Collections › 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs

1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs

68 songs · chronological · A–Z by artist
Annotations and notes by Justin A. Brummer
Exhibition The Whole World Is Watching: a gallery tour of this collection →
Entries are numbered (#1, #2 …) for reference on this page; the numbers shift when entries are added or split.
"Chicago Eight: Join the Conspiracy", National Portrait Gallery, by Mark Morris1
Songs and spoken-word records about the 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight and demonstration
This forms part of the larger Vietnam War Song Project, an interpretive examination of over 6,500 Vietnam War songs identified, revealing how the war's significance is represented through music. The project also collects spoken-word recordings about the conflict. This unique collection of voices advances scholarship by providing insights into people’s views about the war over time as represented in music, looking at diverse communities and vibrant music scenes. It is crucial in developing our knowledge of the war and the humanities, through the use of a digital research platform.
Note: The VWSP has identified, to date, 65+ songs about the 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight and the protests at the Democratic National Convention.
YouTube playlist: Chicago Seven / Eight Songs
Citation: Justin A. Brummer, Vietnam War Song Project (VWSP) — 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs, vietnamwarsongproject.com/list/1968-chicago-seven-eight-songs, accessed 12 November 2026

Context

Beyond Chicago Seven, the songs in this collection most often also deal with: Anti-War, Demonstration, Civil Rights, Bobby Seale.
1 of 6
Wire-service composite of the eight Chicago Conspiracy Trial defendants, 2 November 1969: Rubin, Hoffman, Hayden, Davis, Seale, Weiner, Froines, Dellinger.
This project looks at songs about demonstrations outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968, and the high-profile people arrested for inciting riots. According to the Guardian newspaper: "668 people had been arrested, 425 demonstrators were treated at temporary medical facilities, 200 were treated on the spot, 400 given first aid for tear gas exposure and 110 went to hospital. A total of 192 police officers were injured".1

The arrested included eight high profile activists - Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin from the hippie movement, the Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, political activists Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, John Froines, and Lee Weiner. The trial began on 24 September 1969, but soon after, the Judge, Julius Hoffman, ordered Bobby Seale to be bound and gagged for contempt of court. He was tried separately, and thus the eight became seven.23456 Public opinion78

1968

#1 Jim Hartley Telling It Straight in '68 - Part 2 1968 · Single · Telling It Straight in '68 - Part 1 / Telling It Straight in '68 - Part 2 · Orange # W-1968 · USA
Credited on the record as Jim Hartley and The Orange State Playboys.
Annotation
A bluegrass political novelty about the 1968 election and the Vietnam War, which referenced the main candidates Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey, the outgoing president Lyndon B. Johnson, and backed the candidacy of George Wallace, the governor of Alabama, who ran on a racist platform, supporting segregation and discrimination. This song, on side two, "Telling It Straight in '68 - Part 2" (Orange # W-1968), which referenced the demonstrations outside the Democratic convention, not surprisingly took the side of the police and Mayor Richard J. Daley, calling the demonstrators "commies" . The song dealt with Vietnam, and issues around Civil Rights.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Orange W-1968-A / W-1968-B, 45 R.P.M., orange labels; "Telling It Straight in '68" Part 1 and Part 2 (Hartley-Ostrin), by Jim Hartley and The Orange State Playboys; "A Jim Hartley production". [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
Well the Democrats held a big convention, they came from near and fall
It looked just like a circus...
The mayor stopped the riots, and his policemen kept control
So the commies called him Hitler, and the newsmen damned his soul
And the capital of our great nation the burned and looted with pride
The policemen had to stand and watch cause there hands were tied...
Now we mentioned the convention held in the stock yards in Illinois, with the big cattle barren from Texas
Genre: ♪ Country
#2 Jim Hartley Telling It Straight in '68 - Part 1 1968 · Single · Telling It Straight in '68 - Part 1 / Telling It Straight in '68 - Part 2 · Orange # W-1968 · USA
Credited on the record as Jim Hartley and The Orange State Playboys.
Annotation: see “Telling It Straight in '68 - Part 2” above (same release).
Genre: ♪ Country
#3 Charles Kuralt The Conventions; The Campaign, Protest, and War 1968 · Album · The Incredible Year: 1968 · CBS # none · USA
Annotation
Another documentary review of 1968, with the Chicago demonstrations featured on the track "The Conventions; The Campaign, Protest, and War" , released by CBS (# XSV 144898).
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Mono LP, matrix XSV 144898/144899 (Pitman); producers Joel Heller and Peter Wells.
#4 Dale McCarren The Campaign Part III and Chicago Convention 1968 · Album · The Impossible Year 1968 · WBBM Newsradio # none · USA
Annotation

Documentary, spoken-word record, the first track on the B-side was titled "The Campaign Part III and Chicago Convention", with further details on the back of the LP, which said: "Chicago Convention: Mayor Richard Daley-hippies in Chicago-Walter Cronkite with the Mayor-Chicago Police". Produced by WBBM Newsradio 78 CBS Chicago. Presented by St. Paul Federal Savings of Chicago. Pressed by Columbia Record Productions.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Narrated by Dale McCarren; written and produced by Jonathan Ward and Lane Venardos; music director Lenny Kaye (credited "Leonard Kaye"). Pressed by Columbia (Terre Haute), matrix XCTV141819/141820. Presented by St. Paul Federal Savings of Chicago.
#5 Various Artists The Sound of Dissent 1968 · Album · The Sound Of Dissent · Mercury # SR-61203 · USA
Annotation
An excellent documentary record released in 1969, of field recordings, speeches, news clips, and interviews, backed by soul jazz instrumentation, covering the 1960s era of Civil Rights and Vietnam War protests, referencing Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, which included the track "Democratic National Convention" (Mercury Records # SR-61203), which comes in at 18:19 minute mark, or the first track of the B-side.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Mercury Stereo SR 61203, "Playable on modern monaural equipment"; front cover of nested diamond shapes over a colour-inverted photograph of a demonstration crowd, with a "Peace" banner and placards including "Anarchy must not be permitted in the U.S.A."; "Mercury Record Corporation", Wacker Drive, Chicago, "Printed in U.S.A." on the edge. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
This started with a news introduction: "there it goes, Chicago, that wonderful town, wonderful town of political conventions and anti-war demonstrations". Next it moved to a speech within the convention hall: "I can to you to talk to you about a man...a leader of experience...Hubert Humphrey" - the Democratic Party's nominee for president in 1968. Then another person speaks, representing Wisconsin, to the Convention about the riots: "Mr. Chairman, most delegates of this convention do not know that thousands of young people are being beaten on the streets of Chicago, for that reason, I request the suspension of the rolls". The chair of the meeting then shuts him down from talking.
The track then moves to a clip from a journalist on the front line of the demonstration: "there goes a big blast of tear gas, right over the crowd, I can't see...I can't cover this story anymore". Next came a quote from a member of the Illinois National Guard: "I have seen no incidents of policy brutality in working with us, I know they've certainly been antagonizing them, its been amazing to me that they kept their cool as much as they did, I know the press don't agree with us in some cases. But I think Chicago can be proud of the this police department". It ended with a quote from Civil Rights leader Whitney Young: "Up until now I have the feeling that white America, in particularly many of the press, felt that this was a creation of black people, that all this was in their minds, now they know this is on their heads
#6 Jaime Brockett Talkin Green Beret Super Yellow Hydraulic Banana Teeny Bopper Blues 1968 · Album · Remember the Wind and the Rain · Oracle [Boston] # ORS-701 · USA
Annotation
Contemporary folk novelty song "Talkin Green Beret Super Yellow Hydraulic Banana Teeny Bopper Blues" (Oracle Records # ORS-701) by Jaime Brocket - born in Massachusetts, USA. It took an anti-war, anti-patriotic position, mocking Barry Sadler's "Ballad of the Green Berets". References protest songs, and notes the Chicago '68 demonstration. Also references Spiro Agnew, and North Vietnamese. Notes coming soon.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
This is the talking Green Beret new super yellow hydraulic banana teeny bopper blues
Dedicated to people who listen to AM radio
I been listenin' to my radio twenty years or so
I heard a lot of singin' stars come and go
There were the Beatles, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Nancy Sinatra
And a whole load of other just fantastically talented people
Now the other day it was cold and wet
And I was ridin' around in Daddy's Corvette
And I heard the D.J. say, 'you bet, here's the Ballad of the Green Ber-etts'
I dug it
It had a good beat
It was easy to dance to
I gave it about a 73
Now, by and by we decided to park
And on in the house to watch Dick Clark
And I got there in time to hear Dick say, 'here's the ballad of the Green Berets'
Nobody was dancin'
Marchin' around the floor waving flags
Eatin' apple pie
Tradin' pictures of their mum
Kind of a North Vietnamese boogaloo
I was readin' the paper the very next day
See what Spiro Agnew had to say
He said 'if you don't dig the Ballad of the Green Berets
Why there is only one thing I can say
You must be one of them long-haired, dope-smokin', avatar-readin', livin'-in-the-commune, unwashed hippie Marxists
I wrote him a letter
Said, 'Dear Spiro - I dug it
It had a good beat
It was easy to dance to
I gave it about a 73....
Same as your I.Q.
Went to RCA now and that's a fact
Asked the man there for a record contract
He said, 'you gotta sing patriotic songs, ya bum'
I sang him 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'We Shall Overcome'
He said, 'hey man, those aren't patriotic'
Don't you want your songs to be popular?'
I said sure, so he lit up another cigar and said
'Well kid, you gotta write records people can march to, you know
Nobody's gonna buy records if they can't march to 'em'
I said, 'Oh yeah, what in hell were they doing in Chicago, friend?'
Well I gave up tryin' to be a star
Figured I'll probably never get too far
So I called my girl up today
Said I'm gonna go join the Green Berets
Be a big star
Gave me a twelve-string rifle
Thirty-two caliber autoharp
Little short fat man with stripes on his shoulder
And a Girl Scout beanie on his head said 'c'mere, boy...I'm gonna teach you how to kill'
Show full lyrics (52 lines) ▾

1969

#7 Van Q. Temple Mister Wallace Please Wait for Me! 1969 · Album · Mister Wallace Please Wait for Me! It's a Riot No. 4 · R.R.I. # Riot No. 4 · USA
Credited on the record as Van Q. Temple as Iula Humps and Ray Kinnamon.
Notes
The record "Mister Wallace Please Wait for Me!" (R.R.I. ‎– Riot No. 4) was a racist comedy sketch, impersonating African-Americans, centred around the Democratic National Convention, held in Chicago. Van Q. Temple was a radio DJ, based in Pensacola, Florida. The character he played, Iula Humps, featured on the front cover in stereo-typical, racist form, was in the role of the "cleaning lady" at the radio station. "Mister Wallace" was of course a reference to the Alabama Governor George Wallace. The back of the record said:

