ABSTRACT
Unlike earlier armed conflicts since the Civil War, the Vietnam War sharply divided American society into supporting and opposing factions. Each side had its own music, so both anti- and pro-war songs proliferated between 1960 and the withdrawal of troops in 1973. This chapter will study the music written, performed, and recorded in opposition to and in support of the war in Vietnam, the anti-war songs considerably outweighing and outnumbering the pro-war repertory. Arising from the folk music revival, the peace movement of the later 1960s encouraged the creative activity of singer-songwriters like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Phil Ochs, among many others. Songs such as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “Fortunate Sons,” and “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” became anthems for the movement, even as rock elements and more aggressive lyrics entered the repertory at the end of the decade out of frustration over government hypocrisy and the lack of progress in peace talks. In contrast, country music style dominates the songs that supported the war, such as those by artists like Merle Haggard and Barry Sadler—neither Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee” nor Sadler’s “Ballad of the Green Berets” overtly addresses Vietnam, but they do celebrate the armed forces. The chapter concludes with a consideration of postwar songs about Vietnam.
