war, what is it good for - protest songs

SAIGON BRIDE
(Music by Joan Baez, Lyrics by Nina Duscheck)

Farewell my wistful Saigon bride
I'm going out to stem the tide
A tide that never saw the seas
It flows through jungles, round the trees
Some say it's yellow, some say red
It will not matter when we're dead

How many dead men will it take
To build a dike that will not break?
How many children must we kill
Before we make the waves stand still?

Though miracles come high today
We have the wherewithal to pay
It takes them off the streets you know
To places they would never go alone
It gives them useful trades
The lucky boys are even paid

Men die to build their Pharoah's tombs
And still and still the teeming wombs
How many men to conquer Mars
How many dead to reach the stars?

Farewell my wistful Saigon bride
I'm going out to stem the tide
A tide that never saw the seas
It flows through jungles, round the trees
Some say it's yellow, some say red
It will not matter when we're dead

© 1967 Robbins Music

Where have all the flowers gone?

Yep, that's another good one msolga.

Peter, Paul & Mary
Where Have all the Flowers Gone

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young girls have picked them everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?
Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Gone for husbands everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the husbands gone, long time passing?
Where have all the husbands gone, long time ago?
Where have all the husbands gone?
Gone for soldiers everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the soldiers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards, everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?
Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Gone to flowers, everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young girls have picked them everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

It strikes me that this song, while about the Civil War, is equally relevant to Vietnam.

SHAKING HANDS (SOLDIER'S JOY)
Michelle Shocked

Shaking hands and fingers that do tremble
Soldier's Joy has been a bitter pill
Though in battle, a brave man I resemble
Alone I am a coward without will

Pierce McGee from the great State of Missouri
To the Show-Me-State militia I belong
And to judge from the pride on the Confederate side
I'd say five hundred thousand rebels can't be wrong

A rebel stand is no place for a traitor
A loveless Union cannot bend us to her will
Cannot command the soldiers who now hate her
Nor demand the fealty of her generals

I took a rifle ball in my shoulder
But my entire body filled with pain
I pleaded with them all at the field hospital
"Oh, God, another shot of morphine!"

Soldier's Joy, oh what's the point in pleasure
When it's only meant to kill the pain
Lay down my arms and take the coffin's measure
Or take up arms and send me out to fight again

Shaking hands...was I a coward, was I brave?
With shaking hands... I took the bitter pill
Tell the story on my grave, my soul they could not save
What the bullet would not kill, the needle will

Save the Country -Laura Nyro

Come on, people! Come on, children
Come on down to the glory river.
Gonna wash you up, and wash you down,
gonna lay the devil down, gonna lay that devil down.

I got fury in my soul, fury's gonna take me to the glory goal.
In my mind I can't study war no more.
Save the people! Save the children! Save the country!

Come on people! Sons and mothers!
Keep the dream of the two young brothers.
Gonna take that dream and ride that dove.
We could build the dream with love, I know,
We could build the dream with love.

Come on people! Come on children!
There's a king at the glory river.
And the precious king, he loved the people to sing;
Babes in the blinkin' sun, sang
"We shall overcome"

My Youngest Son Came Home Today

My youngest son came home today
His friends marched with him all the way
The fife and drum beat out the time
While in his box of polished pine
Like dead meat on a butcher's tray
My youngest son same home today

My youngest son was a fine young man
With a wifea daughter and two sons
And a man he would have lived and died
Till by a bullet sanctified
Now he's a saint or so they say
They brought their young saint home today

An irish sky looks down and weeps
Upon the narrow belfast streets
At children's blood in gutters spilled
In dreams of glory unfulfilled
As part of freedom's price to pay
My youngest son came home today

My youngest son came home today
His friends marched with him all the way
The pipe and drum beat out the time
While in his box of polished pine
Like dead meat on a butcher's tray
My youngest son came home today
And this time he's here to stay

Words and music: eric bogle

Help Save The Youth Of America

Help save the youth of america
Help save them from themselves
Help save the sun-tanned surfer boys
And the californian girls

When the lights go out in the rest of the world
What do our cousins say
They're playing in the sun and having funfunfun
Till daddy takes the gun away

From the big church to the big river
And out to the shining sea
This is the land of opportunity
And there's a monkey trial on tv

A nation with their freezers full
Are dancing in their seats
While outside another nation
Is sleeping in the streets

Don't tell me the oldold story
Tell me the truth this time
Is the man in the mask or the indian
An enemy or a friend of mine

Help save the youth of america
Help save the youth of the world
Help save the boys in uniform
Their mothers and their faithful girls

Listen to the voice of the soldier
Down in the killing zone
Talking about the cost of living
And the price of bringing him home

They're already shipping the body bags
Down by the rio grande
But you can fight for democracy at home
And not in some foreign land

And the fate of the great united states
Is entwined in the fate of us all
And the incident at tschernobyl proves
The world we live in is very small

And the cities of europe have burned before
And they may yet burn again
And if they do I hope you understand
That washington will burn with them
Omaha will burn with them
Los alamos will burn with them

Billy Bragg

Between The Wars
Billy Bragg

I was a miner
I was a docker
I was a railway man
Between the wars
I raised a family
In times of austerity
With sweat at the foundry
Between the wars.

