolent Creation (1992)
- "Tank" - The Stranglers (1978)
- "'Til The Last Shot's Fired" - Trace Adkins (2009)
- "Turn! Turn! Turn!" - Pete Seeger (1959)
- "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World)" - The Temptations (1971)
- "Universal Soldier" - Buffy Sainte-Marie (1964)
- "Unknown Soldier - Breaking Benjamin (2006)
- "Véto de Dieu" - Alpha Blondy (1991)
- "Waiting On The World To Change" - John Mayer (2006)
- "War" - Bob Marley & The Wailers (1976)
- "War" - Edwin Starr (1970)
- "War?" - System Of A Down (1998)
- "War Baby" - Mick Jagger (1987)
- "Wardance" - Killing Joke (1980)
- "Wargasm" - L7 (1992)
- "War Is Not A Game" - Bill Durston (2005)
- "War Pigs" - Black Sabbath (1970)
- "The War Song" - Culture Club (1984)
- "War Song" - Neil Young And Graham Nash (1972)
- "War Sucks, Let's Party!" - Anti-Flag (2006)
- "Warrior" - Steve Earle (2004)
- "Washington Bullets" - The Clash (1980)
- "Wasted Life" - Stiff Little Fingers (1978)
- "We Are The World" - USA for Africa (1985)
- "We Don't Need the Army" - Slime (1981)
- "We Are Here to Change the World" - Michael Jackson (2004)
- "We've Got Nothing But Love to Prove" - Faith Hill (2005)
- "We've Had Enough" - Michael Jackson (2004)
- "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye (1971)
- "What's Left of the Flag" - Flogging Molly (2002)
- "When We Stand Together" - Nickelback (2011)
- "When The Children Cry" - White Lion (1989)
- "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" - Pete Seeger (1961)
- "Where Is The Love?" - The Black Eyed Peas (2003)
- "White Flag Warrior"- Flobots (2010)
- "With God On Our Side" - Bob Dylan (1964)
- "World War" - Yellowman (2004)
- "The Yard Went On Forever" - Richard Harris (1969)
- "Yokel And Idiot" - Yoshiji Goto (1995)
- "Young" - Hollywood Undead (2009)
- "War" - The Tengelsens (2010)
- "Warrior"- Disturbed
[edit] American Civil War
- "Abraham Lincoln" - Clutch (2009)
- "Arkansas Grass" - Axiom (1969)
- "Ben McCullough" - Steve Earle (1997)
- "Billy, Don't Be A Hero" - Paper Lace (1974)
- "Charleston Town" - Rob Lincoln (1984)
- "In The Hills Of Shiloh" - Shel Silverstein (1963)
- "Johnny Reb" - Johnny Horton (1959)
- "The Klan" - Richie Havens (1968)
- "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" - The Band (1969)
- "Rebel Soldier" - Waylon Jennings (1991)
- "Shiloh Town" - Tim Hardin
- "Silent Reign Of Heroes" - Molly Hatchet (1998)
- "The Southland's Bleeding" - Waylon Jennings (1978)
- "Tears of God" - Josh Turner
- "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" - Patrick Gilmore (1863)
- "Gettysburg" - The Brandos (1987)
- "The Devil to Pay" - Iced Earth (2004)
- "Two Soldiers" - Bob Dylan (1993)
- "Lone Pine Hill" - Justin Townes Earle (2008)
[edit] World War I
- "1917" - Linda Ronstadt (1999)
- "The Accrington Pals" - Mike Harding (1984)
- "All Quiet on the Western Front" - Elton John (1982)
- "All Together Now" - The Farm (1990)
- "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" - Eric Bogle (1972)
- "Cenotaph" - This Heat (1981)
- "I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be a Soldier" - Peerless Quartet (1914)
- "Christmas 1914" – Mike Harding[1] (1977)
- "Christmas in the Trenches" – John McCutcheon (1984)
- "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" – Radiohead (2009)
- "No Man's Land" aka "Green Fields of France" – Eric Bogle 1976)
- "One" – Metallica (1988)
- "Paschendale" – Iron Maiden (2003)
- "1916" - Motörhead
