The Vietnam War and Heavy Metal/Punk Rock Music The United States has always thought that democracy should be the main form of government around the world. In 1949, when China became a communist country, President Harry Truman presented the Truman Doctrine before Congress. The Truman Doctrine stated that the United States would do everything in it’s power to keep other nations from becoming communist countries. At the time, Vietnam was split into two different countries: North Vietnam and South Vietnam. When the Northern part of Vietnam decided to try and overtake South Vietnam, the United
States sent supplies and troops to South Vietnam to help preserve democracy. Democracy is also the reason that the United States entered the Vietnam War. In America, the decision to go to war with in Vietnam was not a popular one. There were many protest against going into Vietnam; some were with music, others with speakers. Some of the musical influences who protest the Vietnam War were Black Sabbath, Oozy Osborne, The Ramose, Metallic, and Iron Maiden. In Black Sabbath song “War Pigs,” the lyrics “Politicians hide themselves away. They only started the war. Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that to the poor. Top Ten Songs About Nuclear War)” These lyrics are talking about the politicians who started the war in Vietnam. Wealthy Americans did not have to enlist as much as Americans who were poor. The soldiers who were drafted during the Vietnam War were from the baby boom after the victory of World War II. Heavy metal music artists are known for not sugar coating things; if they see something that isn’t right, they will write song about it. The Ramose wrote a song called, “53rd and 3rd;” this song deals with the Green Beret which was a special force in the military. If you think you’ve got it, well come on man. I was Green Beret in Viet Name (Top Ten Songs about Nuclear War). ” The Green Beret’s Job was to wage guerrilla warfare, which is when a group of soldiers will ambush the enemy using raids, ambushes, and sabotage. Also, the Green Beret was in charge of organizing a force of resistance behind enemy lines. “Bodies fill the fields, I see, hungry heroes end no one to play soldier now, no one to pretend. Running through killing fields, bred to kill them all (Top Ten Songs about Nuclear War). ” This lyric is from a song called “Disposable Heroes” by Metallic.
Personally, this is one of my favorite songs concerning the Vietnam War. This song shows how war really was. In America, there was no way to not look at the war. The newspapers used yellow Journalism, which is when a Journalist twist the truth to get a particular outcome, to tell about the number of casualties in Vietnam. Heavy metal music + protests By shelbyfuckinghatesschool that the United States was wrongfully in the war in Vietnam. Civil Rights and Folk/Rock Music The Vietnam War is not the only event in US history that heavy metal and punk rock music has helped to protest.
Heavy metal and punk rock music was also closely related to the civil rights movement. Heavy metal music was the first genre of music to start trying to break down the walls of segregation. At a heavy metal concert, there would be both Caucasian people and African American people standing in the audience. Of course, in America, this was a very controversial. When heavy metal music was first formed, the Supreme Court had Just decided to integrate schools. This proved to be a real threat to “White America. ” Music was a very useful tool in keeping the hopes and spirits of African Americans alive during the Civil Rights Movement.
Songs would be sung at marches, sit-ins, performed on stage, or recorded y some of the leading artists involved in the Civil Rights Movement. The most celebrated Civil Rights song is “We Shall Overcome” by Pete Serge. Although Pete Serge was not a heavy metal or punk rock artist, he is a folk artist. The genre of music that is the closest to the Civil Rights Movement is folk music. Another artist who was involved in the Civil Rights Movement is Bob Dylan. He was not involved in the Civil Rights Movement until Emmett Till’s death. Emmett Till was a fourteen year old boy who was visiting his family in Mississippi.
He was brutally murdered for lairing with a white woman in a convenience store. Emmett Till’s assassins were the woman’s husband and brother. The two men nearly beat Emmett to death, gouged his eye out, shot him in the head, and then threw his boy into the river. Emmett Till’s death was the event that helped American realize the level of injustice the Jim Crow laws brought about. Bob Dylan is not a heavy metal or punk rock artist; he is a folk/ rock artist. Many different genres of music are closely related to each other. Music keeps evolving along with history; different events in history have helped music transform into different genres.
