When you hear about war music, the first thought that might come to mind is of a battlefield, soldiers loading their guns in trenches, or a musical theme related to battles, but the concept of war music is actually broader than this. If we look at history and different cultures, people use it for various purposes, like celebrating victory, honouring the martyrs, boosting morale, etc.
A war song isn’t necessarily about fueling war. It can be emotional, heartwarming, morale-boosting, patriotic, or simply a presentation of people’s feelings when they experience this.
That’s what makes this subject interesting and captivating. From the archives of past military songs to World War I, then to modern-era songs regarding civilian losses, this music gave voice to people’s expressions.
Definition of War Music
War music is a product of musical composition deeply connected with society’s perception and opinion about war. It can be war-mongering, non-aggressive, or a description of daily life during wartime.
There is still room in this definition.
It can be a military song made to encourage soldiers to keep moving. It can be a zealous song for the nation to stimulate their support. It can be a protest song to hold the culprits of war accountable. And some can be made for that soldier who’s on the battlefield, missing his family.
So when you search for war music, you might be looking for different things: sometimes war songs, sometimes patriotic war music, and sometimes you’re looking for songs intended to mourn civilian suffering.
Evolution of War Music throughout history
War and music have a very old historical connection.
In ancient civilisations, music was a part of soldiers’ lives; they used music and chants as a source of morale, comradeship, and courage to be ready for war. For example Māori Haka, it has a long cultural history and has been used to express strength, courage, willingness, and readiness to bear hardships for a cause. One of the best Haka was composed by Māori chief Te Rauparaha and is still performed at the national level in New Zealand today.
If we move towards Europe, these ballads became part of military and naval culture from the 16th century onwards. Some songs were made for celebrations and victories, and some were made to praise the bravery and sacrifice of soldiers and people.
By the time of World War I, these ballads had become an important part of wartime life; there were patriotic songs, but soldiers also used to sing emotional songs, and those who were missing their families used to sing songs with that sentiment, with the hope of returning home someday and meeting their families.
As the music industry grew and recording technology, radio and music entered into a more sophisticated era, war music expressed itself to a much larger audience in a more fascinating way. During the Vietnam War, music associated itself strongly with anti-war protests and movements, helping establish an anti-war narrative in the popular domain.
Today, technology has modified this once again. A self-reliant artist can release a song and can reach an audience all around the world without any radio campaign or music company.
Types of War Music
Military Music and March
Military music is one of the most common and obvious types of war music. It can be used for several purposes, such as military gatherings, parades, recruitment, and morale.
The primary focus of these songs is to establish unity, discipline, and a strong sense of identity.
Wartime Songs
These songs are more related to an individual soldier.
They describe the emotional condition of a soldier on the battlefield and what he is experiencing; these songs may also tell us about how their families are feeling about their beloved family members who are serving on the battlefield, and sometimes they also describe how a common man lives when the war is surrounding him.
Anti-War Music
As the name suggests, these songs are against war scenarios but can be the most famous in our war music list at the same time.
Artists usually use this music to challenge the conflict situation, questioning politicians and the military about their decisions, strategies, and the cost of conflict. The artists often link these songs to a particular historical event, and it creates a difference in the situation, but sometimes it leaves its impact long after the conflict has ended.
Cinematic War Music
War music does not always require lyrics.
In this type of music, filmmakers and musicians use orchestral and electronic music that creates tension, sadness, fear, hope, anticipation, and a sense of scale, and this is one of the reasons people search for war music, different battle-related soundtracks, and cinematic background music.
Cinematic war music might not be presenting any political argument most of the time, but it presents something more important than a political debate or argument, and that is people’s suffering and experiences.
Music related to the human cost of War
This is one of the categories of war that is less focused on wars and battles and more focused on people.
These songs mainly deal with sadness, trauma, grief, fear, survival, tragedy, destruction, displacement, and catastrophic circumstances that common people are bearing because of wars. They make the listeners realise that war is not just a clash between two armies that only affects two groups, infact it is something that has a maximum effect on families, innocents, societies, and whole communities that suffer from it.
Powerful Examples of War Music
There is no one-word answer to the question: What is the best War Music? It varies from listener to listener depending on their nature and taste; some of them search for cinematic songs, some go for patriotic songs, and some want to listen to wartime ballads.
Here are some examples showing some of the variety.
War – Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr’s “War” is one of the most famous and searched examples of protest music related to war. The straight and direct delivery of the message and the impactful way of transmission made it a long-lasting anti-war song.
Represents: Anti-war and Protest Music
War Pigs – Black Sabbath
The main intention of Black Sabbath in making “War Pigs” was to build a concrete narrative among the people regarding decision-makers. It was mainly aimed at the accountability of those who are responsible for war and make decisions, while those who suffer most are the common people.
Represents: Anti-War and Political rock
Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival
It was published during the Vietnam War era; Fortunate Son established a deep connection with the criticism of illegal privileges and unjustified use of military authority and power.
Represents: Vietnam-era Protest Music
Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones were intended to cover the chaotic, frightening, violent, destructive, and unstable side of war. It was not a traditional war song, but it was actually something that is strongly associated with social unrest and a sense of conflict.
Represents: Social unrest, Instability, and Chaos
Give Peace a Chance – Plastic Ono Band
It is linked to an individual named John Lennon and a peace movement; Give Peace a Chance created a place in the hearts of listeners and placed itself on the list of songs that can be used for protest purposes.
