you not wanting to do songs like this is exactly why you should do songs like this …..

Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. We are waking up...slowly.

The most telling line for me is, "hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace".

It's a powerful song about the pain and suffering going on in the world. It may have been written in 1965 but it's message still resonates today.

I am 73 years old and we are going in the same direction all over again. They sent me and a whole lot of brothers to Vietnam to fight their war,and when we came back they were preaching non violence.

This song is more relevant now than it was in the 60’s. A total prophecy told in poetic form. You had wonderful insights

Yep 1965. “Take a look around you boy, it’s bound to scare you, boy.” It did.

You are 100% correct. I lived during those times in 1965 and yes, history is repeating itself once again! Thank you for sharing.

If this song made you mad, then it did it's job. It was a powerful song when it came out and still is today. It is sad that we haven't learned to live with each other since the dawn of time.

Songs, books, and art like this play an important part in life. They're like an alarm clock or a siren. While difficult to hear, they wake us up and warn us. Without them, we'd likely be worse off in the world.

I was 13 years old when this song was released and now, after all these years, it feels more real and relevant than it did then. I wish we could have passed on a better, more peaceful world. We did try.

The 60s was a terrifying and brutal period. We were truly afraid of Nuclear annihilation and Vietnam was raging. America changed forever after that.

The thing that gives me some hope is that I was 10 years old when this song hit the radio waves and the world hasn't destroyed itself ...yet

As a Vietnam Vet, this makes me sad, yes even angry about the lies and the deceit back in the 60's

A very powerful song

One of the best mid 1960s protest songs. Impossible not to be profoundly moved by it.

This song was originally offered to the Byrds but they turned it down , the Turtles also covered it but it is so good Barry McGuire was the original performer as his version was raw and really captured the spirit of the song and the times.

I am 73 years old and remember dancing in the playground at break,but I was in tears listening today and agree totally with you.

girl people need to hear these kind of songs so we not politicians or people in charge we need to change this world everyone of us !

This is a very well-written song and there's no bones about it, that's how you have to look at it.

History isn’t repeating itself as much as nothing has changed. It’s always been this way. The world is a scary place.

This is one of the few most blatant protest songs to ever become a US Billboard Hot 100 chart # 1 hit. It topped the chart for one week on September 25th 1965 becoming Barry McGuire's only # 1 hit on the chart to date.

This was a protest song about the Vietnam War and a good message. It's sad that the world isn't any better.

The greatest protest song ever. Crazy how relevant it is today.

I remember when this was new. I'm still standing. It doesn't pay to panic.

We do need to think about this. Music can and has changed the world. this song and others of its time helped to stop the Vietnam War and saved thousands of lives.

yes history IS repeating itself !!

This song defined a generation. It was written by P.F. Sloan. Amazing how it still applies today.

Barry was part of the whole 60's thing. He went through a really hard spot in his life but then became a Christian in the 70's and started writing Christian music. He's retired now and lives with his wife somewhere I believe in Washington. I met him a few times, he's really a great guy and reminds me of an overgrown teddy bear.

Great review, and thanks for not stopping the song just to make comments. Born in 53 I was 12 but I remember the song well.

I was 11 years old when this came out. It was the first protest song of the Viet Nam war.

This song remains just as relevant today as it was in 1965

This was the first song I learned all the words to. I was 10 yrs old. Still to this day the most powerful song I have ever heard.

I was 5 yrs old when this song came out, and remember this song and these times vividly. smh Get tough and strong, good people. Only good can defeat evil.

It's life. My father came home from war, fairly unscathed. I was never deployed, thank God. I worked with many war refugees. It's somewhere around the world every night. Blessed are the peacemakers.

I remember all of this.

This song was one I played often. It holds meaning for me. US ARMY, 1969 - 1973....

I'm in my 60's and you are still very young. You will survive, not to worry. You are loved :)

I am just old enough to remember the release of this song. Some "request" radio stations would not play it. My local "Top 40" station would give a 60 second spiel about how this song did not represent the opinions of the station, every time they played it.

As a 21yr old in the 80s I can remember running to my airplane, the pilots starting engines. Getting clearance to come abort. Close the hatch and getting ready to hear authentication codes that told us if we were flying to meet bombers on their way to nuke Russia. Thank God ee never did. War is for the politicians

This was a big hit here in the 60's. A anti-war song that struck a chord then and now. a powerful and original song with nice bits of harmonica-Colin Ward

You are a very thoughtful gentle soul with you reaction to this song. In 1965 this song stood out being so powerful talking about what was going on at the Time the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Marches in THE USA, the Hypocrites we often see.

