Songs About War

War is the central issue of a lot of American political debates today and thus there are a lot of songs about war.  While it is unfortunate, war does affect how we look at our world and our role therein.  It can either bond a family together or tear a family apart.  Fortunately, not a lot of us will have to deal with war head on but we all are impacted by it and can hear it in songs like:

1. “Another Side” by Sawyer Brown is a war song that a lot of people have never even heard of since it only peaked at number 55.  Nevertheless, this song can be found on his 1998 album entitled "Six Days On The Road".  It is a song from the perspective of a Confederate soldier who was fighting in the Civil War.  Nevertheless, it is still relevant today.  Herein you will hear about social and political divisions that cause people to be divided amongst themselves into those who are for the war and those who are against it.
2. “Letters From Home” by John Michael Montgomery was actually written by Tony Lane and David Lee.  Even three years after it was first released in 1992, the song still is eerily accurate.  It portrays life on the soldier/civilian divide and does a great job of humanizing soldiers.  Throughout this song we see them laugh, cry and be proud.  These are things that are oftentimes overlooked when we think of or talk about soldiers.
3. “Travelin’ Soldier” by the Dixie Chicks was actually originally written and recorded by Bruce Robison.  This war song made it to number one on the charts and was released as a single in 1992.  In this song Natalie delivers a great vocal performance as she sings about the people that soldiers must leave behind as they head off to war.
4. “Ballad of Ira Hayes” by Johnny Cash is a war song that was released in 1964.  Today it remains one of the most historically compelling songs within his repertoire.  While this song was about WWII it was released at just the right time: when LBJ escalated the U.S.’s involvement in Vietnam.  This really helped to make this song about a soldier’s post-war turmoil a hit.
5. “Didn’t I” by Montgomery Gentry is definitely not a subtle war song.  It was released in 1999 and paints a frighteningly true picture of war while showing the anger and frustration that a lot of soldiers face at the end of the war.  Since the first release of this song, this group has released it several more times.  In fact their 2001 release of this song topped the charts at number 45.