Music was an important element of the Vietnam War and its culture, both for the soldiers who participated in the war and the civilians and campaigners who protested against it. This collection of Vietnam War music has been selected and compiled by Alpha History authors. It contains song lyrics and music (hosted on Youtube) of some notable folk and protest songs connected to the Vietnam conflict. If you would like to suggest a song for inclusion here, please contact Alpha History.

The Ballad of Ho Chi Minh (Ewan McColl, 1954)

Eve of Destruction (Barry McGuire, 1965)

Universal Soldier (Donovan, 1965)

Draft Dodger Rag (Phil Ochs, 1965)

Lyndon Johnson told the Nation (Tom Paxton, 1965)

The Universal Coward (Jan Berry, 1966)

Ballad of the Green Berets (Barry Sadler, 1966)

Vietnam Blues (Kris Kristofferson, 1966)

For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield, 1967)

The Unknown Soldier (The Doors, 1968)

Sky Pilot (Eric Burdon and The Animals, 1968)

Give Peace a Chance (John Lennon, 1969)

Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969)

Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag (Country Joe and the Fish, 1969)

Vietnam (Jimmy Cliff, 1970)

Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, 1970)

War (What is it good for?) (Edwin Starr, 1970)

War Pigs (Black Sabbath, 1970)

Battle Hymn of Lieutenant Calley (C-Company, feat. Terry Nelson, 1971)

Khe Sanh (Cold Chisel, 1978)

Goodnight Saigon (Billy Joel, 1982)

I Was Only Nineteen (Redgum, 1983)

Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen, 1984)

19 (Paul Hardcastle, 1985)

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