Kairos of "I Ain't Marching Anymore"

Phil Ochs's song, "I Ain't Marching Anymore", came out in 1965 in the midst of social frustrations with the possible stale mate of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War started in 1955 , and the US got involved in 1964. Along with the rise of the Hippie movement came the rise of the anti-war movement, which is embodied in the lyrics of this song. Ochs captures a frustrated soldier's point of view by implying that the war is pointless, especially when it comes to sacrificing young lives. The song alludes to a myriad of previous American battles, in order to emphasize the point that war is not answer, as the country is repetitively involved. This song can be compared to Paul Hardcastle's "19" (http://www.metrolyrics.com/19-lyrics-paul-hardcastle.html), which also takes an anti-war approach in regards to soldiers' lives lost, though written 20 years later. Hardcastle sings, "All those who remember the war, they won't forget what they've seen. Destruction of men in their prime whose average age was nineteen." Ochs's lyrics are very similar to Hardcastles when he says, it's always the young to fall…tell me is it worth it all." From "the battle of New Orleans" to a post-war reflection on the Vietnam war, there is a repetitive theme of young soldiers dying for a questionably good cause, regardless of the time period.