Protest songs in the United States Tom Paxton ("Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation" - about the escalation of the war in Vietnam, "Jimmy Newman" – the story of a dying soldier, and "My Son John" – about a soldier who returns from war unable to describe what he's been through), among others. The first protest song to reach number one in the United States was P.F. Sloan's "Eve Of Destruction", performed by Barry McGuire in 1965. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s often used Negro spirituals as a source of protest, changing the religious lyrics to suit the political mood of the time.
Day Is Done (Peter, Paul and Mary song) earlier for their "Album 1700" released in 1967). The song was released in March 1969 and reached No. 21 on "Billboard" Hot 100 for chart dated June 21, 1969. The song was written as an anti-war song during the Vietnam War era, and Yarrow performed it as the opening song at a concert during the anti-war march he helped organized in Washington in November 1969. It became one of the well-known protest songs in the era. According to Yarrow, the message of the song is that "children will lead us to a better world". The song was recorded live at