The Search for the Perfect Anti-War Song Posted by Shadi Hamid

The "experts" got it wrong. The foreign policy community got it wrong. Who got it right then? Artists and musicians of course. The art of the "anti-war song" is a difficult one, and many have failed in their attempt to fuse musical and political sensibility into an effective package. It's hard to find a political song that you can listen to over and over. So I am now nominating "I Want to be the President" - a somewhat obscure tune from the amazing Brighton girl-rock band Electrelane - as the best anti-war song of the new millenium (Please offer competing nominations if you disagree). You can listen to the song here. The tune is unbelievably catchy, it's danceable, and the lyrics are playful without being preachy. The most affecting part is when lead singer Verity Sussman wearily accuses:

but if they say that is so,
is that the way you will go?
and if you thought it was wrong,
would you still follow along?

Toward the end, Sussman croons "there'll be a war tonight." Then the song moves from a mellow groove to a full-on instrumental assault.

Comments

[Caitlyn]

I have to go with Phil Ochs for anti-war songs. I used to hum "I ain't a marching anymore" when I was in ROTC in College and I remember "Draft Dodger Rag" being performed by the Mitchell Trio during Viet Nam - perfect for Mitt Romney and his boys (even better for Dick Cheney). And for poetry in an anti-war song, there is "The Marines Have Laded on the Shores of Santo Domingo." For a pro-serviceman songs there is "The Men Behind the Guns."

My favorite of Phil's topical songs is "Power and the Glory," which I recommend as the Progressive anthem. Almost Woody Guthrie brought to the age of secret prisons. It packages its progressive message so well that Anita Bryant performed it and I found a four-part harmony version on iTunes in an album called "Songs of the US Air Force." The lyrics are here (including a final verse I never heard on an album):

http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/ochs-phil/power-and-the-glory-11441.html

And, of course, there is "Love Me, I'm a Liberal"

[Chris]

While it's not overtly an anti-war song (the lyrics don't say "Let's bring the boys home"), I think when people look back for a song that captures this period, they're going to look be "Not Ready to Make Nice," by the Dixie Chicks. People might expect musicians to be anti-war, but they sure don't expect country musicians to be.

Besides, what more perfectly captures the Bush-Rove legacy than:

"It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger [for speaking out against the war]?"

[Anita Sharma]

After seeing the the Peter Seeger documentary http://silverdocs.com/festival/films/pete-seeger-power-of-song/, I thought about the protest and anti-war songs of the sixties and wondered about its equivalent today. To be sure the draft and the counter-culture movement enabled mass appeal and influence by the likes Dylan, Lennon, Baez, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

But now? I suppose there's Springsteen's homage to Seeger and Neil Young's Living with War album, and Annie DiFranco and the Dixie Chicks as noted above. However for most catchy song I recommend War by Mofo, which is a southern bluesy rock band, straight from the sixties: http://www.mofro.net/music/.

Without a doubt the guy who gives the most meaningful and lively performance is Michael Franti. His blend of funk, reggae, folk, and rock and his support for peace and social justice issues has earned him a loyal following. His recent album Yell Fire is from his tavels to Iraq, Israel and Occupied Territories of Palestine.

He writes, 'The thing that I found when I was in war zones was that nobody wants to hear songs about war. They want to hear songs about connection to people, and songs about love and life, songs that make them dance.'http://www.speargearstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=53

[C-Monster]

I highly recommend Ocean Colour Scene's "Profit in Peace." They had no budget so the video doesn't do the song justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh8NGZ1ZZw0