Collections › Amerasians, Orphans & Vietnamese Children

Amerasians, Orphans & Vietnamese Children

40 songs · chronological · A–Z by artist
Annotations and notes by Justin A. Brummer
Entries are numbered (#1, #2 …) for reference on this page; the numbers shift when entries are added or split.
A collection of songs and spoken-word recordings about the children of the Vietnam War: Vietnamese children and orphans, and the Amerasian children of American fathers
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, 40+ songs about Vietnamese children, war orphans and Amerasians.
Citation: Justin A. Brummer, Vietnam War Song Project (VWSP) — Amerasians, Orphans & Vietnamese Children, vietnamwarsongproject.com/list/amerasians-orphans-vietnamese-children, accessed 12 November 2026

Context

Beyond Vietnamese Children and Child, the songs in this collection most often also deal with: Vietnamese Perspective, Benefit Record, Anti-War, Refugees.
The war left tens of thousands of Vietnamese children orphaned, injured or homeless. Charities such as Terre des hommes, founded in West Germany in 1967 to help the child victims of the war, and the SOS Children's Villages raised money through records, often sung by children themselves.

Thousands of children were also born to Vietnamese mothers and American fathers. Known in Vietnam as bụi đời, "dust of life", many faced discrimination after the war. In April 1975 Operation Babylift flew around 3,000 children, many of them orphans, out of South Vietnam for adoption abroad; one of its first flights, a C-5A transport, crashed on take-off on 4 April, killing more than 70 children. The Amerasian Homecoming Act, passed by Congress in 1987, allowed Amerasians and their families to emigrate to the United States, and more than 20,000 did so.

Time Period & Criteria

The usual criteria for songs released during the key war years (1964-1975) are those mentioning Vietnam, or whose lyrics deal with war-related themes. For this collection, the song is about or sung by Vietnamese children: orphans, children injured or made homeless by the war, Amerasian children, and benefit records made for them. Songs about the children of American servicemen left at home are not included. The time period runs from 1966 to the present.

Highlights

The VWSP has identified 40+ songs about the children of the war. Most come from Europe, where benefit records for Vietnamese children were made in West Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. Later songs turned to the Amerasians: The Clash's "Straight to Hell" (1982) and "Bui-Doi" from the musical Miss Saigon.

War Years: 1966-1974

Benefit records, lullabies and protest songs about children caught in the war, from Europe, Japan, Australia and Latin America.

1966

#1 Robert de Vries Luchtbrug naar het leven: Robert de Vries leest uit "Kinderen" van Simon Carmiggelt 1966 · Single · Luchtbrug naar het leven: Actie ter redding van kinderen uit Vietnam · Dankers # RC 155 · Netherlands
Credited on the record as Robert de Vries leest uit "Kinderen" van Simon Carmiggelt.
Notes
Dutch spoken word - to raise money for children in Vietnam.
Charity record.

Air Bridge To Life: Robert De Vries Reads From Children Of Simon Carmiggelt

Actie ter redding van kinderen uit Vietnam (Vries, Robert de)
Action to save children from Vietnam

"Of the sales price, being f 3.50, at least € 2.50 per plate will be paid by us to the action' Air bridge to life"
Notes
"Aktieplaat Luchtbrug naar het Leven — actie ter redding van kinderen uit Vietnam": Dankers N.V. (Coolsingel, Rotterdam) RC 155, 45 rpm, sold at f 3.50 with at least f 2.50 a copy going to the Luchtbrug naar het Leven (airlift to life) appeal for Vietnamese children; made with the unpaid help of Simon Carmiggelt, Robert de Vries, SIEGRO Studio Rotterdam, De Arbeiderspers, ROCKA Rotterdam and Bovema.

Both sides are Robert de Vries reading from Carmiggelt's "Kinderen" — the readings themselves are not about Vietnam; the war is the purpose of the record.

The cover is Kyoichi Sawada's "Flight to Safety", the World Press Photo of 1965 (a mother and children swimming a river under fire); the back carries an appeal by Louis Sinner, editor of the Algemeen Dagblad: why must we protect our children here from a surfeit of sweets and toys while children in Vietnam die because no one can care for them — we have made the world small with jets and satellites, yet it stays so large that the well-off must watch children starve; an airlift to life is being built — let us build it. [From the record sleeve and labels]

1968

#2 Various Artists Memorial to Benefit War-Injured Children of Vietnam 1968 · Album · Mitchell Press · Canada
Notes
Album line, contains Vietnam references. note: add songs to index. [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM]

1969

#3 Sister Joan Davies Vietnam Voices 1969 · Single · Australian Inter-Church Aid # CC1166 · Australia
Credited on the record as Sister Joan Davies and the children of Vietnam.
Notes
- Australian, narration
- Featured Vietnamese children singing
- Christian in Vietnam, refugee team, medical work

- One-sided 33 rpm flexi disc issued by Australian Inter-Church Aid for the Christmas Bowl appeal as a Sunday School teachers' aid, bringing the comic strip "Vietnam Nurse" to life: Joan Davies talks about her work, and Vietnamese children sing folk songs and a Vietnamese Lord's Prayer. Manufactured by Ambassador Records, Sydney. Year from the sleeve text (she returned to Vietnam early in 1969; "she's still there today").

