20-09-2005 17:42									#1
	Songs From The Viet Nam War (The Kind That Wouldn't Get Played Now) Remove this text

It occurred to me as I was sorting out the c.d.s the other day, and came across a Massive Attack release that had been issued when they had been urged by their record company to change their name to just 'Massive' during Gulf War I, that things were rather different in the Sixties and Seventies.


Even groups such as Martha and the Vandellas and Archie Bell and the Drells could release, if not anti-war songs, then certainly songs that acknowledged the conflict was happening and still get airplay.

In fact, Martha Reeves had a brother who served and died in Viet Nam- the subject of her single 'I'm So Proud', and Archie Bell was called up for service- so that he was unable to feature fully on the 1968 Drells' album 'Tighten Up', as he was wounded and not available for the album sessions.

The sixties and seventies saw songs such as Zerben R. Hicks and the Dynamics' 'Lights Out' , J B Lenoir's 'Vietnam/Vietnam Blues' (featured on the compilation album 'Vietnam Blues'),Troy Seals' 'Mama Hold My Hand' about a young recruit waiting to be shipped out and worrying he'll never see his mother again.

In the soul/jazz fusion vein, Terry Callier released 'Ho Tsing Mee' (A Song In The Sun) and Freda Payne released the uncompromisingly titled 'Bring The Boys Home'.

http://www.store4cds.com/froogle/029667222624.html

http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/roots...er133_r&b_2.htm


Of course these days not only would the record company baulk at the prospect of songs like those, but they wouldn't get playlisted.

quote: Vietnam Through The Eyes Of Black America A Soldier’s Sad Story The Monitors Greetings (This is Uncle Sam) The Players He’ll be back William Bell Marching off to war Eddy G Giles & The Jive Five While I’m away (baby keep the faith) Big Amos Going to Vietnam Mike Williams Lonely Soldier Joe Tex I Believe I’m gonna make it Johnny & Jon Christmas in Vietnam Jimmy Holiday I’m gonna help hurry my brothers home James Carr Let’s face facts Zerben R Hicks & The Dynamics Lights Out Richard Barbary When Johnny Comes Marching Home Tiny Watkins A Soldier’s Sad Story Emmanuel Laskey A Letter from Vietnam Gloria Edwards Something you couldn’t write about Mel & Tim Mail Call Time The O’Jays There’s someone (waiting back home) Freda Payne Bring the Boys Home Edwin Starr Stop the War Now The Whispers POW – MIA Carla Whitney War Bill Withers I Can’t write left handed Curtis Mayfield Back to the world Swamp Dogg Sam Stone

	21-09-2005 01:39									#2
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Sympathy bump.

I was thinking about this the other day. I'd have expected American conservatives to have created at least a few explicitly pro-war bands. Maybe they have, and I've just not heard of them.

	21-09-2005 01:47									#3
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About pro-war music... Dolly Parton made some sort of "USA!!!!!11!11!1!!!111" cd on the war in Iraq. But she redeemed herself by mentioning her own WMD's in one of the songs

	21-09-2005 05:10									#4
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quote: Originally posted by Hueij About pro-war music... Dolly Parton made some sort of "USA!!!!!11!11!1!!!111" cd on the war in Iraq. But she redeemed herself by mentioning her own WMD's in one of the songs

Apparently, Dolly has made a point of singing 60's-era anti-war songs, like "Blowin' in the Wind," at her recent concerts...at least the one's up north, anyway.

	21-09-2005 06:07									#5
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It wasn't just Black people who wrote songs about the Vietnam war. I just take it for granted that everyone my age can sing along to this:

quote: Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men, Uncle Sam needs your help again. He's got himself in a terrible jam Way down yonder in Vietnam So put down your books and pick up a gun, We're gonna have a whole lotta fun. And it's one, two, three, What are we fighting for ? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam; And it's five, six, seven, Open up the pearly gates, Well there ain't no time to wonder why, Whoopee! we're all gonna die. Well, come on generals, let's move fast; Your big chance has come at last. Gotta go out and get those reds — The only good commie is the one who's dead And you know that peace can only be won When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come. And it's one, two, three, What are we fighting for ? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam; And it's five, six, seven, Open up the pearly gates, Well there ain't no time to wonder why Whoopee! we're all gonna die. Huh! Well, come on Wall Street, don't move slow, Why man, this is war au-go-go. There's plenty good money to be made By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade, Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb, They drop it on the Viet Cong. And it's one, two, three, What are we fighting for ? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam. And it's five, six, seven, Open up the pearly gates, Well there ain't no time to wonder why Whoopee! we're all gonna die. Well, come on mothers throughout the land, Pack your boys off to Vietnam. Come on fathers, don't hesitate, Send 'em off before it's too late. Be the first one on your block To have your boy come home in a box. And it's one, two, three What are we fighting for ? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam. And it's five, six, seven, Open up the pearly gates, Well there ain't no time to wonder why, Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Country Joe and the Fish: I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag

