Jessie Williams is a folk-punk singer-songwriter from Southern California. He write songs about social and economic issues. This song is called The Suburban Revolt and it's about activisim and joining together to bring about a change. www.myspace.com/TheSuburbanRevolt

The Bathtub Sophist is a home-recorded solo project. This song is about homelessness and war. Singer-songwriter Aron writes: "There are thousands of homeless war veterans in the world, this song was inspired by an interview with one such man - Mick - the audio is from a UK context, but works well as the issue is sound in almost every country of the world..especially in the USA." www.myspace.com/thebathtubsophist

Mandy Woods is an Oxford based singer-songwriter. Her song, It’s a Message, is about "the damage the human race is doing to the environment, and encourages people to take a stand and fight against the harm that is being done by those in power. I actually wrote it some time ago, but sadly it seems to have become more relevant as the years have gone by."

Tim Ratcliff and Ken Bailey (Professionally known as "Ratcliff Bailey") are independent songwriters based in Ironton, Ohio. www.westfieldrecording.com

Another song by Tim Ratcliff and Ken Bailey.

East of Ealing is an English world music dance band.  www.eastofealing.co.uk

Ian Simpson is an English singer-songwriter. His song Lest We Forget is about the Iraq war. www.sticklebacksongs.co.uk

Since August 2007 composer Katie Lees has been travelling around Tuva, China, Tibet, Nepal and India recording samples and writing an album to be used for peace in Asia in general. Katie writes 'With the Olympics coming up, it's suddenly very topical. The lyrics are not English, they are mainly Sanscrit. www.myspace.com/tuvan.lights

Andrew Rohde writes of his song, Blood for Oil, "this country is in great need of change but the change needs to come from within....from we the people. For the people always have and always will have the power."

Jordan Meyer is an American singer-songwriter. This song is about the death of his best friend, Lance Corporal Philip A Johnson, in Iraq in September 2006. 'I knew when I heard the news I had to write a song pouring all my love for him into music. I just want it to get out there and reach ears, and let people know how much pain this war is causing.'

Scott Johnson is an American singer/songwriter who has written about a dozen songs. He wrote When Will They Come Home just after President Bush's proposal to send more troops to Iraq in January 2007. 'I started wondering when the troops would ever come home and decided to write the song from the perspective of a parent who just wanted their son and the other troops to come home.'

Claire Mooney has been a professional singer-songwriter since 1989. She has released several critically acclaimed albums to date. www.clairemooney.com

Another song by Claire Mooney. 

Raymond Wright is an Irish singer-songwriter who has been writing songs and poetry for 30 years, when he gave up performing in clubs and cabaret. He has performed in all four of the home countries and done a bit of television. His song was 'written after visiting the Guns of Dunree Museum on Donegal's Inishowen west coast on the shores of Lough Swilly. It is the only place in Ireland where I have seen the Irish tricolour flying alongside the Union Jack. There were some little children playing on the old guns and this inspired me to write the song.'

Fuck The Writer is a Dutch singer-songwriter who has released his second album this year. www.myspace.com/Fuckthewriter

Andy Easton writes for the band Tin Roof. His song, Stay, is based on personal experience of domestic abuse. Andy writes 'it holds a deep meaning for
me, because I wrote it for a very special young man and his mother
after hearing his story.' www.TheTinRoof.com

Don Treistman is a songwriter from New York.  His song, Peace By Peace, is in his words 'a no-nonsense peace song pertaining to all the major conflicts of the day.' www.myspace.com/dontreistman  

Jimi Cullen is an English singer-songwriter. The following songs are from his debut album. www.myspace.com/jimicullen

Another song by Jimi Cullen.

This song, War, is by Lee Hutchinson of Fearless Fhallus, a studio band at Clem Records in Cornwall, UK.  This song is the band's 'way of voicing our protest at what we consider to be an unlawful armed conflict in Iraq.' 

Amy Martin is a Montana, USA, based singer/songwriter/activist. Her next CD (to be released in early October 2006) is very political with an anti-war orientation. It also has a social justice component and is being released in partnership with the Montana Human Rights Network. www.amymartin.org

Another song by Amy Martin.