- "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" - The Zombies (1968)
- "It Could Happen Again" - Collin Raye (1996)
- "Fiddler's Green" - The Tragically Hip (1991)
- "The Soldier's Sweetheart" - Jimmy Rodgers (1927)
- "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" - The Royal Guardsmen (1966)
- "Field Of Poppies" - Dave Gwyther (2007)
[edit] Mexican-American War
[edit] Spanish Civil War
- "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" – Manic Street Preachers (1998)
- "Spanish Bombs" – The Clash (1979)
- "1936" – Sin Dios (1997)
- "Last Lincoln Vet" - Lev Svetek-Zorin (2010)
[edit] Spanish-American War
- "Lequi of the National Guard" - Bob Connely (1975)
- "Galveston - Glen Campbell (1969)
[edit] American Indian Wars
- "Apache Tears" - Johnny Cash (1964)
- "Buffalo Soldier" - Bob Marley (1980)
- "Calico Indians" - Rasputina about the Anti-rent wars (2010)
- "Cherokee" - Europe (1986)
- "Comanche (The Brave Horse)" - Johnny Horton (1960)
- "Creek Mary's Blood" - Nightwish (2004)
- "Custer Died for Your Sins" - Floyd Westerman (1969)
- "Custer Got His... (Anti-Custer Song)" - S-cuk Gogs (2007)
- "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" - Paul Revere & The Raiders (1971)
- "Indians - Anthrax
- "Mr.Custer" - Larry Verne (1960)
- "Run To the Hills" - Iron Maiden (1982)
- "Soldier Blue" - Buffy Sainte-Marie (1971)
- "Stars and Stripes"-Anti Flag
- "White Man"-Queen (1976)
[edit] World War II
- "Blitzkrieg Bop" - Ramones (1977)
- "Kiev" - Renaissance (1972)
- "Goodbye Blue Sky" – Pink Floyd (1979)
- "Aces High" - Iron Maiden (1984)
- "Enola Gay" - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980)
- "Johnny Come Lately" - Steve Earle (1988)
- "Nagasaki Nightmare" – Crass (1981)
- "Reality Asylum" – Crass (1979)
- "Do the Mussolini (Headkick)" - Cabaret Voltaire (1978)
- "Semper Fi" - John Gorka (1991)
- "Let Me Live" - Angel Dust (2000)
- "Sullivan" – Caroline's Spine (1993)
- "When the Tigers Broke Free" – Pink Floyd (1982)
- "The Longest Day" - Iron Maiden (2006)
- "Laybo" – Rafi Weinstock (1995)
- "Mr. Churchill Says" - The Kinks (1969)
- "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" - Johnny Cash (1964)
- "War is Hell (On the Homefront Too)" - T.G. Sheppard (1982)
- "Red Sector A" - Rush (1984)
- "Soldiers Last Letter" - Ernest Tubb (1944)
- "At Mail Call Today" - Gene Autry (1945)
- "Auschwitz" - Francesco Guccini
- "No More War" - Heidi Little (2005)
- "The War" - Angels and Airwaves (2005)
- "Thank You, Mr Churchill" - Peter Frampton (2010)
- "170" - Kaizer's Orchestra (2001)
- "Stalingrad" - Nightingale (2005)
- "Kenji" - Fort Minor (2005)
- "Primo Victoria" - Sabaton (2005)
- "Attero Dominatus" - Sabaton (2006)
[edit] Korean War
- "Missing In Action" - Ernest Tubb (1952)
- "Suicide Is Painless" - Johnny Mandel from the film, M*A*S*H (1970)
- "Roll Call" - Johnny Cash (1967)
- "Freedom" - Rob Lincoln (1991)
- "The Door" - George Jones (1974)
- "Korea Blues" - J.B. Lenoir (1970)
- "I Bombed Korea" - Cake (1994)
[edit] Vietnam War
- "8th of November" - Big and Rich (2006)
- "19" – Paul Hardcastle (1985)
- "2 + 2 = ?" – Bob Seger System (1968)
- "50,000 Names" - George Jones (2001)
- "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" – Arlo Guthrie (1967)
- "All You Need Is Love" - The Beatles (1967)
- "American Woman" – The Guess Who (1970)
- "Back in Vietnam – Lenny Kravitz
- "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" – The Temptations (1970)
