At a time when widespread opposition to the Vietnam War had only just started to build, the Fugs satirized the absurdity of war by putting the lyrics of "Kill for Peace" to a crude rocker reminiscent of "Twist and Shout." An offer for the Fugs to perform on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show was rescinded when the band's Ed Sanders insisted they be allowed to sing "Kill for Peace." The number originated, said Sanders, when his Fugs partner Tuli Kupferberg "spotted the sentence 'Pray for Peace' on a letter and then, in his noggin, sprouted the idea for a modification."