Marvin Gaye's lyric 'War is not the answer, for only love can...' is completed by 'conquer hate.'
'What's Going On' was recorded by Marvin Gaye and released as a single in 1971. The song was written by Renaldo Benson, Al Cleveland and Gaye, and it became a landmark recording in soul music because it addressed war, injustice, poverty and social unrest directly.
Benson developed the song after witnessing police violence against anti-war protesters in Berkeley, California. Gaye reshaped the material and connected it to concerns about the Vietnam War, urban poverty and environmental damage. Motown executive Berry Gordy initially resisted releasing it, but the single became a major success.
The song reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard R&B chart. Its title is often used as a general phrase, but the lyric's answer to war is specifically 'conquer hate.'