War
War...huh...yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Uh ha haa ha
War...huh...yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...say it again y'all
War..huh...look out...
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...listen to me ohhhhh
WAR! I despise,
'cos it means destruction of innocent lives,
War means tears to thousands of mother's eyes,
When their sons gone to fight and lose their lives.
I said WAR!...huh...good God y'all,
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...say it again
War! Huh...What is it good for (Edwin sings 'Wohh oh Lord' over the top)
Absolutely nothing...listen to me
WAR! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker,
War. Friend only to the undertaker.
Ohhh! War is an enemy to all mankind,
The thought of war blows my mind.
War has caused unrest within the younger generation
Induction then destruction...who wants to die? Ohhh
WAR! good God y'all huh
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...say it say it SAY IT!
WAR!...uhhhuh yeah hu!
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...listen to me
WAR! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker,
War! It's got one friend that's the undertaker.
Ohhhh! War has shattered many a young man's dream,
Made him disabled, bitter and mean,
Life is much too short and precious to spend fighting wars these days.
War can't give life, it can only take it away!
Ohhh WAR! huh...good God y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...say it again
War!...huh...woh oh oh Lord
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...listen to me
War! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker,
War. Friend only to the undertaker...woo
Peace lovin' understand then tell me,
Is there no place for them today?
They say we must fight to keep our freedom,
But Lord knows there's got to be a better way.
Ohhhhhhh WAR! huh...good God y'all...
What is it good for?...you tell me!
Say it say it say it saaaay it!
War! good God now...huh
What is it good for?
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Uh ha haa ha
War...huh...yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...say it again y'all
War..huh...look out...
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...listen to me ohhhhh
WAR! I despise,
'cos it means destruction of innocent lives,
War means tears to thousands of mother's eyes,
When their sons gone to fight and lose their lives.
I said WAR!...huh...good God y'all,
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...say it again
War! Huh...What is it good for (Edwin sings 'Wohh oh Lord' over the top)
Absolutely nothing...listen to me
WAR! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker,
War. Friend only to the undertaker.
Ohhh! War is an enemy to all mankind,
The thought of war blows my mind.
War has caused unrest within the younger generation
Induction then destruction...who wants to die? Ohhh
WAR! good God y'all huh
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...say it say it SAY IT!
WAR!...uhhhuh yeah hu!
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...listen to me
WAR! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker,
War! It's got one friend that's the undertaker.
Ohhhh! War has shattered many a young man's dream,
Made him disabled, bitter and mean,
Life is much too short and precious to spend fighting wars these days.
War can't give life, it can only take it away!
Ohhh WAR! huh...good God y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...say it again
War!...huh...woh oh oh Lord
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing...listen to me
War! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker,
War. Friend only to the undertaker...woo
Peace lovin' understand then tell me,
Is there no place for them today?
They say we must fight to keep our freedom,
But Lord knows there's got to be a better way.
Ohhhhhhh WAR! huh...good God y'all...
What is it good for?...you tell me!
Say it say it say it saaaay it!
War! good God now...huh
What is it good for?
In this song, Edwin Starr is protesting the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. In his song he poses the question,” What is it good for?” and the response in the song is,” absolutely nothing”. He believes the ideals and actions of war brings nothing but trouble and suffering. He wants the American public to know that war brings nothing good. War is a nasty and cruel environment. Edwin Starr believes that the United States should end the war with Vietnam and return home. He believes that the United States should listen to the American public and withdraw from Vietnam. He wants the American government to focus more on domestic issues instead of foreign affairs. This specific song is protesting war in general and is stating how being involved in foreign policies bring nothing but trouble and turmoil.
Fortunate son
Lyrics:
Some folks are born, made to wave the flag
Ooo, their red, white and blue
And when the band plays “Hail to the Chief”
Ooo, they point the cannon at you, Lord
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I ain't no senator’s son, son
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I ain't no fortunate one, no
Some folks are born, silver spoon in hand
Lord, don’t they help themselves, y’all
But when the the man comes to the door
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yeah
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I ain't no millionaire’s son, son
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I ain't no fortunate one, no
Yeah, yeah
Some folks inherit star spangled eyes
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord
And when you ask’em,” How much should we give?”
Ooh, the only answer”More! More! More!”, y’all
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I aint no military son, no
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I aint no fortunate one, no
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I aint no fortunate one, no, no, no
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I aint no fortunate one, no, no, no
Some folks are born, made to wave the flag
Ooo, their red, white and blue
And when the band plays “Hail to the Chief”
Ooo, they point the cannon at you, Lord
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I ain't no senator’s son, son
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I ain't no fortunate one, no
Some folks are born, silver spoon in hand
Lord, don’t they help themselves, y’all
But when the the man comes to the door
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yeah
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I ain't no millionaire’s son, son
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I ain't no fortunate one, no
Yeah, yeah
Some folks inherit star spangled eyes
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord
And when you ask’em,” How much should we give?”
Ooh, the only answer”More! More! More!”, y’all
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I aint no military son, no
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I aint no fortunate one, no
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I aint no fortunate one, no, no, no
It ain’t me, It ain’t me, I aint no fortunate one, no, no, no
In the song Fortunate Son, by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the song relates itself with the antiwar movement at the time. The song is trying to ask the public who really is the fortunate one? Is it the soldiers? Civilians? Rich people? Creedence Clearwater Revival is trying to appeal to all of 1960 America. They’re trying to say who is truly fortunate during this time period. Which is no one. Everyone is not gaining any benefits from the war. The entire purpose of the Vietnam war was to prevent the Communist North from taking over the Democratic South. This song is part of the Anti War movement. Wanting the United States government to withdraw and reconsider foreign policies with other countries. So they could avoid future catastrophes like Vietnam.
war pigs
Lyrics:
Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of death’s construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds
Oh lord yeah!
Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor
Yeah
Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait ‘till their judgement day comes
Yeah!
Now in the darkness world stops turning
Ashes where the bodies burning
no more war pigs have the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of judgement God is calling
On their knees the war pig’s crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan laughing spreads his wings
Oh lord yeah!
Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of death’s construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds
Oh lord yeah!
Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that role to the poor
Yeah
Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait ‘till their judgement day comes
Yeah!
Now in the darkness world stops turning
Ashes where the bodies burning
no more war pigs have the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of judgement God is calling
On their knees the war pig’s crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan laughing spreads his wings
Oh lord yeah!
In the song War Pigs, created by Black Sabbath there are many verses and words that connect to the times. The song describes how the upper power uses the lower class people to fight the wars and use them as a resource without thinking of them as people. The songs describes casualties of war and the effects it has on the families. The song tells the listener that war is not a game. There is consequences for war. There is death, remorse, suffering, and revenge for the actions taking place. This song is protesting war by describing how brutal and corrupt it truly is. Positioning itself against the involvement of the United States in any foreign affairs. It protests war and how it brings nothing but death and suffering.