Stevie Palmer is an Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter. His song, Not In My Name, 'was inspired by the slogan which served to encapsulate the emotions and feelings felt by a great many people, from every walk of life, at the start of this most cynical and bloody of campaigns. The slogan itself continues to lend considerable expression to a multitude of voices word wide and it is my hope that this song can add to that expression in some way.'

Simone Sahyouni came to Scotland in 1989 as a refugee from the Lebanon and has been performing as a freelance classical singer in and around the UK ever since graduating from the RSAMD in 1995. She began writing songs in 2000 as a hobby and remarks 'it was interesting for me to see that most of them turned out to be protest songs of one kind or another.' Freefall, her first of three songs, is 'based on the events which took place this summer in my homeland. I was lucky that my parents were evacuated in the beginning of August but we still could do nothing for the ones left behind.'

Another song by Simone Sahyouni, this time with the homeless in mind. 'One person in particular inspired this. He committed suicide on Edinburgh's George IV Bridge a few years ago while journalists from The Scotsman building stood by taking pictures. I was in the area at the time.'

Simone Sahyouni wrote this third song 'for all who are on the verge of giving up: dreams, hopes, life.'

The Home and Ug Lee Band are from rural Montana, USA. In their words 'they're tired of Bush being in office and aren't going to take it any longer. Their song, Too Much Bush, has an accompanying video which can be viewed at the official Too Much Bush website at www.toomuchbush.com where visitors are encouraged to express their views by voting.

Tom Fairnie is an Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter. In his first song, Rockets Over Babylon, 'the chorus recalls the bombing of Berlin, Hanoi and the Lebanon, which is used to emphasise the fact that perhaps this isn't a strategy that works. The song isn't meant to be overtly anti-war but is meant more as a comment on the wisdom of a failed foreign policy that stretches back to the crusades.' www.tomfairnie.com

Another song by Tom Fairnie. Inspired by the events of September 11, 2001, Tom writes that this song 'is really an expression of fatalism and how we attempt to come to terms with these events but also asks the question "Why is it we retain the ability to carry out these acts, but we seem incapable of learning how to stop them?" '

Andrea O'Brien is a Coventry-based singer-songwriter. Her song, No War, was inspired by the recent war in Lebanon. It's a popular song now on the local music scene.

Malachy Tallack is a 25-year-old singer-songwriter living in Fair Isle, Shetland, who has two albums of my own songs. 'This song was written after hearing a radio news feature about the last remaining British veterans of World War I. The report was discussing whether or not the last veteran to die should be given a state funeral. But it did not discuss whether or not they would want one. I wrote the song from the perspective of the last veteran, who has seen his country betray all of the ideals that he held, and who certainly does not want to be buried with a Union Jack.' www.malachytallack.com

Steven Clark is a singer-songwriter from Glasgow. This song uses the Scots saying "we're all Jock Tamson's bairns". Broadly speaking, it means: we are all one family, the same under the skin, it takes all sorts. 'I live in Bishopbriggs, a more-or-less comfy suburb of Glasgow. Each day I travel by bus through Sighthill and Red Road, where many immigrants and refugees are housed. The song was a reaction to some of the casual, petty racism and begrudgery that occurs on a daily basis.' www.stevenclarksongs.com

Another song by Steven Clark. He writes: 'A young boy named Ali Abbas became a media pet when his family was killed, and he lost both arms during the Allied bombardment of Baghdad. He subsequently was flown to the UK for treatment, and was given prosthetic limbs. When he appeared on television screens across the world, he was inundated with gifts from well-wishers. What made me write this song was hearing that he had been sent a Playstation. Just what you need when you have no hands. The 'God Willing' line came from his uncle and the boy himself. Whenever they were quoted, they would always add 'God Willing'.'

Sheffield-based Eileen Pratt and Sue Burgess sing in a folk duo called 'Useless Annie'. Eileen wrote this song on 'thinking about soldiers pining for the girls they'd left behind.' The melody is a traditional French tune called Les Filles de Mon Pays.