.
Sleeve notes
Even the Democrats confess, the 1968 Convention in Chicago was nothing less than shear pandemonium. Millions of TV viewers could hardly believe their eyes as they viewed the spectacle of all spectacles. The content of this hilarious album attempts to capture some of the classic moments of the greatest show on earth
Notes
Credited "Van Q. Temple as Iula Humps and Ray Kinnamon"; A1 and B1 both "Mister Wallace Please Wait For Me!". The notes say the album is centred around the 1968 Convention in Chicago.
#8 Phil Ochs William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed 1969 · Album · Rehearsals For Retirement · A&M # SP 4181 · USA
Annotation
Notes
On this album (A&M Records # SP 4181) featured the song "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed" , which also had the song "Where Were You in Chicago" tagged on at the end, although it's not credited, both of which referred to the 1968 Chicago demonstrations outside the Democratic National Convention, and thus related to the Chicago Seven / Eight. Ochs famously performed the song "I Ain't Marching Anymore" outside the convention. Ochs appeared at the trial of the Chicago Seven as a witness, where the judge requested that he recite the song.1 The song recalled the confrontation in Lincoln Park, where the Festival of Life was held, attended by MC5, and Ochs. At the end of the song, Ochs criticised the protest movement, for the lack of people who attended the demonstration: "I didn't see you there, I didn't see them crack your head" . The song contained several references to the use of tear gas by the police.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
As I went out one evening to take the evening air
I was blessed by a blood-red moon in Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, I spied a fair young maiden and a flame was in her eyes
And on her face lay the steel blue skies of Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, turning
They spread their sheets upon the ground just like a wandering tribe
And the wise men walked in their Robespierre robes through Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, the towers trapped and trembling
And the boats were tossed about, when the fog rolled in and the gas rolled out from Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, turning, like wild horses freed at last
We took the streets of wine, but I searched in vain, for she stayed behind, in Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, I'll go back to the city where I can be alone
And tell my friend she lies in stone, in Lincoln Park
The dark...Oh, where were you in Chicago?
You know I didn't see you there
I didn't see them crack your head or breathe the tear gas air
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
When the fight was being fought
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
'Cause I was in Detroit
Show full lyrics (21 lines) ▾
#9 Phil Ochs Another Age 1969 · Album · Rehearsals For Retirement · A&M # SP 4181 · USA
Annotation: see “William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed” above (same release).
Lyrics
English
As I went out one evening to take the evening air
I was blessed by a blood-red moon in Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, I spied a fair young maiden and a flame was in her eyes
And on her face lay the steel blue skies of Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, turning
They spread their sheets upon the ground just like a wandering tribe
And the wise men walked in their Robespierre robes through Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, the towers trapped and trembling
And the boats were tossed about, when the fog rolled in and the gas rolled out from Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, turning, like wild horses freed at last
We took the streets of wine, but I searched in vain, for she stayed behind, in Lincoln Park
The dark was turning, I'll go back to the city where I can be alone
And tell my friend she lies in stone, in Lincoln Park
The dark...Oh, where were you in Chicago?
You know I didn't see you there
I didn't see them crack your head or breathe the tear gas air
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
When the fight was being fought
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
'Cause I was in Detroit
I remember nothing that I memorized
The cockroach cops are crawling on a battle ground
I got my education from a black eye
The shields are in the shadows
It's a college town and they'll teach you law and orde if you dare to raise your hand
Spare the glove and spoil the man
Soldiers have their sorrow
The wretched have their rage
Pray for the aged, it's the dawn of another age...
We were born in a revolution and we died in a wasted war...
The dogs are chasing chicken bones...
If that was an election, I'm a Viet Cong
So I pledge allegiance against the flag
Show full lyrics (34 lines) ▾
Theme: Anti-War
#10 Jon Agee August 1968 1969 · Single · August 1968 / Kelsey · Twin # TRG 23 · USA
Notes
- Garage rock, 1968 Democratic National Convention.
- Protest song - recalls the events
- Police violence, reference to Mayor Daley

- Twin Record Production TRG 23 A, yellow label with "World of Hits" globe logo, 1175 N.E. 125th Street, North Miami, Florida, Suite 312; "August 1968" (Jon Agee), Elkee Music, BMI; produced by Bud Reneau & Bill Stith, arranged by Bud Reneau. [From the record sleeve and labels]
#11 Eugene H. Nickerson Nickerson Speaks Out Against the War 1969 · Album · Not On Label # EN 112 R · USA
Annotation

Spoken-word speech from Eugen Nickerson, during a moratorium speech in New York on 15 October 1969, which references the Chicago demonstration. He was Democratic county executive of Nassau County, New York from 1962 until 1970.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Single-sided white-label LP, recorded at the Capitol Building, Albany, N.Y.; pressed by Sonic Recording Products (K-4015).
#12–14 Abbie Hoffman Wake Up America! 1969 · Album · Big Toe # Big Toe 1 · USA
3 of the 4 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection
Annotation
Abbie Hoffman, born 30 November 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, died 12 April 1989 in New Hope, Pennsylvania, USA, an American political activist in the 1960s/70s, who helped found the Youth International Party (Yippies), took an active interest in the Vietnam War during the period. Hoffman faced trial in 1969 for inciting riots, as one of the eight people arrested outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August 1968 (The Chicago Eight) The album Wake Up, America (Big Toe Records # 1) contained several references to Vietnam, such as the tracks "Our National Anthem" and "Texas Tweezers" (which referenced My Lai). The song "The Drug Company" contained the line "we came to Chicago...there isn't a court in this country where we could have put Mayor Richard Daley, and LBJ" . It also included the song "Chicago" , a 7-minute spoken-word / comedy sketch, with elements of song, about the 1968 demonstration and subsequent trial.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →
#12 Abbie Hoffman The Drug Company 1969 · Album · Wake Up America! · Big Toe # Big Toe 1 · USA
Annotation
Abbie Hoffman, born 30 November 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, died 12 April 1989 in New Hope, Pennsylvania, USA, an American political activist in the 1960s/70s, who helped found the Youth International Party (Yippies), took an active interest in the Vietnam War during the period. Hoffman faced trial in 1969 for inciting riots, as one of the eight people arrested outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August 1968 (The Chicago Eight) The album Wake Up, America (Big Toe Records # 1) contained several references to Vietnam, such as the tracks "Our National Anthem" and "Texas Tweezers" (which referenced My Lai). The song "The Drug Company" contained the line "we came to Chicago...there isn't a court in this country where we could have put Mayor Richard Daley, and LBJ" . It also included the song "Chicago" , a 7-minute spoken-word / comedy sketch, with elements of song, about the 1968 demonstration and subsequent trial.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Big Toe Records BIG TOE 1, stereo, pink labels, "Big Toe Records, Flat Edward, New York • Made in America", "Music by The Joint Chiefs of Staff".

Side 1: Our Nat'l Anthem / Malachy's Bar & Grill / Texas Tweezers / The Drug Co. / Ave Maria / Jesus (total time 25:30);
Side 2: Rubin / Flush Cool Water for Nixon / Chicago / Washington at Valley Forge / Religion of Sorts / Out of Doors / God Bless America / The Only Dope Worth Shooting (total time 25:04).

The cover, "Abbie Hoffman sings on his friends The Joint Chiefs of Staff...", is a comic-strip drawing signed "p bramley": Hoffman in a stars-and-stripes shirt juggling a top-hatted baby, ringed by panels of a smog-choked city, an astronaut planting a flag on the moon, Uncle Sam with a hippie ("Lids?"), a haloed figure fleeing a boat ("Hey! Hippie!"), a fife-and-drum trio and the Statue of Liberty with a raised fist and a women's symbol.

The back repeats the art in black and white with a quote "sez Abbie" ("I feel like a famous Indian Chief of the Fagowee Nation ... 'Where the f... are we?'"), special thanks to Malachy McCourt, Bob Fass, Alex Bennett, WGSU-FM, Geneseo, N.Y., and KUT-FM, Austin, Texas, and "Recorded in Texas, N.Y., Philadelphia, Canada, and ZBS"; credits: Engineer: Virgil Snakeskin; Artwork: Peter Bramley; Stuck together: Bob Booger; Music: The Joint Chiefs of Staff. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
10 miles away from Convention Hall
We came here to disrupt the convention
Ten miles of barb wire fence
25,000 troops, cops and National Guard
They had tanks
Armored tanks on the streets of Chicago
National Guard with bayonets
They had helicopters with machine guns...
We couldn't find our way out of the park! [laughter]....
You should have seen that jury, that was some audience to play to...
I got 28 days for contempt for laughing
I got 14 for smiling
And I got 2 for throwing kisses at the jury...
So I get up on the witness stand...the guy says, you written any books
Well I wrote this book called 'Fuck the System'...
Their heads were shaking like windmills...
Our whole defense was geared around giving the judge a heart-attack
There was no way of beating the charge...
We bombed in Chicago...
Show full lyrics (20 lines) ▾
#13 Abbie Hoffman Our National Anthem 1969 · Album · Wake Up America! · Big Toe # Big Toe 1 · USA
Annotation: see “The Drug Company” above (same release).
Theme: Anti-War
#14 Abbie Hoffman Chicago 1969 · Album · Wake Up America! · Big Toe # Big Toe 1 · USA
Annotation: see “The Drug Company” above (same release).
Lyrics
English
10 miles away from Convention Hall
We came here to disrupt the convention
Ten miles of barb wire fence
25,000 troops, cops and National Guard
They had tanks
Armored tanks on the streets of Chicago
National Guard with bayonets
They had helicopters with machine guns...
We couldn't find our way out of the park! [laughter]....
You should have seen that jury, that was some audience to play to...
I got 28 days for contempt for laughing
I got 14 for smiling
And I got 2 for throwing kisses at the jury...
So I get up on the witness stand...the guy says, you written any books
Well I wrote this book called 'Fuck the System'...
Their heads were shaking like windmills...
Our whole defense was geared around giving the judge a heart-attack
There was no way of beating the charge...
We bombed in Chicago...
Show full lyrics (20 lines) ▾

1970

#15 Charlie Haden We Shall Overcome 1970 · Album · Liberation Music Orchestra · Impulse! # AS-9183 · USA
Annotation: see “The Drug Company” above (same release).
#16 Barbara Dane Bring 'Em Home 1970 · Album · FTA! Songs of the GI Resistance · Paredon # P-1003 · USA
Annotation
Notes
FTA!: Songs of the GI Resistance (Paredon Records (# P-1003), released on the label founded by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber in 1969, whose objective was to "seek out the music and speech, documentary or dialogue, that spring from the conscious artist who relates to people's movements, and which pour from all people in struggle".1 Dane was born on 12 May 1927 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
This album focused on the anti-war movement, in particular those who were members of the US armed forces - recorded at Fort Hood (Texas), Fort Benning (Georgia), and Fort Bragg (North Carolina). The album included a re-worked version of the Pete Seegersong "Bring Them Home" , which argued that the war was unjust, and that it was patriotic to bring home the soldiers and end the war. It contained the line "in Chicago or Vietnam, they're tryin' to get us to be the man" - which may be a reference to the Chicago 1968 demonstrations. Also on this album was the song "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" which referenced the imprisonment of Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton of the Black Panthers.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Paredon P1003, © 1970 Paredon Records, PO Box 889, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11202; "Sung by Barbara Dane with active-duty GIs", "Recorded at Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Fort Bragg, North Carolina"; edited by Irwin Silber.

The front shows a line of helmeted GIs walking and flashing peace signs. The 16-page booklet opens with a photograph of Barbara Dane at the Oleo Strut, Fort Hood, Texas (photo by Carolyn Mugar), and contains "About the GI Movement" by Irwin Silber, on the GI coffee houses and underground papers; "If This Be Treason..." by Barbara Dane, describing singing for soldiers and Marines at the Oleo Strut, Ft. Dix and an Oceanside USO; notes on each song; full lyrics with credits; "Barbara Dane: Singer for the GI Movement" by Howard Levy; and "Barbara Dane Speaks to the GI Movement", reprinted from The Fatigue Press, GI newspaper, Fort Hood, Texas, an autobiographical letter signed "With all my love, Barbara".

It is illustrated with GI-newspaper headlines ("GI's Unite!", "Fort Riley Rebellion", "Brag Briefs"), cartoons and the statement "The opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of the Dept. of the Army!", and closes with the Paredon Records manifesto.

Side I: Join the GI Movement (words Barbara Dane, after Aunt Molly Jackson's "I Am a Union Woman"); Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (new words 1970 by B. Dane and Irwin Silber); Ballad of Richard Campos (Danny Valdez); Go Tell It on the Mountain (Freedom Song from Mississippi 1964, brought up to date by B. Dane); Just Another Day (Bill Frederick); We Shall Not Be Moved, with Italian and Spanish verses.