Australian Inter-Church Aid one-sided black flexi disc, speed 33⅓ r.p.m., "Manufactured in Australia by Ambassador Records, Sydney"; gatefold-style sleeve titled "Vietnam Voices — Sister Joan Davies and the children of Vietnam — A Sunday School Teachers' Aid", with the "Give to the Christmas Bowl" emblem (two hands holding a bowl) and photographs of Joan Davies tending a boy's eye and of four Vietnamese boys.

Inside, under "A Comic Strip Comes to Life", the text explains that this year's Christmas Bowl message reaches Sunday School children as the comic strip "Vietnam Nurse", the adventures of Sister Joan Davies in Vietnam, and that the record, used with the Christmas Bowl children's poster, has Joan herself talking about healing and caring in an active war zone, with Vietnamese children singing folk songs and a Vietnamese version of the Lord's Prayer; a comic panel shows her saying "Lie back now — we'll soon have you feeling better!" with the caption "But as soon as she was better, Joan went back to work.

She's still there today — helping and healing the people of war-torn Vietnam."

The back describes her as the widow of a Methodist minister and a nursing sister with an Asian Christian Service refugee team, wounded in a Viet Cong mortar raid in 1968 and back at work early in 1969, and says the Christmas Bowl supports agricultural, refugee resettlement, disaster relief and evangelistic projects in developing nations. [From the record sleeve and labels]

1970

#4 Roger Thwaites Child of Vietnam 1970 · Album · North by North West · Columbia # SOEX-9698 · Australia
Annotation
Roger Thwaites, Australian contemporary folk artist, composed and released the song "Child of Vietnam" (Columbia (EMI) # SOEX-9698), which started off with gunfire sound-effects, and took an anti-war perspective. The back of the LP said: "Child of Vietnam is the story of a little girl and a soldier in the land of tears, your land, child of Vietnam". Narrated from the perspective of the soldier, who said "how can I help her" , as the child rests "on the bloody ground" , and the "streets full of pain" . It concluded by calling on people to "help...around the world" to stop the war and suffering, for the "helpless children of Vietnam" .

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Sample copy.

Produced by Eric Dunn, musical direction Ron Martin; matrix YTX1223.

The sleeve note describes the song as the story of a little girl and a soldier in the land of tears. Columbia "Long Playing Microgroove" SOEX-9698, stereo, 33⅓ R.P.M., made in Australia by E.M.I. (Australia) Ltd., blue-green Magic Notes label with an orange "Sample – Not for Sale – Record" sticker; side 1 lists North by North West, Where Flies the Boomerang, Drums in My Heart, Child of Vietnam, The Wool Comes Rolling on Down and Why Can't We Find a Better Way, each published by Castle, "(All Composed by Roger Thwaites)".

The front cover shows an armillary sphere on a seahorse stand resting on an old map of Australia; the back carries a portrait photograph of Thwaites, his own note on each song ("Child Of Vietnam — is the story of a little girl and a soldier in the land of tears, your land, child of Vietnam"), side two (High Walls, Legend of the Quill, Henry Lawson, Norfolk Island, Eureka Stockade) and "Cover originated in Australia by E.M.I." [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
How can I tell her with fear in her eyes...
How can I tell her with pale trembling face
To be glad she is a member of the human race
To walk by her tiny side, through jungle in the green
To see the smoking... where once her home has been
How can I help her, the soldier that I am
How can I help that child of Vietnam
For the sound of laughter her ears have never heard
And the cloud of full of thunder, for fear, just no word
And the streets of full of pain, and the air is full of tears
And that's the way it's always been throughout her tender years
For when she lays her head to rest on the bloody ground
A wisdom born of suffering, there on her face is found
For it's lies and greed and jealousy, yes all these things I damn
I wish that I could help that child of Vietnam
For someday, somewhere suffering must end
So won't you help it happen around the world my friend
For children are not born to be sacrificial lambs
So lets all help those helpless children of Vietnam...
Show full lyrics (20 lines) ▾

1971

#5 Cao Ngọc Phượng Lullaby 1971 · Live · Cry for Vietnam · Sound News # SNP 185 · UK
Notes
Also titled 'Cry For Vietnam - F.O.R. Concert' (F.O.R. = Fellowship of Reconciliation, the pacifist organisation). Released March 16, 1971. Features Vietnamese Buddhist peace activists Thich Nhat Hanh and Cao Ngoc Phuong (Sister Chan Khong), plus British folk singers Donald Swann, Sydney Carter, Nadia Cattouse, and Methodist peace campaigner Donald Soper. Private pressing of 99 copies from a Fellowship of Reconciliation benefit concert, released 16 March 1971.

