Songs Against Wars

Vesa Matteo PiluduHelsinki

Department of Comparative Religion

University of Helsinki

Bob Dylan & Joan Baez Blowing in the wind 1963

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f01UehWq3v8

How many roads must a man walk downBefore you call him a man?Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sailBefore she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls flyBefore they're forever banned?The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can a mountain existBefore it's washed to the sea?Yes, 'n' how many years can some people existBefore they're allowed to be free?

Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,Pretending he just doesn't see?

Joan Baez (Bob Dylan) - With god on our side

Oh my name it is nothin'My age it means lessThe country I come fromIs called the MidwestI's taught and brought up thereThe laws to abideAnd that land that I live inHas God on its side.

Oh the history books tell itThey tell it so wellThe cavalries chargedThe Indians fellThe cavalries chargedThe Indians diedOh the country was youngWith God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-AmericanWar had its dayAnd the Civil War tooWas soon laid awayAnd the names of the heroesI's made to memorizeWith guns in their handsAnd God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boysIt came and it wentThe reason for fightingI never did get

But I learned to accept itAccept it with prideFor you don't count the deadWhen God's on your side.

Joan Baez (Bob Dylan) - With god on our side

In a many dark hourI've been thinkin' about thisThat Jesus ChristWas betrayed by a kissBut I can't think for youYou'll have to decideWhether Judas IscariotHad God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'I'm weary as HellThe confusion I'm feelin'Ain't no tongue can tellThe words fill my headAnd fall to the floorAnd if God's on our sideHe'll stop the next war.

Pete Seeger Bruce Springsteen This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl08hEegDu4&feature=related

Was a big high wall there that tried to stop me,Was a great big sign that said, Private PropertyBut on the other side, it didn't say nothingThat side was made for you and me

This land is your landThis land is my landFrom California to the New York islandFrom the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream watersThis land was made for you and me

Nobody living can ever stop me,As I go walking that freedom highwayNobody living can ever make me turn backThis land was made for you and me

Pete Seeger

pete seeger: which side are you on? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iAIM02kv0g&feature=related

Pete Seeger - American War Songs Medley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhxjqM4y5f4&feature=fvw

"Vietnam Blues" by JB Lenoir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy6pMeTMvkQ Vietnam Blues by Cassandra Wilson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsNsKHRMei8

Vietnam Vietnam, everybody cryin' about VietnamVietnam Vietnam, everybody cryin' about VietnamThe law all the days killing me down in Mississippi,

nobody seems to give a damnOh God if you can hear my prayer now,

please help my brothers over in VietnamOh God if you can hear my prayer now,

please help my brothers over in VietnamThe poor boys fightin', killin' and hidin' all in holes,Maybe killin' their own brother, they do not knowMister President you always cry about peace,

but you must clean up your house before you leaveOh how you cry about peace,

but you must clean up your house before you leaveHow can you tell the world how we need peace,

and you still mistreat and killin' poor me.

J.B. Lenoir - The Whale Has Swallowed Me

J.B. Lenoir - The Whale Has Swallowed Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34evyrWA0xc&feature=related

J.B. Lenoir sings a bit of "Alabama Song", then "The whale has swallowed me".

From Vim Wenders Tribute to Martin Scorsese's "The Blues". With Footage from Martin Luther King's Freedom Speech.

Apocalypse Now Intro / Unknown Soldier

Apocalypse Now Intro (The Doors - The End) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b26BD5KjH0 The Doors (Unknown Soldier Live at the Hollywood Bowl) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oW9GLgsa8s

Wait until the war is overAnd we're both a little olderThe unknown soldierBreakfast where the news is readTelevision children fedUnborn living, living deadBullet strikes the helmet's headAnd it's all overFor the unknown soldierIt's all overFor the unknown soldier, uh hu-uh