John Fyfe is a Scottish singer-songwriter based in Haddington. His song, War Wives, 'mainly comes from my memories as a wee lad brought up during the Second World War, when four of my uncles served in various branches of the armed forces, with only two coming home. Sixty years later, war wives still suffer.' Vocals and pipes by Davie Robertson.

Liam Kane is a singer-songwriter from East Kilbride. His song, A Gentle Rose, was written for Rose Gentle, Scotland's most prominent anti-war campaigner since the death of her son, Gordon, in Iraq. Stevie Lawrence plays bouzouki on this track.

Another song by Liam Kane. He writes 'this song was inspired by former MSP, Iain Grey, and the current MP for East Kilbride and former Armed Forces minister, Adam Ingram. Despite several years campaigning for third world causes, Iain Grey refused to speak out against the so-called war in Iraq while he was a minister in the Scottish Parliament; Adam Ingram not only supports the war enthusiastically, he behaves in an ignorant fashion to those for whom it has meant the ultimate sacrifice, as is the case with the way he has treated Rose Gentle.'

Another song by Liam Kane.

A song by Scottish singer-songwriter James Donaldson.

Another song by James Donaldson.

Gordon Douglas is a singer-songwriter from Dundee. He plays in various bands and has five solo albums to his name. His song, War Politics Of The Madhouse, 'reflects my view of people making war on my behalf. 'You can't have a gun your hand and any God in your heart!' '

Alan Train is from Lanarkshire, Scotland. He recently returned from New York where he's been working with his band The Trains. Although it doesn't mention the word 'war', Alan feels his song, The World's Too Small, is a positive peace song. www.thetrains.co.uk

Liza Mulholland is based in Inverness. Her song was inspired by the scale of killing in Iraq which made her think about Eric Bogle's anti-war anthem, Green Fields of France/No Man's Land, and 'how, ninety years on from the First World War, we have the same old utter horror and futility of war, with its terrible loss of young life on both sides, supported by the same old lies and platitudes from right-wing politicians.'

Norman MacArthur is a piper and singer/songwriter in the Gaelic group Meantime. Along with his bandmates he is one of very few who are actually writing contemporary songs in Gaelic. 'I wrote this song after seeing images on the news of Scottish soldiers in the the Black Watch regiment marching into Basra in Iraq being led by the pipes playing The Black Bear. I felt quite confused by what I felt. On the one hand I was proud of them, on the other I was angry. Scottish soldiers fighting and dying under a British flag. Indeed fighting under an American flag in an illegal war. It reminded me of footage from the First and Second World Wars yet here we are again listening to and following the piper playing the same old tune.' www.meantimeinfo.co.uk

Eileen Penman is a folk singer and activist from Edinburgh. She teaches songs of struggle, protest & freedom as well as Scots traditional songs to groups and choirs in the community. She wrote her song, Peace is the Prize, 'because of my horror at the war in Lebanon and a feeling that only the power of ordinary people and not politicians could end war and bring about peace in the world.'

Another song by Eileen Penman. Her song, Children of the World, 'was inspired by the poverty & cruelty experienced on a daily basis by street children in cities throughout the world.'

Fiona Keenan is an Irish singer-songwriter based in Aberdeen. Her song, We Marched, was inspired by the 2003 anti-war marches. 'I sort of have the idea of lots of people sitting together singing this off song-sheets!'. www.myspace.com/fionakeenan

24 year-old Sarah Richardson lives in London. She studied composition at university and composes in a variety of musical styles from classical to electronic. Call for Peace is the first song she's composed, and Sarah would like to thank Jon for agreeing to sing for this recording. 'The subject matter is very emotive and in this song I have tried to ask questions and echo the thoughts and feelings of the masses who marched in demonstrations against the war in Iraq in 2003.'

Alan Dickson is a Glasgow-based singer-songwriter. About this song he writes 'In all recent wars the innocent victims are always the children. Nearly a third of those who died in the recent war in Lebanon were children.' www.alandickson.name, www.myspace.com/byresroadbard

Another song by Alan Dickson. 'This is a modern version of the old Scottish ballad 'The Twa Recruitin' Sergeants'. The song is partly based on events which happened to members of my family. Still we see young soldiers close to home being killed as the Iraq war illustrates.'