1972

#6 Giovanna Marini Ballata del piccolo An 1972 · Compilation · Compagno Vietnam · I Dischi del Sole # DS 1012/14 · Italy
Credited on the record as G. Marini.
Notes
Mono LP issued November 1972, published by Edizioni Musicali Bella Ciao, graphics Gigi Romeo, liner notes Giovanni Pirelli and Ivan Della Mea; the companion songbook "Compagno Vietnam" (Edizioni del Gallo, 1974) prints the lyrics. Track B1. Giovanna Marini's recording of Ivan Della Mea's ballad, two years before Della Mea's own version on "La nave dei folli".
Lyrics
English
O Cheu, I wish you were here
With me to delight in the ylang in bloom
With me to hear the bells ring
But you are far away in North Vietnam.
It is March in Kam-Tho, and it is poetry,
Our poetry, but I have no peace:
Our Kam-Tho with its avenues of sao trees
Is held tight in the enemy's iron mesh.
But one day the avenue of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
O Cheu, we too are fighting in the South
And in our hearts there is only one Vietnam;
For our Vietnam we resist,
For it little An has died.
Two leaps, a smile, he is full of life,
Little An is rich in joy;
His jacket over his arm and two hand grenades,
Little An is already a partisan.
But one day the avenue of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
But look, the enemy is combing the street
And if they catch us, it's over for us;
But at the end of the street is little An
Who runs and shouts, "The police are here!"
O little An, you are cunning and quick,
Far quicker than those mercenaries;
The pack pants and chases you fiercely,
And so you save us from those butchers.
And one day the avenue of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
Of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
Little An, you are in a blind alley
And your eye shines in your pale face;
You take a grenade, you smile calmly,
And then you throw it into the middle of the pack.
The blast, the silence, and then the other grenade:
On the murderers' faces there is only terror,
Terror and dismay in their clouded eyes;
You stare into those eyes with cold fury.
And one day the avenue of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
Little An gave us his life,
He died shouting "Long live Uncle Ho!";
We are mad with rage, with pure grief,
And the reddest fire burns in our hearts.
O Cheu, March will come, a spring,
And then our poetry will be
Kam-Tho liberated, its trees in bloom,
With the sweet scent of ylang flowers.
From today the avenue of ylang flowers
Bears the name of the avenue of little An.
From today the avenue of ylang flowers
Bears the name of the avenue of little An
Italian
O Cheu io vorrei che tu fossi qui
con me a gioire degli ilang in fiore
con me a sentire cantar le campane
ma tu sei lontano nel Nord Vietnam.
È marzo a Kam-Tho ed è poesia
la nostra poesia ma io non ho pace
la nostra Kam-Tho dai viali di sao
è stretta tra maglie di ferro nemico.
Ma un giorno il viale dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
O Cheu anche noi nel Sud si combatte
e nel nostro cuore c'è un solo Vietnam
il nostro Vietnam per lui si resiste
per lui è morto il piccolo An.
Due salti un sorriso è pieno di vita
è ricco di gioia il piccolo An
sul braccio la giacca e due bombe a mano
è già un partigiano il piccolo An.
Ma un giorno il viale dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
Ma ecco il nemico rastrella la strada
e se ci sorprende per noi è finita
ma in fondo alla via c'è il piccolo An
che scappa e grida « c'è la polizia ».
O piccolo An sei scaltro e veloce
assai più veloce di quei mercenari
il branco s'affanna t'insegue feroce
cosi tu ci salvi da quei sanguinari.
E un giorno il viale dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
Tu piccolo An sei in un vicolo cieco
e l'occhio riluce nel viso un po' bianco
tu prendi una bomba sorridi sereno
e quindi la lanci nel mezzo del branco.
Lo scoppio il silenzio e poi l'altra bomba
sui volti assassini c'è solo il terrore
terrore e sgomento negli occhi velati
tu fissi quegli occhi con freddo furore.
E un giorno il viale dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
Il piccolo An ci ha dato la vita
è morto gridando « viva lo zio Ho »
siam pazzi di rabbia di puro dolore
e il fuoco più rosso ci brucia nel cuore.
O Cheu verrà marzo una primavera
la nostra poesia allora sarà
Kam-Tho liberata cogli alberi in fiore
col dolce profumo dei fiori di ilang.
Da oggi il viale dei fiori di ilang
ha il nome di viale del piccolo An.
Da oggi il viale dei fiori di ilang
ha il nome di viale del piccolo An
Show full lyrics (111 lines) ▾

1973

#7 新谷のり子 [Noriko Shintani] 戦争は終ったけれど [Although the War Is Over] 1973 · Single · 戦争は終ったけれど / 私に勇気をくれるもの [Although the War Is Over] · Philips # FS-1751 · Japan
Credited on the record as 新谷のり子.
Annotation
Noriko Shintani, born on 3 October 1946 in Hokuto, Japan, released the peace / protest song "戦争は終わったけれど" ("Although the War Is Over") (Philips # FS-1751), largely considered to be part of the anti-Vietnam War movement in Japan, which looked at the aftermath of the conflict: "it's desolate... people still don't laugh... children are still hungry".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
A. Charity campaign song for Vietnam's children after the Paris Peace Accords: "the war is over but my lover hasn't come home… the children are still hungry… when will peace come" Philips FS-1751 (JWM-5723), stereo, 45, side 1, manufactured by Nippon Phonogram Co. Ltd., Tokyo, ℗1973, © 1973 by All Staff Music Co., Ltd.; "戦争は終ったけれど" (いずみたく words, music and arrangement), 3:01; B side "私に勇気をくれるもの" (山川啓介 words, いずみたく music and arr.), 2:52; 唄 新谷のり子 (Noriko Shintani).

The sleeve marks it as an entry in the radio campaign of the 日本民間放送連盟 (National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan), "ベトナムの子らに愛の手を!" (a helping hand of love for Vietnam's children), with the campaign emblem; the red-tinted front shows the singer in a denim outfit standing in a field. ¥500.

