The Impact Of Popular Music In The Vietnam War Music

703 Words2 Pages

Music written during the 1960s and 70s characterized the discontent of American youth with the escalation of America’s involvement in the Vietnam war.
In April 30,1954 the Vietnam war took place at an unusual time in the United States of America history. There was a myriad of women giving birth in the years 946 to 1959, they called this babies baby boomers.
This baby boomer created a full-fledged youth culture by that time, it was a culture based largely on music. So when public sentiment turned against the war, so did popular songs at the time.
Americas involvement in the Vietnam war wasn 't immediate there was only 5,000 soldiers in the 1960.So at this time the American society wasn 't paying much attention, but the protest movement had already …show more content…

Pro-war songs promoted duty and patriotism whereas antiwar music were against drafting and patriotism.
Popular artist began to record songs that reflected people’s disapproval overt the war and eventually became a new method of protest.
Bob Dylan recorded the song ‘The Times They are changing’ that was written in 1963, just before the public began to disapprove of Americas involvement in the Vietnam war, In the lines of this song bob Dylan says “There is a battle outside and its raging, it will soon shake your windows, rattle your wall “referencing to the Vietnam war. He goes even further saying “Come mothers and fathers, throughout the land, and don’t criticize, what you can’t understand, your sons and daughters are beyond your command. Dylan is trying to express the frustration and anger at how many parents sons and daughter were sent off to war.
Furthermore the famous artist john Lennon ex member of the popular rock group the Beatles, recorded a song called “Give peace a chance “in 1969,this song is an effective and artful protest of the warm since everyone sings together in harmony, demonstrating how people can find common ground in their protest of the …show more content…

Singers and musicians collaborated with ethnomusicologists and song collectors to disseminate songs to activists, through publications.
Songs reflecting the themes of the civil rights movement were not limited to Folk music that was generally associated with American protests songs but could be found in all types of music.
The jazz revolution of the 1960s was affected by the civil rights movement, there was a variety of blue songs compared the oppression of the southern blacks in the early 1960s to the racial injustices earlier in the century and before.
Martin Luther king knew the civil rights movement needed a south track and that every hero needs a theme music. This movement incorporated jazz, folk, and gospel to use music that everybody could relate to and be inspired to help change America in the year 1950s and 1960s.
Songs like “We Shall not be moved” represented the determination of those in the civil rights movement in the face of government and social oppression. This lines say,” Like a tree that stands by water, we shall not be moved”. Music had an enormous impact in the war because It promoted the first amendment that is the freedom of speech, it helped the American society to develop by exerting deep lasting influences on the form of popular music paving its way towards musical expressions in times of

More about The Impact Of Popular Music In The Vietnam War Music

Open Document