Side II: The Resistance Hymn (tune Patriot Game, words adapted by B. Dane from "The Hello People"); Insubordination; Last Drink with Don (words Fred Gardner, music Barbara Dane); Bring 'Em Home (music and tag line Pete Seeger, new words by B. Dane and GIs from Ft. Hood, 11/9/69), with a footnote glossing "FTA" as the Army's "Fun, Travel and Adventure" and the GIs' "Fuck the Army!". [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
If you love your Uncle Sam, bring 'em home....
Stop the war in Vietnam, bring 'em home...
45 thousand dead and gone and Uncle Sam is in the wrong
We want to end this war right now
Don't take a genius to figure out how
Let 'em fly, or let 'em float, peck 'em up in a bi-ass boat
They said it was a freedom fight, well now that's just about half right!
There’s just one big fallacy, it's our own GIs that wanna be free
GIs fight, and GIs die
Some get rich while Nixon lies
In Chicago or Vietnam, they're tryin' to get us to be 'the man'
Well buddy, I've got news for you
I got better things to do
We're goin' down to Houston town, turn this murderin' system 'round
The gen'rals would like us all to pray
But it looks like marchin's the only way
If they say that's not the way, we'll give 'em one big FTA
Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾
#17 Barbara Dane Hallelujah, I'm a Bum 1970 · Album · FTA! Songs of the GI Resistance · Paredon # P-1003 · USA
Annotation: see “Bring 'Em Home” above (same release).
Lyrics
English
If you love your Uncle Sam, bring 'em home....
Stop the war in Vietnam, bring 'em home...
45 thousand dead and gone and Uncle Sam is in the wrong
We want to end this war right now
Don't take a genius to figure out how
Let 'em fly, or let 'em float, peck 'em up in a bi-ass boat
They said it was a freedom fight, well now that's just about half right!
There’s just one big fallacy, it's our own GIs that wanna be free
GIs fight, and GIs die
Some get rich while Nixon lies
In Chicago or Vietnam, they're tryin' to get us to be 'the man'
Well buddy, I've got news for you
I got better things to do
We're goin' down to Houston town, turn this murderin' system 'round
The gen'rals would like us all to pray
But it looks like marchin's the only way
If they say that's not the way, we'll give 'em one big FTA
Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾
#18 The Doors Peace Frog 1970 · Album · Morrison Hotel · Elektra # EKS-75007 · USA
Annotation
Psychedelic rock group, formed in July 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA, featuring Robby Krieger (guitar), John Densmore (drums), Ray Manzarek (keyboards, bass pedals, vocals), and Jim Morrison (vocals, 1965-71). The song "Peace Frog" (Elektra Records # EKS-75007) contained a potentially minor reference to Chicago 1968 with the line "blood in the street, the town of Chicago, blood on the rise, it's followin' me" . Also note that the group also released the Vietnam War-related song "Universal Soldier" on their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
There's blood in the streets
It's up to my ankles
There's blood in the streets
It's up to my knees
Blood in the street
The town of Chicago
Blood on the rise
It's followin' me
Just about the break of day
She came in
And she drove away
Sunlight in her hair
Blood on the streets
Runs a river of sadness
Blood in the streets
It's up to my thighs
The river runs down
The leg of the city
The women are crying
Red rivers of weeping
She came in town
And then she drove away
Sunlight in her hair
Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding
Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile
Egg-shell mind
Blood in the streets
In the town of New Haven
Blood stains the roofs
And the palm tress of Venice
Blood in my love
In the terrible summer
Bloody red sun of
Fantastic L.A.
Blood screams her brain
As they chop off her fingers
Blood will be born
In the birth of a nation
Blood is the rose of
Mysterious union
There's blood in the streets
It's up to my ankles
Blood in the streets
It's up to my knees
Blood in the street
The town of Chicago
Blood on the rise
It's followin' me
Show full lyrics (49 lines) ▾
#19 Laura Nyro Christmas in My Soul 1970 · Album · Christmas and the Beads of Sweat · Columbia # KC 30259 · USA
Annotation
Singer/songwriter, born 18 October 1947, Bronx, New York, USA, died 8 April 1997, Danbury, Connecticut, USA, released this Christmas-themed album, which included the song "Christmas in My Soul" (Columbia Records # KC 30259), an anti-Vietnam war song. It expressed patriotism, while criticising the war: "I love my country as it dies, in war" . It contained the line "Black Panther brothers bound in jail...Chicago Seven and the justice scale" - clearly both a reference to those arrested in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and the Black Panther Bobby Seale, gagged and chained at the original trial of the Chicago Eight, and so a Civil Rights message.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
I love my country as it dies, in war and pain before my eyes
I walk the streets where disrespect has been
The sins of politics, the politics of sin, the heartlessness that darkens my soul...
Black Panther brothers bound in jail, Chicago Seven and the justice scale
Homeless Indian on Manhattan Isle
All God's sons have gone to trial and out of style on Christmas
#20–28 Bobby Seale "Gagged and Chained" (The Sentencing of Bobby Seale for Contempt) 1970 · Album · Certron # CSS2-2001 · USA
All 3 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection
Annotation
This is of course regarding co-founder of the Black Panthers, Bobby Seale, born 22 October 1936 in Dallas, Texas, USA, one of the original high-profile activist arrested outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, along with seven others, called the "Chicago 8". However, the Judge of the trial, Julius Hoffman, ordered Bobby Seale to be bound and gagged for contempt of court on 5 November 1969. He was tried separately, and thus the eight became the "Chicago Seven". This record is a re-enactment of that moment (Certron # CSS2-2001). The first track "Bobby Seale Speaks Live" is the actual voice of Seale. The other two tracks, "Beginning of Trial" and "Trial Of Bobby Seale" were enactments.
Notes
It was described on the front of the LP as "a dramatic, historical re-enactment of the Chicago Conspiracy Trial, November 5, 1969, as it relates to Bobby Seale and the sentencing of Seale for contempt by Judge Julius Hoffmanback". The back of the LP said it was: "an enhancement to realism in reporting the details of that portion of the official transcript of the trial of the Chicago Seven as it related to Bobby Seale. The trial and the circumstances surrounding the trial are of a national, controversial nature, and therefore, of public interest. We feel that the subject matter is one that will appeal to the general public for information and study purposes, however it may related to the individual who listens"
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →
#20 Bobby Seale Bobby Seale Speaks Live 1970 · Album · "Gagged and Chained" (The Sentencing of Bobby Seale for Contempt) · Certron # CSS2-2001 · USA
Annotation
This is of course regarding co-founder of the Black Panthers, Bobby Seale, born 22 October 1936 in Dallas, Texas, USA, one of the original high-profile activist arrested outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, along with seven others, called the "Chicago 8". However, the Judge of the trial, Julius Hoffman, ordered Bobby Seale to be bound and gagged for contempt of court on 5 November 1969. He was tried separately, and thus the eight became the "Chicago Seven". This record is a re-enactment of that moment (Certron # CSS2-2001). The first track "Bobby Seale Speaks Live" is the actual voice of Seale. The other two tracks, "Beginning of Trial" and "Trial Of Bobby Seale" were enactments.
Notes
It was described on the front of the LP as "a dramatic, historical re-enactment of the Chicago Conspiracy Trial, November 5, 1969, as it relates to Bobby Seale and the sentencing of Seale for contempt by Judge Julius Hoffmanback". The back of the LP said it was: "an enhancement to realism in reporting the details of that portion of the official transcript of the trial of the Chicago Seven as it related to Bobby Seale. The trial and the circumstances surrounding the trial are of a national, controversial nature, and therefore, of public interest. We feel that the subject matter is one that will appeal to the general public for information and study purposes, however it may related to the individual who listens"
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
2LP gatefold, producer Dennis F. Shanahan. A1 Bobby Seale Speaks Live 2:33; A2 Beginning of Trial 15:10; sides B–D Trial of Bobby Seale (a dramatised re-enactment of the trial and of Judge Hoffman's contempt sentencing; the performers are not named).
Also in: ▤ Civil Rights Songs ▤ Spoken Word & Field Records
#27 Bobby Seale Trial of Bobby Seale 1970 · Album · "Gagged and Chained" (The Sentencing of Bobby Seale for Contempt) · Certron # CSS2-2001 · USA
Notes
A re-enactment. Album also carries VWSP5588, the actual voice of Seale. [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM]
#28 Bobby Seale Beginning of Trial 1970 · Album · "Gagged and Chained" (The Sentencing of Bobby Seale for Contempt) · Certron # CSS2-2001 · USA
Notes
A re-enactment. Album also carries VWSP5588, the actual voice of Seale. [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM]
#21 The Lumpen Free Bobby Now 1970 · Single · Free Bobby Now / No More · USA
Annotation
Black Panther group formed in 1970 in San Francisco, California, USA, with Bill Calhoun, Clark Bailey, James Mott, and Michael Torrance, which only released this rare 7" single, with the song "Free Bobby Now" (# BPP-4501), composed by Bill Calhoun, in support of Bobby Seale, after his arrest at the Vietnam War demonstration at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and so another Vietnam / Civil Rights song. The top of the single said "Seize the Time" and "Black Panther Party Productions". It featured on the 2012 compilation Listen, Whitey! the Sounds of Black Power 1967-1974, produced by Pat Thomas. It said that Bobby Seale carried a gun because "for four hundred years" African-American have faced threats and death, and it asked "how many more brothers must die".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
He walked the streets and carried the gun to save his people and family
From those who've killed us for four hundred years
We say, Bobby must be set free
Bobby must be set Free
They say that he killed a brother
But this we know, just cannot be
He's proven his love for his people
That's why Bobby must be set free
Bobby must be set free
How many more brothers must die before we all finally see
The oppressor has no rights we are bound to respect
That's why Bobby must be set free
Bobby must be set free
We won't sacrifice our Chairman 'cause his life means our destiny
If we must we'll hold back the night
Bobby must be set free
We said, Bobby must be set free
Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾
#22 Dick Gregory Tricks: Black Power; Money; Chicago Trial; Panthers 1970 · Live · Dick Gregory's Frankenstein · Poppy # PYS-60004 · USA
Annotation
Artist background
Dick Gregory - an American comedian and social activist, who in 1968 ran for president for the Freedom and Peace Party. He was born 12 October 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, and died 19 August 2017 in Washington, DC, USA.12 He released a bunch of political comedy and spoken-word records, largely focused on Civil Rights, many of which referred to the Vietnam War, including Dick Gregory On: (1969), The Light Side: The Dark Side (1969), Dick Gregory's Frankenstein (1970), and At Kent State (1971) about the Kent State shooting in Ohio, where four student were killed.
This record, released on Poppy (# PYS-60,004) had two tracks related to the Chicago '68 Vietnam War demonstration, in the Civil Rights context. The first track "Tricks: Black Power; Money; Chicago Trial; Panthers" called it a "trick trial", and stressed the importance of it, with regards to justice and equality. While the older generation were concerned with law and order and making money, he called on young people to remember its importance:

The second track "Bobby Seale / The Real Criminals" of course focused on the co-founder of the Black Panthers, Bobby Seale, noted to have been "shackled to a chair, hands cuffed, mouth taped" because he wanted to defend himself in the courtroom. Gregory made the point that if the same thing had happened Russia, Americans would be pointing fingers at the communist. He noted that serial killer Charles Manson was permitted to defend himself, as well as Jack Ruby, who assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald. He concluded that to be convicted in an American court room does not make you a criminal, and that Bobby Seale faced discrimination from a racist judge and court.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
2LP gatefold recorded at Bronx Community College; producer Kevin Eggers.
Lyrics
English
See that old trick trial in Chicago finally got over, Chicago Seven, used to be eight, but we know about that though. I hope you young folks understand that the Chicago trial was very important...what happened, listen to your mamma and daddy, they busy making money, they didn't know what went down in Chicago, but very important that you young folks in American understand what went down in Chicago, the jury went out to deliberate, and when the jury left the room, the judge sent everybody to jail...what happened, your mothers and fathers are busy worrying about law and order...
These old...degenerates...kill more people on American highways from drunken driving in one year than all the revolutionary action folks will kill in the whole world in the next 50 years. If you want to have a holiday in America, accident free, with no deaths?...Get some black kids, some white kids, get on television, say I'm SDS, I'm the Black Panthers, I'm Revolution # 9, we got a press conference, we want to ask everyone in America to demonstrate, protest against the war in Vietnam, on 4th of July, way we want you to protest...get drunk, get in your car, get on the highway, and kill someone...
That trial in Chicago was very important...the way Judge Hoffman acted in Chicago, he made Hitler look like he has a lot of play...the judge knew...from the evidence the government presented...the jury...would come back in with a hung jury than a conviction...the game was, the judges job was to send then to jail, so we had this thing, Chicago Trial
#23 WVUM Moratorium 1970 · EP · IBIS 70 · FTG # 12345 · USA
Credited on the record as Anonymous.
Annotation
- Field recordings, documentary, spoken word
- In co-operation with WVUM - student radio station at the University of Miami
- B-side: Vietnam War moratorium new report, Chicago 7 / 8 with sound clips
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
7" 33⅓ rpm made with WVUM, University of Miami student radio ("Ibis" is the university mascot); producers Cyn Zarco and Shely Leshner. Side A: Black Protest / Bomb Scare / Is Paul Dead? / Entertainment Yasser; side B: Moratorium / William Kunstler / Art Linkletter / Herbie Mann.