- "Ballad of Penny Evans" - Steve Goodman (1971)
- "Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley" by Terry Nelson (1971)
- "The Big Parade" - 10,000 Maniacs (1989)
- "Big Time In The Jungle" - Old Crow Medicine Show (2004)
- "Billy Don't Be a Hero" – Paper Lace (also recorded by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods) (1974)
- "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" – Public Enemy (1989)
- "Born in the USA" – Bruce Springsteen (1984)
- "Bring The Boys Home" – Freda Payne (1971)
- "Bring Them Home" – Pete Seeger (1966)
- "Calley" - Dog Faced Hermans (1994)
- "Charlie Don't Surf" – The Clash (1980)
- "Child in Time" - Deep Purple (1970)
- "Commando - The Ramones (1977)
- "Copperhead Road - Steve Earle (1988)
- "Daddy Won't Be Home Anymore" - Dolly Parton (1988)
- "Dear Uncle Sam" - Loretta Lynn (1965)
- "Duty Called" - Greg Wilson (2000)
- "Eve of Destruction" - Barry McGuire and P.F. Sloan (1965)
- "Five To One" - The Doors (1968)[citation needed]
- "Fortunate Son" – Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
- "For What It's Worth (Stop, What's That Sound?)" - Buffalo Springfield (1967)
- "The Grave" – Don McLean (1971)
- "Galveston" - Glen Campbell (1969)
- "Galveston Bay" - Bruce Springsteen (1995)
- "Goodnight Saigon" - Billy Joel (1981)
- "Gimme Shelter" - Rolling Stones (1969)
- "The Great Compromise" - John Prine (1972)
- "Guns, Guns, Guns" – The Guess Who (1972)[citation needed]
- "Give Peace a Chance" - The Plastic Ono Band
- "Goodnight Saigon" - Billy Joel (1982)
- "Hallelujah Day" by Jackson 5 (1973)[citation needed]
- "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" – John Lennon & Yoko Ono/The Plastic Ono Band (1971)
- "Harvest for the World" – The Isley Brothers (1976)
- "Hello Vietnam" - Johnnie Wright (1965)
- "Holiday In Cambodia" - The Dead Kennedys (1980)
- "I Ain't Marching Anymore" – Phil Ochs (1965)
- "I Am a Lucky One" - Barry Sadler (1966)
- "I Don't Wanna Go To Vietnam" – John Lee Hooker (1968)
- "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" – Country Joe and the Fish (1967)
- "I Should Be Proud" – Martha and the Vandellas (1970)
- "I Was Only Nineteen (A Walk in the Light Green)" – Redgum (1983)
- "Inoculated City" – The Clash (1982)
- "Into The Fire" - Sabaton (2005)
- "In The Army Now" – Status Quo (1986)
- "It Better End Soon" - Chicago (1970)
- "It's All Happening Now" - Peggy Seeger (1968)
- "Jackknife Johnny" - Alice Cooper (1978)
- "Jimmy Newman" – Tom Paxton (1969)
- "Jimmy's Road" - Willie Nelson (1965)
- "Johnny Come Lately" - Steve Earle (1988)
- "Kill for Peace" – The Fugs (1966)
- "Kim's Nightmare" - Miss Saigon Soundtrack (1989)
- "Last Train to Nuremberg" – Pete Seeger (1970)
- "Letters From Vietnam" - Barry Sadler (1966)
- "Live Those Songs Again" - Kenny Chesney (2002)
- "Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation" – Tom Paxton (1965)
- "Machine Gun" - Jimi Hendrix (1970)
- "March to the Witch's Castle" - Funkadelic (1973)
- "Moratorium" - Buffy Sainte-Marie (1971)
- "More Than a Name on a Wall" - The Statler Brothers (1989)
- "My Son John" – Tom Paxton (1966)
- "Orange Crush" – R.E.M. (1988)
- "Old Hippie" - The Bellamy Brothers (1985)
- "Path of Glory" - Petula Clark (1967)
- "People, Let's Stop the War" – Grand Funk Railroad (1971)
- "Raymond" - Brett Eldredge (2010)
- "Readjustment Blues" - John Denver (1972)
- "Rooster" - Alice in Chains
- "Running Gun Blues" – David Bowie (1970)
- "Saigon Bride" – Joan Baez (1967)