The back prints both lyrics and a melody score; Philips/Nippon Phonogram company sleeve. The lyrics say that though the war is over, loved ones have not returned, towns lie in ruins, children go hungry and peace has still not come. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
The war is over
My lover hasn't come home yet
The war is over
My sons haven't come home yet
Only the sunset in my hometown
I'm waiting for you to come home
The war is over
But the towns and villages are still here
It's desolate
The war is over
People still don't laugh
The cold rain
Only wets your grave
The war is over
The children are still hungry
The war is over
The white dove is still there It won't fly
The beautiful sky
I wonder when peace will come" [auto-translation used]
Japanese
戦争は終わったけれど
恋人はまだ帰らない
戦争は終わったけれど
息子達はまだ帰らな
故郷の夕焼けだけが
お前の帰りを待つのに
戦争は終わったけれど
町や村はまだ荒れ果てて
戦争は終わったけれど
人々はまだ笑わない
冷たい雨が
お前の墓を濡らすだけ
戦争は終わったけれど
子ども達はまだ飢えている
戦争は終わったけれど
白い鳩はまだ飛んで来ない
美しい空が
平和はいつ来るのだろう
Show full lyrics (40 lines) ▾
#8 James Ollivier Viet Nam 1973 · Album · Récital public · Disques Alvarès # C 484 · France
Annotation

The song "Viet Nam" (Disques Alvarès # C 484) is a live cover of the Jean Arnulf song "Chante une femme" under a different title, released on the 1968 album Déjà l'automne. Marc Ogeret also covered the song, on the album Chansons de révolte et d'espoir.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Live recording: James Ollivier reads and sings works of French poets/writers, mostly guitar-accompanied, some plain recitals. Production of La Boîte A Musique (Éditions De La Boîte À Musique). Liner notes: Claude Roy, Philippe Soupault, Pierre Seghers. Recorded by K. Roos. Pressed by MPO. Live cover of Jean Arnulf's 'Chante une femme' (from the 1968 album 'Déjà l'automne') under a different title; also covered by Marc Ogeret. Cover of Chante une femme – Jean Arnulf.
Lyrics
English
Sleep, my love, my only son
Sings a woman in America
In America a woman sings
To her boy who died in Vietnam
A woman sings to her little one
Sleep, my love, sleep, my darling
I will go to the place where you sleep
And rock you there until I die
I will bring you presents
Your old train set and your Meccano
And the silver paper star
Sleep, my love, sleep, my child
Sings a woman in America
On the other side of the Pacific
A mother in the early morning
Wakes the Vietnamese child
Get up, my son, get up, my boy
I hear the planes coming back
We must pick up our bags again
We are going on a little trip
Whatever you do, don't let go of my hand
We are going to run far, far away
You carry your grey bird
I'll carry the blankets and the rice
In his diplomatic armchair
In Washington, in America
I must get my money back
Declares Mr. President
And on the map of Vietnam
Like a gentleman playing checkers
He sets the bombing raids and the march of the regiments
He puts his finger on a point
Let's run, don't let go of my hand
He has put his finger here
Sleep, my love, sleep, my little one
Sleep, my love, my only son
Sings a woman in America
In America a woman sings
To her boy who died in Vietnam
French
Dors, mon amour, mon fils unique
Chante une femme en Amérique
Chante en Amérique une femme
A son garçon mort au Vietnam
Chante une femme à son petit
Dors mon amour, dors mon chéri
J'irai à la place où tu dors
T'y bercerai jusqu'à ma mort
Je t'apporterai des cadeaux
Ton vieux train et ton mécano
Et l'étoile en papier d'argent
Dors, mon amour, dors mon enfant
Chante une femme en Amérique
Sur l'autre bord du Pacifique
Une mère au petit matin
Réveille l'enfant vietnamien
Debout , mon fils, debout, mon garçon
J'entends revenir les avions
Il faut reprendre nos bagages
On va faire un petit voyage
Surtout ne lâche pas ma main
On va courir très loin, très loin
Toi, tu portes ton oiseau gris
Moi, les couvertures et le riz
Dans son fauteuil diplomatique
A Washington, en Amérique
Je dois rentrer dans mon argent
Déclare Monsieur le Président
Et sur la carte du Vietnam
Comme un monsieur qui joue aux dames
Il fixe les bombardements et la marche des régiments
Il pose son doigt sur un point
Courons, ne lâche pas ma main
Il a posé son doigt ici
Dors mon amour, dors mon petit
Dors, mon amour, mon fils unique
Chante une femme en Amérique
Chante en Amérique une femme
A son garçon mort au Vietnam
Show full lyrics (81 lines) ▾
#9 Various Artists Star Parade 73 (für die Kinder in beiden Staaten Vietnams) 1973 · Compilation · Star Parade 73: Für die kinder in beiden staaten Vietnams · EMI Electrola # 1 C 052-30 082 · Germany
Notes
UNICEF benefit compilation LP "for the children in both states of Vietnam" (DM 2 of the DM 12.50 price to UNICEF); Esther Ofarim, Monika Morell, Melanie, Marianne Mendt, Heino, Adamo, Christian Anders, Adam & Eve, Graham Bonney, Gilbert Bécaud, Michael Schanze, The Cats; no track is about the war — the Vietnam connection is the sleeve and the charity purpose. [From the record sleeve and labels]
#10 Der Naher Kinderchor Die schönsten Kinderlieder (Friedenshilfe Vietnam) 1973 · Album · Die schonsten kinderlieder: Friedenshilfe Vietnam · Metronome [Hamburg] # TDH 7501 · Germany
Credited on the record as Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff präsentiert für Terre des Hommes: Der Naher Kinderchor.
Quote
"The most beautiful children's songs: Peace aid Vietnam"

Charity record.
Children
Vietnamese refugees
Notes
Terre des Hommes "Friedenshilfe Vietnam" benefit LP presented by the television host Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff: 16 German folk and children's songs (Volksweisen, arr. Bernd Popp); the back sleeve describes Terre des Hommes' work with 1,500 Vietnamese orphans, its Saigon clinic, the 172 sick and wounded children flown to West Germany 1967-70 and the 20 paraplegic children at its Bad Oeynhausen centre; cover photo Lummer/Schuster, wheelchair photo Georg Fischer.

