In America especially, the people use the arts to express their ideas. The most prevalent art form used in uniting masses and speaking out is music. Popular music is usually a direct reflection of the general society at a given period of time. Coming out of the depression, the blues were at their peak. Lonnie Johnson and Louie Armstrong were common voices that spoke to the ordinary man who could closely relate to the soulful melodic ballads.

When World War II began, evidence of the war started showing up in the music. The glory of war was not as predominant in the music as it was in WWI, however there were still many that were "feel good" melodies that attempted to cheer up the soldiers in time of combat. Big bands played a huge role at this period. An example of this

Popular music before September resembles that of the 1950's, although much different in content, in that the music of both decades reflects political ease amongst the general American public. Most songs that have either been written or re-purposed as a reflection of September 11th intend to raise the spirits and soothe the pain of American society as a whole.

Songs that spoke heavily against the war at Vietnam were those such as "I Ain't Marching No More", by Phil Ochs, and "Eve of Destruction", by Barry McGuire. It was common for songs such as these to be banned from radio airwaves. They radiated a sense of frustration with a variety of evils such as racism and war. "War", by Edwin Starr, is an example of blunt protest against the destruction of innocent life, while songs like "What's Going On", by Marvin Gaye, expressed the immense confusion concerning the war.

The shift in the general tone in the music from the 1940's to the 1950's directly shadows the peoples' need of constant focus on the war to sheer liveliness. The feel-good innocence of much of the Fifties music reflects on the post World War II optimism in America. This attitude continued through most of the Sixties until the emergence of strong conflicts associated with America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

The songs considered to be pro-Vietnam tend to have either conflicting response from the public, such as the ballad "Okie from Muskogee" by Merle Haggard, or conflicting lyrics, such as "Sky Pilot" by Eric Burdon and The Animals. Haggard's rather infamous ballad earned him a full pardon California's ultra-conservative governor, Ronald Reagan. This proves the need of social approval of the war by the government. "Sky Pilot" expresses the initial reason of the wa

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