This song is as relevant today as it was in 1965!

I was young in 1965 - 10 years old. But I remember this song. And then my uncle was killed off the coast of Vietnam in 1967 in the flight deck fire on USS Forrestal. And we listened to the other great protest songs, by Black Sabbath and Buffalo Springfield and one two three what are we fightin for. And we listened to Peace Train and Love Train. And we listened to Kenny Rogers singing about Ruby taking her love to town, and John Prine singing about the hole in Sam Stone's arm where all the money goes. And we listen now to Jason Isbell singing about sleeping in Dress Blues and James McMurtry saying we can't make it here anymore and Iris Dement singing about the Wasteland of the Free. You must react to these songs, introduce these songs to today's generation. We cannot ignore them.

Truer today than ever it was.

You should listen to this song more! You are the change that you’re waiting for. We blew it, the struggle continues!

Modern musicians can be the troubadours of old. Telling stories of the past and warning’s of the future.

Sixty years later. History repeats itself if we let it.

60 years later it is for me the best Anti-War song and again so up-to-date than ever! And the songline "You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'" shows the insanity of war.

If you think about it, the world has never seen a single day of peace. War’s have raged continuously somewhere on earth for thousands and thousands of years 😢

This song came out in the middle of the Vietman War when protests were starting around the country. I was in college at the time.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

I remember when this first was released. I was 13, but I was already worrying about having to go fight in Vietnam. I had an uncle in the Air Force, and he was always getting sent overseas

Was number 1 song on the top 40 stations back then.

Unfortunately, humanity is quicker to hate than to love. This song is a necessity to jump-start our brains again. The message is a great one but a sad one because of the fact that we need to be reminded all the time.

I think this song is brilliant, and it has all the elements of a great song from that time period. As much as I enjoy your reactions, I think this is one of the better songs I've heard on your channel. Yes, I enjoyed hearing this song and listening to your reaction.

Born in 1956. In elementary school you needed to have an opinion on the viet nam war, hippies, civil rights, poverty, pollution etc... I wish we had made better choices over the years. I still have faith in the youth of today

I got this song on tape. When i was 15. Know i am 61. Love song. So much truth in this song. This song was hes only great song. ❤❤❤ 2:24 ❤❤

You bring lots of joy with your reactions. But occasionally we do need a reality check and songs like this remind us that we STILL have problems that can't be fixed if we are afraid to talk about them.

Lived through it then. So sad to see us going there again within my lifetime. God bess you and your generation. I hope the country and the world will wake up soon.

Yes. almost 60 years later and the song is still relevant.

One of the greatest but most under-rated songs of the 60's with just as much relevance now as then. Writer and philosopher George Santayana originally wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It would appear that todays leaders have not learned from past mistakes, perhaps they have forgotten 2 World Wars in the last century and what they cost our countries in terms of lives?

Your reaction to this song was saddening and rightfully so. A group called "The Spokesmen" did a response to this song shortly thereafter called "Dawn of Correction". Much more uplifting song. Absolutely loved your reaction to Stayin' Alive and How Deep is Your Love by The Bee Gees.

I was 14 in 1965 and remember it well. This was just a couple years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and nuclear annihilation was on our minds all the time. A lot has changed in the last 59 years, but McGuire was just a little bit early on his prediction. It's coming...

In all that time, only one thing has changed ... The line, "you're old enough to kill, but not for voting". Back then, you were drafted at the age of 18 but the voting age was 21. Being on this planet a lot longer than you (I'm 73) I can attest that as a species, "We haven't learned a damn thing" and if anything, it has gotten worse.

I was 4 when this came out. 63 now and we're still in this situation, even more so now.

The sixties was a very tumultuous period and you’re right. We are repeating a lot of it again and some are repeating much of what happened in 1930s and 1940s Europe. If we don’t learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it and here we are reliving the ugliness, hate and destruction. Smh!

my father was and m p for a while in the military. and this was one of his favorite songs. yea i remember.

I was 8 when this song came out and when the song says "take a good look around you boy. It's bound to scare you boy..." . Thats what I did as a young boy and I knew what it meant. During elementary school we had nuclear bomb drills. Everyone runs out to the hallway, sits down, put your head between your legs and (kiss your butt goodbye). Also, we watched movies on nuclear bombs tests at school and the destruction just one bomb could do and there were thousands of them. It could happen at any moment! Then came all the riots when I was about 10 yrs old. I was white and my black neighbor was a good friend. We played together a lot until then. All this while Vietnam and protesting is on the news every night. So open your eyes and take a GOOD look around. Peace

I heard this song when I was in the fifth grade...living in Birmingham Alabama. I had no siblings but some of my classmates had older brothers that were joining the armed forces and heading for Vietnam. While that was going on we watching the race riots, but not on the evening news. We were watching the riots through our living room windows. As You watched the video I saw horror, sadness and regret in your eyes. I'm 70 years old now and those are same things I feel to this day.

