Give Peace a Chance

Song Name: Give Peace a Chance

Year of Release: 1969

Written By: John Lennon

Performed By: Plastic Ono Band

Key Lyrics: “All we are saying is give peace a chance.”

Description: The concept of the song first came during Lennon and Ono’s honeymoon, where they famously stayed in their bed at their hotel for a week to protest the Vietnam war. A reporter asked Lennon what he hoped to achieve by staying in bed, to which Lennon responded, “Just give peace a chance.” He repeated this phrase multiple times and later decided to record a song based on this phrase. Many journalists attended the recording session, and many of them are named in the lyrics 

Why It Was Important: The song became pivotal to the anti-war and counterculture movement of the late 1960s. Half a million protestors sang the song on Vietnam Moratorium Day in 1969 led by singer and activist Pete Seeger, with Seeger shouting, “are you listening, Nixon?” and “are you listening, Agnew?” in between the choruses of the song. Even after Vietnam, the song has gained prominence due to its usage to protest the recent war in Ukraine, with hundreds of European radio stations playing the song in March 2022 in protest. The Italian group Rockin 1000 also performed the song to open the Eurovision finals that year in protest of the invasion.

Recordings

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE. (Ultimate Mix, 2020) - Plastic Ono Band (official music video HD) (music video)

Give Peace A Chance (Ultimate Mix) (studio version)