Represents: Peace and Anti-War campaign
One – Metallica
This song was based on the heartbreaking story of a soldier who was left severely wounded in the war. Metallica’s One derives its inspiration from the anti-war novel Johnny Got His Gun written by Dalton Trumbo.
Represents: Personal Consequences of War
Where Have All The Flowers Gone? – Pete Seeger
The basic theme of Pete Seeger’s folk songs emphasises on the reflection of the repeating and continuous cycle of recruiting young soldiers and sending them to war.
Represents: War, loss, and the cycle of conflict
Zombie – The Cranberries
This song is the composition of O’Riordan; he composed it as a result of riots connected to The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Zombie tells us how any political dispute can affect ordinary life and leaves its impact on society.
Represents: Impact of Political Violence on Civilian Life
It’s a Long Way to Tipperary
This song built a strong connection with the soldiers of World War I. This war ballad was not like other patriotic songs that give you a boost; it was actually a picturization of how a soldier feels and what he experiences far from home and family.
Represents: Wartime Life and Separation
War Within – HZPROD
Modern war music keeps on shaping itself in different forms. War Within by HZPROD is one of the contemporary examples that aims to visualise the conflicts and disputes through a humanitarian lens.
Rather than just focusing on the battlefield, this project also aims to show the world a real picture of the human cost of war, how much people can be affected by war, and how much emotional weight a war leaves behind in the hearts of people.
Represents: Contemporary Humanitarian Music
These songs are very different from one another, and that’s the actual point of giving these examples. When you hear the word War Music, the thought might come to your mind that it’s a single theme, but the reality is different; War Music is actually a chapter with several components in it related to a single concept in various ways.
War Music is Not Always About Battle
As mentioned before, some of the most famous war songs barely focus on the battlefield.
For a moment, try to think about a family waiting at home. A soldier fighting on the ground, thinking about his family. A child who daily hears the sound of explosions and bombardment while he is supposed to enjoy his childhood. A wife waiting for her husband. Someone who’s thousands of miles away from his home, thinking about what could’ve happened to his loved ones.
These experiences can become an essential part of music too.
This is why you see that, most of the time, themes having feeling of grief, fear, suffering, displacement, hope, and resistance are more vocal in war songs.
Music has the power to make big historical events feel real and personal.
Books can tell us what happened in those historical wars, their causes, how they started and ended, and what they resulted in, but a song can make you feel all those moments just like you are living it.
Anti-War Music VS Pro-War Music
Different music conveys different messages through itself.
Pro-War musics encourage enthusiasm, patriotism, bravery, unity, and morale. On the other end Anti-War music challenges the war situation, protests against conflicts, and questions the consequences of war. Protest music criticises the political and military decisions.
There are some other songs that lie in between. They do not necessarily tell you what to do or believe. They are a description of ground reality.
Why Modern Artists Still Write About War
People have changed the way of making and discovering music, but the reason that artists used to compose songs related to war is still the same.
Music can be helpful for people in experiencing difficult emotions, telling stories, preserving memories, and initiating conversations. It can also be helpful for independent artists in diverting the attention of the audience to humanitarian issues that were expected to be ignored otherwise.
For some of the artists, the aim is not to give any solution to the political disaster to their audience. It is actually to make them realise that people are paying the cost of this conflict.
What’s written in the very last lines is the core thinking behind HZPROD’s War-Torn project, which helps you connect to the human side of conflicts and catastrophes.
War Within by HZPROD
War Within is one step in that mission.
The music used in the song is mainly intended to express the emotional cost of war, while also encouraging listeners to look beyond the idea of conflict as something occurring somewhere far away.
The goal of the War-Torn project is to create awareness and humanitarian support by linking our message with it. If you feel like you can experience how war affected people and want to somehow help them, you can do it by sharing this music.
Support for Affected People
It is understood that music alone can not provide relief, food, medical care, shelter, and means of life to the suffering people. Different firms, humanitarian organisations, and volunteer relief workers perform this job on the ground.
If you do not want to just feel their grief but also do something for these innocent people practically, you can consider supporting any verified organization working for these people.
Support HZPROD War Torn Mission
No need to hurry; verify the organization first, and be satisfied. Be aware of where you are sending your money, and go through its official donation channels.
FAQs
What is war music?
War music is actually a wider category of the music industry which is mainly connected with the events and concepts related to conflicts and wars; sometimes it’s about human behaviour during wartime, sometimes it’s about morale and other things linked to wars and their consequences.
Is Military music the same as war music?
No, Military music is a specific genre within war music, while War Music actually consists of many genres, including Military Music.
Why do musicians write songs about war?
The reason why artists write songs about war can differ based on their intentions. For example, if an artist is willing to create awareness among his audience about the human cost of war, he writes a song addressing this aspect; likewise, different artists compose different songs based on different intentions and aims.
Can war music be about Peace?
Absolutely yes. There is a whole genre in War Music related to peace, which is called anti-war music; it is mainly aimed at highlighting the negative consequences of wars and encouraging the listeners to speak for peace.
War Music in a Nutshell
War music has never been just one thing.
It could be a patriotic anthem, a ballad encouraging soldiers to defend their motherland; it can be the voice of a child waiting for his father to come back home from the trenches of death, or an expression of a mother doing everything she can to know his son’s condition; it can also represent the protest of the people who are paying the cost of wars with their lives, emotions, feelings, and money.
And that might be a reason War Songs still matter. Battles may become a part of history, but the impact, the grief, the losses, the fear, the anger they leave behind last for generations, and the people who had no choice but to bear all of the destruction can never recover from it.
