"Body of War : Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Body of War : Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran" Soundtrack Description

Questions and Answers

Is there an official soundtrack album tied to the film?

Yes. The 2-CD compilation Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran was released by Sire Records in March 2008 to accompany the documentary.

Who selected the songs?

Iraq War veteran Tomas Young curated the album, choosing protest, folk, hip-hop, and rock cuts that helped him process the war and his recovery.

What original material was made for the project?

Eddie Vedder wrote “No More” for the documentary; the album features a live version performed with Ben Harper (Lollapalooza 2007).

Is the music in the movie identical to the album?

No. The album is a curated mix “inspired by” the film’s subject; the movie uses some of these songs (it even opens with “No More”), but the record is broader by design.

When did the album come out?

Mid-March 2008—timed to the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, with the film’s U.S. release cycle in spring 2008.

What labels and artists are involved?

Released by Sire Records, it gathers artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Public Enemy, Serj Tankian, and Tori Amos.

Is it streaming today?

Yes. The compilation is available on major platforms in most regions.

Notes & Trivia

• The film Body of War (2007) follows veteran Tomas Young; the companion album arrived March 2008 on Sire Records.
• “No More” was written by Eddie Vedder for the documentary; the album uses a live take recorded with Ben Harper at Lollapalooza 2007.
• The set spans eras and styles: folk conscience (Tom Waits), classic rock dissent (John Lennon), hip-hop critique (Public Enemy, Lupe Fiasco), and modern protest (Serj Tankian).
• The compilation was timed around the Iraq War’s fifth anniversary, underscoring its activist framing. (as reported by Rolling Stone)
• Press materials emphasized that Young personally picked the tracks as his “soundtrack for Iraq,” mapping life events to songs. (as noted in label and trade coverage)

Overview

How do you score rage, rehab, and resilience without turning someone’s life into a plot device? This album answers with curation over composition. Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran is Tomas Young’s hand-picked map through protest music, from folk to rap to post-hardcore. The film shows his body; the album shows his mind. (according to Rolling Stone, the set gathers marquee names—Springsteen, Neil Young, Bright Eyes, Rage Against the Machine—alongside newer protest voices)

Instead of era-perfect needle-drops, you get a living mixtape—tracks that Tomas leaned on “before, during, and after” Iraq. The documentary literally starts with the opening bars of Vedder’s “No More,” and the record expands the canvas: Bright Eyes’ “When the President Talks to God,” Public Enemy’s “Son of a Bush,” Tom Waits’ “Day After Tomorrow,” Roger Waters’ “To Kill the Child.” It reads like a syllabus in dissent, but it plays like a late-night confessional. (as stated on Democracy Now!)

Genres & Themes

• Folk & Americana — empathy engines; letters from the front/back home (Tom Waits’ “Day After Tomorrow,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Devils & Dust”).
• Hip-hop polemic — forensic critique of power (Public Enemy, Lupe Fiasco; cadence as cross-examination).
• Punk/Post-hardcore — urgency and refusal (Against Me!, Bad Religion, RX Bandits) for the days when patience runs out.
• Modern alt-rock/protest — Serj Tankian, The Nightwatchman: vivid, satirical, sometimes caustic laments that mirror the film’s righteous anger.
• Classic rock truth-telling — Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth,” Pearl Jam’s live “Masters of War,” and Neil Young’s “The Restless Consumer” connect the 1960s playbook to 2000s politics. (according to The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage of the compilation)

Key Tracks & Scenes

“No More” — Eddie Vedder (live feat. Ben Harper)
Where it plays: The documentary opens with the song’s opening bars; the album uses the Lollapalooza 2007 live version.
Why it matters: A thesis in plain language—stop the war—linking Tomas’s activism to a singable, communal refrain.

