The song was written by Mick Softley, a British folk singer and was later covered by artists such as, Donovan.
The song was on Mick Softley’s debut album “Songs for Swinging Survivors” and was released in 1965.
What is it about?
In the song, "The War Drags on", by Mick Softly, he sings about destruction, death, and soldiers fighting for peace.
The message that Mick Softly is trying to send is that American lives are being lost for an unjust cause, and that there is unnecessary blood shed happening.
It also mentions the post-war life of the soldiers and the trauma that they must live with for the rest of their lives.
What is being protested?
In the lyrics, it mentions the burning cities and the screams and shouts that resulted from the Vietnam
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One kept occurrin’ and re-occurrin’ in his dream" it shows how the soldiers have been exposed to so much violence and that it messes with their minds which leads to psychological problems when they come back home.
“Found himself involved in a sea of blood and bones. Millions without faces” In this phrase, Mick is referring to the many massacres that happened during the Vietnam War.
“Fighting the Good Fight”
In the beginning of the song, Mick sings that the soldier Dan is going off to fight the good fight. However, later in the song he sings about destruction, blood, and death. Mick perfectly demonstrated how opinions of the war shifted and that in the end, everyone saw the war was pointless except for the government.
After listening to the song, and analyzing the lyrics, one message that Softly sends to his audience is that he wants American troops home.
Softly mentions that instead of trying to "free" the people of Vietnam, there ends up being more blood and tears from both American and Vietnamese soldiers.
This was a common message in the 60's songs as well as protests. These protests broke the rules of conformity that previously existed in the 40's and