Folk Rock

The song “For What It’s Worth” was written by Buffalo Springfield group member Stephen Stills. The lyrics have an anti-establishment view, but he song’s inspiration was about anti-loitering laws and the attitude of the police towards young people gathering in crowds in Los Angeles rather than anti-war protests. The particular incident Stephen Stills cites was a rally around the West Hollywood nightclub Pandora’s Box to protest its closing. Police came out in full force to quell and disperse the people in the streets. However, “For What It’s Worth” became a classic sixties protest song.

“For What It’s Worth” was released as a single in January 1967 and rose to #7 on the U.S. Billboard 100. It sold more than one million copies and earned An RIAA gold record. It is also on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Best Songs of All Time.” The band’s first album was titled Buffalo Springfield came out in 1966, and “For What It’s Worth” was not originally on the album. When it became successful, it replaced “Baby Don’t Scold Me” in re-issues.

Buffalo Springfield’s members were from the U.S. and Canada. They had a number of lineups, and members included Richard Furay, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, Jim Messina, Ken Koblun, and Jim Fiedler. They combined rock, folk, and country music. The name was from a parked steamroller they saw, which was made by the Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company.

Here are the lyrics to “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield:

“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

I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

There’s battle lines being drawn
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 a’carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray 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
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, now, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down”

Check Out The Groove Pad for More 1960s Music

The Pass the Paisley Groove Pad is a resting stop, a place to chill out and listen to the featured song on the stereo. If the mood strikes you, click on the juke box to access and listen to the 50+ commercial free online songs there. The TV has several channels, with selections updated twice a week. Every now and then, Pass the Paisley hosts an all-request of 1960s and 1970s songs for a Be-In at the juke box in the Groove Pad. Keep on truckin’. Hope you enjoyed “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield.