What Is The 1960s Most Cynical Rock & Roll Song Ever Written?

[@kaleidoset2569]

The Star spangled banner played by Jimi Hendrix might have been one of the most complicated and subtly crafted protest songs at the time.

[@spacecaptain87]

I love that album. It’s an absolute gem! Barry’s vocals are so powerful and raw. We need songs like that more than ever these days with all the craziness right now. People need to wake up

[@MicahScottPnD]

It's truly incredible how a song can have such a grip on a moment in time. I'm glad I got to see this today❤

[@drewpall2598]

@MicahScottPnD... P. F. Sloan writing was compared to Bob Dylan back in 1965/66 P. F. Sloan was part of the wrecking crew session player guitar He will always be best remember for "Eve of Destruction" 😊🎶🎸

[@stubee56]

Sloan was 19 when he wrote it. My favorite line was "My blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin' "😮 The song disturbed a lot of people.

[@bill4572]

Very interesting view about the song because when I listen to it I think back if I was a teenager at the time that the song came out

[@Chris.Swearengin]

This is extremely helpful and explains what information in detail. Awesome work I love it.

[@chrisstephens2984]

This song should be played every day on every radio station in the country

[@drewpall2598]

Even though "Eve of Destruction" by P. F. Sloan was release in July of 1965 it sums up the 1960's in 3 minutes and 35 seconds.

[@CameronMcCreary]

"Can't you feel the fears I'm feeling today? If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave."

[@Grump-hi2pb]

I just heard that song on an oldies station today, haven't listened to it in years. It kind of fits into the crappy feeling of the political atmosphere I have these days.

[@CameronMcCreary]

@@Grump-hi2pb I sure does make that fit!

[@jdee3421]

Doomsday Clock in 1968: 7 minutes to midnight. Doomsday Clock in 2024: 90 seconds to midnight.

[@RAEckart22]

Doomsday Clock in 1984: 2 minutes to midnight (Iron Maiden)

[@jdee3421]

@@RAEckart22 They were off by one minute - it was actually at 3 minutes in 1984. 😆

[@allenhonaker4107]

As true today as it was then.

[@thenameless3271]

Oh that early 2010s thumbnail, I always wondered who originally made those weird stock images, the intense contrast and saturation, "grainy" like most things tried to be from that era. Back before KZbin brought in the Topic music system, pretty much all songs would be uploaded by some random person with a thumbnail just like that. I always thought they were especially hideous, especially compared to original album covers haha

[@spmoran4703]

Mcguire had the angriest voice ever recorded.

[@walterfechter8080]

For me, an obscure tune, The Life Game," by NYC songwriter, Ry Cooper (aka Rusty Evans) said it all for me back in 1966. In a true and raw sense, that tune was the universal finger salute to established society.

[@sandraworthington7743]

Thanks David for sharing your videos I especially love seeing the ones in the 60s and 70s

[@MisterPersuasion]

I happen to really like the song Eve of Destruction. It may have described the 1960's, but it's just as relevant today--nothing has really changed. Barry McGuire was inspired by the song. He became a Born-Again Christian.

[@Roger-r7s]

Strange how a purely mercenary and commercially exploitative piece of musical pop art can actually be such a dynamic and radical consciousness awakening statement, that resonates with a whole lot of people swirling in the mad vortex of cultural and social upheaval and existential dangers faced in the 60's and still face today.

[@chesterproudfoot9864]

I don't consider this song cynical in the least. I consider it positive, realistic, and hopeful because hearing it means you can't not feel it, and you know that you're not alone in your thinking. Maybe CBS news wasn't talking about it, but this song did. This is liberating, not cynical. For me, the most cynical songs are those superficially upbeat "everything's groovy", "all you need is love", or "give peace a chance" songs that flat out lied about the world in a way that was too simplistic, even narcissistic, and too disconnected from reality for my taste. It takes more than a cool melody or chant to change things, it takes anger and determination. Give me Phil Ochs singing about the war, liberals, the draft or Nina Simone singing about Mississippi any day. ... Btw, Barbara Dane died 2 days ago aged 97 (assisted suicide). [edit] Also, Ohio by CSNY is right up there.

[@walterfechter8080]

P.J. Sloan also wrote "This Is Where You Belong" for the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. It's a sweet jangly Byrd'esque tune - the polar opposite of "Eve of Destruction."

[@kaleidoset2569]

Keep telling me about it over and over again😂

[@ronaldgarrison8478]

The trouble with calling that cynical is that, unless you were somehow connected to the making of it, you couldn't really know the intentions of the songwriters. A thought that has been increasingly poking at me lately is that, when I think about all the music and other works of art I have enjoyed over the years, if I only knew what ideas they held, I might have to forsake a lot of those songs, movies, or other things, because I just couldn't stand to have anything to do with their creators. I'm not sure where to draw the line. I can let a whole lot of personal peccadillos slide. But when it comes to beliefs, some are complete show-stoppers. Pecados grandes.

[@KaliFissure]

AWESOME SONG! I don't care how it was made.

[@crazyburkey3677]

The Temptations, Ball Of Confusion, was another great song, along with Volunteers (Of America) And Good Shepherd, by Jefferson Airplane And, For What It's Worth, Dusty Springfield Move up a few years, and Black Sabbath put out MASTERS OF REALITY, check out Into The Void, After Forever, and Lord Of This World, it's the same album Sweet Leaf was on

[@dennisdmenace2416]

Alone Again Naturally by Gilbert O’Sullivan really depresses me.

