Songs of War and Protest

For this playlist I am covering my favorite musical era: 60's and early 70's American rock. It was a time of war, and civil unrest. It showed a clear schism between the youth and the previous generations. Their push for peace and a desire for the US to step down as the self-deputized world police has been immortalized in more than a decade of music. In my mind there is no time not to play these songs and I think they are perfectly applicable, yet underappreciated in today's world. It is also Veterans Day here in the US so war songs seem fitting.

1st

Fortunate Son is a true classic piece of the era. Whether it's the military, politicians, or the wealthy and out of touch, everyone is fair game for this song. If I had to pick a most iconic musical piece of the time, it would be this.

2nd

Ohio is an underrated song about an American tragedy that has curiously been omitted from the history books. on May 4th, 1970 the national guard was deployed to contain a peaceful student protest and Kent State University in Ohio. Kent State had a multi-year history of pushback with regards to the role of police in America as well as American intervention in the East. In response to Nixon's announcement to invade Cambodia, students stages a walkout. The students sat on the green and refused to move. The National Guard was sent to contain what they thought could turn violent. The reports are unclear how it started, but the Guard then started shooting. 15 seconds and almost 60 bullets later, 4 students had been killed and 9 seriously injured. This prompted national outrage and colleges across the US and some in Europe cancelled classes as millions of students refused to attend classes in wake of this act.

3nd

Let's take a break from war and just enjoy a good song yeah? Have You Ever Seen the Rain is a great song. Nothing much else to say.

4th

Hendrix is one of my all time favorites and he captures a very different sound than the previous songs. He certainly steered the direction of rock in as significant a way as the Beatles and Chuck Berry did and deserved more than a simple mention.

5th

Did you think we were done with the Vietnam songs? Well that defined this generation and their musical era. Eve of Destruction, although it touched on the space program, and communists, it strikes a timeless chord about the needlessness of violence and the ineffectiveness of the political system that we can all feel.

Final Song

This is not so much a rock song, but I couldn't imagine leaving it out, plus it is a great calm piece of music. Whether you think its about a man who has reached his peak and has made piece with his place in the world, or about someone accepting his powerlessness, its a through-provoking tune regardless.

So guys

If you are from the states, are the any songs you think I overlooked?
If you are from another country, I would love to hear about what was going in your country in this time period and what music was popular there!
See you in the next one and remember:

So thank a Veteran for their service.

Disclaimer

I do not own any of this music or the videos linked herein. Image(s) used are likewise not my own and are distributed by Wikimedia or Pixabay under CC licenses.