SONGS OF VIETNAM

[OLDNAVYMCPO]

Although I haven't watched the Ken Burns/ Lynn Novick PBS documentary on Vietnam, it supposedly emphasizes the impact of popular music during the war. We've had several threads on here about music from that period.

The Vietnam War Song Project, a one man project by Justin Brummer, has compiled over 900 videos of songs about the war. Some really weird and off the wall. How about The Beach Bums and "The Ballad of the Yellow Beret" or Seeds of Euphoria and "Let's Send Batman to Vietnam". Anyway, he has compiled over 5,000 songs, many from outside the US. Common are songs from Australia and New Zealand.

Typical in the lyrics are the Vietnam Wall and also surprisingly support for Lt. William Calley of the My Lai Massacre fame.

Music is like mile markers, it reminds you where you were, what emotions you felt and evokes memories of that chapter in your life. For me, songs of that period remind me of my youth, something that I don't see when I look in the mirror.

 

[TomkinsSP]

Factoid: As governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter organized a protest supporting Lt. Calley ( he was from Ga).

Much to the chagrin of my mother, my father taught me many Air Corps/Airforce dittys of WW2/Korea. Lyrics would have to be sanitized to be on this forum. Hearing one takes me right back to my childhood.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Good thread here:

Whats THE song, that makes you think of the Vietnam War?

 

[Targets Guy]

I've still got a booklet somewhere of the 35th TFW Ditties. I hope they stay lost till I'm long gone.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

If I forget the words,
I just get out my Hymnal.

 

[carpriver]

I don't remember much of the music from my year in Vietnam. we were not able to receive any radio signals. some of the guys did get open reel tapes from home or from radio stations back home.
There is so much about Vietnam I don't remember.