We shall overcome

We shall overcome We shall overcome We shall overcome some day

Oh, deep in my heart I do believe We shall overcome some day

We'll walk hand in hand We'll walk hand in hand We'll walk hand in hand some day

We shall all be free We shall all be free We shall all be free some day

We are not afraid We are not afraid We are not afraid some day

We are not alone We are not alone We are not alone some day

The whole wide world around The whole wide world around The whole wide world around some day

We shall overcome We shall overcome We shall overcome some day

Martin Luther King "I have a dream"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk&feature=related

A Change Is Gonna ComeSam Cooke

I was born by the river in a little tent Oh and just like the river I've been running ever since It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown somebody keep telling me don't hang around It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

A Change Is Gonna ComeSam Cooke

Then I go to my brother And I say brother help me please But he winds up knockin' me Back down on my knees

There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long But now I think I'm able to carry on It's been a long, a long time coming But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Sam Cooke-A Change Is Gonna Come http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUT1WgHat6I

Luther Vandross Sings In Church - "Change Is Gonna Come" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC86XGs38tQ&feature=related

Seal - A change is gonna come 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHa096VQ8FE

Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil 1968 Beggars Banquet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpNoniDH6IY

Please allow me to introduce myselfI’m a man of wealth and tasteI’ve been around for a long, long yearStole many a mans soul and faith

And I was ‘round when Jesus ChristHad his moment of doubt and pain

Made damn sure that PilateWashed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet youHope you guess my nameBut what's puzzling youIs the nature of my gameI stuck around St. PetersburgWhen I saw it was a time for a change

Killed the czar and his ministersAnastasia screamed in vain

I rode a tankHeld a generals rankWhen the blitzkrieg ragedAnd the bodies stank

Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil

Hope you guess my name, oh yeahAh, what's puzzling youIs the nature of my game, oh yeahI watched with glee

While your kings and queensFought for ten decadesFor the gods they madeI shouted out,Who killed the Kennedys?

When after allIt was you and meLet me please introduce myselfI'm a man of wealth and taste

And I laid traps for troubadoursWho get killed before they reached Bombay(…)

Just as every cop is a criminalAnd all the sinners saintsAs heads is tails

Just call me Lucifercause I'm in need of some restraintSo if you meet meHave some courtesy

Have some sympathy, and some tasteUse all your well-learned politesse

Or Ill lay your soul to waste, um yeah

Sympathy, The Master and Margarita

Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste

These opening lines reflect Jagger's direct inspiration by The Master and Margarita, with the book opening with the similar

"'Please excuse me,' he said, speaking correctly, but with a foreign accent, 'for presuming to speak to you without an introduction'"

Bob Marley War

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPZydAotVOY&feature=fvst

Until the philosophy which hold one race superiorAnd anotherInferiorIs finallyAnd permanentlyDiscreditedAnd abandoned -Everywhere is war -Me say war.

That until there no longerFirst class and second class citizens of any nationUntil the colour of a man's skinIs of no more significance than the colour of his eyes -Me say war.

That until the basic human rightsAre equally guaranteed to all,Without regard to race -Dis a war.

That until that dayThe dream of lasting peace,World citizenshipRule of international moralityWill remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued,

But never attained -Now everywhere is war - war.And until the ignoble and unhappy regimesthat hold our brothers in Angola,In Mozambique,South AfricaSub-human bondageHave been toppled,Utterly destroyed -Well, everywhere is war -Me say war.

War in the east,War in the west,War up north,War down south -War - war -Rumours of war.And until that day,The African continentWill not know peace,We Africans will fight - we find it necessary -And we know we shall winAs we are confidentIn the victoryOf good over evil -Good over evil, yeah!Good over evil -

Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEQXvsQJVnY&feature=related

There was a Buffalo Soldier in the heart of America,Stolen from Africa, brought to America,Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival.

If you know your history,Then you would know where you coming from,Then you wouldn't have to ask me,Who the 'eck do I think I am.

I'm just a Buffalo Soldier in the heart of America,Stolen from Africa, brought to America,Said he was fighting on arrival, fighting for survival;Said he was a Buffalo Soldier in the war for America.

