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The VN War was directly responsible for alot of songs written during those years. Most of the more popular ones were anti-war/protest songs [Marvin Gaye's "WHAT'S GOING ON"; Buffalo Springfield's "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH"], but there were a few [VERY few] patriotic songs that put the soldier in a positive light without taking a stand on the right or wrong of the war. A couple that I recall came from one of America's greatest storytellers, Johnnie Cash.
"SINGIN' IN VIETNAM TALKIN' BLUES"
Written by Johnny Cash, '71.
One mornin' at breakfast I said to my wife,
We've been everywhere once and some places twice.
As I had another helpin' of country ham,
She said, We ain't never been to Vietnam.
There's a bunch of our boys over there, so we went to the Orient Saigon.
Well, we got a big welcome when we drove in,
To the gates of a place they called Long Binh.
We checked in and everything got kinda quiet,
But a soldier boy said just wait 'til tonight.
Things get noisy, things start happenin'. Big, bad firecrackers.
Well, that night we did about four shows for the boys,
And they were livin' it up with a whole lotta noise.
We did our last song for the night,
And we crawled into bed for some peace and quiet.
But things weren't peaceful, and things weren't quiet. They were scary.
Well, for a few minutes June never said one word.
And I thought at first that she hadn't heard.
Then a shell exploded not two miles away.
She sat up in bed and I heard her say,
What was that? I said a shell or a bomb.
She said, I'm scared. I said, Me too.
Well, all night long that noise kept on,
And the sound would chill you right to the bone.
The bullets and the bombs and the mortar shells,
Shook our bed everytime one fell.
And it never let up. It was going to get worse before it got better.
Well, when the sun came up the noise died down.
We got a few minutes sleep, and we were sleepin' sound.
Then a soldier knocked on our door and said,
Last night they brought in seven dead.
And fourteen wounded, and would we come
Down to the base hospital and see the boys. Yeah.
So we went to the hospital ward by day,
And every night with the singin' away.
Then the shells and the bombs 'til dawn again.
And the helicopters brought in the wounded men.
Night after night, day after day, comin' and a goin'.
So we sadly sang for them our last song,
And reluctantly we said So Long.
We did our best to let them know we care
For every last one of them that's over there.
Whether we belong over there or not, somebody over here loves 'em and needs 'em.
Well, that's about all that there is to tell
About that little trip into livin' Hell.
And if I ever go back over there anymore,
Hope there's none of our boys there for me to sing for.
I hope that war's over with,
And they all come back home to live in Peace.
DRIVE ON
I got a friend named Whiskey Sam
He was my boonierat buddy for a year in Nam
He said is my country just a little off track
Took 'em twenty-five years to welcome me back
But, it's better than not coming back at all
Many a good man I saw fall
And even now, every time I dream
I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream
Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me , but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on
I remember one night, Tex and me
Rappelled in on a hot L.Z.
We had our 16's on rock and roll
But, with all that fire, was scared and cold
We were crazy, we were wild
And I have seen the tiger smile
I spit in a bamboo viper's face
And I'd be dead , but by God's grace
Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me, but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on
It was a real slow walk in a real sad rain
And nobody tried to be John Wayne
I came home, but Tex did not
And I can't talk about the hit he got
I got a little limp now when I walk
Got a little tremolo when I talk
But my letter read from Whiskey Sam
You're a walkin' talkin' miracle from Vietnam
Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me, but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on
So, what other "Vietnam" songs come back to you?
"SINGIN' IN VIETNAM TALKIN' BLUES"
Written by Johnny Cash, '71.
One mornin' at breakfast I said to my wife,
We've been everywhere once and some places twice.
As I had another helpin' of country ham,
She said, We ain't never been to Vietnam.
There's a bunch of our boys over there, so we went to the Orient Saigon.
Well, we got a big welcome when we drove in,
To the gates of a place they called Long Binh.
We checked in and everything got kinda quiet,
But a soldier boy said just wait 'til tonight.
Things get noisy, things start happenin'. Big, bad firecrackers.
Well, that night we did about four shows for the boys,
And they were livin' it up with a whole lotta noise.
We did our last song for the night,
And we crawled into bed for some peace and quiet.
But things weren't peaceful, and things weren't quiet. They were scary.
Well, for a few minutes June never said one word.
And I thought at first that she hadn't heard.
Then a shell exploded not two miles away.
She sat up in bed and I heard her say,
What was that? I said a shell or a bomb.
She said, I'm scared. I said, Me too.
Well, all night long that noise kept on,
And the sound would chill you right to the bone.
The bullets and the bombs and the mortar shells,
Shook our bed everytime one fell.
And it never let up. It was going to get worse before it got better.
Well, when the sun came up the noise died down.
We got a few minutes sleep, and we were sleepin' sound.
Then a soldier knocked on our door and said,
Last night they brought in seven dead.
And fourteen wounded, and would we come
Down to the base hospital and see the boys. Yeah.
So we went to the hospital ward by day,
And every night with the singin' away.
Then the shells and the bombs 'til dawn again.
And the helicopters brought in the wounded men.
Night after night, day after day, comin' and a goin'.
So we sadly sang for them our last song,
And reluctantly we said So Long.
We did our best to let them know we care
For every last one of them that's over there.
Whether we belong over there or not, somebody over here loves 'em and needs 'em.
Well, that's about all that there is to tell
About that little trip into livin' Hell.
And if I ever go back over there anymore,
Hope there's none of our boys there for me to sing for.
I hope that war's over with,
And they all come back home to live in Peace.
DRIVE ON
I got a friend named Whiskey Sam
He was my boonierat buddy for a year in Nam
He said is my country just a little off track
Took 'em twenty-five years to welcome me back
But, it's better than not coming back at all
Many a good man I saw fall
And even now, every time I dream
I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream
Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me , but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on
I remember one night, Tex and me
Rappelled in on a hot L.Z.
We had our 16's on rock and roll
But, with all that fire, was scared and cold
We were crazy, we were wild
And I have seen the tiger smile
I spit in a bamboo viper's face
And I'd be dead , but by God's grace
Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me, but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on
It was a real slow walk in a real sad rain
And nobody tried to be John Wayne
I came home, but Tex did not
And I can't talk about the hit he got
I got a little limp now when I walk
Got a little tremolo when I talk
But my letter read from Whiskey Sam
You're a walkin' talkin' miracle from Vietnam
Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me, but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on
So, what other "Vietnam" songs come back to you?
