Released around the time of the Gulf War, guitarist extraordinaire Nuno Bettencourt said
"Lyrically, there was a lot of stuff going on: we were in the Gulf War at that time, and would watch people with signs outside the White House that said "MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR." We thought that war is not that simple. Nobody wants war until somebody is invading their country. So we thought about the statement "Make Love, Not War." We know that America is going into different countries and certain areas, but you hope and have faith that it's for the right reasons. And when there are genocides and things like that going on, that's what inspired that period of the Gulf War. We don't love war - we definitely love "love" more. But it was just saying, "It's really not that simple."
Let's talk of peace,
Sounds so cliche
A novelty, catch phrase of the day
Middle, index,
Sign of the time
Just as complex,
As water to...
Someone said give peace a chance
And, that's all that we're saying
While we're sitting on the fence
Pretending,
Our hearts are in the right place
But, your face
Shows a trace of,
Hypocrisy,
Don't tread on me,
Now you can see
(chorus) MAKE LOVE NOT WAR, SOUNDS SO ABSURD, TO ME
WE CAN'T AFFORD TO SAY THESE WORDS, LIGHTLY
OR ELSE OUR WORLD, WILL TRULY, REST IN PEACE
(Child cynically says "ban the bomb")
Let's not pretend,
to justify
Rather amend,
Where treasures lie
Straight through the heart,
Peace can be found
That's where you start,
Not all around
Someone said give peace a chance
And, that's all that we're saying
While we're sitting on the fence
Pretending,
Our hearts are in the right place
But, your face
Shows a trace of,
Hypocrisy,
Don't tread on me, boy
Now you can see
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus