Context

This line is from the song "War" by Edwin Starr from the album War & Peace (1970).

The Vietnam War was "America's longest war," and by 1970, people were sick of it. So the song "War" by Edwin Starr opens by blatantly asking, "War? What is it good for?" 

The succinct answer: "Absolutely nothing." 

Try telling that to weapons manufacturers.

Where you've heard it

Take your picks: there's always a conflict to apply this quote to somewhere in the world. The song was also memorably covered by Bruce Springsteen and not-so-memorably covered by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Additional Notable References:

• Elaine quotes the song in a literary discussion of War and Peace on Seinfeld.
• This lyric is used as the title of a book about war by Ian Morris.
• This song was on a list of tunes suggested by Clear Channel to not play following the events of September 11, 2001.
• It's a card in Cards Against Humanity.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This line is only pretentious if you're a warmonger.