1960's Anti-War folk (and rock) songs

[GWB]

Just watching the convention on CSpan (where there is no commentary on top of the broadcast). They are having the delegates sing along with 1960's Anti-War folk (and rock) songs. You guys don't know what you are missing.

So, what is your favorite anti-war song?

What keeps you motivated to stay in your anti-Bush funk?

[GWB]

Does anyone know why Glenn Close is practically emmceeing this convention?

Is this a Hollywood event?

[astroglide]

country joe and the fish's "i-feel-like-i'm-fixin'-to-die":

1...2...3...what are we fighting for? don't ask me, i don't give a damn. the next stop is vietnam. and it's 5...6...7...open up the pearly gates! oh, there ain't no time to wonder why. whoopee! we're all gonna die!

[andyfox]

"What keeps you motivated to stay in your anti-Bush funk?"

Your daily activities.

Glenn Close looked better in the Stepford Wives.

I liked the kid who played Amazing Grace on the violin.

Clinton's hair looked great.

[Ed Miller]

Clinton's hair looked great.

But he made what was, in my opinion, a politcal error. In his speech, he said that the Bush administration would lift the 10 year ban on assault weapons, implying that Kerry would extend the ban.

Guns are an issue where Democrats are VERY vulnerable. If they want to win, they should keep their mouths shut about it.

[nothumb]

I thought Bubba looked pretty good, period. I guess they don't have Mickey D's in Harlem. (Wouldn't know, I hate the city.)

NT

[Duke]

But if you vote against them you're voting AGAINST RETARDS.

And you don't hate retards, do you?

~D

[ericd]

In 1970, War by Edwin Starr became my new favorite (or should I say most memorable). Here's why.

One night, during infantry training, just as I'm about to fall asleep, War comes on the radio. It had been banned. Looking back, I guess that made sense since we were being trained to fight in that war. The next thing I hear is the radio being smashed into how ever many pieces a radio breaks into when an irate Sgt. has his way.

Now comes the fun part. We must be punished. The Sgt. decides that we should watch some television. Doesn't sound bad until you learn how to.

Lie on your stomach. Place your hands behind your neck. Raise your body so that only your elbows and toes are touching the ground. Remain like that until the Sgt. gets tired. I don't know how long it took him to get tired but I know the next time War came on the radio, the radio was quickly shut off.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

"My Uncle" Flying Burrito Brothers

"So I'm headed for the nearest foreign border,
Vancouver may be just my kind of town,
'Cause we don't need the kind of law and order
That tends to keep a good man underground."

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]


Guns are an issue where Democrats are VERY vulnerable. If they want to win, they should keep their mouths shut about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

All other things held equal (thought they never are), guns cost Gore the last election. His mealy-mouth remarks about gun control in the (second?) debate didn't win him any anti-gun votes, but really cost him big time with the pro-gunners. He really tried to weasel his way around the issue, but he pretty much said the average American doesn't need to own handguns. Many analysts said that his anti-gun stance (or the NRA anti-Gore stance) costs him some close states, including TN. If he had won TN, even while losing FL, he would have won.

The issue is still too hot to touch for most politicians (except extremists like Feinstein and Schumer), particularly in an election year. It's strictly a no-win issue if you are not from la-la land.

[WDC]

Fortunate Son CCR

[andyfox]

Note he didn't use the word "guns," but rather "assault weapons." Who could be in favor of bringing back assult weapons?

But I agree with your general point. I note that Kerry had a photo op shooting skeet or something a few weeks back.

BTW, I understand Kerry's people are clearing all the speeches and that Gore's (and one other, cant' remember who) was disaapproved and sent back for rewriting.

[andyfox]

http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/Lyrics/1970/101970.html

[Ed Miller]

Note he didn't use the word "guns," but rather "assault weapons." Who could be in favor of bringing back assult weapons?

Agreed, but he didn't have to go there at all. It was otherwise an effective oratory... but one sour remark can ruin the whole thing.

Republicans are quite vulnerable on the tax cuts for rich issue. Demos should continue to harp on that (as Clinton did).

[ericd]

Thanks. It's been a long time.

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]
Who could be in favor of bringing back assult weapons?

[/ QUOTE ]

Me.

The assault weapon ban is purely cosmetic, and has little to do with reality. What is an assault weapon? It is made-up term that was without meaning to the gun industry or gun owners until anti-gun people invented it.

Since there was no such thing as an assault weapon, those who wrote the bill made a list of things that looked evil, and said that any firearm that had two of those things was an assault weapon. Things like a bayonet mount (many guns owners collect military rifles and gear). God knows we need to stop those crazed bayonet charges at the Post Office and McDonalds.

Standard full-sized semi-automatic handguns typically have a magazine that holds 15 rounds. That is the optimum design for the size of the grip. The assault weapon ban says 15 rounds is evil, no one needs more than 10 rounds. So manufacturers now have to make 10 round magazines for the US and 15 rounders for the rest of the world, because crazies can't do a lot of damage if they have to change magazines every 10 rounds.

The ultimate joke of the law is that it is legal under federal law to own anything prohibited by this law if it was manufactured before the law went into effect. And it is perfectly legal to buy and sell pre-ban guns and magazines. The only result of the law was economic. Limited supply meant higher prices for those who obeyed the law. Reality check: more pointless legislation with no benefit.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Who could be in favor of bringing back assult weapons?


You mean besides Charlton Heston, Ted Nugent & Me? /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[andyfox]

Now that I've gotten two responses, I sure wish I had spelled assault correctly.

[ChristinaB]

[ QUOTE ]
Fortunate Son CCR

[/ QUOTE ]

good pick.

