In the summer of 1969, John Lennon, the leader of The Beatles, made a bold statement with the release of "Give Peace A Chance." At the time, John and his wife, Yoko Ono, were involved in a "Bed-in" peace demonstration. When asked by a reporter what he and his wife wished to achieve by this, he responded: "All we are saying is give peace a chance." This became the focal point of the lyrics, padded along with references to journalists, musicians and other famous people. The song reached number 2 on the UK charts. On Nov. 15, 1969, Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul and Mary led people in singing the song during a massive Vietnam protest in Washington, DC.
Creedence Clearwater Revival, a Southern rock group, whose lyrics reflected down-home values, released a single in 1969--at the height of the anti-war movement--that reflected issues facing the working class. Two of the band's members, John Fogerty and Doug Clifford, had been drafted into service in the Vietnam War. Upon their discharge, they released "Fortunate Son" on their album, "Willy and the Poor Boys." As John Fogerty explained, the song expressed displeasure with the views of Washington's elite and the fortunate sons of politicians and social elite who would never have to consider going to war. The single version reached #13 on the charts.
In the case of 99 Luftballoons, a Cold War protest single by German singer Nena, the anti-war sentiment of the song is masked by a confusing name and a bubbly melody. The concept behind the song came about when Nena's guitarist, Carlo Karges, noticed that balloons being released at a Rolling Stones concert resembled spacecraft and wondered what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall into Soviet territory. The song describes this situation, as 99 balloons float into the air and trigger the Apocalypse. The single reached #1 the United Kingdom and #2 in the United States.
Green Day took a chance in 2004 with their politically charged album, American Idiot. Released at the height of the Iraq War, American Idiot topped charts all around the world, propelled by singles like "Holiday." While other pop songs were gushing about love, in "Holiday," Green Day was making direct references to George W. Bush, dead soldiers, the war and France's refusal to support the war. Billie Joe Armstrong, the band's lead singer, often introduces the song at concerts by saying "This song is not anti-American; it's anti-war!" It reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.