Meaningful songs #32 - BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD

This  is the thirty second in an occasional series of songs from my collection, with the intent of introducing music to younger readers that they may gain appreciation of music from the classic years, 1957-1990. 

I have lived long enough to hear the "popular" music industry become ever-more formulaic, lazy, uninspiring and cynical; delivering "units" and "artistes" as interesting and memorable as polished mud.

Meaningful songs that eloquently convey a story, sentiment, or social comment and make it to national consciousness are rare these days. If you agree this song is meaningful, please introduce it to someone young; they might enjoy becoming "musical archaeologists".

Todays song, titled "For What It's Worth", released in 1966, is by a group called BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD.

Buffalo Springfield (Before Neil Young moved on)

Hear the song here

For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound?) was written by band member Stephen Stills, who went on to become a prolific songsmith with many other bands , sometimes again with the equally famous Neil Young. 

It is a song of it's time: Flower power and hippie sensibilities woven through a slightly trippy tune that draws you in and then delivers a social comment on the state of the(ir) world, espousing peace, fundamentally, rather than the ways of political powers then and their forces of oppression (the "heat"). It is a pacifist's song saying we better be wary of what more troubles we stir up (for ourselves) and seems pertinent today  in 2025.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

There's something happening in here

But what it is ain't exactly clear 

There's a man with a gun over there 

Telling me I got to be aware

 

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

  

There's battle lines being drawn

And nobody's right if everybody's wrong

Young people speaking their minds

Getting so much resistance from behind

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down 

 

What a field-day for the heat

A thousand people in the street

Singing songs and carrying signs

Mostly say, hurray for our side 

 

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

Paranoia strikes deep 

Into your life it will creep 

It starts when you're always afraid 

Step out of line, the man come and take you away 

 

We better stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going 

Stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going

Stop, now, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going

Stop, children, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down

 

Return to the first article in this series or hear the first song in this series.

Read the next article in the series or hear the next song in the series.

For the index of all songs in this blog click here