Said he was a Buffalo Soldier win the war for America;Buffalo Soldier, dreadlock rasta,Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival;

Born in the U.S.A. (Lyrics)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMJveMMmlY0

I got in a little hometown jamAnd so they put a rifle in my handsSent me off to VietnamTo go and kill the yellow man

I had a buddy at Khe SahnFighting off the Viet CongThey're still there, he's all goneHe had a little girl in SaigonI got a picture of him in her arms

Down in the shadow of the penitentiaryOut by the gas fires of the refineryI'm ten years down the roadNowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go

I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.Born in the U.S.A.

Battle of Khe Sanh between 21 January and 8 April

1968 Jam = problem / trouble Buddy = friend / pal

Khe Sanh (song by Don Walker) Lyrics about a disilluded

Australian veteran:

I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh

And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the black market man

I've had the Vietnam cold turkey From the ocean to the Silver City And it's only other vets could understand

Bruce Sprinsteen – YoungtownLP: The Gost of Tom Joad (1995)

Here in north east OhioBack in eighteen-o-threeJames and Danny HeatonFound the ore that was linin' yellow creek

They built a blast furnaceHere along the shoreAnd they made the cannon ballsThat helped the union win the war

Here in YoungstownHere in YoungstownMy sweet Jenny, I'm sinkin' downHere darlin' in Youngstown

Kept 'em hotter than hellI come home from 'Nam worked my way to scarferA job that'd suit the devil as well

Taconite, coke and limestoneFed my children and made my payThen smokestacks reachin' like the arms of godInto a beautiful sky of soot and clay

Well my daddy come on the 0hio worksWhen he come home from world war twoNow the yards just scrap and rubbleHe said, "hem big boys did what Hitler couldn't do"These mills they built the tanks and bombs

Bruce Sprinsteen – YoungtownLP: The Gost of Tom Joad 1995

That won this country's warsWe sent our sons to Korea and VietnamNow we're wondering what they were dyin' for

From the Monongaleh valleyTo the Mesabi iron rangeTo the coal mines of AppalacchiaThe story's always the sameSeven-hundred tons of metal a dayNow sir you tell me the world's changedOnce I made you rich enoughRich enough to forget my name

When I die I don't want no part of heavenI would not do heavens work wellI pray the devil comes and takes meTo stand in the fiery furnaces of hell

The lyrics ego want to be punished as Robert Johnson in Me and the Devil blues

Springsteen - The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1996)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUbtt92CtLQ

Ironic reference to President George H.W. Bush’s New world order:

Welcome to the new world order

Families sleepin' in their cars in the southwest

No home no job no peace no rest

Tom Joad is a fictional character in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath

Leonard Cohen: Democracy

Leonard Cohen: Democracy (spoken) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbqM9R8g7rU

Democracy - Leonard Cohen (song) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3lOFECr8-s

It's coming through a hole in the air,from those nights in Tiananmen SquareIt's coming from the feelthat this ain't exactly real,or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.From the wars against disorder,from the sirens night and day,from the fires of the homeless,from the ashes of the gay:Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Leonard Cohen: Democracy

It's coming through a crack in the wall;on a visionary flood of alcohol;from the staggering accountof the Sermon on the Mountwhich I don't pretend to understand at all.It's coming from the silenceon the dock of the bay,from the brave, the bold, the batteredheart of Chevrolet:Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,the holy places where the races meet;from the homicidal bitchin'that goes down in every kitchento determine who will serve and who will eat.From the wells of disappointmentwhere the women kneel to prayfor the grace of God in the desert hereand the desert far away:Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Leonard Cohen: Democracy

Sail on, sail onO mighty Ship of State!To the Shores of NeedPast the Reefs of GreedThrough the Squalls of HateSail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It's coming to America first,the cradle of the best and of the worst.It's here they got the rangeand the machinery for changeand it's here they got the spiritual thirst.It's here the family's brokenand it's here the lonely saythat the heart has got to openin a fundamental way:Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Leonard Cohen: Democracy

