Nobody knew how bad the Vietnam War really was. The war was on the other side of the world and the government censored whatever media coverage there was, even withholding the body count figures. When the American people found out about the atrocities being committed overseas in Vietnam, feelings of shock and anger flourished; and after the Kent State University shootings over non-violent protests to the war, the Vietnam War landed in America, and literally struck home. These new feelings of rage led to the development of many different forms of remonstration. One such avenue was music. The Vietnam War became such an unpopular war that it brought about a plethora of anti-war bands and singers.
Anti-war sentiments have been expressed through music long before Vietnam. “Music is a fundamental channel of communication providing expression and unity; enabling the communication of ideas and expression of dissatisfaction. Anti-war songs were perhaps most prolific during the Vietnam war providing non-violent form of confrontation.” (McNair, 1) Often music can act as a very effective form of persuasion. People listen to music and it does not require extreme intelligence or even real knowledge on the subject. It is true that during the Vietnam War the American people were kept in the dark about the goings on in the Asian country, and many of them learned about the war through music, and learned to protest it from listening to popular anti-war songs. And these artists who wrote songs were not small-time either. They were famous, and very well known, and their voices carried to many young adults, who decided they were not going to sit by and let the deplorable events continue to happen across the ocean. This was the effect of music, spurring a movement among the youth of the Vietnam era to challenge the government and the war. It is very possible that without the music, the era’s youth would have had no part in protesting the war. Would they have followed the news, or at least what government did not screen? It is most likely that the answer would have been no. Music was a way to reach out to young adults. The messages in the protest songs riled up the students, making them want to partake in the protesting. “The music then served as a catalyst that united this generation against war and in particular against the Vietnam War.” (Anderson, 1)
Counter Culture began to form at the heart of the nation, among the youth of the time. Counter Culture is a term used to describe a subculture that goes against the values and ideas of the time. Counter Culture really began to flourish during the Vietnam War, as young men were being drafted and shipped off to fight in the war, and it contributed heavily towards the anti-war music. “As the draft began to reach into the student population - by 1968 there were half a million US troops in Vietnam - the level of campus protests rose dramatically.” (Schifferes, 1) There began to be more and more student protests as the nature of the anti-war music changed. While folk singers like Bob Dylan still were still popular, a new rock element was forming, drawing in even more young protesters, and protests began to be even stronger. (Schifferes, 1) This feeling intensified even more after the police shooting of the non-violent student protesters at Kent State University. (Anderson, 1)
During the 1960s, there were countless artists coming into the spotlight, singing against the Vietnam War. Originally the anti-war music movement began with folk singers like Bob Dylan, who originally sang for civil rights. As the Vietnam War rolled around, he changed his message if not his style. Dylan is remembered as one of the leading protest singers of the era. His songs “Master of War”, “The Times They Are A-Changin”, “A Hard Rain’s A-gonna fall”, and “Talking World War III Blues” were his biggest protest songs and what gained him the most recognition.
One of the best known protest songs was “I feel like I’m a Fixin to Die Rag” by Joe McDonald, a previously navy discharge. This song is credited for best illustrating just how the youth felt about the idea of being drafted to Vietnam. (Schifferes, 1) McDonald’s extremely harsh and bitter lyrics, yet with its light ‘rag’ style sound, were very well known by protesters. His lyrics like “you can be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box” were played frequently at rallies and demonstration. (Anderson, 1) His lyrics illustrated, albeit in a very satirical way, the situation in Vietnam. His line “now you can go out and get those Reds. ’Cause the only good Commie is the one that's dead” shows the popular opinion of the time, and one of the main reasons the U.S fought in Vietnam in the first place. (Anderson, 1)
As the war went on, the traditional folk music began to give way to a new type of anti-war music: rock. New bands began to emerge, taking up the gauntlet of singing against the war. The Beatles, one of the biggest bands of the time period, came out with the song “Revolution” which speaks against the war. “But when you talk about destruction. Don't you know that you can count me out,” talks about how the U.S should not be fighting in Vietnam at all. (lyrics077.com)
Credence Clearwater Revival, or CCR, was an American rock band that gained popularity during this time, the 1960s and 70s, and created many anti-war singles. Their song “Fortunate Son” is one of their best known; released in 1969, “Fortunate Son” spoke out against the draft, and all of the poorer white and minority boys that were being shipped to Vietnam while many of the middle class boys were not. The chorus “It ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son…It ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one,” shows the discrepancy on how the draft was unfair. With their other big anti-Vietnam song, “Run through the Jungle”, the meaning is pretty obvious. As it says “Whoa, thought it was a nightmare, Lo, it's all so true. They told me,"Don't go walkin' slow ‘cause Devil's on the loose. Better run through the jungle…Whoa, Don't look back to see,” it refers to the actual fighting in Vietnam, and the dangers that the soldiers faced constantly. (lyrics007.com)
There were hundreds of other bands that came about during this period of protest. The Rolling Stones, and English rock band formed in 1962, produced a few anti-Vietnam songs, as did David Bowie, the Animals, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath and so many others. All of these bands and more sung about the wrongness of being in Vietnam, and these protest songs made it to the ears of many young Americans. (VietnamWarMusicGuide.com)
Music played a large role in the protesting of the Vietnam war back in the 1960s and 70s. Music was a way to convey the message to the students of America and educate them on the problem around them. Music also drew up feelings from the students, something more than a newspaper or radio report could do. It made the youth of the era angry, with a desire to stand up and protest against what they thought was wrong. Rock music, part of counter culture, untied the youth generation against the war. Bands such as CCR, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones sang anti-Vietnam War songs and millions of young adults heard these songs and were influenced by them. It could be said that these songs had a positive effect on the youth population in getting them to stand up for the cause of fighting against the war in Vietnam. Whatever the result, rock music played a large part in the anti-Vietnam war movement.