"For What It's Worth" is a song written by Stephen Stills and performed by Buffalo Springfield. It was recorded on December 5, 1966, and released as a single in December 1966 on Atco Records. The song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in spring 1967

. The song is often mistakenly associated with the Vietnam War, but it was actually inspired by a confrontation between young people and police during the counterculture era, specifically a riot on the Sunset Strip

. The title "For What It's Worth" was added after the song was written and does not appear in the lyrics

. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "For What It's Worth" at number 63 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

. The song has been covered by numerous artists and remains a significant cultural and musical landmark from the 1960s