But it’s easy to forget that it also offers a choice: After warning you for five minutes that war is just a shot away, Mick Jagger reminds you that “Love, sister, it’s just a kiss away.” See, The Rolling Stones weren’t kings of darkness all the time. “Peace and Love” is a song featured in the episode “It Could’ve Been Great”. She returned to the well four years later for “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” her biggest (and last) hit as a singer. Pepper, “All You Need is Love” gave the world a message that’s never felt more necessary than it does right now. Read on for the most inspiring peace songs and let us know your favorite tracks in the comments below. By now, “Get Together” is recognized as the definitive 60s brotherhood anthem; it’s been in a few films (most recently Ken Burns’ Vietnam) and Louis Armstrong even covered it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This was originally a 1969s Wailers track, but the 1977 Exodus version is the definitive one. “Peace and Love (On Planet Earth)” is a song that premiered in the episode “It Could’ve Been Great” during the 4th StevenBomb. The album was reissued in 2003 (Collectables 9342). The Fab Four’s 1965 album track “The Word” was one of the first great songs about love as a universal concept, far more than just a relationship. While the original of “What A Wonderful World” remains Louis Armstrong’s best-loved track, the version you need to hear is his 1970 remake, on the album Louis Armstrong And His Friends. Modern country music often gets knocked for its conservative leanings, but Kenny Chesney sneaks a progressive message into this 2018 hit without letting down his good-time image. “People Get Ready” has become so familiar that many people assume it’s traditional gospel, but Curtis Mayfield wrote it in 1965. Discover We Shall Overcome: The Power Of Protest Songs. Queen Latifah’s Grammy-winning song (for Best Rap Performance in 1995) is generally about unity, but specifically about the everyday harassment that women have to endure. ‘My Life’: Mary J. Blige Beds In As The Queen Of Hip-Hop Soul, ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’: Bon Jovi’s First Anthem, ‘Super Trouper’: ABBA Score Their Final UK No. It’s partly a rewrite of Woody Guthrie’s “This Train,” but with a difference: Bruce Springsteen’s train has room for the gamblers and lost souls, and promises that everyone’s faith will be rewarded. To me, the world definitely needs more Peace, Love and Understanding. Bob Marley improved the already perfect Mayfield song by reworking the words and writing a new chorus around it. Peace, Love and Understanding. While it offers support both for women and for the evolved men, it’s by far the best unity anthem to include the line “You put your hands on me again, I’ll put your ass in handcuffs.”. Originally written by Nick Lowe and recorded by Brinsley Schwarz, this single started as an easygoing country-rock song, but in Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ hands (with help from producer Lowe) it turned tough and edgy, becoming an anthem for the ages. She only got the song after Dionne Warwick turned it down, but the California lilt in her delivery is just what it needed. Life and death and love and birth, And peace and war on the planet Earth. On the surface “One” is a love song, but its pleas for connection and understanding eventually go worldwide (“Brothers and sisters, we got to carry each other”). The album was released in the United States on 1 March 1996 (Sony Special Products 26474). The Achtung Baby-era is remembered as U2’s conceptual, image-shattering time. In 1996, Sony Special Products issued Peace and Love Songs, a budget compilation of Donovan's Epic Records recordings dating from 1966 to 1969. History tends to remember “Gimme Shelter” as an apocalyptic warning, which it certainly was. Looking for more? Patti Smith would probably tell you that this empowering song is one of the most important ones she ever wrote. Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 landmark single is the modern equivalent of the civil rights anthems on this list. XTC was in peak form when this track was cut for English Settlement, and everything about this track – from Andy Partridge’s righteous lyric to the stripped-down, coiled-up rhythms – seethes with urgency. 27. At the end of a good night – which is when it’s usually played – it can bring shivers. Sometimes you can grab more people with a jolly singalong than an angry protest song. Peace and Love Songs is a compilation album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It’s delivered in a gospel style and sung like a prayer, but some of its statements on racism are forceful as it gets: “Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day/ Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away.”. As the next three songs bear out, trains are a running theme on this list of peace songs. Sony Special Products selected some songs that are not as well known as Donovan's singles, including several album tracks. Though it was a minor hit single, they seldom played it live before the 90s. Cooke only sang the song once in public and had doubts it could ever be a hit; but it has since become an oft-covered landmark and one of the most enduring peace songs in history. The 10 Most Inspiring Peace Songs “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” I just love the words to that song! Nobody could make a peace song more persuasive than Burt Bacharach, whose most idealistic song found its perfect voice in Jackie DeShannon, no slouch of a songwriter herself. Peace & Love MP3 Song by Freddie Mcgregor from the album Reggae Hits Vol. Set against a Greek-inspired riff, the anthem became Stevens’ first U.S. Top 10 hit in 1971, and the healing power of the song has endured. The album was reissued in 2003 (Collectables 9342). His goal here was to avoid saying anything explicitly political, and instead to encourage a divided country to get past its differences. Required fields are marked *. But every one of them has a message that the world could still use. These are the songs that have helped stop wars, fueled the fight for racial equality, and inspired the world to keep reaching for higher ground. I’ll start with . Stevie Wonder wrote more than his share of songs about changing the world. War certainly managed it in 1975, with one of the most good-natured peace songs you’ll ever hear. Originally released in 1967’s Summer of Love, just a month after Sgt. But this classic single was the grandest statement of them all. Peace and love weren’t usually the Allman Brothers ’ style; they were far too tough for that. The message of “Give Peace A Chance” was clear, but Lennon was not trying to preach to the public, but rather, he was offering an ambitious alternative to the world.