Mine is :
<font color="red">
Ohio </font>
CS&amp;N

Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming, we're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio.
Gotta get down to it, soldiers are cutting us down. Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground?
How can you run when you know?

Gotta get down to it, soldiers are cutting us down. Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground?
How can you run when you know?

Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming, we're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio,
four dead in Ohio, four dead in Ohio, four dead in Ohio, how many more?
Four dead in Ohio, four dead in Ohio, four dead in Ohio, home many more?

[astroglide]

that would have been my favorite but i considered it to be against the ohio tragedy, not the war in general. the story on that is that csny showed up there for an anti-war protest, that happened, and neil young literally wandered off into the woods and came back with that song right?

[ThaSaltCracka]

Here's a new one, sorry if the lyrics are offensive. This song is "The Proud" by Talib Kweli, and it has some intense lyrics about both war and society.

[Talib Kweli]
The proud
Stand tall or don't stand at all, c'mon
Uhh, yeah
Break it down
What we do?

[Chorus]
We survive, it's more than pride
We stay alive, ready to ride

[Chorus] - repeat through intro

[Intro: Talib Kweli]
One two, one two yo
Aight.. put it down yo
June 21, 2001
Timothy McVeigh is executed
And the country breathe a sigh of relief
Goodness prevails over evil, it seems
Somehow when he's gone, we feel safer
Little do we know

[Verse One]
Today the paper say Timothy McVeigh's in hell
So everything's okay and all must be well
I remember Oklahoma when they put out the blaze
And put Islamic terrorist bombing, on the front page
It's like saying only gays get AIDS, propaganda
Like saying the problem's over when they locked that man up
Wrong! It's just the beginning, the first inning
Battle for America's soul, the devil's winning
The President is Bush, the Vice President's a Dick
So a whole lot of fuckin is what we gon' get
They don't wanna raise the babies so the election is fixed
That's why we don't be fuckin with politics
They bet on that, parents fought and got wet for that
Hosed down, bit by dogs, and got blacks into house arrest for that
It's all good except for that - we still poor
Money, power and respect is what we kill for, for real

[Chorus] - repeat through interlude

[Interlude]
August 4, 2001
A drunken police officer mows down an entire family in Brooklyn
The judge lets him go with no bail
It reminds us, of just how worthless our lives are to the justice system
I struggle, to explain the situation to my son, it's hard

[Verse Two]
Niggaz with knowledge is more dangerous than than niggaz with guns
They make the guns easy to get and try to keep niggaz dumb
Target the gangs and graffiti with the Prop 21
I already know the deal but what the [censored] do I tell my son?
I want him livin right, livin good, respect the rules
He's five years old and he still thinkin cops is cool
How do I break the news that when he gets some size
He'll be percieved as a threat or see the fear in they eyes
It's in they job description to terminate the threat
So 41 shots to the body is what he can expect
The precedent is set, don't matter if he follow the law
I know I'll give my son pride and make him swallow it all (damn!)
[censored] the pigs! I think the pigs killed Big and 'Pac too
If they didn't they know who did, they got to!
Who they serve and protect, nigga not you
Cops shot off of ten G's but they got glocks too
Let you protect yourself, or better yet respect yourself
Straight into the hospital is where you gotta check yourself
They be gettin tips from snitches and rival crews
Doin them favors so they workin for the drug dealers too
Just business enforcers with hate in they holsters
Shoot you in the back, won't face you like a soldier
Kurt Loder asked me what I say to a dead cop's wife
Cops kill my people everyday, that's life

[Chorus] - repeat through final interlude

[Final Interlude]
September 11, 2001
Terrorists attack the Pentagon and the World Trade Center
Kills thousand and permanently scars America's false sense of security
We see the best examples of humanity in the face of the worst
As fire fighters, police officers, rescue workers
and volunteers of all sorts, fight to save lives
The world will never be the same again

[Verse Three]
My heart go out to everybody at Ground Zero
Red, black, yellow, white and brown heroes
It's more complicated than black and white
To give your own life is the greatest sacrifice
But it's hard for me to walk down the block
Seeing rats and roaches, crack viles and 40 ounce posters
People broken down from years of oppression
Become patriots when they way of life is threatened
It's a hard conversation to have
We lost kids, moms and dads, people ready to fight for the flag
Damn, when did [censored] get this bad?
America kill the innocent too, the cycle of violence is sad
Damn! Welcome to the world, we here
We've been at, war for years but it's much more clear (yeah)
We got to face what lies ahead
Fight for our truth and freedom and, ride for the dead

[Chorus] - repeat to end

[GWB]

Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul &amp; Mary is performing tonight at the convention.

Is the Democrat Party stuck in the 1960's?

[danderso8]

Dylan's "God on our side"

Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.


But why limit it to old protest songs? There's plenty of new ones coming out...

ChumbaWumba, "Jacob's Ladder"

http://www.newsongsforpeace.org/songs-chumba1.html

Verse 1
Like the sermon on the mountain
Says the dumber got dumb
Hellfire and brimstone
Swapped for oil and guns
When we're pushing up daisies
We all look the same
In the name of the Father, maybe
But not in my name

Chorus
On this Jacob's Ladder
The only way up is down
One step from disaster
Two to make the higher ground
Jacob's Ladder

Verse 2
A million lifetimes
Left dying in the sun
In the streets down in Whitehall
Dog's picking at the bones
9/11 got branded
9/11 got sold
There'll be no-one left to water
All the seeds you sowed
Chorus On this Jacob's Ladder
The only way up is down
One step from disaster
Two to make the higher ground
Jacob's Ladder

On this Jacob's Ladder
The only way up is down
One step from disaster
Two to make the higher ground
On this Jacob's Ladder
The only way up is down
One step from disaster
Two to make the higher ground
Jacob's Ladder