War -- 1970

This was the war that I grew up with, the one that my friends died in. Those too young to have lived through it cannot possibly understand the depth of emotion of young people in the late 1960s. Today's upper- and middle-class youth are protected from the war by the absence of a draft. Even questioning today's wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gaza is considered unpatriotic and perhaps seditious.

In 1970 a little-known Motown soul singer, Edwin Starr, recorded the above song in one take. The lyrics had been written for the Temptations, but for fear of alienating their more conservative fans it was given to Starr. It stayed #1 on Billboard for three weeks and became an iconic piece for the antiwar movement. The Vietnam war continued for about five more years.

Springsteen and E Street redid "War" in 1985, but their protest against U.S. involvement in Central America was a pale shadow of the 1970 version.

It still has relevance today.