Labels (black and silver): mono, 33⅓ rpm; side one runs 6:00 and is marked "In cooperation with WVUM"; "Moratorium" opens side two. [From the record labels]
#24 Dick Gregory Bobby Seale / The Real Criminals 1970 · Live · Dick Gregory's Frankenstein · Poppy # PYS-60004 · USA
Notes
2LP gatefold recorded at Bronx Community College; producer Kevin Eggers.
Lyrics
English
Bobby Seale shackled to a chair, hands cuffed, mouth taped, because he was trying to defend himself, regardless of what you think of the Black Panthers and Bobby Seale, that's not the issues, in an America court room, it is a defendants duty to defend himself, Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald, with nationwide television...when it came to trial, he defended himself...that white boy from California, that Mason boy, that's accused of killing the Tate's...walked into that white racist court room...the issue was did he have the right to defend himself in an American court room, yes he did...
Bobby Seale walked to into the court room in Chicago...my lawyer is out in San Francisco is being operated on, would you postpone my trial...judge so no boy, go to trial today, your honor would it be okay if I act as my own lawyer, judge said no, you use them lawyers...Bobby Seale was indicted with seven other folks...a man tried to defend himself in a court room where the world wide press is watching ends up shackled to a chair, hands cuffed, mouth taped, what do you think happening in these court rooms in America where ain't nobody looking?...Had that trial being going on in Moscow, Russia...we would shrug out shoulders and say, that's communism for you...all a convict means is you've been convicted in an America court".
Also featured in:
• Vietnam War: Civil Rights Songs
• Vietnam War: Spoken Word & Field Records
• Vietnam War: 1968 Chicago Seven
Eight Songs
#25 Walter Cronkite Republican and Democratic Conventions 1968 1970 · Album · I Can Hear It Now / The Sixties · Columbia Masterworks # M3X 30353 · USA
Credited on the record as Walter Cronkite & Fred W. Friendly.
Annotation

Documentary record, narrated by Walter Cronkite, well-known US broadcast journalist, for CBS, born 4 November 1916 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA, died 17 July 2009 in Manhattan, New York, USA. This record included the track "Republican and Democratic Conventions 1968". It was a 3-LP box-set.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
3LP box set, stereo; co-producers J. G. Gude and John M. Patterson. Side F: "Republican and Democratic Conventions 1968, Through Flight of Apollo 11, First Moon Landing, July 20/21, 1969".
#26 Myles Jackson Antiwar Demonstration 1970 · Album · Loyalties: Whose Side Are You On? · Scholastic # FS 12004 · USA
Annotation

Documentary record, with the track "Antiwar Demonstration" (Scholastic Records # FS 12004) - field recordings and interviews from Chicago, as protesters hand in their draft cards - possibly during the 1968 demonstration, but unknown. Contains religious sentiment. Back of the sleeve said "At a peace rally in front of City Hall in Chicago, demonstrators tell why they have turned in their draft cards - and why they are opposed to the war in Viet Nam. One tells of his encounter with a draft board. Another, a young man who hopes to be a priest, tells why - even at the risk of jail - he puts loyalty to his religion above loyalty to country. Some bystanders comment on the demonstration. One of them is a policeman, who talks about the legality of the demonstration"

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Scholastic Records documentary LP. Tracks: General Introduction / Street Gang / Antiwar Demonstration / Viet Nam Veterans / Frank Garcia / Rachael Ortiz.
#29 Memphis Slim Chicago Seven 1970 · Single · Chicago Seven / Boogie Woogie 1-9-7-0 · Warner Bros. # 7500 · USA
Annotation
The song "Chicago Seven" (Warner Bros. Records # 7500) by Memphis Slim (born Pete Chapman) - a highly regarded blues piano player from Memphis, Tennessee (1915-1988), who moved to Chicago in the late 1930s - dealt with political protest during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights. It appeared on the 1971 album Blue Memphis (Warner Bros. Records # WS 1899).1 The lyrics suggested that large coverage of the Chicago Seven, as well as the "four dead in Ohio" - a reference to the Kent State shootings on 4 May 1970 - was because those involved were white: "nobody seems worried about all the black blood spilled" . The song ended with a guitar solo and police siren sound-effects in the background. The guitar was played by Peter Green.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Warner Bros. Records 7500 (NA19565)S, white "Promotion – not for sale" label; "Chicago Seven" (Memphis Slim), 3:49; WB Music Corp. – ASCAP; produced by Philippe Rault, arranged by Jerry Long; "From the Warner Bros. album WS 1899 'Blue Memphis'"; made in U.S.A. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
Everybody is talking about Chicago Seven
Four dead in Ohio, that makes eleven
Nobody seems worried about all the black blood spilled
They'd begun to take notice when some of their own got killed
Now I'm from Chicago, but I'm not bragging
Just can't stand that police nagging
Because in Chicago there is one big grudge
Oh Chicago Seven, had a name like a judge...
What goes up and down...
People have gone back to the underground

1971

#30 Buffy Sainte-Marie Moratorium (Bring Our Brothers Home) 1971 · Single · Soldier Blue / Moratorium (Bring Our Brothers Home) · RCA Victor # RCA 2081 · USA
Notes
- Field recordings, documentary, spoken word
- In co-operation with WVUM - student radio station at the University of Miami
- B-side: Vietnam War moratorium new report, Chicago 7 / 8 with sound clips

- Since the early 1960s, Sainte-Marie claimed to have been born on the Piapot Cree First Nations Reserve in the Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, Canada, and that she descended from the Cree. However, a CBS investigation concluded that Sainte-Marie was born in the US, of Italian and English descent. RCA Victor RCA 2081 (ZTSP 222617), stereo, orange label, "Manufactured by RCA Limited, England from master recordings of RCA Records", "A Product of Vanguard Recording Society Inc."; "Moratorium (Bring Our Brothers Home)" (Buffy Sainte-Marie), Caleb Music (MCPS), 4.00; produced by Buffy Sainte-Marie & Jack Nietzsche (AGBKS 0532).

Issued in a green and white RCA company sleeve. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
P.F.C. Mannie Stein had been drafted and gone...
He came home and called some friends, they'd resisted the draft and they both were in prison...
Corporal Thomas McCann is a three year marine...
And he looked at the sign...it said fuck the war
Oh soldiers, it's for you, we formed our little bands...
We're riskin' all we have...
We want to bring you home
We wanna hold you in our arms
#31 Charlie Haden Circus '68 '69 1971 · Album · Liberation Music Orchestra · Impulse! # AS-9183 · USA
Annotation
Experimental jazz artists, born on 6 August 1937 in Shenandoah, Iowa, USA, and died on 11 July 2014 in Los Angeles, California, USA, released this anti-war / Civil Rights record. In the linear notes of the record, Haden said that the composition "Circus '68 '69" (Impulse! # AS-9183) was related to the 1968 Democratic Party convention, Chicago:
Liner notes
"After the minority plank on Vietnam was defeated in a vote taken on the convention floor, the California and New York delegations spontaneously began to sing 'We Shall Overcome' in protest. Unable to gain control of the floor, the rostrum instructed the convention orchestra to drown out the singing. 'You're a Grand Old Flag' and 'Happy Days Are Here Again' could then be heard trying to stifle 'We Shall Overcome'. To me this told the story, in music, of what was happening in our country politically." (1)
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
After the minority plank on Vietnam was defeated in a vote taken on the convention floor, the California and New York delegations spontaneously began to sing 'We Shall Overcome' in protest. Unable to gain control of the floor, the rostrum instructed the convention orchestra to drown out the singing. 'You're a Grand Old Flag' and 'Happy Days Are Here Again' could then be heard trying to stifle 'We Shall Overcome'. To me this told the story, in music, of what was happening in our country politically." (1)
#32 Allen Ginsberg Songs of Innocence and Experience 1971 · Album · Verve Forecast # FTS 3083 · USA
Annotation
Allen Ginsberg, beat poet, born 3 June 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, USA, died 5 April 1997 in New York, New York, USA, was in attendance at the Chicago '68 demonstrations, reportedly inspired to complete this album, according to producer Pat Thomas12
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#33 Abbie Hoffman Texas Tweezers 1971 · Album · Wake Up America! · Big Toe # Big Toe 1 · USA
Annotation
On the track "Texas Tweezers" , from the album Wake Up, America (Big Toe Records # 1), Hoffman took a phone call on a radio show. The caller attacked Hoffman for being ignorant, an exhibitionist, and for criticising the country, which, according to the caller, would have got him killed in Russia. Hoffman responded by arguing that the US "killed a million people in Vietnam" , which damaged its reputation. He then rhetorically asked the caller "what do you think My Lai was, a god damn Coney Island trip" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation: see “Songs of Innocence and Experience” above (same release).
Lyrics
English
Caller:
"Mr. Hoffman...I just want to say...you have myopic point of view...
You have no conception of what life is all about
I accuse you of being a fraud, you're an exhibitionist...
If this country were run by people like you...
Society couldn't exist with creatures like you
You show your ignorance of what American is about
Your constant criticism, you wouldn't exist in Russian for five minutes
You'd be on the firing line...
The people in power made this country what it is"
Hoffman:
"You damn right they did! What the hell is it man?
I mean we killed a million people in Vietnam, don't you think that is damaging the public image of the country?
They killed a million people, what do you think My Lai was
What do you think My Lai was, a god damn Connie Island trip
Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾
#34 Graham Nash Chicago 1971 · Single · Chicago / Simple Man · Atlantic # 11 017 · UK
Annotation
The song "Chicago" (Atlantic # 10 017), probably the most well-known of the tracks about the 1968 demonstrations outside the Democratic Nation Convention in Chicago, and the subsequent trial of the Chicago Seven / Eight. Released by singer/songwriter Graham Nash, born 2 February 1942 in Blackpool, Lancashire, UK, and currently based in Manhattan, New York, USA. The song featured on his 1971 debut solo album Songs for Beginners (Atlantic # SD-7204), which also had the Vietnam War-related song "Military Madness" on it. A live version of the song is featured on the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album 4 Way Street (Atlantic #SD 2-902), discussed below. It began with referencing the Bobby Seale controversy: "brother's bound and gagged...chained him to a chair" . It questioned how that could happen in a country known for freedom. The song's repeated phrase "won't you please come to Chicago" called on people to take a stand.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Atlantic 45-2804 (A-21949 SP), side A, 45 R.P.M., vocal, red and black label; "Chicago" (Graham Nash), 2:55; Pub. Giving Room Music, BMI; produced by Graham Nash; "From Atlantic LP 7204"; Mfg. by Atlantic Recording Corp., 1841 Broadway, New York, N.Y. Housed in an Atlantic Records company sleeve. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
So your brother's bound and gagged
And they've chained him to a chair
Won't you please come to Chicago just to sing
In a land that's known for freedom how can such a thing be fair
Won't you please come to Chicago...
We can change the world, rearrange the world
It's dying to get better
Politicians sit yourselves down
There's nothing for you here
Won't you please come to Chicago for a ride
Don't ask Jack to help you 'cause he'll turn the other ear
Won't you please come to Chicago or else join the other...
It's dying - if you believe in justice
Dying - and if you believe in freedom
Dying - let a man live his own life
Dying - rules and regulations, who needs them
Open up the door, somehow people must be free
I hope the day comes soon
Won't you please come to Chicago
Show your face, from the bottom of the ocean to the mountains of the moon...
Come to Chicago no one else can take your place
Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾
#35 Neil Young Ohio 1971 · Live · Live At Massey Hall 1971 · Reprise # 9362-43328-2 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Super-group, formed in 1969 in Bethel, New York, USA, featuring David Crosby (vocals, guitar), Stephen Stills (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass), Graham Nash (vocals, guitar, keyboards), and Neil Young (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica). As a group, their most famous Vietnam War-related track was the Ohio / Find the Cost of Freedom single about the Kent State shooting in Ohio, where four students were killed, with the famous line: "tin soldiers and Nixon coming...I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio". As individual, solo artists, they released a number of Vietnam War songs, including: "What Are Their Names" on Crosby's album If I Could Only Remember My Name; "Relaxing Town" on Still's album Stephen Stills 2, discussed below; "Military Madness" and "Chicago" on Nash's Songs for Beginners, and "Oh! Camil (The Winter Soldier)" on Nash's Wild Tales; "Lookout Joe" on Young's Tonight's the Night. Also note that Buffalo Springfield, feauturing Young and Stills, released the song "For What It's Worth", added to the 2nd pressing of their debut Buffalo Springfield.
This album included a live version of "Ohio" , as well as "Chicago" , which started with the intro: "here's a song for Mayor Daley" . Also on this album was the medley "49 Bye-Byes / America’s Children" , which included Buffalo Springfield's famous song about demonstrations "For What It's Worth". The spoken-word section called on people to take to the streets, to speak out to President Richard Nixon, VP Spiro Agnew, and Chicago's Mayor Richard J. Daley. The reference to "how many is it that they shot down already?" is presumably including the four in Ohio, at the Kent State demonstration on 4 May 1970.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
Cause they got the guts to get out in the streets and tell the truth every day...
Making it a little hot for them
You know all right, but you know that we're all just out there proving to Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew and Richard Daley
And all them other, well whatever you want to call them
That America is still the home of the brave oh yes it is
And you got to be brave children, how many is it that they shot down already?
Something like seventeen of us
#36 Stephen Stills Relaxing Town 1971 · Single · Change Partners / Relaxing Town · Atlantic # 45-2806 · USA
Annotation
Stephen Stills, singer/songwriter born on 3 January 1945 in Dallas, Texas, USA, and currently based in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a member of Buffalo Springfield, composing and singing the famous anti-war song "For What It's Worth", originally released as a single (ATCO Records # 45-6459), and subsequently appearing on the 2nd edition of their 1967 debut album Buffalo Springfield. He was also in the super-group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young which released the anti-war single Ohio / Find the Cost of Freedom, about the Kent State shooting, with Young composing the A-side, and Stills the b-side. In 1971 he released the song "Relaxing Town" on the solo album Stephen Stills 2 which contained a reference to the Chicago Eight demonstrations. In the post-war period, in 1991, Stills released the song "Treetop Flyer" on the album Stills Alone, about a Vietnam War vet who used is flying skills, gained in Vietnam, to smuggle drugs under the radar.

