3 Rock Songs From 1968 That Are Connected to the Vietnam War (And Still Bring Tears to Listeners’ Eyes)

Say what you want about rock music, but when the time is right, the genre definitely knows how to make a statement. Here are a few rock songs from 1968 that are often tied to the Vietnam War, either because of the way that they were interpreted, or because they were written to protest the conflict.

“All Along The Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix

“All Along The Watchtower” wasn’t necessarily written with the Vietnam War in mind. However, when Jimi Hendrix put his own spin on the song in 1968, the tune took on a whole different meaning. Bob Dylan penned “All Along the Watchtower” during a thunderstorm. The meaning of this song is kind of a mystery and differs from person to person, but in the context of Vietnam, it can definitely be seen as being about people fending for themselves.

“There must be some way out of here”, said the joker to the thief

There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief

Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth

None of them along the line know what any of it is worth.

“The Unknown Soldier” by The Doors

This song is definitely an antiwar song, but many people have interpreted “The Unknown Soldier” as lead singer Jim Morrison’s reaction to the Vietnam War, which was obviously going on at the time. Ironically, even though it wasn’t necessarily written about Vietnam, radio stations still refused to play it. The video for this song also features footage from the war. “The Unknown Soldier” tells the story of many men who die while on active duty. They’re heroes, but no one knows their name.

Breakfast where the news is read

Television children fed

Unborn living, living dead

Bullet strikes the helmet’s head

And it’s all over

For the unknown soldier

It’s all over

For the unknown soldier.

“Draft Morning” by The Byrds

“Draft Morning” from The Byrds’ album The Notorious Byrd Brothers is one of the more obvious songs about the war. This one was written to protest Vietnam, which received a lot of pushback because of the unfairness of the draft. “Draft Morning” was written first by David Crosby, then finished by Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman.

Take my time this morning

No hurry

To learn to kill

And take the will

From unknown faces.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns