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Songs about the Vietnam War

Never in American culture has a war been given such spectacular attention in media. We've had 20 other dust-ups since then, some of them every bit as bloody, and yet Vietnam is the one that sticks.

Vietnam stands out in history for a number of reasons: First, it was the first war to have the attention of the golden age of media, bringing the daily news to everyone's living room in color. Second, it marked the turning point in American history when the innocence of the 1950s at last faded away and we had to be confronted with the brutal reality of the Cold War era. In fact, many would argue that everything America has become by now has proven most of the Vietnam protesters right, and yet it still doesn't turn out that bad after all.

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  19 Paul Hardcastle
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  21st Century Schizoid Man King Crimson
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  50,000 Names George Jones
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  8th of November Big & Rich

  "He was dropped in the jungle
  Where the choppers would rumble
  With the smell of napalm in the air.
  The the sergeant said
  Look up ahead"

• 
  A Child of the Fifties Statler Brothers, The

  "Took a turn for the worse in the 60s
  Saw some real people die on TV"

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  Alice's Restaurant Arlo Guthrie
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  All Along the Watchtower Bob Dylan
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  All Along the Watchtower Jimi Hendrix
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  American Woman Guess Who
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  Billy Don't Be a Hero Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods
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  Blowin' In the Wind Bob Dylan
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  Born in the U.S.A. Bruce Springsteen

  "I had a brother at Khe Sahn
  Fighting off the Viet Cong
  They're still there, he's all gone
  He had a woman in Saigon
  I got a picture of him in her arms"

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  Bring The Boys Back Home Pink Floyd

  "Bring the boys back home.
  Bring the boys back home.
  Don't leave the children on their own, no, no.
  Bring the boys back home."

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  Bungle in the Jungle Jethro Tull
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  Child in Time Deep Purple
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  Civil War Guns N' Roses
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  Copperhead Road Steve Earle
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  Cops of the World Phil Ochs
• 
  Daniel Elton John

  "Daniel my brother you are older than me
  Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal
  Your eyes have died but you see more than I"

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  Dear Mr. President Pink
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  Disposable Heroes Metallica
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  Draft Dodger Rag Phil Ochs
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  Drive On Johnny Cash
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  For What It's Worth Buffalo Springfield
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  Fortunate Son Creedence Clearwater Revival

  "Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
  Ooh, they send you down to war, lord,
  And when you ask them, 'how much should we give?'
  Ooh, they only answer 'more! more! more!' yeah
  It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son."

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  Ghosts of American Astronauts Mekons, The

  "It's just a small step for him
  It's a nice break from Vietnam"

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  Give Peace a Chance John Lennon
• 
  Goodnight Saigon Billy Joel
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  Happy Xmas (War is Over) John Lennon
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  I Ain't Marching Anymore Phil Ochs
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  I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag Country Joe and the Fish
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  Masters Of War Bob Dylan
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  Missing the War Ben Folds Five
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  More Than a Name on a Wall Statler Brothers, The
• 
  Ohio Neil Young
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  Ohio Crosby Stills Nash & Young
• 
  Okie from Muskogee Merle Haggard
• 
  Old Hippie Bellamy Brothers

  "Then they sent him off to Vietnam on his senior trip
  And they forced him to become a man while he was still a boy
  And in each wave of tragedy he waited for the joy"

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  Orange Crush REM
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  Paint It Black Rolling Stones, The
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  Question Moody Blues, The
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  Revolution Beatles
• 
  Rooster Alice In Chains
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  Something to Believe In Poison

  "Twenty-two years of mental tears
  Cries a suicidal Vietnam vet
  Who fought a losing war on a foreign shore
  To find his country didn't want him back
  Their bullets took his best friend in Saigon"

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  Still in Saigon Charlie Daniels
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  Straight to Hell Clash, The
• 
  Sympathy for the Devil Rolling Stones, The
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  The Fightin' Side of Me Merle Haggard
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  The Rooster Alice In Chains
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  This Land is your Land Woody Guthrie
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  Turn! Turn Turn Byrds, The
• 
  Vietnow Rage Against the Machine
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  War Pigs Black Sabbath
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  We Gotta Get out of This Place Animals
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  What's Going On? Marvin Gaye
• 
  Worth Dying For Rise Against

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