I paid the union and as times got harder
I looked to the government to help the working man
And they brought prosperity down at the armoury
We're arming for peace, me boys
Between the wars.

I kept the faith and I kept voting
Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand
For theirs is a land with a wall around it
And mine is a faith in my fellow man
Theirs is a land of hope and glory
Mine is the green field and the factory floor
Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers
And mine is the peace we knew
Between the wars.

Call up the craftsmen
Bring me the draftsmen
Build me a path from cradle to grave
And I'll give my consent
To any government
That does not deny a man a living wage.

Go find the young men never to fight again
Bring up the banners from the days gone by
Sweet moderation
Heart of this nation
Desert us not, we are
Between the wars.

Once upon a time in the land of hushabye
Around about the wondrous days of yaw
I came across a sort of box
Bound up with chains and locked with locks
And labelled kindly do not touch, its war

Decree was issued round about
All with a flourish and a shout
And a gaily coloured mascot tripping lightly on before
Dont fiddle with this deadly box or break the chains or pick the locks
And please, dont ever play about with war

Well, the children understood
Children happen to be good
They were just as good around the time of yaw
They didnt try to pick the locks, or break into that deadly box
They never tried to play about with war

Mothers didnt either
Sisters, aunts, grannies neither
Cause they were quiet and sweet and pretty in those wondrous days of yaw
Well, very much the same as now, not the ones to blame somehow
For opening up that deadly box of war.

But someone did
Someone battered in the lid
And spilled the insides out across the floor
A sort of bouncy, bumpy ball made up of guns and flags and all the tears and horror and the death that goes with war.

It bounced right out
And went bashing all about
And bumping into everything and stored
And what was sad and most unfair is that it didn't seem to care who much it bumped
Or why, or what, or for.

It bumped the children mainly
And I'll tell you this quite plainly
It bumps them every day, and more and more, and leaves them dead and burned and dying
Thousands of them sick and crying
Cause when it bumps, its really very sore.

Now theres a way to stop the ball
It isn't difficult at all
All it takes is wisdom, Im absolutely sure
that we could get it back into the box
And buy the chains and lock the locks
No one seems to want to save the children any more.

Well, thats the way it all appears
Cause its been bouncing round for years and years
In spite of all the wisdom since those wondrous days of yaw
And the time they came across the box
Bound up with chains and locked with locks
And labelled kindly do not touch, its war.

Words by Lascelles (John Denver)

Waist Deep In The Big Muddy (Pete Seeger)

It was back in 1942, I was part of a good platoon
We were on manoeuvres in Louisiana one night by the light of the moon
The Captain said, We got to ford the river, that's where it all began
We were knee deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fool kept yelling to push on

The Sergeant said, Sir, are you sure this is the way back to base
Sergeant, I once crossed this river not a mile above this place
It'll be a little soggy but we'll keep on slogging, we'll soon be on dry ground
We were waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fool kept yelling to push on

Captain, sir, with all this gear no man will be able to swim
Sergeant, don't be a nervous nellie, the Captain said to him
All we need is a little determination, follow me - I'll lead on
We were neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fool kept yelling to push on

All of a sudden the moon clouded over, all we heard was a gurgling cry
And a second later the Captain's helmet was all that floated by
The Sergeant said, Turn round, men, I'm in charge from now
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the Captain dead and gone

We stripped and dived and found his body stuck in the old quicksand
I guess he didn't know the water was deeper than the place where he'd once been
For another stream had joined the Muddy a half mile from where we'd gone
We were lucky to get out of the Big Muddy
When the damn fool kept yelling to push on

I don't want to draw conclusions, I'll leave that to yourself
Maybe you're still walking, maybe you're still talking
But every time I hear the news that old feeling comes back on
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling to push on

Knee deep in the Big Muddy
And the fools keep yelling, Push on
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling, Push on
Waist deep, neck deep
We'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling to push on

If I Had A Hammer


If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening
All over this land
I'd hammer out danger
I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a bell
I'd ring it in the morning
I'd ring it in the evening
All over this land I'd ring out danger
I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a song
I'd sing it in the morning
I'd sing it in the evening
All over this land
I'd sing out danger
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

Well I've got a hammer
And I've got a bell
And I've got a song to sing
All over this land
It's the hammer of justice
It's the bell of freedom
It's the song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

It's the hammer of justice
It's the bell of freedom
It's the song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land...

War Song - Neil Young

In the morning when you wake up
You've got planes flying in the sky
Flying bombs made to break up
All the lies in your eyes

There's a man says
he can put an end to war

They shot George Wallace down
He'll never walk around
Our mines are sleeping in the sea
Blow those bridges down
And burn that jungle down
And kill those Vietnamese

There's a man says
he can put an end to war

In the morning when you wake up
You've got planes flying in the sky
Flying bombs made to break up
All the lies in your eyes

There's a man says
he can put an end to war

Sam Stone
John Prine

Sam stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a purple heart and a monkey on his back.


