What is it about human nature that, just as in the physical life cycles of cells – dividing through binary fission, mitosis and meiosis – people too inevitably divide, and in doing so, compete, and head into conflict? And, conversely, with those all too brief utopian moments in society when the eon hand meets the minute hand – when peace breaks out – it seems far more surprising, somehow, than the inexorable escalation of war?

Peace then, is rare and precious, and with this week’s song suggestions, references to major events of violence may likely intertwine, as they help define it. This week’s topic is no coincidence, with this year being the centenary marking the beginning of the first world war, and the forthcoming Armistice Day, 11 September. Tens of thousands cheerfully joined up around this time exactly 100 years ago, expecting it to be all over by Christmas, but for many of them it was all over in minutes. As Philip Larkin put it in his poem, MCMXIV, there was “never such innocence, never before or since”.

I’m not that old, comparatively, but as the progeny of series of male generations who coincidentally conceived a spread of children until quite late in life, I somehow had a grandfather, Frank, who was at the western front at Ypres in 1915. He must have seen a few things. He could easily have died alongside many others going over the top in a tide from the trenches, but by some miracle, got selected be a servant to officers who were stationed further back (taking a safer position, naturally). Casualties inevitably built up, so he later went back to the front with a short life expectancy. After a brief period of trench time, he got very sick with Spanish flu or some other ailment or injury, and was eventually posted elsewhere. Otherwise I guess I wouldn’t be writing this.

This documentary about the Battle of the Somme contains some incredible footage. “The seeds of patriotism had fallen on the rich soil of a nation’s conscience …”

It is hard to think of any point in the last 100 years when the world hasn’t been at war somewhere, but, that also means it has been seeking peace. In terms of war, we remember the key flashpoints – the Middle East, Africa, China, Northern Ireland, and South America, not to mention the frontlines of many big cities. The peace-conflict equation always seems to be fuelled by greed and inequality, and is stirred up in locations where large, powerful empires, countries or organisations clash with people who can be exploited, or frontiers that stand in the way of expansion.

But how do you find peace? “Avoid popularity,” said Abraham Lincoln, drily, who clearly found very little peace at all. A leader who excelled in finding it, Mahatma Gandhi, advised that “an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind” – good advice for the Middle East perhaps. John F Kennedy predicted correctly that “those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”. Perhaps he was foreseeing Vietnam war protests, a subject that has inspired so many songs. A far greater figure in peace-seeking, Nelson Mandela, took the approach that “if you want to make peace, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”

Another way of finding peace, of course, is by writing a song about it. This may include protest singers such as Woody Guthrie and or the celebrity campaigning that John Lennon trailblazed. But songs about peace offerings, or personal, inner peace may also feature heavily this week. As the Dalai Lama put it: “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”

This week’s umpire of unanimity and authority on accord is our appropriately named RR veteran and guru, saneshane. Pass him your musical peace pipes (other instruments are also available) in comments below and optionally also add them in the Spotify playlist by last orders (11pm) on Monday 10 November in time for publication of a his playlist on Thursday 13 November. Go in peace.

To increase the likelihood of your nomination being considered, please:

• Tell us why it’s a worthy contender.
• Quote lyrics if helpful, but for copyright reasons no more than a third of a song’s words.
• Provide a link to the song. We prefer Muzu or YouTube, but Spotify, SoundCloud or Grooveshark are fine.
• Listen to others people’s suggestions and add yours to a collaborative Spotify playlist.
• If you have a good theme for Readers recommend, or if you’d like to volunteer to compile a playlist, please email peter.kimpton@theguardian.com
• There’s a wealth of data on RR, including the songs that are “zedded”, at the Marconium. It also tells you the meaning of “zedded”, “donds” and other strange words used by RR regulars.
• Many RR regulars also congregate at the ‘Spill blog.