On this album featured the song "Relaxing Town" (Atlantic # SD 7206), which expressed discontent with the protest movement, with the narrator wishing to settle down in a quit town, away from the demonstrations and revolution. It contained a minor reference to the confrontation between prominent hippie Jerry Rubin, one of the Chicago Seven, and Mayor Richard J. Daley: "Jerry Rubin versus Mayor Daley...admission is free, we can all stay home and watch it on TV".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
B-side of the US 7" "Change Partners" (Atlantic 45-2806, 1971); also side B track 1 of the album Stephen Stills 2 (Atlantic SD 7206, July 1971). Written by Stephen Stills; producers Bill Halverson and Stephen Stills; Gold Hill Music.
Lyrics
English
Do I remember what I think about revolution
Mind pollution, the kind of books I drink after one last look around
I believe that I might like to settle down in a relaxing town
All we ever get to see are the rednecks and the revolution
Crazies, let's rent out Soldier's Field and have Jerry Rubin versus Mayor Daley
For the benefit of peace, admission is free, we can all stay home and watch it on TV
Call it the supersede
#37 Don Daly Ho Chi 1971 · Album · Matilda · Matilda's Child # 710820 · USA
Credited on the record as Matilda.
Notes
Matilda's Child Records 710820, LP, 1971, by the band Matilda (Don Daly guitar and vocals, Joel Binger percussion); this is track A5; the LP's other war songs are A1 "Bombs Away", B3 "Red Light", B5 "Grass Will Cover All", also in the archive; recorded at Texas Sound Studios. [From Discogs] Back sleeve: Don Daly guitars and vocals, Joel Binger percussion; engineer and mix Jeff Smith; photography Max Downing; album design and text Virginia Smith; "Matilda's hat & strap created by Martin Vandiver"; all material by Don Daly, Tex-Sound Music (BMI); Texas Sound Studios, 506 W. Hildebrand Ave., San Antonio, Texas 78212. Side A: Bombs Away 4:11, Mellow 5:25, Those Rainy Mornings 3:31, She's Always There 3:20, Ho Chi 2:46; side B: The Wolf Pup 3:08, Sodomy With a Carrot 2:12, Red Light 1:38, Browneyed Woman 2:48, Grass Will Cover All 2:55, Matilda 4:08. [From the sleeve and label (Discogs)]

1972

#38 David Peel & The Lower East Side The Chicago Conspiracy 1972 · Album · The Pope Smokes Dope · Apple # SW 3391 · USA
Annotation
Psychedelic folk rock group formed in New York City, USA, featuring David Peel, Harold Black, Billy Jo White, Larry Adams. Led by David Peel, born as Angel Perez, to Puerto Rican parents on 1 August 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and died 6 April 2017 in Manhattan, New York, USA, was said to have started out in the 1960s playing on the streets on New York with songs about drugs and dodgy cops. He served in the US military for two years, stationed in Alaska. He released many political protest songs, including "Hey, Mr. Draft Board" on the 1970 album The American Revolution, which opposed the draft and the war in Vietnam.

On this 1972 album featured the song "The Chicago Conspiracy" (Apple Records # SW 3391) which addressed both the 1968 Chicago demonstrations and the "Chicago Eight" - the narrator listed all eight of the high-profile protesters arrested and charged, including Bobby Seale, which many other songs excluded in favour of the "seven". The song placed blame on the Chicago mayor: "Daley made this place a city of disgrace" . The narrator said that the arrests and trial revealed that "we're not free in this society" . It encouraged the listener to "kill..fight...never run" and to keep "marching against the great injustice" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
Chicago, Chicago, Chicago, Chicago
The Democrats convention was society's invention
To change our generation was one of their intentions
Chicago was the place for the Democratic race
Mayor Daley made this place a city of disgrace...
They busted Jerry Rubin
They busted Abbie Hoffman
They busted David Dellinger
They busted Rennie Davis
They busted Lee Weiner
They busted John Froines
They busted Tom Hayden
They busted Bobby Seale
The great conspiracy was meant for you and me
To show is we're not free in this society, Chicago...
You got to kill, kill, kill
You got to fight, fight, fight
Never run, run, run
When you're right, right, right
The whole world is watching
The whole world is marching against the great injustice for the people who were busted
In Chicago, in Chicago, in Chicago
Power to the people, power to the people, power to...
Show full lyrics (24 lines) ▾
#39 Larry Norman Peace, Pollution, Revolution 1972 · Single · Righteous Rocker, Holy Roller / Peace, Pollution, Revolution · MGM # 2006 105 · USA
Annotation
Christian rock artist, born 8 April 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA, died 24 February 2008 in Salem, Oregon, USA, released the song "Peace, Pollution, Revolution" (MGM Records # 2006 105), an anti-war song with religious content, which noted some prominent demonstrations, with the narrator saying he "marched for peace in Washington" , and "gave blood in Chicago" - probably a reference to the protest and confrontation outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
The word is revolution, but no one's fired a shot
Each side has its battle plans and a million counter plots
And the world is closely watching as we near the battle line
But if you're truly wise you'll keep your eyes on Palestine
The water is polluted and the air is filled with death
Someday it won't be easy to stop and catch your breath
It's all in revelations
It's part of the design
And if you're truly wise you'll keep your eyes on Palestine...
I marched for peace in Washington when things were getting hot
I gave blood in Chicago, went anemic on the spot
I would have hitchhiked to Toronto, but it's all a waste of time
So I'm writing down this song for you
To sing and pass along to you
And if you're truly wise you'll keep your eyes on Palestine...
Revolution...
Peace...
Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

1973

#40 Holly Near GI Movement 1973 · Album · Hang in There · Redwood # RRS 3800 · USA
Annotation
Holly Near, contemporary folk artist / singer-songwriter, born 6 June 1949 in Ukiah, California, USA, took an active part in the 1960s / 70s protest, anti-Vietnam War movement. In 1974 she released the song "It Could Have Been Me" on the LP "A Live Album", about the Kent State shooting in Ohio. This album contained many Vietnam War-related tracks, and provides a glimpse into the late protest / peace movement.1 The song "GI Movement" (Redwood Records # RRS 3800) contained a small reference to the 1968 demonstrations, with regards to the deployment of soldiers: "some landed in Chicago...but wherever they go they see a horror show" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
We are here to talk to soldiers, we know that you won't be still
You're tired of US policy...
Soldier, did they tell you that fighting would set you free
Strange how that rumor got around...
Soldier sing the love song, it's the ballad of his rights
I hear that soldier is sleeping...tonight
Cause he was talking about the GI movement...
Some landed in Chicago, some landed in the Philippines
But wherever they go they see a horror show because
They're paid to make the people flee...
Talking about the GI movement, hear my song, carry it on...can't be wrong

1974

#41 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson H20 Gate Blues 1974 · Album · Winter in America · Strata-East # SES-19742 · USA
Annotation
The track "H20 Gate Blues" (Strata-East Records # SES-19742) took an 8 minute plus look at social / political issues in Nixon's America, especially regarding the Watergate scandal as suggested in the title. It also addressed the Vietnam War, arguing that it was an unjustified conflict against a "people determined to be free" , involving the unnecessary destruction of the land, and causing starvation amongst the population. He questioned why the US, a nuclear power, was "afraid of shoeless, undernourished Cambodians" , and why the US sought to hide "the economics of war" as a motivator. Scott-Heron then referred to several specific episodes. This included the shootings at the Kent and Jackson State protests in May 1970, the bombing of North Vietnam, and the "chaining and gagging" of Bobby Seale (one of the Chicago Eight, arrested outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, 1968). Finally, he asked the listener to remember the My Lai massacre: "just how blind America...remember...William Calley's executive interference" - referring to Nixon's presidential pardon.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
Just how blind, America?
Just as Vietnam exploded in the rice, snap, crackle, and pop (Uh Oh!)
Could not stop people determined to be free
Just how blind will America be? (Yes Sir!)
The shock of a Vietnam defeat sent Republican donkeys scurrying down on Wall Street...
Ask them what we're fighting for and they never mention the economics of war
Ecological Warfare! Above all else destroy the land!
If we can't break the Asian will we'll bomb the dykes and starve the man!...
Plundering the Asian countryside...
Afraid of shoeless, undernourished Cambodians
While we strike big wheat bargains with Russia, our nuclear enemy
Just how blind America?...
Remember...William Calley's executive interference...
Kent State, Jackson State, Southern Louisiana
Hundreds of unauthorized bombing raids
The chaining and gagging of Bobby Seale...
Richard Daley, imperial Napoleonic Mayor of Chicago, who took over from Al Capone
Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

1979

#42 Richard J. Daley 1968 1979 · Archival · Mayor Daley on the Record · WMAQ-NBC Radio # WMAQ-670 · USA
Credited on the record as Mayor Daley.
Annotation
Compilation of speeches by former Mayor of Chicago Daley, including the track "1968" (NBC Records # WMAQ-670), about the demonstrations outside the Democratic National Convention. The back of the LP sleeve said: "here...there is the celebrated shoot-to-kill statement of riot-seared 1968". Note that the producer used the biased and misleading description "celebrated" to describe the Chicago '68 events.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Released March 1979; side A track 2 ("1968"); reported by Bill Cameron; pressed at MCA Pinckneyville.

1980

#43–46 The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble The Chicago Conspiracy Trial 1980 · Album · Capitol # SABB-12020 · USA
All 4 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection
Annotation
Theatrical re-enactment of the trial, created by Ron Sossi and Frank Condon, first staged at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles, California, USA in 1979. It was a double LP, the front of the LP said: "a theatrical arrangement of the original trial transcripts performed and recorded live by the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble". The LP said on the back that "it was recorded in performance at Capitol Records Studio 'A', Hollywood on 2-3 October 1979". Released on Capitol Records # SABB-12020. Narrator: John Stewart. Producer: Nikolas K. Venet.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →
#43 The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble Act One, Part One 1980 · Album · The Chicago Conspiracy Trial · Capitol # SABB-12020 · USA
Annotation
Theatrical re-enactment of the trial, created by Ron Sossi and Frank Condon, first staged at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles, California, USA in 1979. It was a double LP, the front of the LP said: "a theatrical arrangement of the original trial transcripts performed and recorded live by the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble". The LP said on the back that "it was recorded in performance at Capitol Records Studio 'A', Hollywood on 2-3 October 1979". Released on Capitol Records # SABB-12020. Narrator: John Stewart. Producer: Nikolas K. Venet.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Capitol SABB-12020 (EMI), double LP in a gatefold sleeve, "A Theatrical Arrangement of the Original Trial Transcripts Performed and Recorded Live by the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble"; arrangement by Ron Sossi and Frank Condon, directed by Frank Condon, produced for the Odyssey Theatre by Ron Sossi; narration by John Stewart (courtesy of RSO Records).

Recorded in performance at Capitol Records Studio 'A', Hollywood, California, October 2 & 3 1979; produced by Nikolas K. Venet (Summerwind Productions), who "personally dedicates this production to Bertold Brecht, Nicholas Ray and Leonard Peltier"; performance engineers Jay Ranellucci and Hugh Davies, 2nd engineer Cecil Jones, mastered by Wally Traugott, master stereo mix and edit Jay Ranellucci.

Side one "Act One, Part One" 24:11, side two "Act One, Part Two" 27:44, side three "Act Two, Part One" 29:22, side four "Act Two, Part Two" 29:16.

The front cover is styled as a court document ("United States of America vs David T. Dellinger, Rennard C. Davis, Thomas E. Hayden, Abbott H. Hoffman, Jerry C. Rubin, Lee Weiner, John R. Froines, and Bobby G. Seale", No. 69CR180, "Violation: Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, 231 (a) (1) and 2 101") over a drawing of the judge with gavel; the back shows a courtroom scuffle photograph.