It's not that history repeats. It is that we don't learn from history and we make the same mistakes, BUT ESCALATED.

He said it, “Over and over again my friend “ What goes around comes around sadly. Glad you did this one, I’m soon to be 79 and remember this one clearly and it’s just the same old shit--different day. Thanks Angela❤

Loreena McKennitt did a song named "Lullaby" which was based on words written by William Blake in the 1800s which would go nicely with this one-very dark words, which resonate as strongly today as they did when written. She does the background vocals, and plays the harp in this one, but is a tremendous singer/writer, and musician-her video/album recorded in the Alhambra (The famous one in Spain) is well worth a listen should your spirit so move-this song is not on that DVD but is to be found on youtube-along with the DVD .

People will never learn we will destroy are self.

Tom Clay What the World Needs Now

Your initial comments are spot on. What we learn from history is that we don't learn from history.

It is a powerful song and your reaction was very much what I expected. History is repeating itself but I think it is important to hear songs like this to remind ourselves that it does. The intention of the song was to wake us up and we could use the wake up call again.

I was in grade six when this came out. So young, yet old enough to understand what this song meant. All of us young souls did. It started with the assassination of JFK and hasn't ended. This song told us we were in the begging of something much bigger than ourselves.

the scary thing about the songs of the sixties is that you change a handful of words, and they get up off the page and get in your face.

man how true is this tune today the eve of destruction !

A song similar to this is “Ball of Confusion” by the Temptations. Give it a listen.

Songs like this are needed now more than ever. 😢

I thought I was the only one crying.

One of the first anti war songs........and the best.....I heard in 65 and now...NOTHING has changed!!!!! Nothing and yes...ite real....its real....and do more songs like this.. WE Must think about it.....because it hurts us...to allow it.

From that long ago Fall of '65, this is a classic. And it was his only hi8t song.

You are spot on with your reaction to this song. What a shame that we haven't learned our lesson and that it seems we may never.

Imagine us hearing this back in 60's ?? Does it relate still ??

Well Angela, I was born in 1961 and so I have lived through decades of this stuff. Having studied all of history I can say there has always been more conflict than there has been peace yet we haven't destroyed ourselves yet. Even the present international situations aren't as bad as what could have, but didn't, happen in the 60's through to the 80's!

It got banned in the UK. Got left on the duke box in a little local coffee bar and was always being played.

It was a time when we younger Americans found our voices. The old politicians were sending the best of a generation to a butcher shop thousands of miles away. And we didn't have a choice since there was a draft. You went or could go to prison (five years) and fined (a quarter of a million dollars) or fled the country. The Country was pissed-off and divided like never before. Black/white/ peace-nicks/protesters gung-ho volunteers and Veterans. But the era created some music that was forever etched into our Old Brains.

The song is 59 years old, a long eve.

This was the heaviest song to come out in the 60''s. Us teens were stunned into complete silence when we first heard it on the radio...the second heaviest song we'd ever heard was Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles. Both songs were talked about for years....

Scary and terrifying is right. Thank you for such a genuine, heartfelt reaction - even if it caused you pain. Thing is, as much as it hurts, there's virtually no chance that the Reality of Such Things will change unless *more* people come to understand the stakes.

mankind has been in a srruggle for life since ADAM and EVE

Hello There, I think it's awesome that you featured this song. It not only exposes, to a younger generation, the music of this period in history, but also the key events of that time in history.I was 5yrs old when this was released so there are some things I remember. Things like the music and seeing the Vietnam War coverage on TV. The 60's had a vibe for sure. Some good...some not so good. As a musician my self, I appreciate your sharing and discussing diverse genres of music. Thanks!

I remember when this song came out. It was played alot because of the Vietnam War. It's still relevant today. Nice reaction 👌. Even though it scared you a little. Peace😊

i remember that lots of radio station were band from playing this music.and like our family. we only had a radio and one record player. you did not get this music. and you could not hang out on the corner. cops would chase you off. we the dam hippies.

This song has been in lot's of Vietnam movies and shows about Vietnam

You should listen to his version of California Dreamin' , in which the Momas and Papas were the backup singers. He had the original version, but the studio had the M&P come back into the studio and re-record the leads (behind Barry's back).

The song is a wake up call, We need the love of God.