- "Salute to the Nurses" - Barry Sadler (1966)
- "Sam Stone" – John Prine (1971)
- "Seek And Destroy" – Metallica (1983)
- "Simple Song of Freedom" – Bobby Darin (1968)
- "Sky Pilot" – Eric Burdon and The Animals (1968)
- "Smiley" - Ronnie Burns (1969)
- "Something to Believe In" - Poison (1990)
- "Still in Saigon" - the Charlie Daniels Band (1982)
- "Stoned Love" – The Supremes (1970)
- "Straight to Hell" – The Clash (1982)
- "Sunshine" - Jonathan Edwards (1971)
- "Super Bird" - Country Joe and the Fish (1967)
- "Susan on the West Coast" - Donovan (1969)
- "Sweet Cherry Wine" - Tommy James and the Shondells (1969)
- "Talkin' Vietnam" – Phil Ochs (1964)
- "That Old Porch Swing" - Eddy Arnold (2005)
- "Three-Five-Zero-Zero" from the musical, Hair (1968)
- "Travelin' Soldier" – Dixie Chicks (2002)
- "Unknown Soldier" – The Doors (1968)
- "The Soldier Has Come Home" - Barry Sadler (1966)
- "The Wall" - Bruce Springsteen (2003)
- "This Ain't Nothing" - Craig Morgan (2010)
- "This Is My Rifle" - Mark Maysey (1999)
- "To Susan On The West Coast Waiting" – Donovan
- "Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" – Jedi Mind Tricks (2006)
- "Vietcong Blues" - Junior Wells (1966)
- "Vietnam" – Phil Ochs (1962)
- "Vietnam" – Jimmy Cliff (1970)
- "Vietnam Blues" - Kris Kristofferson (1966)
- "Vietnam Glam" - Indochine (1993)
- "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" - Pete Seeger (1967)
- "War" - Edwin Starr (1970)
- "War Games" - the Monkees (1968)
- "War Movie" - Jefferson Airplane (1971)
- "Wasted Life" – Stiff Little Fingers (1978)
- "The War Is Over" - Phil Ochs (1968)
- "War Pigs" – Black Sabbath (1971)
- "White Boots Marching In A Yellow Land" – Phil Ochs (1968)
- "Where Are You Now, My Son?" – Joan Baez (1973)
- "Wild Irish Rose" - George Jones (1998)
- "World of Trouble" - Molly Hatchet (1998)
- "Wooden Ships" – Crosby, Stills & Nash and Jefferson Airplane (1969)
- "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" - John Prine (1971)
[edit] Kent State shootings
- "Ohio" – Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)/Neil Young (1970)
- "Student Demonstration Time" - the Beach Boys (1971)
[edit] Dominican Republic
- "The Marines Have Landed on the Shores of Santo Domingo" - Phil Ochs (1966)
[edit] The "Troubles"
- "78 RPM" - Stiff Little Fingers (1978)
- "Alternative Ulster" – Stiff Little Fingers (1978)
- "Belfast Child" - Simple Minds (1989)
- "Bloody Sunday" - Stiff Little Fingers (1979)
- "Corridor Or Cells" - Test Dept (1986)
- "Damned to Be Free" - Bad Religion (1982)
- "Drunken Lullabies" - Flogging Molly (2002)
- "Each Dollar A Bullet" - Stiff Little Fingers (1991)
- "Ether" – Gang of Four (1979)
- "Fly the Flag" – Stiff Little Fingers (1980)
- "Fuck Religion" - The Exploited (1990)
- "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" – Paul McCartney and Wings (1972)
- "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due - Megadeth (1990)
- "My Youngest Son Came Home Today" – Eric Bogle (1993)
- "No More of That" - Stiff Little Fingers (1979)
- "Oliver's Army" - Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1979)
- "Out in the Fields" - Gary Moore and Phil Lynott (1985)
- "Peace on Earth" – U2 (2000)
- "State of Emergency" - Stiff Little Fingers (1979)
- "Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six" – The Pogues (1988)
- "Sunday Bloody Sunday" – John Lennon (1972)
- "Sunday Bloody Sunday" – U2 (1983)
- "Ulster" - Sham 69 (1977)
