List of Anti-war Songs - Traditional Music

Traditional Music

Apart from the various genres of modern music, some traditional and contemporary folk songs reflect the futile efforts of war prior to the major wars of the 20th century. Some of these include:

• "Ain't Gonna Study War No More" also known as "Down by the Riverside", and with a similar tune as "Hand Me down My Walking Cane" – African-American traditional anti-war song recorded by The Weavers and many other people.
• "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" – Irish traditional anti-war and anti-recruiting song that was the basis for the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", and recorded as ""Fighting for Strangers" by Steeleye Span.
• "King Henry" – Pete Seeger
• "Lincoln's Army" – The Irish Rovers
• "Lowlands of Holland" – traditional recorded by Martin Carthy
• "Paddy's Lamentation" – an Irish song dating back to the US Civil War.
• "The Foggy Dew" - an Irish song comparing the loss of Irish soldiers killed during the 1916 Easter Rising and World War 1, made famous by The Dubliners