Alan Dickson's third song. 'The demon of revenge is still the main cause of destruction. In that sense we are still our own worst enemies. We are all responsible for what happens, made all so real with the bombing in the London Underground. I wrote this on the first anniversary of this atrocity and made me reflect on what this means for me and where I live. The song is inspired by Dylan's I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine.'

Another song by Alan Dickson. 'William Ogilvie is a forgotten hero who lived in 18th Century Scotland (a contemporary of Robert Burns and Thomas Muir) and was a radical land law reformer.'

Sri-Lankan born singer-songwriter Suzette Herft lives in Melbourne, Australia. She writes songs that are drawn from her experiences of being a migrant, psychiatric nurse, mother, wife and community worker. Her song, Light A Candle, was written in response to the 'Tampa' incident, when the Australian government turned away from Australian shores in August 2001, 433 asylum-seekers who had been rescued by the Norwegian vessel 'The Tampa'. At the time Suzette 'remembered an old Indian proverb: it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. This song is dedicated to the barrister who defended the people on the Tampa and to the nameless others who are continually advocating for justice.'

Another song by Suzette Herft. This one 'was born out of my frustration at those who seem 'blind' to injustice and 'lame' when it comes to speaking out or raising a voice of hope.'

Bob Davidson is a Perth-based singer-songwriter.

Steve Thorne is a singer/songwriter from the south coast who is currently recording a second album. His song was inspired by watching events in Iraq unfold on the news. 'It was the images of the children caught up in the battle for oil, that brought home the injustice of it all.'

Alastair Moodie lives near Cardross in the west of Scotland with his wife and dog. 'When I saw the competion I felt I had to contribute something because of how I feel about the bloody mess which is the Middle East and generally the world we live in.'

Keiron Mason is an Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter who plays with a band called ardentjohn. His song, Too Greedy For Wisdom, 'was motivated by readings on indigenous peoples/colonisations and a few travel experiences.' www.myspace.com/ardentjohnmusic

Rose Nimmo is a Scottish singer-songwriter. Her song 'was inspired by my exasperation with someone who kept telling me porkies and it grew into a rant about people not giving others respect; whether on a personal or global level.' www.rosenimmo.co.uk, www.rosyblue.co.uk

Joe Messanella is an American singer-songwriter living in the Netherlands. His song, 51st State, 'sums up the Bush presidency.... The song was inspired by a Kurt Vonnegut interview on the Jon Stewart show, where he explained how he wanted to call his new book, Man without a Country the 51st State, because the Bush administration were in a state of denial about the Iraq debacle.' www.longlosthome.com

Another song by Joe Messanella, which explores motivations for the tragic invasion of Iraq. It's 'based on a speech by senator Byrd from West Virginia on the senate floor back in 2003.'

Ken O'Keefe is a singer-songwriter based in Fife, Scotland. He wrote, Superfreak, as a result of America going into Iraq and Blair following suit. www.myspace.com/thesighedproject

Craig Snape is the lead singer and main songwriter in Genaro, a four piece band from Carluke, near Glasgow. His song 'is inspired by all the constant war and violence that is going on around our world. It is taken from the perspective of the many soldiers who are serving in military battle, and how everyone, including you and I, can potentially kill another human being if we are faced with the position that these soldiers find themselves in. It draws attention to the fact that war can turn any person to do things they would never imagine they could ever do, which is why of course it has to be prevented.' www.myspace.com/genaromusic www.genaro.co.uk www.benbecula.com

Sandy Marshall is a singer-songwriter based in Perthshire, Scotland. He is a member of the folk band, Tarneybackle, and plays solo under the name 'Sannock' (old Scots word for Sandy). His song, Let Freedom Reign, was inspired by the war in Iraq, the Make Poverty History campaign and the 2005 G8 summit in Scotland.

