Stop the War
1972 · Curtom CRS 8012 · USA
- Artist
- The Impressions
- Title
- Stop the War
- Release
- Times Have Changed
- Year
- 1972
- Label
- Curtom # CRS 8012
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Genre
- Soul, Gospel & Funk · Soul
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation
The track "Stop the War" (Curtom Records # CRS 8012) featured on this 1972 album, another Vietnam song by the Impressions, composed by Mayfield. As suggested by the title, this took a blatant anti-war perspective. The group sung that it is hard to fight the war "when we are wrong". About mid way through the song, they started repeating (over and over) the mantra: "hell no we won't go, stop the war" - a powerful statement resisting the draft and demanding action from the politicians, often chanted at demonstrations in the 1960s and 1970s. At the end of the song, a male vocalist whispered that he wanted to "change the Administration" and that "we got to get Nixon out of office" - referencing Richard Nixon - up for re-election in November 1972. He also recalled a conversation with "a cat...back from 'Nam" who did not support the war - thus presenting a veteran against the war perspective.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Hey, where are you going, what's on your mind / What's that your saying / They say it's my time for all of our leaders to bring peace to the land... / Stop the war, stop, stop the war / It's easy to fight when we know you are right / But when we are wrong... / All the young people, just cannot be wrong / For all the young people to the old... / Hell no we won't go, stop the war... / We got to change the Administration / We got to get Nixon out of office if that's what it takes / Yeah I saw a cat today who just got back from 'Nam / He said he didn't like the situation over there
About the artist
American soul vocal group formed 1958 in Chicago, Illinois (Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash). [Source: Wikipedia] The Impressions formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1958. A hugely influential soul and funk group, they helped revolutionise R&B. While it had a revolving line-up, it featured Curtis Mayfield as it central member (1958-1970). Mayfield sits amongst the first African-American to introduce social commentary into his music, dealing with civil rights, Vietnam, and drugs, becoming an inspiration to later generations of hip-hop artists. Born on 3 June 1942, in the Cabrini-Green…
Themes
In collections
Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs