For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield

Album Cover - For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield)

Taken from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_What_It's_Worth_%28Buffalo_Springfield_song%29)

Who/What: The band Buffalo Springfield wrote the song "For What It's Worth (1966)" in protest of the Vietnam draft in America. The lyrics paint a picture of the avid protesting going on against LBJ (Lyndon B. Johnson). They talk about the stupidity of war over disagreements, and they continuously compare society in America to society in Vietnam to highlight the similarities between the two. Their argument is that since we are all people, it's stupid to send teens to their deaths over an ideological argument.

Where: Everywhere in the US. This was a popular song. In the late 1960's, this song peaked to the number seven spot of Billboard Hot 100 (Acclaimed Music, ). All teens and even many adults agreed to the protest rhetoric that Buffalo Springfield presented.

Why: The band is very liberal; it is made up of younger members who can relate closely to their teenage listeners, who were the ones who had to ship off to Vietnam thanks to the draft. The war was based on false pretense, and that unfortunate truth ended up costing the lives of thousands of American young adults.

This band identifies itself with the widespread protests of America's interference with Vietnam. The band seems to identify as liberal, as said before, and they believe music is the most effective form of protest rhetoric. If a song who's lyrics protest the war becomes very popular, then the message within the lyrics should become popular.

Works Cited: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/