- "Wasted Life" - Stiff Little Fingers (1978)
- "White Noise" - Stiff Little Fingers (1979)
- "Zombie" – The Cranberries (1994)
[edit] Gun violence in the United States
- "Buy a Gun for Your Son" – Tom Paxton (1965)
- "Deer Dance" – System of a Down (2001)
- "Glorified G" – Pearl Jam (1993)
- "Guns" – Negativland (1991)
- "Put Out the Fire" – Queen (1982)
- "Saturday Night Special" – Lynyrd Skynyrd (1975)
- "To The Teeth" – Ani DiFranco (1999)
- "HFFK" - Biohazard (2001)
- "Side of a Bullet" - Nickelback (2005)
- "God is a Bullet" - Concrete Blonde (1989)
- "Folsom Prison Blues" - Johnny Cash (1968)
- "The Devil's Right Hand" - Steve Earle, originally recorded by Waylon Jennings (1986)
- "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" - Johnny Cash (1959)
- "In the Ghetto" - Elvis Presley (1969)
- "Feuer Frei"-Rammstein (2002)
- "Lil' Ghetto Boy" - Dr. Dre (1992)
- "Manhattan" - Bob Seger (1995)
- "My Love is With You" - Stevie Wonder (1995)
- "Murder Incorporated" - Bruce Springsteen (1995)
- "What's It Gonna Take" - Ronnie McDowell (1982)
- "The Night Chicago Died" - Paper Lace (1974)
- "Ronnie" - Metallica (1995)
- "Nebraska" - Bruce Springsteen (1982)
- "18 and Life" - Skid Row (1989)
- "Gangsta's Paradise" - Coolio (1995)
- "Colors" - Ice-T (1988)
- "Hey Joe" - Jimi Hendrix (1966)
- "99 Ways to Die" - Megadeth (1993)
- "Wild Wild West" - Kool Moe Dee (1987)
- "DC Don't Stand For Dodge City" - The Go Go Posse (1988)
- "Just A Video Game" - Rod MacDonald (2000)
- "Kids with Guns" - Gorillaz (2005)
- "Pumped Up Kicks" - Foster the People (2010)
[edit] Anti-draft/Anti-authority
- "All I Want" - The Offspring (1997)
- "Bad Company" - Bad Company" (1974)
- "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" – Public Enemy (1989)
- "B.Y.O.B." - System of a Down (2005)
- "The Call Up" – The Clash (1980)
- "Draft Dodger Rag" – Phil Ochs (1965)
- "Draft Morning" – The Byrds (1967)
- "Draft Resister" – Steppenwolf (1969)
- "**** a War" - Geto Boys (1991)
- "G.I. Blues" - Elvis Presley (1960)
- "I Don't Want To Get Drafted" - Frank Zappa (1981)
- "Kill the President" – The Offspring (1989)
- "My Uncle" - The Flying Burrito Brothers (1969)
- "Refuse/Resist" – Sepultura (1994)
- "This Is The Army, Mr. Jones" - Irving Berlin (1942)
- "Sgt Baker" - Primus (1991)
- "Symphony of Destruction" – Megadeth (1993)
- "War Party" - Eddy Grant (1982)
- "War/No More War" - Heidi Little/LIGHT/Dreams of Grandeur (2005–2010)
- "When Ya Get Drafted" – Dead Kennedys (1980)
[edit] Cold War/Nuclear Annihilation
- "1999" - Prince (1982)
- "2 Minutes to Midnight" – Iron Maiden (1984)
- "20 Tons of TNT" – Flanders and Swann
- "99 Luftballons" and "99 Red Balloons" – Nena (1983)
- "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" – Bob Dylan (1963)
- "Atomic Garden" - Bad Religion (1992)
- "Balls to the Wall" - Accept (1983)
- "Battalions of Fear" - Blind Guardian (1988)
- "Blackened" – Metallica (1988)
- "Black Planet" - The Sisters of Mercy (1985)
- "Breathing" - Kate Bush (1980)
- "Children of the Grave" – Black Sabbath (1971)
- "Cold War" – Funker Vogt (2000)
- "Dawn Patrol - Megadeth
- "Destruction Preventer" - Sonata Arctica (1999)
- "East at Easter" - Simple Minds (1983)
- "Eagle Fly Free" – Helloween (1988)
- "Eve of Destruction" – P.F. Sloan (also recorded by Barry McGuire and The Turtles) (1965)
- "Electric Funeral" - Black Sabbath (1970)
- "Fight Fire with Fire" – Metallica (1984)
- "Forever Young" - Alphaville (1984)
