Plow Under (original Mix) -

"Remember when the AAA, Killed a million hogs a day? Instead of hogs it's men today, Plow the fourth one under." The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

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

: The Almanac Singers—which featured legendary folk artists like Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Millard Lampell—were deeply tied to left-wing causes, labor unions, and the Popular Front. Dutifully aligning with the political shift, they wrote a series of songs protesting the war. 2. Analyzing the Song's Metaphor Plow Under (Original Mix)

The Almanac Singers’ "Plow Under": An Analysis of Anti-War Protest Music 1. Contextualizing the Era

The central hook of "Plow Under" relies on a biting, satirical agricultural metaphor: "Remember when the AAA, Killed a million hogs a day

The "AAA" referenced in the lyrics is the Agricultural Adjustment Act, a major New Deal program introduced by the Roosevelt administration to combat the Great Depression. To raise the plummeting prices of crops and livestock, the government paid farmers to reduce supply, which famously resulted in the slaughter of millions of pigs and the plowing under of vast fields of cotton. The Human Cost

The shelf life of "Plow Under" was incredibly short due to a sudden, massive shift in global events: "Remember when the AAA

: Following the pact, American Communists and fellow travelers adopted a staunchly isolationist, anti-war stance. They heavily criticized President Franklin D. Roosevelt's peacetime draft and any moves toward American intervention in the European conflict.