The gatefold photograph of the staged courtroom ("Setting: United States Courthouse, Chicago, Illinois, September, 1969 - February, 1970") labels each character with the actor, with full cast lists including George Murdock as Judge Julius Hoffman, Leopoldo Mandeville as Bobby Seale and Marty Davis as Mayor Richard Daley, and quotes Jerry Rubin's contempt-hearing exchange ending "It is good theater, Your Honor." [From the record sleeve and labels]
#44 The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble Act One, Part Two 1980 · Album · The Chicago Conspiracy Trial · Capitol # SABB-12020 · USA
Annotation: see “Act One, Part One” above (same release).
#45 The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble Act Two, Part One 1980 · Album · The Chicago Conspiracy Trial · Capitol # SABB-12020 · USA
Annotation: see “Act One, Part One” above (same release).
#46 The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble Act Two, Part Two 1980 · Album · The Chicago Conspiracy Trial · Capitol # SABB-12020 · USA
Annotation: see “Act One, Part One” above (same release).

1983

#47 Michael Jerling Long Black Wall 1983 · Compilation · CooP Fast Folk Musical Magazine (Vol. 2, No. 4) - Political Song · Fast Folk # SE 204 · USA
Annotation
A contemporary folk song, "Long Black Wall" (Fast Folk # SE 204), one of the first songs written and released about the memorial. It looked back at the idealistic early days of the war, wanting to fight communism and become a soldier: "a Green Beret came" and "told about the Communists" . The narrator "thought I'd like to be like him" . Then he recalled the growth of the protest movement, referencing demonstrations outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968 (where 8 people were arrested for inciting riots, known as the Chicago Eight, later becoming the Chicago Seven): "Chicago summer, 1968...kids out on a lark...on the evening news and got teargassed in Lincoln Park" . It then looked at the college days, where everyone: "was against the war...had long hair and Nixon stunk" - a reference to President Richard Nixon of course, and hippie culture. The song then turned to the impact of the war on the returning veterans: "vets came back... drank black coffee and smoked...never spoke of what they'd seen" . Finally "a man on TV" said that ten years had passed and "a monument was raised" . The narrator noted that the "roll of dead took four whole days" .

Composed in 1982 by Michael Jerling, born 17 April 1952, in Joliet, Illinois, USA, and currently based in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA12 The record was released on this Fast Folk Musical Magazine various artist compilation in 1983 - this was a New York-based magazine and record album publisher, from February 1982 to 1997, a songwriter / performer cooperative. It also published many political and social contemporary songs, playing a similar role to Broadside Magazine in the 1960s. This song also featured on his 1998 compilation Early Jerling (Waterbug Records # WBG 0043), and on the 2002 compilation Fast Folk: A Community of Singers and Songwriters (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings # SFW40135). The song was covered in 1989 by Richard Meyer on Fast Folk Musical Magazine (Vol. 5, No. 3) - Live at the Bottom Line 1989 (Fast Folk # FF 503), discussed below.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
The Coop – The Fast Folk Musical Magazine, May '83, SE 204 B, stereo, side two; "All rights reserved by the artists. ℗ © 1983 Jack Hardy as trustee for the Coop." "Long Black Wall" (Michael Jerling), 4:21, side two track 4; credits: Michael Jerling, vocal & guitar; Bob Warren, guitar; Teresina Huxtable, Casio keyboard. The accompanying magazine, Vol. 2 #4, is titled "The Political Song", with a cover drawing signed Jeff Tiedrich 1983 setting newspaper headlines to musical staves; page 14 prints the lyrics, "c 1982 by Michael Jerling", which trace a Green Beret's slide show in a school gym, Chicago in summer 1968, the draft, returning veterans and the dedication of a monument whose "roll of dead took four whole days". [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
A Green Beret came to talk to us, gave a slide show in the gym
Told about the communists and the punji sticks
Thought I'd like to be like him
Long black wall and nothing is undone
Long black wall, sleeping in the sun
Chicago summer, 1968, some high school kids out on a lark
Waved to the cameras on the evening news
And got teargassed in Lincoln Park
Long black wall and nothing is the same
Long black wall, shining in the rain
Everyone in college was against the war
We had long hair and Nixon stunk
Draft number high, draft number low
Stayed out all night and got real drunk
The vets came back on the G.I. Bill, in their field jackets and jeans
Drank black coffee and smoked cigarettes
And never spoke of what they'd seen
Long black wall and nothing left to say
Long black wall, so many miles away
The man on TV said ten years had gone
Today a monument was raised
And when they spoke each name one at a time, the roll of dead took four whole days
Long black wall, and nothing is the same
Long black wall, shining in the rain...
Nothing is undone...
Show full lyrics (26 lines) ▾

1988

#48 Michael C. Ford Like Peaches 1988 · Compilation · Motel Cafe · Blue Yonder Sounds # BYS (0114) · USA
Credited on the record as Michael C Ford.
Annotation
Poet, born 13 December 1939 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, and currently based in Los Angeles, California, USA, released this LP (Blue Yonder Sounds # BYS (0114) featuring the track "Like Peaches" , described on the back sleeve as "a journal note recollection of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago - the one that featured the Yippie invasion and designed the velvet masque of mock insurrection". Also note this LP contained other Vietnam War-related references, included the track "Vietnam / Peace Casualties" - which had the description: "this holds a cracked mirror up to an image of how I perceive the thing that places this whole traumatic conflict in American history".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Voice and words by Michael C. Ford; produced, compiled and edited by Harvey Robert Kubernik; also on Freeway Records.

1990

#49 Richard Meyer Long Black Wall 1990 · Live · Fast Folk Musical Magazine: Live at the Bottom Line 89 · Fast Folk Musical Magazine # FF 503 · USA
Annotation

The "Long Black Wall" by Richard Meyer, a contemporary folk artist, born in 1952, and died in New York, USA on 14 May 2012, was a long-term editor of Fast Folk - this was a music magazine and record album publisher from February 1982 to 1997, a songwriter / performer cooperative. It also published many political and social contemporary songs, playing a similar role to Broadside Magazine in the 1960s. This song was a cover, composed by Michael Jerling in 1982, and released in 1983 on the LP: CooP Fast Folk Musical Magazine (Vol. 2, No. 4) - Political Song, discussed above.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Fast Folk 1989 Volume 5 No. 3, recorded at The Bottom Line, 18 February 1989; side A track 4. Richard Meyer (guitar, vocals), Lisa Gutkin (viola, violin), backing vocals Lillie Palmer, John Gorka, Josh Joffen.
Lyrics
English
A Green Beret came to talk to us, gave a slide show in the gym
Told about the communists and the punji sticks
Thought I'd like to be like him
Long black wall and nothing is undone
Long black wall, sleeping in the sun
Chicago summer, 1968, some high school kids out on a lark
Waved to the cameras on the evening news
And got teargassed in Lincoln Park
Long black wall and nothing is the same
Long black wall, shining in the rain
Everyone in college was against the war
We had long hair and Nixon stunk
Draft number high, draft number low
Stayed out all night and got real drunk
The vets came back on the G.I. Bill, in their field jackets and jeans
Drank black coffee and smoked cigarettes
And never spoke of what they'd seen
Long black wall and nothing left to say
Long black wall, so many miles away
The man on TV said ten years had gone
Today a monument was raised
And when they spoke each name one at a time, the roll of dead took four whole days
Long black wall, and nothing is the same
Long black wall, shining in the rain...
Nothing is undone..."
Also featured in:
• Vietnam War: Veterans Memorial Wall Songs
Show full lyrics (28 lines) ▾

1994

#50 MK Ultra Post Office Bomb 1994 · MK Ultra · Artichoke # 1 · USA
Annotation
Indie rock group, formed in 1994 in San Francisco, California, USA, disbanded in 1999, comprised of John Vanderslice, Jon Merker, Jordan Newhouse, and Matt Torrey. They released the song "Post Office Bomb" (Artichoke Records # 000001). This was an anti-establishment piece, which made several historical references, such as to the third president of the US Thomas Jefferson, the communist revolution in Russia in 1917, and high profile protests in the 60s and 70s: "Paris 68, Rome 70, Chicago 68, 1917, small bombs are better than none" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
At sundown
Grab your gun
And C4
I've staked it out
We're gonna bomb the local post office
We'll fight for our father's original intention
Here comes the bloody revolution
At sundown
I'll set the bomb
When it goes off
We'll be in Canada
I'm sick of dreaming of the better days:
Paris 68, Rome 70, Chicago 68, 1917
Small bombs are better than none
When Jefferson returned to Monticello
And the railroads and banks had moved in
He cried: "What we feared is happening again"
If it was up to them
They'd suspend the constitution
And all deviants would be high strung
This I call treason
At sundown
Kill your nerves
And say goodbye
To who you were
Leaving trains are all the same
Gotta move fast
Gotta think fast /Gotta move like the minutemen
After the bomb blast
Show full lyrics (30 lines) ▾

1996

#51 Chuck D The Pride 1996 · Album · Autobiography of Mistachuck · Mercury # 314 532 944-2 · USA
Annotation
Artist background
Chuck D, born on 1 August 1960 in Roosevelt, New York, USA, associated with the genres East Coast Hip Hop / Conscious Hip Hop / Political Hip Hop, a member of several hip hop groups, including the prominent Public Enemy. Several of his songs referenced Vietnam: "The Pride" (1996) as a solo artist, and "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" (1988), "Welcome to the Terrordome" (1989), and "Resurrection" (1998) with Public Enemy.
The song "The Pride" (Mercury Records # 314 532 944-2) focused on black pride and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s - it referenced the James Brown song "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud (Parts 1 & 2)" (1968), the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.: "I was in third grade when Dr. King got slain" . It referenced the imprisonment of Bobby Seale, a Black Panther leader, arrested at the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968 - one of the Chicago Eight, he was infamously gagged and chained in court. It also referenced the Woodstock music festival and the Kent State Vietnam War demonstration - which took place on 4 May 1970, in Ohio, where members of the Ohio State Guard shot and killed four students: "Free Huey, Eldridge, Bobby, Angela, Woodstock to Kent State, the music of the time for the mind" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
Say it loud
James singing, "Black and I'm Proud"
I was in third grade when Dr. King got slain
And if I had to read a book about the facts
The fact is that the black would be overlooked, look
1967, I was seven, living proof
Of what I had learned in my youth
What a difference a score and a decade makes
Mistakes and Superbad breaks, wait
I ate the food in the lunch programs
And now I see the young strung out on grams
So I work on a go on and so on and soon communicate
To teach the young straight 'cause I got the pride
Flamboyant names
Free Huey, Eldridge, Bobby, Angela
Woodstock to Kent State
The music of the time for the mind
45's, Aretha, Four Tops
Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes
Assassinations Presidents
Nothing but 60's soul
Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾

2000

#52 Lamb of God O.D.H.G.A.B.F.E. 2000 · New American Gospel · Metal Blade # 3984-14345-2 · USA
Annotation
The song "O.D.H.G.A.B.F.E." (Metal Blade Records # 3984-14345-2) addressed police violence, making a minor reference to the protests at Kent State and outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (1968). The groove metal group formed in 1994 in Richmond, Virginia, under the name Burn the Priest. Written by Randy Blythe, the title stood for Officer Dickhead Gets a Black Fucking Eye. Blythe explained the song in an interview with Revolver Magazine: "one time I was out in the Bay Area, in San Francisco...a bunch of us were squatting...But the cops came and busted in and threw us in a paddy wagon...then 5 or 6 cops just started kicking the living shit out of me. I was so scared...then, when they yanked me up, I remember looking at one female officer....reading her name...and saying, I remember you. I remember your face. I'm gonna find you". So the narrator described getting beaten up by the San Francisco police: "face down on the cold floor...feel youth crushed" . He then mentioned several events involving police or army violence: "Auschwitz, Kent State, Chi-Town 68, Tianamen, Waco" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
Hate
Falling three feet to the ground
Face down on the cold floor of a well-oiled SF pigsty
I met my one true love
Feel youth crushed somewhere between concrete and boot
Another victim of the lower hate
You are not my god
You think this is funny, don't you pig?
How the helpless freak squirms
Beneath our state sanctioned soles
But what is he laughing at?
There was nothing padded about a wagon full of mace
Rotator cuff hyper extends behind my back
Ribs cracking beneath a rain of sticks and heels
Falling down like the rain outside
Oh yeah bitch, I'm gonna remember
Your face, your name, your number
And when I crawl out of this hole
I'm going to make you all mine
Auschwitz Kent State Chi-Town 68 Tianamen Waco
Show full lyrics (21 lines) ▾

2003

#53 J. Rawls Bobby Seale Bound and Gag 2003 · Album · Histories Greatest Battles, Campaigns & Topics · Female Fun # FF004 · USA
Annotation
J. Rawls, born 27 February 1974 in Columbus, Ohio, USA, currently based in Obetz, Ohio, USA, released this instrumental hip hop album with samples from history, including the song "Bobby Seale Bound and Gagged" (Female Fun Records # FF004). It started with a sample from Bobby Seale talking, and then moved on to a news clip.

