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Essay On Music In The Vietnam War

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Eternal Chords During the Vietnam War, 58,220 soldiers died and never returned to the United States. At the same time, roughly 5,000 songs were written, meaning a song was composed for every 12 soldiers’ deaths. America's involvement in the Vietnam War lasted for eight years, during which music shaped culture. Music greatly influenced the Vietnam War by connecting with the soldiers and affecting the public perception of the War from every viewpoint. Starting in 1955, the Vietnam War lasted for 20 years until 1975. In the meantime, there were many technological advancements that integrated into everyday life, such as the radio, which was much more common to play at military camps in Vietnam. Soldiers listened to more news and music while working, …show more content…

The remarkably talented US Marines Band has played breathtaking songs to audiences for years. Songs about the military seem to be restricted to boosting confidence and having pride in America. However, this is a common misconception. Music of all types has proved to aid soldiers during and after seeing combat. The relationship between the US military and music began as early as the Civil War, with musicians playing for injured soldiers. This tradition continued for decades and is represented during the Vietnam War era. Many soldiers formed bands or sang together to make time at camps go by faster. Veterans remember moments of half a dozen marines in a bunker with a guitar, singing “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” a song written by the World War II veteran and pacifist Pete Seeger. Many men and women in uniform performed R&B, rap, contemporary, and more. Doug Bradley and Craig Werner were veterans themselves. They wrote about their experience in their book, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, published in 2015, which Wbur summarized, “They loved Hendrix and Nancy Sinatra, and especially songs that had anything to do with going home, because that was their main goal.” (Wbur). Music is also credited as therapy for soldiers with PTSD. It reduces stress and “Injured soldiers responded so positively amidst their physical and emotional trauma that veterans soon followed suit in receiving therapeutic music treatments” (Jernigan, Incadence). Music’s ability to connect and change an individual has an everlasting

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nd including some of our own troops. It was made in 1968 and it was very popular. The second song is called Sam Stone by John Prine another Vietnam story even more depressing than the last song. It talks about a soldier who just came back from war with all these problems from its effect. He had a hole in his arm, both legs broken he was poor after the war didn't have money a job and had shrapnel still in him.

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War can change a man’s life more than life can change a man itself. Many of us just simply don’t understand until we truly experience it. Tim O’ Brien, the author of “How to Tell a True War Story,” goes in depth in the day to day lives of American soldiers in their involvement in the Vietnam War. While American soldiers, highly regarded as the best throughout the world, the Vietnam War resulted in a failure that tarnishes the reputation that America was known for. To further justify the consequences, Tim O’ Brien describes the hardships and horrors that soldiers experienced through the use of profanity, asyndeton, and symbolism to convey on the realities of war.

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Music and War: The Effect of Music During the Vietnam War In the book called Battle Notes: Music of the Vietnam War, author Lee Andresen discussed the various viewpoints of songwriters in their music, pertaining to the American involvement in the Vietnam War. His thesis was that “All American wars had their music, but Vietnam was a conflict in which music played an especially significant role. Beyond simply entertaining, it also shaped and articulated public opinion in unprecedented fashion.” Andresen showed this in his work, by showing how different forms of both anti-war and pro-war songs had an effect on the American public.

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“My Music My War” is a book displaying the findings of a study done by ethnomusicologist, Lisa Gilman. Throughout the book, it gives insight to daily lives of soldiers during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not only does it allow readers to explore the lives of soldiers, it also allows readers to examine how music affected the people in the midst of war. “My Music My War” exemplifies how musical listening can relate to a wide variety of topics, such as gender, politics, and trauma.

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In McDonald’s song, the effect of the draft and its effects on society are highlighted by the lyrics, “Send ‘em off before it’s too late. Be the first one on your block To have your boy come home in a box,” [Doc B]. More than 50,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War, and after withdrawing from the battlefront, Americans felt it was for nothing. Robert F. Kennedy said, “we have sought to resolve by military might a conflict whose issue depends upon the will and conviction of the South Vietnamese people,” [Doc E]. To the war, Americans provided weapons, supplies, and troops.

