Released June 24, 1972 Recorded May 22, 1972 Length 3:35 | Format 45 RPM 7" | |
B-side | ||
"War Song" is a 1972 single credited to Neil Young & Graham Nash, backed by The Stray Gators. It was released in support of George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, who was running against incumbent President Richard Nixon. Young had already voiced his opinions of Nixon two years prior with "Ohio" while a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash, and once again tried to make an impact with a protest song. Despite his and Nash's intentions, the single failed to make a serious impression.
The single itself would soon go out of print. Warner Brothers released the song on their 1974 "Loss Leader" Series album Hard Goods (a promotional series used primarily to promote rock acts on the label at the time). After that, "War Song" would remain unreleased in any other format until June 2009, when it was finally released on CD, DVD, and Blu-ray on a box set by Neil Young called The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972.