Music Social Commentary

Why can't we be friends?

Do the numbers 3828 (US Fatalities by Month) and 47378 (R. Smith) mean anything to you? How about $502 billion and $536 billion (in today's dollar) (Wolf)? They should, these are the number of U.S deaths and the costs of the war in Iraq and the Vietnam War. "Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die!" was once said by Herbert Hoover (Simoni). War though some people may not like to admit it, has shaped the United States into what we are today. War always seems to bring out the patriotic side of people, whether it is in the form of protest, free speech or by expressing their feelings and thoughts through songs.

War has always existed in U.S history, and during those times of war, there have been song writers to express their feelings about war, whether it be for the war or against it. The Vietnam War and the War in Iraq, being very controversial issues during their time, have motivated many artists to express their feelings on the issue through their songs. Songs like Marvin Gaye's "What's Happening Brother" written during the Vietnam War in 1971 and System of a Down's "Boom!" written during the Iraq War in 2002 talk about the same topic. Though two different wars, decades and styles of music, these songs still depict the artist view on the issues of war.

"What's Happening Brother" and "Boom!" both deal with the issues of war and what they believe the issue behind the war really is about. The lyrics "Are things really gettin' better, like the newspaper said" (M. Gaye) in "What's Happening Brother" and "Filtering information, For the public eye, Designed for profiteering" (Down) in System of a Down's "Boom!" both deal with the media and what they actually report. They both ask the question if things are really better like the media is saying, but System of a Down takes it a step further stating that the media is withholding information and in hopes that the government makes profit. Why would major companies want to help support a war or provide their services on a war that we are not winning? By telling the people that we are winning the war, companies would be more inclined to provide their services to a war, thus allowing the government to make profit.

"Money is tighter than it's ever been" (M. Gaye)and "The bottom line is money.... while billions are spent on bombs," (Down) talk about the economic aspects of war. During the Vietnam War, factories in the United States that should have been producing consumer goods were producing military items and weapons (Vietnam War and the American Economy). With money being sent overseas, this caused an imbalance on the economy and also created a weak value for the dollar. Interest rates also rose, thus restricting the amount of capital available for businesses and consumers (Vietnam War and the American Economy). In Vietnam, due to the excessive control in government, lack of managerial experience, limited capital resources all contributed to their weak economy. (Encarta)

"Say man, I just don't understand, What's going on across this land" (M. Gaye) and "Why, must we kill, our own kind?" (Down) asks the questions why we are doing this. Both the lyrics state the artist's confusion on deaths involving war. Gaye in a way says it in more a general statement, kind of asking why is all this going on, while System of a Down asks a more direct question not only by asking why, but by also asking "why must we kill our own kind?"

Marvin Gaye was very passionate to write about the Vietnam War partly because his brother did three tours of duty in Vietnam. Gaye wanted to express his feelings through his songs but his label, Motown, wouldn't allow that. (F. Gaye) They favored love songs over political theme songs. Marvin was inspired to write the songs on the album in response to the letters he received from his brother while his brother was overseas. The song "What's Happening Brother" is written from Marvin Gaye's brother point of view after returning from war. The song tells about the economy during that time, the hardships of finding a job and the role the media played in the times during the Vietnam War. Marvin Gaye's label, Motown, finally allowed him to record the album with his "anti-war