No song is about the war. [From the record sleeve and labels]
#11 Freedom Singers Vaggvisa 1973 · Live · Lär känna Vietnam · Befria Södern # BS 5 · Sweden
Notes
Credited to Freedom Singers (the PRG - Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam - song and dance troupe). 'Recorded August 21, 1973 at Stockholm Konserthus.' Contains Vietnamese songs and dances from the liberation struggle performed by the PRR's (PRG's) dance and song group.

Recorded by Alvar Piehl; printed by General Printing AB; published by De Förenade FNL-Grupperna (the Swedish FNL groups).

Recorded live at Stockholm Konserthus on 21 August 1973 and published by the Swedish FNL groups.

1974

#12 朝倉理恵 [Rie Asakura] ダーちゃんどこへ行く [Da-chan, Where Are You Going?] 1974 · Single · ダーちゃんどこへ行く / 鐘を鳴らすのはだれ · CBS/Sony # SOLB-167 · Japan
Credited on the record as 朝倉理恵.
Notes
Released 1 August 1974. Based on Katsumoto Saotome's children's book ベトナムのダーちゃん (Da-chan of Vietnam). Addressed to a Vietnamese war-orphan girl: barefoot and alone, dreaming of her homeland's blue sky; her mother 'became a star'; urged to endure poverty and walk on until she can return home, where the girls will one day make flowers bloom on the ravaged land. Lyrics 岩谷時子 (Tokiko Iwatani), arr. 青木望 (Nozomu Aoki). B-side 鐘を鳴らすのはだれ (same writers).
#13 Unknown Artist Ronde D'Enfants (Sud-Vietnam) 1974 · Compilation · Chants de lutte et d'espoir · Not On Label # SF 7.74.224 · France
Notes
France.
Songs of Struggle and Hope

Two VN-related - Ronde D'Enfants (Sud-Vietnam), Testament D'Ho Chi-Minh (extraits)
Notes
'Les communistes de l'ORTF, fête de l'Humanité 7 et 8 Septembre 1974.' 14-page stapled booklet with lyrics. Artwork: Pablo Picasso. Printed by Est-Typo-Offset, Vincennes. Mono. Track A1a of the compilation. South Vietnamese children's round on the compilation Chants de lutte et d'espoir, issued by the communists of the ORTF for the Fête de l'Humanité, 7-8 September 1974.
#14 Kinder des SOS-Kinderdorfes Saigon Lied des SOS-Kinderdorfes Saigon 1974 · EP · Kinder singen für sie · Hermann-Gmeiner-Fonds Deutschland # TST 77 442 · Germany
Credited on the record as SOS-Kinderdorf Saigon, Vietnam.
Notes
German charity record - SOS Children's village
Humanitarian assistance.
Featuring Vietnamese children - impact of the Vietnam War.
Notes
"Kinder singen für Sie" — 7" 45 EP of the Hermann-Gmeiner-Fonds Deutschland e.V. (Munich), the German support association of the SOS Children's Villages, produced by Tonbild München; given for a DM 8 donation; side B track 3 sung by the children of the Saigon village (with Concepción, Greensfields/India and Imst). Fold-out insert "100 SOS-Kinderdörfer in 46 Ländern" with the world map of villages (Vietnam: one built); cover drawing Karl Hössl, Vienna.

The 1974 reissue cover reads "25 Jahre SOS-Kinderdörfer in aller Welt 1949-1974". [From the record sleeve and labels]
#15 Ivan Della Mea Ballata del piccolo An 1974 · EP · La nave dei folli · I Dischi del Sole # DS 78 · Italy
Notes
I Dischi del Sole DS 78 (Edizioni del Gallo, Milan; Serie Sperimentale "Canzoni d'uso", November 1974; ℗ Bella Ciao Ed. Mus.), 7-inch 33 rpm EP "La nave dei folli": A1 "Votare lottare cambiare" 3:35, A2 "Ballata del piccolo An" 4:15, B "La nave dei folli" 8:15, all words and music by Ivan Della Mea, who sings and plays, with Alberto Ciarchi and Paolo Ciarchi (guitars) and Renato Rivolta (flute) on this track.

Two sleeve printings: one dated "novembre 1974", the other overprinted "XX. Congresso FGCI" with a label crediting the songs to Esposito–Della Mea and Cuppone–Della Mea (the SIAE registrations).

