3 Songs That Were Not Written About the Vietnam War but Became War Anthems Anyway

Several songs that were written for reasons unrelated to the Vietnam War became strongly associated with it for troops and veterans. Their lyrics and themes took on new meaning in the context of military service, disillusionment and conflict.

The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” was named by veterans in a University of Wisconsin-Madison study as the song they most associated with the war; veteran Doug Bradley called it “the Vietnam anthem”. Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”, originally about 1966 unrest on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip, became an anti-war song and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools”, written about a cycle of property and slavery, resonated with veterans, particularly African Americans, as a symbol of the divide between troops and the chain of command.