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Musical Journey Till The Kent State Massacre Music serves as a platform for commentary on important social issues. Social events are an inspiration for creativity, and often, this creativity gathers momentum to tackle these societal concerns. The mutual relationship between music and social issues is seen evidently throughout the history. The Vietnam War serves as a great example to showcase the interdependency between the society and music.

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Music carries each and every one of us to a new awareness. It can reach to the innermost part of an individual. Music can envelope our emotions from tears all the way to our joy. It captivates and motivates. As I attended a concert on Saturday, November 7, 2015, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed with power and feeling to their audience.

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On top of the dramatically climbing number of casualties, there was also a lot of controversy regarding the horrific effects that the fighting had on the mental status of soldiers. “The bitter Vietnam experience has left the United States Army with a crisis in morale and discipline as serious as any its oldest and toughest soldiers remember.” (New York Times Article, Document I ) Many times, returning soldiers would suffer from extreme anxiety and depression, dealing with the difficult memories left in place of fighting in the war. “I know my happiest moment in Vietnam was when I was hit, because I “knew” I was homeward bound.

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Another issue that protest music addressed was the war in Vietnam and its escalation during the 60s. As more American troops were being sent to fight in Vietnam with virtually no progress being made, an anti-war movement began to take footholds in the mid-60s and protest music worked with it. Some examples of anti-Vietnam songs were Pete Seeger's "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy from 1967, The Door's "The Unknown Soldier" from 1968, and Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" from 1963. Both folk and protest music were connected to the "hippie" culture at the time and were influenced by the feeling of freedom, love and peace that defined the hippies. Some examples of folk and protest musicians from the 60s are Peter, Paul and Mary, Cat Stevens, Buffalo Springfield, Simon and Garfunkel, and Pete

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Many soldiers that served in the Vietnam war suffered dramatically pertaining to mental and physical health. O’Brien and many other soldiers also had the same views on the Vietnam War, such as that it was pointless for the United States. Most soldiers were frustrated with the fact that they were fighting for their country with no purpose or benefit for the American people. In the book O’Brian said, “I can’t stop crying. I can’t stop thinking of what a waste it all was” (O’Brian 7).

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Modern war poetry is immensely valuable because of its ability to capture experiences that make an insightful and powerful connection with an audience. The bigger picture of war poetry is being able to share moments, feelings, and perspectives that connect with others. Wilfred Owen intimately conveys the horrific moments lived through young soldiers with his poem ‘Futility’ (1918) and shows how pointless and futile the war is, as he questions the creation of life if it can be so easily destroyed. The Australian folk group Redgum wrote the song ‘I Was Only Nineteen’ (1983) that focuses on the experiences of young soldiers in the conflicts of the Vietnam War, revealing the lasting impacts it had on them for the rest of their lives. These pieces offer the audiences raw and intense emotions of frustration, despair, and endless questioning about the

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Although they had to face many hardships, music was the one thing they could count on to help them fight for justice.

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Music can bring the brightest of joys that keeps us moving through our dull and boring lives. An example of this joy is Ishmael Beah’s life as a boy soldier in his book A Long Way Gone. As he tells you his story, he tells of his dance group with his friends, the times he heard music in the middle of war, and how music saved him from the madness that brewed within him. Music has the unique ability to create peace in a person’s life despite the difficulties surrounding them, and to bring a constant reminder of who they are as a person.

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Soldiers were dying, and they continued to be sent over to fight. The war itself provided a major wave of anti-war rhetoric that is still prominent today. The anti-war rhetoric was pushed through politicians, celebrities, concerts, protests, average citizens of different economic classes, but most importantly through song. “In the 1960s, several now-influential artists appealed to the disaffected counterculture’s emphasis on peace and love, especially with the sliding approval rates of the Vietnam War. As public approval of the Vietnam War dwindled in the latter half of the 1960s, popular music artists began to record songs that reflected this disapproval and ultimately became a new method of protest (Hopkins).”

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I have certainly noticed several benefits to music, such as an above average memory, as well as a capability to enter periods of hyperfocus to complete work quickly (Enrenberg 32-33). But an increased capacity for empathy and understanding is not one I have personally experienced. Regardless of my opinion, “Sonny’s Blues” is a moving narrative that describes the complexities of flawed human

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