Ochs wrote "I Ain't Marching Any More" as American involvement in the Vietnam War was beginning to grow.
[1][2] The chorus notes that "it's always the old who lead us to the war, always the young to fall" and asks whether the price of military victory has been too high.
[6][7] In August 1968, Ochs performed "I Ain't Marching Any More" during the protests outside the Democratic National Convention, inspiring hundreds of young men to burn their draft cards.
[8] Ochs was subsequently called as a witness in the trial of the Chicago Seven, who were charged with conspiracy and other crimes related to the protests.
[11] Critic Richie Unterberger wrote of the folk-rock version, "If ever there was a successful reworking of a plaintive acoustic song into a dynamic electric one, this ... was it".