- "Fire in the Sky" - Saxon (1981)
- "Hammer to Fall" – Queen (1983)
- "Hiroshima (song)" - Wishful Thinking (1971)
- "I Come and Stand at Every Door" (based on a poem by Nazım Hikmet) – Pete Seeger (1962); The Byrds (1966)
- "It's a Mistake" – Men at Work (1983)
- "Killer of Giants" – Ozzy Osbourne (1986)
- "Killing Fields" - Scanner (1988)
- "Land of Confusion" – Genesis (1986)
- "Leningrad" - Billy Joel (1989)
- "London Calling" – The Clash (1979)
- "Manhattan Project" - Rush (1985)
- "Minutes to Midnight" - Midnight Oil (1984)
- "New Year's Day" - U2 (1983)
- "Nikita" - Elton John (1985)
- "Nuclear Winter" – Funker Vogt (2000)
- "Paint Your Windows White" - Alien Stash Tin (2011)
- "People are People" - Depeche Mode (1984)
- "Pre-War America" – The Beatnigs (1988)
- "Russians" – Sting (1985)
- "Rust in Peace" – Megadeth (1990)
- "Seconds - U2 (1983)
- "Set the World Afire - Megadeth (1988)
- "Surfin' USSR" - Ray Stevens (1988)
- "Thank God For the Bomb" - Ozzy Osbourne (1986)
- "The American" - Simple Minds (1991)
- "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" - Timbuk3 (1986)
- "They've Got a Bomb" – Crass (1979)
- "Two Suns in the Sunset" – Pink Floyd (1983)
- "Two Tribes" – Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984)
- "US Forces" - Midnight Oil (1982)
- "When Two Worlds Collide" - Simple Minds (1981)
- "Wind of Change" – Scorpions (1990)
[edit] Philippine–American War
[edit] Falklands War
- "Another Man's Cause" – The Levellers (1992)
- "Como Estais Amigos" – Iron Maiden (1998)
- "Get Your Filthy Hands off My Desert" – Pink Floyd (1983)
- "Let's Start a War... (Said Maggie One Day) - The Exploited (1983)
- "Sheep Farming in the Falklands" – Crass (1982)
- "Shipbuilding" – Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1983)
- "Spirit of the Falklands" – New Model Army (1982)
- "The Post War Dream" – Pink Floyd (1983)
- "Yes Sir, I Will" – Crass (1983)
- "Island of No Return - Billy Bragg (1984)
- "Where the Rose is Sown/ Come Back to Me - Big Country (1984)
- "Mentioned In Dispatches" - Television Personalities (1985)
[edit] Contras, Central America
- "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" - Don Henley (1984)
- "Bleed For Me" – Dead Kennedys (1982)
- "Bullet the Blue Sky" – U2 (1987)
- "El Salvador" – Noel Stookey and Jim Wallis (1983)
- "El Salvador" - White Lion (1985)
- "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" - Bruce Cockburn (1984)
- "Lives in the Balance" – Jackson Browne (1985)
- "Nicaragua" – Bruce Cockburn (1984)
- "No Más!" - John McCutcheon (1984)
- "Washington Bullets" – The Clash (1980)
- "Wish I Was in El Salvador" – Jello Biafra with D.O.A.(1989)
- "Young Willie" - Garnet Rogers (1992)
- "Untitled Song For Latin America" - The Minutemen (1984)
[edit] Gulf War(s), Iraq, 9/11, and the War on Terror
- "11th Hour" - Lamb of God (2002)
- "21 Guns" - Green Day (2009)
- "911 For Peace" - Anti-Flag (2002)
- "A Farewell to Arms" - Machine Head 2007
- "Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare)" - Saul Williams (2004)
- "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" - Iron Maiden (1992)
- "All the Young Fascists" – Shihad (2005)
- "America (Just Say No)" - Alien Stash Tin (2003) - Also covered by Betty Swallaux (2011)
- "America First" - Merle Haggard (2005)
- "American Idiot" – Green Day (2004)
- "American Jesus" - Bad Religion (1993)
- "American Life" – Madonna (2003)
- "Apocalypse Please" - Muse (2004)
- "Audience Of One" – Rise Against (2008)