.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
This is Bobby Seale, from jail, I'm a political prisoner, I'm awaiting trial...
Hoffman sentenced to four years...
Anytime a man is demanding his constitution rights human rights is not no contempt of court...
Violation of my right to a free trial...
Gagged, shackled, and bound to my chair...
Nothing less than what they intended...
Standing on the federal building...
Inside is the district court...there for the past six weeks, eight men...
The Chicago Eight, have been on trial...

2005

#54 Scott Ainslie Don't Obey 2005 · The Feral Crow · Cattail # 2004 · USA
Annotation
Scott Ainslie, a blues and country singer based in Brattleboro, Vermont, also taught music history and published a music notation book on the delta blues guitarist Robert Johnson (Robert Johnson - Guitar Signature Tricks). He self-released a bunch of albums on his website, including "The Feral Crow" , which contained the Vietnam War song "Rice Grows Again in Vietnam" .1 It also had the song "Don't Obey" which mentioned the Kent State shootings. The song warned against blindly following Uncle Sam when "they speak to you of glory" and use "words like good and evil" . He used Hitler and Stalin as examples of the "horror of obedience" . Therefore, he called on people not to obey a country's call for war, remembering that at "Kent State...we cry out, we bleed" . The song also mentioned Tiananmen Square, Selma, and "Chicago" - is this a reference to the Chicago 1968 demonstrations?
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
As it was in Hitler‘s Army and Stalin‘s awful crew
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Pearl Harbor, too
Across the sweep of history–There’s a truth they never tell
There’s more horror in obedience than there’d be if we’d rebel
So, when they speak to you of glory, and colors bright and true
And using words like ‘good & evil’ say it all comes down to you
When they offer you a weapon and send you out into the fray
Don’t Obey, Don’t Obey, Don’t Obey
From Selma to Sharpeville; Chicago to Bei Jing; From Kent State to Tiananmen Square
We cry out, we bleed
But from Tolstoy to Gandhi; from Gandhi to King
From Malcolm, and Mandela, and Biko to me
So, when they speak to you of glory, and colors bright and true
And using words like ‘good & evil’ say it all comes down to you
When they offer you a weapon and send you out into the fray...
Aren’t those your loved ones–huddled against the wall?
Can you hear the windows shatter? Feel the building start to fall?
Something’s gone wrong with us all
There’s shooting in the alley, footsteps in the hall
If every sin were tallied, if every mother knew
Just exactly what they’re asking; exactly what you do
How long do you think they’d stand there, with their hands by their sides?
Even all wrapped up in bunting–A lie is still a lie
So, when they speak to you of glory, and colors bright and true
And using words like ‘good & evil’ say it all comes down to you
When they offer you a weapon and send you out into the fray
Show full lyrics (27 lines) ▾
#55 Scott Ainslie Rice Grows Again in Vietnam 2005 · The Feral Crow · Cattail # 2004 · USA
Annotation: see “Don't Obey” above (same release).
Lyrics
English
A family working in the sun
Food must be grown for everyone
So green, new life has begun
Rice Grows Again In Vietnam
Our fathers met here long ago
And with their blood these fields are sown
So silent now, where many fell
So many stories they can’t tell
Receive the weak, receive the strong
And prayers of ours for those who’ve gone
Forgive me for the wrongs I’ve done
Give me the strength to carry on
There will be days when rain must fall
Upon these fields, upon the wall
But may the harvest of these tears
Bring peace to our remaining years
Lift up your tools, lay down your gun
Once peace is lost, nothing is won
Harvest a thousand grains from one
Rice grows again in Vietnam
There will be days when rain must fall
Upon these fields, upon the wall
But may the harvest of these tears
Bring peace to our remaining years
And though the war’s pain is not gone
Rice grows again in Vietnam
This song is dedicated to Nguyen Dinh Nghia, a master of traditional Vietnamese flute and composition who taught at the National Conservatory of Music and at Van Hanh University in Saigon in the 1960s, and to his friend and mine, Larry Bohnert. Nghia fled Saigon when the Communists took over in 1975, fearful that his talent might be used in their cause. It took him almost ten years to escape South East Asia, and he landed in the Washington, DC area with his family in 1984. At first uneasy about the expatriate community’s response to a song of reconciliation, Nghia had finally agreed to perform on this track with me, but was prevented from participating by health problems that continue to plague him to this day. His generous spirit and his assessment that this track would “Change many hearts” sustained me as I pursued this recording. This song is dedicated to his friend, Larry Bohnert, who connected us, to Nghia, and to his family". (2)
Show full lyrics (28 lines) ▾
#56 Ernest Dawkins' Chicago 12 Misconception Part 1 2005 · Live · Misconceptions of a Delusion Shades of a Charade: Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Chicago 7 Trial · Dawk · USA
Annotation
Ernest Dawkins, avant-garde jazz musician, born 2 November 1953 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, he is a member of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.1 He released this powerful political protest album for the 35th anniversary of the "Chicago Seven" trial, regarding the demonstrations outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The 79-minute, live, jazz instrumentation featuring spoken-word poetry by Khari B, summarized the story, which particularly focused on Bobby Seale being separated at the trial from the other seven white high-profile protesters arrested and charged, thus making a strong point about racism and Civil Rights in the US.2 The song "Misconception Part 1" (Dawk Music # 04) set the scene of the demonstrations, as: "Agent Orange delusions that rode the wind in from a burning Vietnam". Agent Orange is a reference to the herbicide / defoliant used by the US, which had long-term negative health effects, especially found in 80s and post-war songs. It noted that Richard J. Daley and the system allowed the police to indiscriminately attack the protesters. It concluded with eight indictments: "seven plus one".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Live 79-minute performance with spoken-word poetry by Khari B (JazzTimes review). Discogs lists only a digital (FLAC, Not On Label) edition released 2 January 2010, from Bandcamp (ernestdawkins.bandcamp.com), with four tracks Misconception Part 1–4 (Part 1 = 7:04 on the digital edition, total c.31:42). Wikipedia discography lists the title on the Dawk label.
Lyrics
English
Who is this system...there is no racism in America today
Because system, America's favourite child, will eat her own young...
Status quo...led system to bound and gag
About to disrupt these peaceful proceeding
It was simple
Go to school, graduate, get a good job...
Keep your hair short...pay taxes to maintain the status quo...
A white...suburbia...
Agent Orange delusions that rode the wind in from a burning Vietnam that caused them to stray from their proper paper passions...
They could have been young Republicans
Blind beneficiaries to the benefits of the hypocrisy
Of a none existing Republic...
Foolishly they preferred poets over politicians, musicians over the local magistrates...
Protest demonstrations instead of convening inside a capitalist Convention
There home was outside of the status quo...
Daley, system decreed, there will be no demonstrations
Daley, Daley, system, deployed...
Go ahead for head bashing...
Beat some sense into them...chaos...the police are not in the street to create disorder
They are in the street to preserve disorder...
For six whole days, on the seventh...eight indictments were made...
Eight...seven plus one, seven plus one...
Show full lyrics (23 lines) ▾
Also in: ▤ Jazz Songs
#57 Kind of Like Spitting Where Were You in Chicago 2005 · Live · Learn: The Songs of Phil Ochs · Hush # HUSH 052 · USA
Annotation
Indie rock group formed in 1996 in Portland, Oregon, USA, currently based in Seattle, Washington, USA. The song "Where Were You In Chicago" is a cover of Phil Ochs, tagged onto the tail end of the song "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed" , which appeared on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement, discussed above.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Released 6 September 2005; track 6, written by Phil Ochs (the tag of "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed", Rehearsals for Retirement, 1969). Recorded live at the Gene Autry Theater, Los Angeles.
Lyrics
English
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
You know I didn't see you there
I didn't see them crack your head or breathe, the tear gas air
Oh, where were you In Chicago?
When the fight was being fought
Oh, where were you in Chicago? 'Cause I was in Detroit

2009

#58 Myka 9 1969 2009 · Album · Fake Four # FFINC006 · USA
Annotation
Myko 9, West Coast Hip Hop / Conscious Hip Hop / Jazz Rap artist, born Michael Lafayette Troy on 16 January 1969 in Los Angeles, California. The song "1969" (Fake Four Inc. # FFINC006) referenced many political issues and events of the 60s/70s. including Civil Rights, the counter-culture, and two well-known Vietnam evens: (a) the Kent State shooting - which took place on 4 May 1970, in Ohio, where members of the Ohio State Guard shot and killed four students, and (b) demonstrations outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968: "the peace movement took Chicago late and they took four dead in Ohio" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
Hippies, political, hippies to sexual revolution
Led Zeppelin, Woodstock plastics, innocence
Jimmy Hendrix, free love and indeed sunshine of your mind
The peace movement took Chicago late
And they took four dead in Ohio
The nakedness awakening a riot
Monty Python was flying in the circus
Bliss concerts, you know the doors are open
Anti-Vietnam War, Bob Dylan, Electric Kool-Aid Acid tests once more
Soul Shakedown, Further bus tour, Bob Marley, Weather The Storm
Ken Kesey, Jamaica and the shores
Alistair Crowley, Blowfly records
From Rocksteady to hardcore
The Gutter Punks that rock and roll adored
Every memory all around me
Every energy comes forward to show
What was all in me back in 1969
With my mother and my father's seed
Love movement to discovery
From the moments that I came to be when I began to breathe
Back in 1969
Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾

2014

#59 Michael Borkson 1968 2014 · Single · Not On Label # none · USA
Annotation
Michael Borkson, singer/songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts. The song "1968" is unreleased on a physical format, only available for streaming or download. This one set the historical context, noting the two major assassinations in US politics in 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr. (4 April 1968) and Robert F. Kennedy (6 June 1968). The narrator said that the "ghettos did set aflame", as did Buddhist monks in Vietnam. It noted that President Lyndon B. Johnson had stood down with "the war...raging...draft cards did burn", and then onto the Convention: "revolutionaries in Chicago's street", in defiance of Mayor Richard J. Daley and the Democratic nominee for president Hubert Humphrey. The narrator specifically referenced Abbie Hoffman and Bobby Seale of the Chicago Eight. It called on the listener not to forget the police brutality.
1
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Digital release only (streaming / download).
Lyrics
English
1968 was a year I remember, revolution spilling to the streets
1968, in the streets of Chicago, as the crooked politicians took their seats
And the revolution did ring, as the children did sing, about love, about peace
In 1968, the war it was raging, it made President Johnson resign
Nixon took over, he escalated the bombing, America no longer yours and mine
And the draft cards did burn, as the children did learn, about love, about peace
In 1968, King and Robert Kennedy were killed, by the government's conspiracy
Tragedy for the nation, hope had died, that someday we'd all be free
And the ghettos did set aflame,and Buddhist monks did the same
In the shadows of love, in the shadows of peace
So here's to Abbie Hoffman, Bobby Seale, and the rest, revolutionaries in Chicago's streets
Defying Hubert Humphrey, Mayor Daley, and the cops
Many a protestor they did beat, lest we never forget
That it's not over yet, for love, for peace
Yeah, i'm singing about love, I'm singing about peace
It was 1968, it was 1968....
Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾
Also in: ▤ Draft Songs

2015

#60 XXXTentacion Sounds of the Melting Pot 2015 · EP · Ice Hotel · Not On Label · USA
Annotation
Hip hop artist, born 23 January 1998 in Plantation, Florida, USA, died 18 June 2018 in Deerfield Beach, Florida, USA, shot dead at the age of 20 in a robbery at a motorcycle dealership. The song "Sounds of the Melting Pot" had an intro with sample of quotes from actors, with Elliott Gould saying "the irony is that most of the stores that were destroyed during the riots were owned by black people" . This is followed by Edward Furlong, who said "why trash your own neighborhood?" . Again, Elliott Gould replied that "it's an irrational act, it's like an expression of rage by people who feel neglected" . Then Beverly D'Angelo provided the reference to the 1968 Chicago demonstrations outside Democratic National Convention, saying: "exactly, I mean it's like we had in Watts or the riots in Chicago in '68" . But it concludes with Edward Norton saying: "I don't buy that for a minute....it's..an excuse...to go and loot a store, nothing more" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

2018

#61 Curly Castro Black Dahlia Smiled 2018 · Album · Tosh · Backwoodz Studioz # BWZ-754-D · USA
Annotation
Curly Castro - East cost hip hop artist, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He released the protest song "Black Dahlia Smiled" (Backwoodz Studioz # BWZ-754-D), which referred to Bobby Seale during the Chicago '68 trials: "Bobby Seals...in the courtroom he was beaten, gagged, and chained" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
The flag and scream your name, Nikki G is gangster
With the blueprints of Assata...ain’t no stranger
Her parable of talents was immaculate as butler
Live life like Angie Davis, you’s a bad motha
Now her man was treated Bobby Seale...
Will make you suffer, in the courtroom he was beaten gagged, and chained in front of loved ones
And we all...solemn when the judge calls out for order