“Masters of War” (live) — Pearl Jam
Where it plays: Featured on the album; used in promotional and performance contexts around the film’s release; thematically mirrors congressional vote sequences.
Why it matters: Dylan’s indictment, re-electrified; a bridge between 1960s protest and 2000s policy.

“Devils & Dust” — Bruce Springsteen
Where it plays: Album highlight; often cited by reviewers as the set’s quiet moral core.
Why it matters: A soldier’s voice in first-person doubt—eerily aligned with the film’s intimate scenes.

“When the President Talks to God” — Bright Eyes
Where it plays: Album-only cue; pairs naturally with the film’s intercut Capitol Hill footage.
Why it matters: Sarcasm as protest; the song frames policy as answered (and unanswered) prayer.

“B.Y.O.B.” — System of a Down
Where it plays: Album-only adrenaline; a counterpoint to hospital and home-care sequences in tone if not literal placement.
Why it matters: Calls out the machinery of war and who gets sent to fight it.

Track–Moment Index (selected)

Music–Story Links (characters & plot beats as connected to songs)

• Opening thesis → “No More”: Starting the film with Vedder’s song pins the project’s stance in a single breath; Tomas’s activism isn’t an epilogue, it’s the frame.
• Private doubt vs. public policy: Springsteen and Waits trace the inner monologue of service and aftermath, while Capitol-floor roll calls cut through like a drumbeat.
• Anger’s many dialects: Hip-hop tracks (Public Enemy, Lupe Fiasco) interrogate systems; punk entries (Against Me!, Bad Religion) refuse them; both tonalities match the film’s righteous indignation.
• Continuity of dissent: Lennon → Dylan (via Pearl Jam) → contemporary alt-rock shows protest music as a relay race, not a relic. (according to The Hollywood Reporter’s preview of the album)

How It Was Made (supervision, score, behind-the-scenes)

Directors Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue shaped a documentary that intercuts Tomas Young’s daily life with Washington’s decisions. For the companion album, Tomas acted as curator—less a traditional music-supervision exercise, more a personal canon. Sire coordinated clearances and sequencing; Vedder contributed “No More,” captured with Ben Harper live in Chicago. (as reported by Rolling Stone and trade notices)

The film credits Vedder with music contributions; however, the emotional lift comes from existing songs that Tomas recontextualized. You feel the editor’s hand—placing “No More” up top—and the activist’s ear—pairing, say, Bright Eyes with Hill soundbites.

Reception & Quotes

The film earned festival laurels and mainstream coverage; the album drew praise as a rare protest set that also plays. Critics highlighted the breadth—from Public Enemy to Tom Waits—while noting how directly “No More” speaks to the film’s arc. (according to USA Today)

“The soundtrack gathers artists who inspired, motivated, and at times, literally saved [Young] over the past few years.” Rolling Stone

“Vedder’s ‘No More’ anchors the project with spare, undeniable purpose.” USA Today

“A timely, pointed compilation that doubles as testimony.” Press reviews summary

Availability: The full compilation remains on major streaming services and on 2-CD; occasional vinyl runs surface through collectors and shops.

Technical Info

• Title: Body of War : Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran
• Year: 2008
• Type: Movie (documentary) companion soundtrack; various artists compilation
• Film: Body of War (2007) — dir. Ellen Spiro & Phil Donahue; runtime ~87 minutes
• Curator: Tomas Young
• Contributors (selected): Eddie Vedder (with Ben Harper), Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Public Enemy, Bright Eyes, Serj Tankian, Tori Amos
• Label: Sire Records
• Release window: Mid-March 2008 (U.S.) aligned with the Iraq War’s fifth-anniversary week
• Notable placements (film/alignment): “No More” (film opener); “Masters of War” (live) thematically tied to Congressional vote montage
• Availability/editions: 2-CD/digital; widely streamable

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Rolling Stone; The Hollywood Reporter; USA Today; Sire Records/press materials; Wikipedia (film & album); Discogs; Spotify listing; Democracy Now!

October, 25th 2025