- "Atomic Garden" - Bad Religion (1992)
- "Baghdad" - The Offspring (1991)
- "Beneath The Remains" - Sepultura (1989)
- "Bin Laden" – Immortal Technique (2005)
- "Black Rain - Ozzy Osbourne (2007)
- "Blessed are the Landmines" - Brave Saint Saturn (2008)
- "Bloodsports" – New Model Army (2007)
- "B.O.B"-Outkast(2000)
- "Boom!" – System of a Down (2002)
- "Bush" – David Banner (2003)
- "The Bushes and The President" – Dawn Called Malice (2003)
- "B.Y.O.B." – System of a Down (2005)
- "Can't Happen Here" - Atreyu (2008)
- "Caped Crusader" – Jello Biafra with the Melvins (2004)
- "Capital G" – Nine Inch Nails (2007)
- "Cheney's Toy" - James McMurtry (2008)
- "Cinnamon Girl" - Prince (2004)
- "Civilian Ways" - Rancid (2009)
- "Clenching the Fists of Dissent" - Machine Head (2007)
- "Condi, Condi" - Steve Earle (2004)
- "Confrontation" - OTEP (2008)
- "Day After Tomorrow" - Tom Waits (2004)
- "Dark Side of the Sun" - Tori Amos (2007)
- "Dead Man Walknig" - Bloodsimple (2007)
- "Dear Mr. President" – Pink (2007)
- "Deja Vu (All Over Again)" -John Fogerty (2004)
- "Desert Angel" - Stevie Nicks (1991)
- "Desert Storm" - Devinshire (2009)
- "Devils & Dust" - Bruce Springsteen (2005)
- "Dirty Harry" – Gorillaz (2005)
- "Don't Make Me a Target" – Spoon (2007)
- "The Drums of War" – Jackson Browne (2008)
- "Everybody's Gone to War" – Nerina Pallot (2006)
- "The Empire Strikes First" - Bad Religion (2004)
- "Empty Walls" - Serj Tankian (2007)
- "For the Greater Good of God" – Iron Maiden (2006)
- The Rising (album) - Bruce Springsteen (2002) is largely about 9/11
- "F*ck a War" – Geto Boys (1991)
- "Fallujah" - Terry Sutton Conspiracy (2011)
- "Far from Home" - Five Finger Death Punch (2009)
- "Final Transmission" - Street Dogs (2006)
- "Follow The Leader" - Pete Kronowitt (1993)
- "Franco Un-American" - NOFX (2003)
- "Friends in the Armed Forces" - Thursday (2008)
- "George W. Told The Nation" – Tom Paxton (2007)
- "God is not with You !" - Ira dei(2008) Belgium
- "Gulf War Song" -Moxy Früvous (1994)
- "Gunslinger - Avenged Sevenfold (2007)
- "Hammerhead" – The Offspring (2008)
- "The Hand That Feeds" - Nine Inch Nails (2005)
- "Hard-On for War" - Mudhoney (2006)
- "Harrowdown Hill" - Thom Yorke (2006)
- "Hands Held High" – Linkin Park (2007)
- "Heaven is Falling" - Bad Religion (1992)
- "Hero of War" - Rise Against (2008)
- "Hey Ma" – James (2008)
- "Holiday" – Green Day (2004)
- Home to Houston - Steve Earle (2004)
- "The Holidays Are Here (And We're Still at War)" – Brett Dennen (2006)
- "How Much Do You Suck?" - The Jeevas (2003)
- "How Much Longer" – Paul Leary (1991)
- "I Can't Take It No More" - John Fogerty (2007)
- "Illegal Attacks" – Ian Brown (2007)
- "I Saw Him Laying There" – Dawn Called Malice (2003)
- "Jacob's Ladder" - Chumbawumba (2002)
- Jerusalem - Steve Earle (2002)
- Jesus Walks" – Kanye West (2004)
- John Walker's Blues - Steve Earle (2002)
- "Job Well Done" - Rob Lincoln (1991)
- "Kimdir O" - Barış Akarsu
- "Letters From Home" - John Michael Montgomery (2004)
- "Letter From Iraq" - Bouncing Souls (2006)
- "Let Them Eat War" – Bad Religion (2004)
- "Light Up Ya Lighter" – Michael Franti (2006)
- "Let's Impeach the President" – Neil Young (2006)
- "Mama" - Godsmack (2006)
- "Midnight Oil" – Dawn Called Malice (2003)
- "Mosh" – Eminem (2004)
- "My Girlfriend is a Lefty" – Dawn Called Malice (2003)
- "No Human No Fly" – April Hole (2002)
- "No More" - Bob Seger (2006)
- "No War" – Esham (2003)