2019

#62 Negative XP Cops Beating Down on Hippie Scum at the 1968 Democratic National Convention 2019 · Single · Not On Label · USA
Annotation
Garage punk song "Cops Beating Down on Hippie Scum at the 1968 Democratic National Convention" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
Groovy, dude"
"Burn down the barber shop"
"I hate America"
Working class, family man
Got groceries in the sedan
Live is hard but can't complain
Just gotta take it, day to day
Working nine to five, to bring home the bacon
But sometimes it gets so frustrating
The dopers, the robbers and the freaks
Making it unsafe on the streets
So he's got his gun
He's got his badge
He's got his stick
To beat the thrash
All the low class dregs of society
A simple man, keeping the peace
Beat, beat, beat, kill, kill, kill
Stomp them all 'till they lose their will
Shoot first, and ask questions later
A gun is the greatest negotiator
You might also like
Left on Read
Then one day
All these degenerate hippie freaks
Start marching and spreading their pinko propaganda
On the streets
So beat, beat, beat, kill, kill, kill
Stomp them all 'till they lose their will
Shoot first, and ask questions later
A gun is the greatest negotiator
Beat, beat, beat, kill, kill, kill
Stomp them all 'till they lose their will
Shoot first, and ask questions later
A gun is the greatest negotiator
Beat, beat, beat, kill, kill, kill....
Show full lyrics (37 lines) ▾
Also in: ▤ Punk Songs

2021

#63–65 Daniel Pemberton The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Music from the Netflix Film) 2021 · Soundtrack · Varèse Sarabande # VSD00336 · USA
All 3 songs from this soundtrack in the archive are in this collection
Annotation
Soundtrack to Aaron Sorkin 2020 film The Trial of the Chicago 7, released on Varèse Sarabande Records in California, USA, by UK-born composer Daniel Pemberton. Track followed the sequence of events, starting with "We're Going to Chicago" , followed by "The Trial" , to the end of the trial: "Stand Up (The Chicago 7)" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →
#63 Daniel Pemberton We're Going to Chicago 2021 · Soundtrack · The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Music from the Netflix Film) · Varèse Sarabande # VSD00336 · USA
Annotation
Soundtrack to Aaron Sorkin 2020 film The Trial of the Chicago 7, released on Varèse Sarabande Records in California, USA, by UK-born composer Daniel Pemberton. Track followed the sequence of events, starting with "We're Going to Chicago" , followed by "The Trial" , to the end of the trial: "Stand Up (The Chicago 7)" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
LP released 26 February 2021 (track 2); the US CD (VSD00315) was released 4 December 2020. Orchestrator and conductor Andrew Skeet; recorded and mixed by Sam Okell.
#64 Daniel Pemberton The Trial 2021 · Soundtrack · The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Music from the Netflix Film) · Varèse Sarabande # VSD00336 · USA
Notes
LP track 3 (CD VSD00315, 2020). Orchestrator and conductor Andrew Skeet.
#65 Daniel Pemberton Stand Up (The Chicago 7) 2021 · Soundtrack · The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Music from the Netflix Film) · Varèse Sarabande # VSD00336 · USA
Notes
LP track 11 (CD track 15, VSD00315, 2020). Orchestrator and conductor Andrew Skeet.

Unknown date

#66 Walt Wilder Chicago's 7 Single · Chicago's 7 / Chicago's Old Town · Phils # 1025 · USA
Annotation
Born Earl Walter Rodden on 6 January 1936 in Taloga, Oklahoma, USA he died 13 September 2013 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. He was a member of the Nashville Songwriter’s Association and Country Music Association (CMA).1 His record "Chicago's 7" (Phils Records # 1025) referred to the arrest of high profile activists outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. There is no date on this record, but the copyright was filed on 6 April 1970: "CHICAGO SEVEN; w & m Walt Wilder, pseud. of Earl W. Rodden, & Tom Greco, pseud. of Tom Saris. 2 p.© Earl W. Rodden & Tom Saris; 6Apr70; EU173749".2

Patriotic and conservative views were typically found in the country music genre, especially in the early years of the war. This song is especially interesting in that it sided with the protesters, despite being a country record and being released in Oklahoma. The narrator, from the perspective of the Chicago Seven, said that "we love our freedom of speech" , and that "we know the Constitution" - that they had a right to demonstrate and express their views. It went on to say "we came unprepared to fight" , and that the Chicago police started the violence. Note the reference to the Silent Majority: "we'll just one bit of the minority and we love the whole majority, we are Americans who didn't sit by silently" - a reference to Richard Nixon's speech on the war on 3 November 1969: "to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support".
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Phils Records, record no. 1025-1, 705 N.W. 4th St., Okla. City, Okla.; Big Swing, BMI ©; "Chicago's '7'" (Tom Greco, Walt Wilder), 2:25. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
We are the Chicago Seven
We are in a mess because we didn't shut the door and go to sleep
We celebrate the 4th of July every summer
And we love our freedom of speech
Emphasizing we are not left or right wing
We are just Americans doing our thing
We don't want anyone to think we're violent
We'll just one bit of the minority
And we love the whole majority
We are Americans who didn't sit by silently
We know the Constitution says, we're free to go were we please
Speak out and stand up for what we believe
Our ideas to you might seem like a plot or a scheme
But America was built on our forefathers dream
We are the Chicago Seven...
We came unprepared to fight
Because our cause was peace, then someone called for the Chicago police
Then we just hung around until the sun went down
Looking for a place to sleep
We didn't turn to run, and we didn't turn the other cheek
But when the truth is known it won't be America's loss
You can't ring freedom's bell without a steeple
Or take the power from the people
Just because they fight City Hall's big boss
We are the Chicago Seven...
Show full lyrics (26 lines) ▾
#67 Warren Farren Chicago 7 Single · Chicago 7 / I've Got Love · Trip Universal # T-67 · USA
Annotation
Country song "Chicago 7" (Trip Universal Records # T-67) by Warren Farren, released in 1971, took a more familiar path than the Walt Wilder single above, presenting a patriotic, anti-protest perspective, often seen in the country music genre. However, even this takes an especially harsh position, declaring that those arrested outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention were the "seven sons of hate" whom had "made a deal with Satan" , and who "sow the seed of poison" throughout the land. It claimed that the seven deliberately went to Chicago to cause trouble, and tear the flag down. The narrator praised those who fought for their country in Vietnam, and that there were still good people in the country. Released in Miami, Florida, USA. Composed by W. Farren, J. Tullos, and B. Wells. Produced by Bud Reneau and Warren Farren. It was also released on the New York-based label Evolution (# 1035).
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Trip Universal Records, Inc., "Division of Twin Record Productions", "World of Hits", T-67 (8002), 1175 N.E. 125th Street, North Miami, Florida, Suite 312; "Chicago 7" (Farren–Tullos–Wells), 2:38; House of Songs, Pub., BMI; produced by Bud Reneau and Warren Farren. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
Seven...came to old Chicago town, and threatened they would do the best to tear old glory down
Because of them the streets ran red and freedom hid her face...
Would have been her right to strike the seven down, they never did
Said harm them not, the answers must be found
Just why the hearts of seven sons so blindly filled with hate would bring destruction to the land their brothers fought to save
Take the seven brothers of hate
Mark them so the country knows
They made a deal with Satan, put a price tag on their soul
They say our country is changing, it ain't what it used to be
But yet I feel this country is still good enough for me
Although the angry seven may have a lot to say
There's a lot of guys in uniform who think the other way...
So let the seven sow the seed of poison were they will
'Cause Americans died in millions, still love old glory
Still, let's stand up for America, make it damn well clear, we love that old gal liberty and hold our country dear
Take the seven sons of hate...
Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾
Genre: ♪ Country
#68 Harry Burgess Chicago Policeman Single · Chicago Policeman / Foreign Policy · Swank # 167 · USA
Annotation
The song "Chicago Policeman" (Swank # HFCS-167) by Harry Burgess is a traditional pop song-poem - these are song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recording companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee. Hundreds of them dealt with political issues, including the Vietnam War. This one was released soon after the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The original vinyl 7" is rare and was backed by another Vietnam War song: "Foreign Policy" by Valerie & Everett Hull.12 It featured on the 2003 compilation "Only in America, Volume 2" (Arf! Arf! Records # AA-092).

This song recalled the demonstrations in Chicago '68, narrated in the first person, from the perspective of a policeman. It contained elements of satire, but overall defended the position of the police. He started sarcastically explaining why he joined the force: "to wear a star and a uniform", and have a car with a "big loud horn". Eventually, after studying hard, he achieved his goal, and for his first big job was assigned to the Convention. There, the narrator claimed that the police faced trouble "from hippies and yippies and communist". He criticised the protesters who raised the flag of the Vietcong - officially known as the National Liberation Front (NFL), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam. The narrator then claimed that the protesters had "weapons of war, with spikes, bottles, blades", and thus posed a threat, while the Mayor Richard J. Daley did not want Chicago ruined. The song concluded by saying that the police did the best they could, and that "mobs like these " cannot be allowed to " roam, to ruin our country, churches and homes". Thanks to Phil Milstein for providing the digital files.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
When I was a boy I wanted to be a policeman in my community, to wear a star and a uniform, and to have a car with a big loud horn
This was the life for me I thought
Back when I was a boy I went to school and studied hard
I wanted to learn the rules to guard
When I grew up they let me in and gave me a place as one of them
I had reached my lifelong plan, to become a policeman
My first big job was the convention the Democrats held for their nomination
There was trouble expected, we knew
From hippies and Yippies and communist too
They'd take over, and void they would, they were after our blood
The hippies were dirty, the Yippies were vile
The commies were there to keep the riled
The mayor didn't want Chicago ruined and that's what they were intending on doing
They hate America and all that's good
But they call it love, they raise the flag of the Vietcong
How could these kids have gone so wrong, to aid the communists killing their brothers
This tearing us within our borders
They hit us waves with their weapons of war, with spikes, bottles, blades
Our flesh they tour
We herding then down Michigan L
It's a good thing rioting equipment we had
We were trained to handle such mobs, that is part of our job
Police brutality was their own, joined by...viewers at home
They know police got to go, so their leaders can seize control
We do our job the best we can as Chicago Policeman
Your help to the police is really needed
If the laws are to be headed, mobs like these we can't let roam, to ruin our country, churches and homes
Americans all across the land, support your local policeman
Show full lyrics (29 lines) ▾

Lyric theme data

Lyric content themes tagged on the songs in this collection — parent themes with their sub-themes (number of records). Click a theme for its definition and all records carrying it.

Show all 30 themes ▾

Key stats

68 songs · 52 releases · 52 artists · 45 labels · 1968–2021

Time period
  • 1970 is the peak year, with 14 songs.
  • 1968–71 holds 36 of the 63 dated songs — more than half in four years.
  • 45 were released during the war years (to 1975); 23 came after.
  • Five records are undated.
Artists
  • 52 artists for 68 songs. The most represented are Abbie Hoffman and The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, with four each.
  • Six of the artists are still unidentified beyond the record: no line-up, no biography.
  • One is credited to various artists — compilations and cast recordings.
Songwriters
  • Songwriter gender is recorded for 39 of the 68 songs: 34 by men, three by mixed teams and two by women — women wrote 5% of those.
  • By performer: 57 men, five women, four mixed groups and two not identified (recorded for 68).
  • 41 named songwriters. The most often credited are Frank Condon and Ron Sossi, with four each.
Labels
  • 33 of the 45 labels appear exactly once; Big Toe has the most, with four.
  • 23 sit on a major or well-known imprint — Capitol, A&M, Atlantic, Impulse!, Mercury, Apple, CBS, Columbia. The other 45 are on independent, regional or private labels.
  • Four are private pressings with no label at all.
  • One 45 puts both of its sides into this list.
Locations
  • 67 of the 68 are American. California leads with twelve, then New York twelve and Illinois eight.
  • New York City accounts for eleven records, more than any other city; Chicago has seven, Los Angeles seven.
  • One comes from outside the US: one British.
Themes
  • By perspective: 35 peace, protest and anti-war; 23 post-war; six patriotic, pro-government or anti-protest; four home front or soldier's perspective.
  • 70 distinct sub-themes across 68 songs.
  • Anti-War is the single biggest subject — 37 songs, more than half.
  • Next come Demonstration (31), Civil Rights (19), Bobby Seale (16) and Counter-Culture & Hippies (10).
  • One is answer record to “Green Beret”.