The back sleeve opens with Enrico Berlinguer's line from the Venice Festival dell'Unità of 24 June 1973 — "you cannot be a revolutionary without imagining what tomorrow's world must be" — and prints all three lyrics. The ballad is addressed to Cheu, far away in North Vietnam, from Kam-Tho in the South, where the small partisan An dies throwing grenades at the mercenaries, crying "viva lo zio Hô"; the avenue of ilang flowers will one day bear his name. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
O Cheu, I wish you were here
With me to enjoy the ylang-ylang in flower
With me to hear the bells ring
But you are far away in North Vietnam.
It is March in Kam-Tho, and it is poetry,
Our poetry, but I have no peace:
Our Kam-Tho with its avenues of sao trees
Is held tight in the enemy's iron mesh.
But one day the avenue of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
O Cheu, we too are fighting in the South
And in our hearts there is only one Vietnam;
For our Vietnam we resist,
For it little An has died.
Two leaps, a smile, he is full of life,
Little An is rich in joy;
His jacket over his arm and two hand grenades,
Little An is already a partisan.
But one day the avenue of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
But look, the enemy is combing the street
And if they catch us, it's over for us;
But at the end of the street is little An
Who runs and shouts, "The police are here!"
O little An, you are cunning and quick,
Far quicker than those mercenaries;
The pack pants and chases you fiercely,
And so you save us from those butchers.
And one day the avenue of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
Of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
Little An, you are in a blind alley
And your eye shines in your pale face;
You take a grenade, you smile calmly,
And then you throw it into the middle of the pack.
The blast, the silence, and then the other grenade:
On the murderers' faces there is only terror,
Terror and dismay in their clouded eyes;
You stare into those eyes with cold fury.
And one day the avenue of ylang flowers
Will be named the avenue of little An.
Little An gave us his life,
He died shouting "Long live Uncle Ho!";
We are mad with rage, with pure grief,
And the reddest fire burns in our hearts.
O Cheu, March will come, a spring,
And then our poetry will be
Kam-Tho liberated, its trees in bloom,
With the sweet scent of ylang flowers.
From today the avenue of ylang flowers
Bears the name of the avenue of little An.
From today the avenue of ylang flowers
Bears the name of the avenue of little An
Italian
O Cheu io vorrei che tu fossi qui
con me a gioire degli ilang in fiore
con me a sentire cantar le campane
ma tu sei lontano nel Nord Vietnam.
È marzo a Kam-Tho ed è poesia
la nostra poesia ma io non ho pace
la nostra Kam-Tho dai viali di sao
è stretta tra maglie di ferro nemico.
Ma un giorno il viale dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
O Cheu anche noi nel Sud si combatte
e nel nostro cuore c'è un solo Vietnam
il nostro Vietnam per lui si resiste
per lui è morto il piccolo An.
Due salti un sorriso è pieno di vita
è ricco di gioia il piccolo An
sul braccio la giacca e due bombe a mano
è già un partigiano il piccolo An.
Ma un giorno il viale dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
Ma ecco il nemico rastrella la strada
e se ci sorprende per noi è finita
ma in fondo alla via c'è il piccolo An
che scappa e grida « c'è la polizia ».
O piccolo An sei scaltro e veloce
assai più veloce di quei mercenari
il branco s'affanna t'insegue feroce
cosi tu ci salvi da quei sanguinari.
E un giorno il viale dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
Tu piccolo An sei in un vicolo cieco
e l'occhio riluce nel viso un po' bianco
tu prendi una bomba sorridi sereno
e quindi la lanci nel mezzo del branco.
Lo scoppio il silenzio e poi l'altra bomba
sui volti assassini c'è solo il terrore
terrore e sgomento negli occhi velati
tu fissi quegli occhi con freddo furore.
E un giorno il viale dei fiori di ilang
avrà nome viale del piccolo An.
Il piccolo An ci ha dato la vita
è morto gridando « viva lo zio Ho »
siam pazzi di rabbia di puro dolore
e il fuoco più rosso ci brucia nel cuore.
O Cheu verrà marzo una primavera
la nostra poesia allora sarà
Kam-Tho liberata cogli alberi in fiore
col dolce profumo dei fiori di ilang.
Da oggi il viale dei fiori di ilang
ha il nome di viale del piccolo An.
Da oggi il viale dei fiori di ilang
ha il nome di viale del piccolo An
Show full lyrics (111 lines) ▾

1975: Operation Babylift & the Fall of Saigon

The last weeks of the war, and the evacuation of orphans for adoption abroad.
  • 3 April 1975: Operation Babylift announced
  • 4 April 1975: A C-5A carrying children crashes after take-off from Saigon
  • 30 April 1975: Fall of Saigon

1975

#16–19 Various Artists Concert pour les orphelins du Vietnam 1975 · Compilation · MF (2) # MS 75306 / 307 · France
All 4 songs from this compilation in the archive are in this collection
Notes
France
Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →
#16 Tran Quang Hai Lettre De Nhat Thi Mai 1975 · Compilation · Concert pour les orphelins du Vietnam · MF (2) # MS 75306 / 307 · France
Notes
France
Notes
Benefit double LP: 'Concert for the orphans of Vietnam'.

Recorded live at La Mutualité, Paris, 27 June 1973 and at Argenteuil, 13 Dec 1973 (inner gatefold prints Argenteuil date as 13 Dec 1974). Gatefold.

Liner notes by Thich Nhat Hanh. Organisation: François Rata, Pierre Marchand. Flute on D2: Jean Cohen-Solal. Nhat Chi Mai was a Vietnamese Buddhist who self-immolated for peace in 1967.

