The Almanac Singers weaponized this New Deal memory to attack the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (the peacetime draft). They argued that just as the government callously destroyed every fourth row of crops to stabilize the economy, it was now preparing to sacrifice every fourth American young man to feed the military-industrial complex. 3. Examining the Drastic Shift and Legacy
: In August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact. Plow Under (Original Mix)
The central hook of "Plow Under" relies on a biting, satirical agricultural metaphor: The Almanac Singers weaponized this New Deal memory
: By 1942, the group was recording fiercely pro-war, anti-fascist songs supporting the Allied war effort on their album Dear Mr. President . Examining the Drastic Shift and Legacy : In
The shelf life of "Plow Under" was incredibly short due to a sudden, massive shift in global events:
: To avoid hypocrisy and align with the new reality, The Almanac Singers and their associates physically raced to record shops to pull Songs for John Doe from the shelves. They even asked people who bought the records to return them.
The song "Plow Under" was recorded by the American folk music group The Almanac Singers and released in May 1941 on their highly controversial album, Songs for John Doe . To understand the track, one must examine the complex geopolitical landscape of the early 1940s: