These pop into my strange mind quite often, especially after I hear of some new lame-brained proposal from an over-paid and over-rated politician. Today, Jonathan Edwards was wailing deep down: "There's a man with a gun over there, A'tellin' me I'd better beware..........." "He can't even run his own life, I'll be damned if he'll run mine!........ But one of the best was "Signs", by the Five Man Electrical Band! Listen!
What about the one about Vietnam that Country Joe & The Fish done at Woodstock? Long-Haired Country Boy by Charlie Daniels. Signs by Five Man Electrical Band.
Lt. William Calley Jr. was court-martialed for the massacre of unarmed civilians in My Lai, Vietnam, committed by his Company. The issue was commemorated by a charted song, "Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley, 1971, by Terry Nelson. "On March 31, 1971, Calley was sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labor at Fort Leavenworth,[13] which includes the United States Disciplinary Barracks, the Department of Defense's only maximum security prison." "Many in the United States were outraged by Calley's sentence. Calley served only three and a half years of house arrest in his quarters at Fort Benning. ......"the prison sentence and subsequent parole obligations were commuted to time served, leaving Calley a free man." "On August 19, 2009, while speaking to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus, Calley issued an apology for his role in the My Lai massacre." He is now 75 years old. Frank
His commanding officer, Captain Ernest Medina, who was acquitted, lived in Menominee, Michigan, about ten miles from me. I didn't know him, though.
How about "A Change is Gonna Come", done variously by Sam Cooke, Otis Redding (my favorite) and Aretha Franklin, among others?
@Mary Robi As I try to imagine the lyrics in my mind, I keep coming up with "Time is for Today", maybe Walker Bros.? Some brothers, anyway. Frank
The original version of this song was a protest piece with several forbidden verses that were eventually removed to make it more of a tribute to America. As I went walking I saw a sign there And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." But on the other side it didn't say nothing, That side was made for you and me. In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, By the relief office I seen my people; As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me? Nobody living can ever stop me, As I go walking that freedom highway; Nobody living can ever make me turn back This land was made for you and me.
When I think of protest songs, I tend to remember Peter, Paul, and Mary's "Where Have All The Flowers Gone," a 1960's folk music standard...
Cody mentioned this one: When today's kids see this, I wonder can they even relate it to their grandparents?