[@Themaddprof]

I don't know about this. I've read interviews with P.F. Sloan about this song, and I get the impression he was sincere about what he wrote in "Eve of Destruction." There was no guarantee that the tune would be a financial hit, as Bob Dylan's audience was still largely a cult following at that point. So I can't be sure that Sloan wrote the tune to jump on a gravy train. However, there is no denying that there were and are such things as self righteous posers who exploit movements for their own gain.

[@drewpall2598]

I have to disagree with Greil Marcus that P. F. Sloan wrote "Eve of Destruction" as a money maker. I have watched an interview by P. F. Sloan who talks about writing "Eve of Destruction" at age 19 that he wrote what he felt in 1965 Barry McGuire raspy vocals did add to the song. "Eve of Destruction" The Eastern world, it is explodin' Violence flarin', bullets loadin' You're old enough to kill, but not for votin' You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'? And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin' But you tell me over and over and over again, my friend Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say? And can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today? If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave Take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy And you tell me over and over and over again, my friend Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin' I'm sittin' here just contemplatin' I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation Handful of senators don't pass legislation And marches alone can't bring integration When human respect is disintegratin' This whole crazy world is just too frustratin' And you tell me over and over and over again, my friend Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction Think of all the hate there is in Red China Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space But when you return, it's the same old place The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace Hate your next-door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace And tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction No, no, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

[@MicahScottPnD]

Drew, the second time today that I was thankful you put the words up. Everyone learns differently, of course, but for me it really helps understand a song better❤

[@drewpall2598]

@@MicahScottPnD it's always my pleasure my friend Micah. 😊✌🧡

[@drewpall2598]

@@MicahScottPnDMicah here is another song written by P. F. Sloan I think you'll like "When the Wind Changes "When the Wind Changes" P. F. Sloan 1966 How easy, how easy to not turn your backs How easy to not turn your backs While you're plowing the land with tools we bought ya Reaping the seeds what we carefully taught ya Spending the money we bound to forgive ya It means not to harness but just to help ya The love we have sent has turned to resentment And now that your hunger's no longer a threat Oh, when the wind changes, how quick we forget When the wind changes, how quick we forget How easy, how easy it is to change sides How easy it is to change sides Throw rocks at our windows and burn all our towers Say "Leave us alone, we've got our own God-given power" But it's not what you said when the enemy crippled ya Handcuffed, enslaved and totally stitched ya That's not what ya said when our armies had freed ya And now when we say "Friend, we really need ya" Ah, you act just like we never have met Ah, when the wind changes, how quick we forget When the wind changes, how quick we forget How easy, how easy it is to destroy How easy it is to destroy Once allies in spirit now split the world in two One bent on destruction, they say "We'll bury you" But that's not what you said back in 1932 When our trainloads of wheat kept your millions alive And now you claim everything I said is a lie Well, send back the children our food kept from death And then count your faces, see how many are left Oh, when the wind changes, how quick we forget When the wind changes, how quick we forget How sad, how sad the strong tree's burden How sad the strong tree's burden Your brothers and sisters have been scarred by the fire Only time can heal their limbs held by wire And you and you alone by the flames untouched The leadership of the forest has now been thrust Life and death are yours to protect The history books, they too will reflect The day they appreciate the help that they get Ah, but when the wind changes, how quick they forget Oh, when the wind changes, how quick they forget

[@MicahScottPnD]

@@drewpall2598 Wow, that's heavy, Drew. What a song that is, especially given the context.

[@ronlight7013]

More Greil, David!

[@susiefairfield7218]

Over and Over again ....

[@wayne00k]

I'd say the 1967 Thiele and Weiss song, recorded by Louis Armstrong - "What a wonderful world" would have to be the most cynical song... but McGuure's is a close second for sure.

[@riverbender9898]

Exploitation? Surely not in the entertainment industry. Thanks David.

[@ronaldgarrison8478]

I remember at least a couple of songs that give me a whole lot more heartburn than this one does. I don't think this song is wrong. At worst, it's only half of the story, But let me put forth these candidates► ►In the Year 2525. On the first album I ever bought, or maybe the second, 1969. Blehhhh. ►Little Boxes. Extensively covered. Makes me want to puke. Tom Lehrer called it sanctimonious, and that's exactly what it is. Not just blehhhh, but elitist and offensive.

[@AskAlice112]

@David Hoffman Have you done a piece on The Plastic People of The Universe by chance? Love your channel. ...Canadian chick xo

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

I have not. I never heard of the plastic people. DAVID HOFFMAN filmmaker

[@toddclark332]

All song are money David if not they would not be in the In the public❤have a beautiful night sir

[@MicahScottPnD]

There are a lot of songs that aren't in the public, though🤔

[@kathleenferguson3296]

The times they have a changed. Barry McGuire is much more cynical.

[@jnseney]

And all these I thought Barry McGuire wrote it

[@o1badmofo763]

Der Mussolini is a catchy tune 🎵

[@MatthewThomas-k7g]

What about the Whoopi were all gonna die. Don't know the name or artist.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Country Joe McDonald. DAVID HOFFMAN filmmaker

[@LupaDomina]

There's a lot I would like to say. Unfortunately it's all been said already. Better voices than mine spoke and continue to shout. I will instead say hold those you love close, live like it is our last moments, regret the things you did do, spread joy and laughter wherever you go. No matter the end, while we live make it count. 🫶🌎🌍🌏

[@dirtyunclehubert]

id rather bring "the times they are a-changing" by bob dylan to the table.

[@MicahScottPnD]

I second that.

[@duallinkdvi-dcable1822]

I reckon "With God on our side" is closer