Track A1 of the compilation. From the benefit double LP 'Concert pour les orphelins du Vietnam', recorded live at La Mutualité, Paris, 27 June 1973, and at Argenteuil, 13 December 1973, with liner notes by Thich Nhat Hanh.
#17 Jean-Louis Vincent Je N'ai Pas Appris À Tuer 1975 · Compilation · Concert pour les orphelins du Vietnam · MF (2) # MS 75306 / 307 · France
Notes
Benefit double LP: 'Concert for the orphans of Vietnam'.

Recorded live at La Mutualité, Paris, 27 June 1973 and at Argenteuil, 13 Dec 1973 (inner gatefold prints Argenteuil date as 13 Dec 1974). Gatefold.

Liner notes by Thich Nhat Hanh. Organisation: François Rata, Pierre Marchand. Flute on D2: Jean Cohen-Solal.

Track B4 of the compilation. From the double LP Concert pour les orphelins du Vietnam, a benefit recorded live at La Mutualité, Paris, and Argenteuil in 1973, with liner notes by Thich Nhat Hanh.
#18 Tran Quang Hai Luu Binh Tim 1975 · Compilation · Concert pour les orphelins du Vietnam · MF (2) # MS 75306 / 307 · France
Notes
Benefit double LP: 'Concert for the orphans of Vietnam'.

Recorded live at La Mutualité, Paris, 27 June 1973 and at Argenteuil, 13 Dec 1973 (inner gatefold prints Argenteuil date as 13 Dec 1974). Gatefold.

Liner notes by Thich Nhat Hanh. Organisation: François Rata, Pierre Marchand. Flute on D2: Jean Cohen-Solal. Vietnamese piece.

Track B7 of the compilation. From the benefit double LP Concert pour les orphelins du Vietnam, recorded live at La Mutualité, Paris, 27 June 1973, with liner notes by Thich Nhat Hanh.
#19 Bui Thi Huong Introduction 1975 · Compilation · Concert pour les orphelins du Vietnam · MF (2) # MS 75306 / 307 · France
Notes
Benefit double LP: 'Concert for the orphans of Vietnam'.

Recorded live at La Mutualité, Paris, 27 June 1973 and at Argenteuil, 13 Dec 1973 (inner gatefold prints Argenteuil date as 13 Dec 1974). Gatefold.

Liner notes by Thich Nhat Hanh. Organisation: François Rata, Pierre Marchand. Flute on D2: Jean Cohen-Solal.

Track C1 of the compilation. Opens a benefit double LP for the orphans of Vietnam recorded live at La Mutualité, Paris, on 27 June 1973 and at Argenteuil, with liner notes by Thich Nhat Hanh.
#20 Daisy Lumini Ninna nanna per un bambino del Vietnam 1975 · Single · La storia dell'uomo ricco / Ninna nanna per un bambino del Vietnam · I Dischi Dello Zodiaco # VVN 33271 · Italy
Notes
"Ninna nanna per un bambino del Vietnam" (Lullaby for a Child From Vietnam)

Anti-war, Italian. Also released on the album Il paese dei bambini con la testa.
Notes
B side of "La storia dell'uomo ricco" — I Dischi dello Zodiaco VVN 33271, stereo 45, ℗ 1975 (SIAE; distribution Editoriale Sciascia, Rozzano, Milan); words and music Beppe Chierici – Daisy Lumini (I.M.I.), 1:49; the picture sleeve names this side as the title, with a drawing of a Vietnamese child among reeds and a flower under a full moon. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
There is a child there in the East
Who now sleeps smiling
After a long and sad journey, he has returned to his village
Now he can laugh and sing
He can play, he can jump
He can go to the forest
Among the birds all celebrating
You can stay under the blue sky
Because now the aeroplanes
Will bomb no more
Sleep, Vietnamese child
For the war is now over
Now in the rice field
There are hundreds of frogs
There are no more tanks
Helicopters and soldiers
They have all gone away
Your papa kicked them out
And they'll never come back
Don't be afraid anymore
Sleep, child of Vietnam
Italian
C'è un bambino là in Oriente
Che ora dorme sorridente
Dopo un lungo e triste viaggio, è tornato al suo villaggio
Or può ridere e cantare
Può giocare, può saltare
Può andar nella foresta
Tra gli uccelli tutti in festa
Puoi star sotto il cielo blu
Perché ormai gli aeroplani
Mon bombarderanno più
Dormi bimbo vietnamita
Che la guerra è ormai finita
Oramai nella risaia
Ci son rane a centinaia
Non ci son più carri armati
Elicotteri e soldati
Se ne sono tutti andati
Il tuo babbo li ha cacciati
E mai più ritorneranno
Non avere più paura
Dormi bimbo del Vietnam
Show full lyrics (45 lines) ▾

1976-present

After the war, songs turned to orphanages, refugee children and the Amerasians left behind.
  • December 1987: The Amerasian Homecoming Act passed by Congress, in effect from March 1988

1976

#21 Kinder des SOS-Kinderdorfes Saigon Lied des SOS-Kinderdorfes Saigon (2. Teil) 1976 · EP · Kinder singen für sie, 2. teil · Hermann-Gmeiner-Fonds Deutschland # 76.10 003 · Germany
Credited on the record as SOS-Kinderdorf Saigon, Vietnam.
Notes
German charity record - SOS Children's village
Humanitarian assistance.
Featuring Vietnamese children - impact of the Vietnam War.
Notes
"Kinder singen für Sie, 2. Teil" — 7" 33 rpm stereo EP of the Hermann-Gmeiner-Fonds Deutschland e.V., produced by Tonbild München (76.10 003-00-1); side 1 track 2 by the children of the Saigon village (after Altmünster, before Bicesse and Novi Sad); the Austrian opener "Junge Freunde" is by Julia Wurth, the Yugoslav song "Dečjeg sela" by Arsen Dedić. Sold for donations toward a new village in Asia, Africa or South America. [From the record sleeve and labels]