Geoff Easeman is a singer-songwriter living in Kent. He plays with a band called the magd. www.themagd.com

Adriana is a singer-songwriter from Livingston, Scotland, where she is touring a lot on the acoustic scene. www.myspace.com/adrianamusic, www.adriana-music.com

Colin Crombie is a Scottish singer-songwriter based in Fife. His song, Marchin, was written in 2004 in response to the revelations of Abu Ghraib and Fallujah. 'Other events and images of the time are alluded to, yet not mentioned explicitly. This symbolism within the song makes it as potent today as when it was written, especially with Lebanon in mind - or any current hotspot. The soul of this song lives eternally. And it is always immediately topical with the slight change of a line - in the tradition of great protest songs.'

Another song by Colin Crombie, this time strongly anti-nuclear with haunting imagery refering to the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. The refrain, 'the only winning move is not to play', is a line from the film Wargames.

Movin' On Again, another song by Colin Crombie, was written earlier this year and is in a traditional work shanty style. 'It was again inspired by current events - this time, the news of the displacement of the Iraqi peoples because of the increasing sectarianism and the impending civil war. The problems faced by asylum seekers in Scotland - anywhere - were also a factor. This is a song, however, for all those who are forced to move, by war, by prejudice and ignorance, whatever the cause - for those of the Sudan, Zimbabwe, Iraq, and now Lebanon, ad infinitum - it is for all refugees, everywhere, of all times.'

Ragland is the musical name of Edinburgh-based Gareth Warner who has been writing songs for over 10 years. More albums are in the pipeline. His song is a new composition, which 'aims to speak to all people across the generations, and talks about the end to war, and the determination which must start with every individual first and foremost. It is hoped this will indeed be a new anthem for peace for this generation.' www.myspace.com/raglandmusic

Frank Jones is an Australian singer-songwriter who used to play with The Whirling Furphies. His song, Let's Walk, 'takes a unique approach to the peace song genre. I like to think about it as a sports coach's half-time or 3/4 time speech to his team. It talks about all the achievements that we humans have, well, achieved since we first came down from the trees, not just the pre-history achievements of standing/walking, etc, but big things like learning to fly - even to the moon; things like our artistic and even medical achievements. My song reasons (quite reasonably) that if we've been able to overcome these huge obstacles, then we should be able to work out a way to stop war. We will need to work together, work hard at it and take one step at a time. Recent evidence that we have "fixed" the ozone layer is a shining example of how we can achieve huge things when we put our minds to it. Like all good coaches, I've kept my song pretty up-beat ..... there's no future in getting miserable and pessimistic about this.' www.frankjones.com.au

Kevin McCarthy is an Australian singer-songwriter and editor/publisher of the Blarney Bulletin. 'Margie's Song' is about Australia - the Lucky Country, and four lucky women in the Lucky Country. These four women represent four generations of the Apma family and their experiences over 80 years.'

Another song by Kevin McCarthy. 'Duopenilitis' was the first song he ever wrote. 'At the time I couldn't understand the actions of many politicians, and I thought I might have discovered a reason for many of their actions.'

Another song by Kevin McCarthy. He remarks 'I wrote The Big Fella in 2004 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975. After introducing sweeping reforms including cutting ties with the UK, withdrawing from Vietnam, universal medical care, free tertiary education, introducing equal pay for women, land rights for indigenous Australians, and a social welfare safety net, he faced 3 elections in 3 years before being dismissed in November 1975. It has taken the conservatives 30 years to reverse most of Whitlams reforms.'

Gerry Mulvenna is a Belfast-born singer songwriter, now living in Ogonnelloe, Co. Clare. He writes about, Birds of Prey, 'I wrote this song in January 2003 as the push to war in Iraq was building. I live in Co. Clare near Shannon Airport, which has been used for many decades by American warplanes, but the US/British invasion of Iraq brought this and its incompatability with our neutral status into clearer focus for Irish people. The song is structured as an 8-bar blues and the American feel of the music is intentional, I suppose subconsciously it says: "We reject the American war machine, but not American people." ' www.mulvenna.org

Another song by Gerry Mulvenna. Gerry wrote Weapon of Mass Seduction 'in May 2003 while we were being barraged by the euphemistic language of war. It is a love song that reclaims words of war as words of love.'