- "Not In My Name" - Saul Williams (2003)
- "Now You've Got Something to Die For" - Lamb of God (2004)
- "On The Backs of Angels" - Dream Theater (2011)
- "On With the Song" - Mary Chapin Carpenter (2007)
- "Out Of Time" - Blur (2003)
- "Open Invitation (I Hate You bin Laden)" Jackyl (2001)
- "Osama Yo' Mama" - Ray Stevens (2002)
- "Overburdened" - Disturbed (2005)
- "Planet of the Rice" – Dawn Called Malice (2003)
- "Please Freeze Me" – Dawn Called Malice (2003)
- "Prophets of War" – Dream Theater (2007)
- Rich Man's War - Steve Earle (2004)
- "Sacrificed Sons" – Dream Theater (2005)
- "Saraba" – The Gazette (2004)
- "Shock and Awe" – Neil Young (2006)
- "Skylines and Turnstiles" — My Chemical Romance (2002)
- "Square Dance" - Eminem (2002)
- "Stand Up" – Flobots (2007)
- "A Taste of Money" – Dawn Called Malice (2003)
- "The General" - Dispatch (1998)
- "The Evil Has Landed" - Testament (2005)
- "Tehran" - The Offspring (1989)
- "This Is War" - 30 Seconds to Mars (2009)
- "Turkey Shoot" – Killdozer (1994)
- "Victory Stinks" - Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine (2011)
- "Violet Hill" - Coldplay (2008)
- "Wake Me Up When September Ends"-Green Day (2004)
- "Wargasm" - L7 (1992)
- "War Is a Wonderful Thing" - Real West (2005)
- "What are we fighthing for" - Live (2003)
- "What More Can I Give" – Michael Jackson (2001)
- "When the President Talks to God" – Bright Eyes (2005)
- "Where is the Love" - The Black Eyed Peas (Featuring Justin Timberlake) (2004)
- "White People For Peace" - Against Me! (2007)
- "White Flag Warrior" - Flobots ft. Tim McIlrath (2010)
- "Wipe that Smile Off Your Face" - Our Lady Peace (2005)
- "World Wide Suicide" - Pearl Jam (2006)
- "Waiting on the World to Change" - John Mayer (2006)
- "Worker Bees" - Billy Talent (2006)
- "WWIII" - KMFDM (2003)
- "People Of The Lie" - KMFDM (2009)
- "Yellowcake" - Ministry (2006)
- "Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam (1992)
- Yo George" - Tori Amos (2007)
- "You Shoulda Killed Me Last Year" - Ice-T (1991)
- "Your Silence" - Suicide Machines (2003)
- "Two Weeks From Twenty" - Yellowcard (2006)
For more songs protesting the Iraq War, see Neil Young's website.
[edit] Traditional music
Apart from the various genres of modern music, some traditional and contemporary folk songs reflect the futile efforts of war prior to the major wars of the 20th century. Some of these include:
- "Ain't Gonna Study War No More" also known as "Down by the Riverside", and with a similar tune as "Hand Me down My Walking Cane" – African-American traditional anti-war song recorded by The Weavers and many other people.
- "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" – Irish traditional anti-war and anti-recruiting song that was the basis for the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", and recorded as ""Fighting for Strangers" by Steeleye Span.
- "King Henry" – Pete Seeger
- "Lincoln's Army" – The Irish Rovers
- "Lowlands of Holland" – traditional recorded by Martin Carthy
- "Paddy's Lamentation" – an Irish song dating back to the US Civil War.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Christmas 1914 mikeharding.co.uk
- ^ 69th NY songs
[edit] External links
- Anti-war Songs a website collecting thousands of antiwar songs from all over the world
- Folk&More: Songbook & Tabs a growing collection of chords, tabs, and lyrics of anti-war songs from Bob Dylan to Bob Marley
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