Throughout all of the anti-war protests and marches during the Vietnam War, it is interesting to note the changes in the music of this era. From the beginning of the war, where American support and loyalty were present in songs, to the end of the war, where anger and distrust were evident in musical lyrics, Americans' opinions changed on the war. This change in opinion was easily recognized by the changing of musical lyrics about the war when Americans grew tired of the constant sending of American troops to Vietnam. Growing discontent with the Vietnam War led to increasing levels of anger and hostility in popular music of the era. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson, with strong support from the American public, made the decision to deploy combat troops to Vietnam, a small country. in Southeast Asia (Chronology of the Vietnam War). This was done in an effort to stop Communist North Vietnam's takeover of South Vietnam. The rise of communist North Vietnam and its attempt to control South Vietnam led the United States to feel it needed to intervene. Initially, American public opinion was generally favorable to this movement. The song "The Ballad of the Green Beret", written by former Green Beret Barry Sadler, was one of the few songs from this era to present the military in a positive light. He said, “Fighting soldiers from the sky/Fearless men who jump and die/Men who mean exactly what they say/The brave men of the Green Beret” (Lyrics.com). When this song was released in 1966, it sold two million copies, and "the song attracted its biggest fans from that segment of the American population who agreed with Salute-to-the-Songs." -brave-American-soldier sediment” (Hillstrom 27). .Also during this period, there were...... middle of paper ......o America's cry for peace. Works CitedClymer, Kenton J. The Vietnam War: Its History, Literature, and Music. El Paso, TX: Texas Western, 1998. Print. Førland, Tor Egil. “Bringing It All Home or Another Side of Bob Dylan: Midwestern Isolationist.” Journal of American Studies 26.03 (1992): 337. Print. Hillstrom, Kevin and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. The Vietnamese Experience: A Concise Encyclopedia of American Literature, Songs, and Films. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. Print. “Vietnam War – Articles, videos, images and facts from History.com.” » History.com - History made every day - American and world history. Internet. November 23, 2011. “Timeline of the Vietnam War.” Welcome to English “Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. Internet. November 23, 2011.Lyrics.com - Your music community with the largest searchable lyrics database. Internet. November 23. 2011.