Buffalo+Springfield

[|"For What It's Worth" By: Buffalo Springfield]

The song was written by Stephen Stills in the mid 1960s and performed by Buffalo Springfield. The Song was released in January 1967. The song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number seven, and in 2004 was #63 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Over the years "For What It's Worth" has come to symbolize worldwide turbulence and confrontational feelings arising from events during the 1960s, especially the Vietnam War. Stills stated that he wrote the song in reaction to escalating unrest between law enforcement and young club-goers related to the closing of Pandora's Box, a club on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California.



Important Lyrics


 * A thousand people in the street**
 * Singing songs and carrying signs**
 * Mostly say, hooray for our side**

These lyrics were interpreted different ways by listeners around the world because of the multiple meanings the song is known for. Many people believed Stills was referring to protesters of the Vietnam War when he wrote "A thousand people in the street singing songs and carrying signs," but Stills has stated that he was really referring to the protest by young Americans over the closing of the night club Pandora's Box


 * There's something happening here**
 * What it is ain't exactly clear**
 * There's a man with a gun over there**
 * Telling me I got to beware**

Many listeners thought these lyrics referred to the war and controversial issues during the 1960s, but it refers to Stills own experiences during the club riot. These lyrics talk about police at the riot telling Stills and other rioters to beware that they would start using force against them.


 * There's battle lines being drawn**
 * Nobody's right if everybody's wrong**
 * Young people speaking their minds**
 * Getting so much resistance from behind**

These lyrics can have multiple interpretations, "Battle lines being drawn," can refer to both the Vietnam War and the battle between rioters and police. "Nobody's right if everybody's wrong," can be interpreted more closely with the Vietnam War, getting the message across that the United States should never have entered the Vietnam War. However, "Young people speaking their minds," relates back to the protest as young Americans were protesting over the club's closing. The last line, "Getting so much resistance form behind," talks about how both protesters of the Vietnam War and protesters of the club received major resistance from authorities.



Lasting Impression

Today Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" is considered to be one of the greatest protest songs of all time, even though most listeners think it protests the Vietnam War and not a club riot. "For What It's Worth is Buffalo Springfield's best known song and represents their greatest achievement.

[|Music Video]