	21-09-2005 09:00									#6
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quote: Universal Soldier Artistonovan Leitch He is five foot two, anbd he's six feet four, he fights with missiles and with spears, he is all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen, he's been a soldier for thousands years. He's a Catholic, a Hindu, an atheist, A Jain, A Budhist, a Baptist and a Jew, and he knows, he shouldn't kill, and he knows, he always will, kill for me, my friend, and kill me for you. And he's fighting for Canada, he's fighting for France, he's fighting for the USA and he's fighting for the Russains, he's fihgting for Japan, and he thinks we put an end to war this way. And he's fighting for democracy, he's fighting for the Reds, he says it's for the peace of all, he's the one who must decide, who's to live and who's to die, and he never sees the writing on the wall. And without him, how would Hitler kill the people at Dachau, without him Caesar would have stood alone, he's the one, who gives his body as a weapon of the war, and without him all the killing cant go on. He's the universal soldier, and he really is to blame, his orders came from far away, no more, they came from here and there, and they come for you and me, this is not the way we put an end to war.

quote: The Unknown Soldier The Doors Wait until the war is over And we're both a little older The unknown soldier Breakfast where the news is read Television children fed Unborn living, living, dead Bullet strikes the helmet's head And it's all over For the unknown soldier It's all over For the unknown soldier Hut Hut Hut ho hee up Hut Hut Hut ho hee up Hut Hut Hut ho hee up Comp'nee Halt Preeee-zent! Arms! Make a grave for the unknown soldier Nestled in your hollow shoulder The unknown soldier Breakfast where the news is read Television children fed Bullet strikes the helmet's head And, it's all over The war is over It's all over The war is over Well, all over, baby All over, baby Oh, over, yeah All over, baby Wooooo, hah-hah All over All over, baby Oh, woa-yeah All over All over Heeeeyyyy

	21-09-2005 12:54									#7
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quote: Slayer: Mandatory Suicide Murder at your every foot step. A child's toy sudden death. Sniper blazes you thru your knees Falling down can you feel the heat, Burn! Ambushed by the spray of lead Count the bullet holes in your head. Offspring sent out to cry, Living mandatory suicide. Suicide. [x 4] Holes burn deep in your chest, Raped by machine gun fire. Screaming soul sent out to die, Living mandatory suicide. Suicide. [x 4] [Spoken:] Lying, dying, screaming in pain. Begging, pleading, bullets drop like rain. Mines explode, pain sheers through your brain, Radical amputation, this is insane. Fly swatter stakes drive through your chest. Spikes impale you as you're forced off the crest. Soldier of misfortune Hunting with bated breath. A vile smell, like tasting death. Dead bodies, dying and wounded Litter the city streets Shattered glass, bits of clothing and human deceit. Dying [in] terror, Blood's cheap, it's everywhere. Mandatory suicide, massacre on the front line.

	21-09-2005 15:09									#8
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Cobra on my left, Leopard on my right.
Out of sight!

	21-09-2005 15:13									#9
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The deer woman in a silk dress
Girls with beads around their necks
Kiss the hunter of the green vest
Who has wrestled before
With lions in the night

	21-09-2005 15:53									#10
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quote: Originally posted by alva The deer woman in a silk dress Girls with beads around their necks Kiss the hunter of the green vest Who has wrestled before With lions in the night

Morrison hated that song, he thought it was too cheesy. But I always liked it, the poem is cool and the music is just cheesy enough.

	21-09-2005 19:16									#11
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Different war, different music.

Here's another war and another kinda music.

Der Fuehrer's Face
Spike Jones and the City Slickers

When Der Fuehrer says, "We ist der master race"
We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Der Fuehrer's face
Not to love Der Fuehrer is a great disgrace
So we HEIL! HEIL! Right in Der Fuehrer's face
When Herr Gobbels says, "We own der world und space"
We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Herr Goring's face
When Herr Goring says they'll never bomb this place
We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Herr Goring's face

Are we not the supermen
Aryan pure supermen
Ja we ist der supermen
Super-duper supermen
Ist this Nutzi land not good?
Would you leave it if you could?
Ja this Nutzi land is good!
Vee would leave it if we could

We bring the world to order
Heil Hitler's world New Order
Everyone of foreign race will love Der Fuehrer's face
When we bring to der world disorder

When Der Fuehrer says, "We ist der master race"
We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Der Fuehrer's face
When Der Fuehrer says, "We ist der master race"
We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Der Fuhrer's face

It loses something without the rasberrys.

	21-09-2005 19:30									#12
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And Donald Duck.

	22-09-2005 21:25									#13
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quote: Originally posted by Peter Triggs It wasn't just Black people who wrote songs about the Vietnam war. I just take it for granted that everyone my age can sing along to this:

And it certainly wasn't my intention to suggest that- and I don't believe I implied it either.

But I suspect a lot of people didn't know about the Martha Reeves song for her brother, nor realized that while some people were guarding liquor shops in the Deep South, singers in soul bands were actually seeing combat in Viet Nam.

There's even a soul music cover of Neil Young's 'Ohio' somewhere (I forget off the top of my head by whom), but it certainly was interesting to me to see how many singers and groups not necessarily associated with 'protest' music actually contributed, either by memorializing their own service in the war, or by commemorating the part played by a relative or friend.

	22-09-2005 21:29									#14
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FORTUNATE SON

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
ooh, they're red, white and blue.
And when the band plays "Hail To The Chief",
oh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no senator's son,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one, no,

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, why don't they help themselves? oh.
But when the taxman come to the door,
Lord, the house look a like a rummage sale, yes,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no millionaire's son.
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one, no.

Yeh, some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, how much should we give,
oh, they only answer, more, more, more, yoh,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no military son,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate son, no no no,

- John C, Fogerty

	22-09-2005 21:31									#15
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The Vietnam War Song Page