There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

Sam stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...


There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.

Sam stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost it's fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the g, i. bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill


There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

I like Tim hardin's Simple Song of Freedom, but I can't get at the lyrics.
It goes like this:
Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air, tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war.

Simple Song of Freedom, written by Bobby Darin

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war.

Hey, there, mister black man, can you hear me?
I don't want your diamonds or your game
I just want to be someone known to you as me
And I will bet my life you want the same.

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war.

Seven hundred million are ya list'nin'?
Most of what you read is made of lies
But, speakin' one to one ain't it everybody's sun
To wake to in the mornin' when we rise?

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war.

Brother Solzhenitsyn, are you busy?
If not, won't you drop this friend a line
Tell me if the man who is plowin' up your land
Has got the war machine upon his mind?

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war.

Now, no doubt some folks enjoy doin' battle
Like presidents, prime ministers and kings
So, let's all build them shelves
Where they can fight among themselves
Leave the people be who love to sing.

Come and sing a simple song of freedom
Sing it like you've never sung before
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We, the people here, don't want a war.

I say … let it fill the air …
Tellin' people everywhere …
We, the people, here don't want a war.

i'm gonna lay down my sword and shield
down by the riverside
down by the riverside
down by the riverside
i'm gonna lay down my sword and shield
down by the riverside
study war no more

i'm gonna put on my starry crown
down by the riverside
down by the riverside
down by the riverside
i'm gonna put on my starry crown
down by the riverside
study war no more

chorus:
i aint gonna study war no more
I aint gonna study war no more
i aint gonna study war no more
i aint gonna study war no more
I aint gonna study war no more
i aint gonna study war no more

i'm gonna shake hands all around the world
down by the riverside
down by the riverside
down by the riverside
i'm gonna shake hands all around the world
down by the riverside
study war no more

Cruel War sung by H Belafonte

Oh the cruel war is raging
Your daddy must fight
And I know I will miss you
From morning till night
You cannot go with me
It grieves my heart so
You cannot go with me
Oh no my son no

For your waist is to slender
Your fingers to small
And your cheeks are to tender
To take the cannon-ball
They will give me shiny medals
They'll call "the killing brave"
But I'd rather hold my darling son
Then fill a thousand graves

I will fight through the winter
Through Summer, Spring and Fall
And there's many a man that I will kill
That I never knowed at all
O listen, oh listen to me Johnny
And heed my story well
There's no glory in the killing
Just the agony of hell

Oh the cruel war is raging
Your daddy must fight
And I know I will miss you
From morning till night

Come Away Melinda

Daddy daddy come and look
And see what I have found
A little way away from here
While digging in the ground

Come away Melinda
Come in and close the door
It's nothing but a picture book
They had before the war

Daddy daddy come and see
Oh daddy come and look
There's four or five Melinda girl
Inside this picture book

Come away Melinda
Come in and close the door
There were lots of little girls like you
Before they had the war

Daddy daddy come and see
Oh daddy hurry do
There's someone in villages
Who's all grown up like you

Come away Melinda
Come in and close the door
That someone is a mother
Like you had before the war

Daddy daddy come and see
Such things I've never seen
Happy faces all along
And all the ground is green

Come away Melinda
Come in and close the door
It's just the way it used to be
Before they had the war

Daddy daddy come and see
And tell me if you can
Why can't it be the way it was
Before the war began

Come away Melinda
Come in and close the door
The answer lies in yesterday
Before they had the war

Hey Nellie Nellie
(Shel Silverstein / Jim Friedman / add. lyrics Iain MacKintosh & Hamish Imlach)
Hey Nellie Nellie, come to the window
Hey Nellie Nellie, look at what I see
He's riding into town on a sway-back mule
In a tall black hat he looks like a fool
He sure is talking like he's been to school
It's 1855

Hey Nellie Nellie, come to the window
Hey Nellie Nellie, listen what he says
He say the black folk should be free
To walk anywhere like you and me
He's talking about a thing called democracy
It's 1859

Hey Nellie Nellie, come to the window
Hey Nellie Nellie, hand me down my gun
The men are marching, the boys are too
All putting on their coats of blue
I can't just stand here talking to you
It's 1861

Hey Nellie Nellie, come to the window
Hey Nellie Nellie, I've come home alive
But my coat of blue is stained with red
And the man in the tall black hat is dead
We sure can remember all the things he said
It's 1865

Hey Nellie Nellie, come to the window
Hey Nellie Nellie, time to make a row
I see white folk and black folk side by side
Marching in a column a century wide
From Selma to Soweto we're turning the tide
I feel things changing now
From Selma to Soweto we're turning the tide
Things are changing now

(Original last verse:)

Hey Nelly Nelly, come to the window
Hey Nelly Nelly, look at what I see
I see white folks and colored walkin' side by side
They're walkin' in a column that's a century wide
It's still a long and a hard and a bloody ride
In 1963