It's coming from the women and the men.O baby, we'll be making love again.We'll be going down so deepthe river's going to weep,and the mountain's going to shout Amen!It's coming like the tidal floodbeneath the lunar sway,imperial, mysterious,in amorous array:Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.Sail on, sail on ...I'm sentimental, if you know what I meanI love the country but I can't stand the scene.And I'm neither left or rightI'm just staying home tonight,getting lost in that hopeless little screen.But I'm stubborn as those garbage bagsthat Time cannot decay,I'm junk but I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet:Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills Lyrics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJbjrmBEgw8

Pro-Native Poin of view:

White man came across the seaHe brought us pain and miseryHe killed our tribes, he killed our creedHe took our game for his own need

We fought him hard we fought him wellOut on the plains we gave him hellBut many came too much for CreeOh will we ever be set free?

Riding through dust clouds and barren wastesGalloping hard on the plainsChasing the redskins back to their holesFighting them at their own gameMurder for freedom a stab in the backWomen and children the cowards attack

Soldier blue on the barren wastesHunting and killing their gameRaping the women and wasting the menThe only good Indians are tameSelling them whiskey and taking their goldEnslaving the young and destroying the old

Run to the hills,run for your lives.Run to the hills,run for your lives.

Metallica – OneAlbum: …And Justice for all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgGTTtR0kc

References:

Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel Johnny Got His Gun.

Tale of a soldier whose body is severely damaged after he is hit by German artillery during World War I

1971 film adaptation

now the world is gone I'm just one oh God, help me hold my breath as I wish for death

darkness imprisoning me all that I see absolute horror I cannot live I cannot die trapped in myself body my holding cell

landmine has taken my sight taken my speech taken my hearing taken my arms taken my legs taken my soul left me with life in hell

Metallica - Master Of Puppets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z-hEyVQDRA

Come crawling fasterObey your MasterYour life burns fasterObey your MasterMaster

Master of Puppets I'm pulling your stringsTwisting your mind, smashing your dreams

Blinded by me, you can't see a thingJust call my name, 'cause I'll hear you screamMaster

Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX-KjkdDozQ&feature=related

Make his fight on the hill in the early dayConstant chill deep insideShouting gun, on they run through the endless grayOn they fight, for they are right, yes, but who's to say?For a hill, men would kill. Why? They do not know(…)

For whom the bell tollsTime marches onFor whom the bell tolls

The video contains video clips from "Cliff 'em All" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1943 film based on the novel by Ernest Hemmingway). Instrument timings may be off because Metallica played at a higher tempo live than their original track.

Take a look to the sky just before you dieIt's the last time you willBlackened roar, massive roar, fills the crumbling skyShattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cryStranger now are his eyes to this mysteryHe hears the silence so loudCrack of dawn, all is gone except the will to beNow they see what will be, blinded eyes to see

Miss Sarajevo - George Michael (U2)Album: Songs From The Last Century (1999)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4sNvTdGU2U

Metallica - The Day That Never Comes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYBtn4CwjMc&feature=fvst

Mouth so full of liesTend to black your eyesJust keep them closedKeep prayingJust keep waiting

Waiting for the oneThe day that never comesWhen you stand upAnd feel the warmthBut the sunshine never comes, noNo the sunshine never comes

Love is a four letter wordAnd never spoken hereLove is a four letter wordHere in the prison

I suffer this no longerI'll put an end to This I swearThis I swearThe sun will shineThis I swearThis I swearThis I swear

Bruce Springsteen Bring Them Home (P. Seeger)San Francisco 2006

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yApAg0hl490&feature=related

If you love your Uncle Sam,Bring them home, bring them home.Support our boys in Vietnam,Bring them home, bring them home.

It'll make our generals sad, I know,Bring them home, bring them home.They want to tangle with the foe,Bring them home, bring them home.