List of anti-war songs

Some anti-war songs lament aspects of wars, while others satirize war. Most promote peace in some form, while others sing out against specific armed conflicts. Still others depict the physical and psychological destruction that warfare causes to soldiers, innocent civilians, and humanity as a whole. Many of these songs are considered protest songs, and some have been embraced by war-weary people, various peace movements, and peace activists.

General pacifist and anti-war songs

American Civil War

American Indian Wars

World War I

Spanish Civil War

World War II

Cold War and nuclear annihilation

Vietnam War

Dominican Civil War

Turkish invasion of Cyprus

Soviet-Afghan War

The Troubles of Northern Ireland

Falklands War

Contras, Latin America

Yugoslav Wars

Gulf Wars, Iraq, 9/11, and the War on Terror

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Anti-draft

Traditional music

Apart from the various genres of modern music, some traditional and contemporary folk songs reflect the futile efforts of war and the attitudes of objectors 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 others.
• "Arthur McBride" – While first curated in the 19th century, this song likely came into existence during the 17th century in response to the War of the Grand Alliance, or especially the Williamite War in Ireland, after which the Irish Jacobite army was sent to France as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691.
• "The Cruel War" – Made famous in its current form by Pete Seeger and Peter Paul and Mary, this anti-war song has roots at least as far back as the American Civil War, and can probably be traced to an older English song.^[25]
• "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.
• "Join the British Army" – Irish rebel song, recorded by Ewan MacColl and The Dubliners.
• "Kannoneer Jabůrek" – popular Czech song mocking war heroism, referring to the events of the 1866 Austro-Prussian War
• "Lincoln's Army" – The Irish Rovers
• "Lowlands of Holland" – traditional recorded by Martin Carthy
• "Mrs. McGrath" – an Irish song describing a young man named Ted who enters the British Army and returns seven years later having lost his legs to a cannonball while fighting against Napoleon presumably at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (fought between 3 and 5 May 1811). Bruce Springsteen recorded a version of this song on his 2006 album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, and it appears on the subsequent live 2007 album Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin

Musicals

See also

• Anti-war movement
• Protest songs
• List of anti-war books
• List of anti-war films
• List of anti-war plays
• List of peace activists
• Vietnam War Song Project

Notes

1. The song had been previously released but was re-released with amended lyrics to raise money to support charities aiding those affected by the conflict.
2. Features uncredited vocals from Oleksandra Zaritska, Artem Pivovarov, Sergii Tanchynets, Fahot, Nataliya Mogylevska, Ivan NAVI, and Ruslana.

References

1. Rothschild, Matthew (24 May 2006). "Dar Williams Interview". The Progressive Magazine.
2. "Anti-war songs (AWS) – Empire".
3. Yanik, Sophia K. (2016) "A Narrative Inquiry of Protest Songs: Comparing the Anti-War Music of Vietnam and Iraq" Sociology and Criminal Justice Undergraduate Honors Theses. 2.
4. Quinn, Michael. "The Proclaimers – Notes & Rhymes – Review". BBC – Music. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
5. Hertsgaard, Mark (1 March 1995). A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles. London: Pan Books. p. 22. ISBN 0-330-33891-9.
6. "Running Wild – Little Big Horn – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
7. Harding, Mike. "Christmas 1914 | Mike Harding". Retrieved 25 October 2014.
8. "These Are Paul Weller's 10 Best Songs". Radio X. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
9. "The paranoid rhetoric of the Cold War was parodied in much popular music during the 1980s, from Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 'Two Tribes' (1981), Nena's '99 Luft Ballons' (1982), Heaven 17's 'Let's All Make a Bomb'..." Jane Milling, Modern British Playwriting: The 1980s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations, Methuen Drama, 2012. ISBN 9781408129609. 2013 (p.83)
10. Graham, Ben (15 September 2015). "All Her Yesterdays: Rose McDowall Interviewed". thequietus.com. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
11. Lynn Van Matre (1 May 1986): "Deyoung Answers Call For Vets". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
12. "Independence". Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. 4 July 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
13. Andresen, Lee (1 May 2003). Battle Notes: Music of the Vietnam War. Savage Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-886028-59-3.
14. Cusic, Don (30 July 2008). Discovering Country Music. ABC-CLIO. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-313-35246-1.
15. Stephen Stills – Illegal Stills
16. Greenwald, Matthew. "The Doors: 'The Unknown Soldier' – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
17. Schlansky, Evan (27 September 2011). "Gavin Rossdale Discusses Bush's Critics, Nirvana Comparisons". American Songwriter. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
18. Ives, Simon (2003). "Fun Boy Three". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 401. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
19. "Keane Tackle the War on "Iron Sea"?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
20. McLean, Craig (16 August 2007). "The sun is shining again on the Proclaimers". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
21. Hernandez, Joe (11 April 2022). "John Lennon's son, Julian, performs 'Imagine' for the 1st time, in support of Ukraine". NPR. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
22. "A new reality reverberates through Russia's music scene". NPR.org. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
23. zemfira (17 March 2022). Земфира — Не стреляйте (The Uchpochmack version). Retrieved 16 July 2024 – via YouTube.
24. zemfira (9 March 2023). Земфира — PODNHA (Official Lyric Video). Retrieved 16 July 2024 – via YouTube.
25. "The Cruel War (Version 1)". Contemplator.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.

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
• Vietnam War Song Project, a collection of over 5000 Vietnam War songs, including hundreds containing anti-war / peace sentiment.
• [3] The page contains an interview with Judy Small the writer and composer of Mothers, Daughters, Wives.