1979

#22 1. Vietnamesischer Flüchtlings-Chor Europas Reich mir die Hand 1979 · Single · Reich mir die hand / Meine heimat ist Vietnam · Columbia # 1 C 006-45 900 · Germany
Annotation

Reich mir die hand (Vietnamesischer Flüchtlings-Chor Europas) (Vietnamese Refugee Choir Europe) Meine heimat ist Vietnam (Vietnamesischer Flüchtlings-Chor Europas) German, post-war 70s. Vietnamese children refugees from the war. Now living in Germany.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
A side; music Lothar Neuse / Peter Beil, text Lothar Neuse, arranged Wolfgang Dyhr; 3:48; ℗ 1979 Compact Musikverlag GmbH; EMI Electrola Columbia 1 C 006-45 900, LC 0162, Cologne; sleeve printed by Druckhaus Maack, Lüdenscheid.

The sleeve shows the choir — young Vietnamese refugees in yellow áo dài with two guitarists — under a row of European flags, and prints the full German lyric: a small Vietnamese girl, "a child in a foreign land", asking for friends and a hand "to a new life" in a world full of the confusion of war. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
I am a little Vietnamese girl
A child in a foreign land
They say this is your home now
This is my new homeland... Reach out your hand to me for a new life,
Reach out your hand, say yes, say yes to me
Brotherhood—let us foster it.
German
Ich bin eine kleine Vietnamesin
ein Kind in einem fremden Land
es heißt, hier ist jetzt dein Zuhause
das ist mein neues Heimatland... Reich mir die Hand zu einem neuen Leben,
reich mir die Hand, sag ja, sag ja zu mir
Brüderlichkeit, laß sie uns pflegen
Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾
#23 1. Vietnamesischer Flüchtlings-Chor Europas Meine Heimat Ist Vietnam 1979 · Single · Reich mir die hand / Meine heimat ist Vietnam · Columbia # 1 C 006-45 900 · Germany
Notes
Reich mir die hand (Vietnamesischer Flüchtlings-Chor Europas) (Vietnamese Refugee Choir Europe)
Meine heimat ist Vietnam (Vietnamesischer Flüchtlings-Chor Europas)

German, post-war 70s.
Vietnamese children refugees from the war. Now living in Germany.
Notes
B side; music Wolfgang Dyhr, text Sigi Freymann, arranged Dyhr; 3:14; ℗ 1979 Compact Musikverlag; Columbia 1 C 006-45 900. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
I'm a little Vietnamese girl
A child in a foreign land
They say this is your home now
I wish for lots of nice friends
My little heart I give to you
We want to laugh and forget
Give me your hand, say yes to me
Give me your hand to a new life
Give me your hand, say yes to me
Brotherhood, let us cherish it
Brotherhood there and here, there and here
I'm a little Vietnamese girl
A child in a foreign land
We don't speak the same language
But I know that we two are kin
For you, like me, we hope and pray
In a world full of the turmoil of war
Join in with me, say yes to life
Give me your hand, I'll give you mine
German
Ich bin eine kleine vietnamesin
Ein kind in einem fremden land
Es heibt hier ist jetzt dein zuhause
Ich wunsch mir viele nette freunde
Mein kleines herz das schenk ich dir
Wir wollen lachen und vergessen
Reich mir die hand sag ja zu mir
Reich mir die hand zu einem neuen leben
Reich mir die hand sag ja zu mir
Bruderlichkeit lab sie uns pflegen
Bruderlichkeit da dort und hier dort und hier
Ich bin eine kleine vietnamesin
Ein kind in einem fremden land
Wir sprechen nicht dieselbe sprache
Doch ich weib wir beibe sind verwandt
Denn du wei ich wir hoffen bitten
In einer welt voll kriegsgewirr
Stimm mit mir ein sag ja zum leben
Reich mir die hand ich reich sie dir
Show full lyrics (41 lines) ▾
Genre: ♪ Schlager

1980

#24 Đội Sơn Ca Miền Nam Của Em 1980 · Album · Việt Nam Bầu Trời Này Mặt Đất Này · Dihavina # TnS 0001-80 · Vietnam
Credited on the record as Đội Sơn Ca Trình Bày.
Lyrics
English
My South has lots of coconuts
My South has lots of pineapples
My South has fragrant mangoes
My South has sweet, floury potatoes
Uncle, oh uncle, when, oh when
Will you let me pick pineapples, coconuts and mangoes and dig up sweet potatoes
To send to East Germany for my friends
Green, green coconuts of Bình Định
Green, green fields of Tháp Mười
Green, green cajeput forests of Hậu Giang
That is my steadfast homeland
I remember, and remembering I study all the harder
Someday the sun will shine on my homeland's sky
With Việt Nam reunified I'll invite my friends to visit
Invite my friends to come and visit
Vietnamese
Miền Nam em dừa nhiều
Miền Nam em dứa nhiều
Miền Nam em xoài thơm
Miền Nam em khoai bùi
Chú ơi chú bao giờ, bao giờ
Cho em hái dứa, hái dừa, hái xoài, đào khoai
Gửi sang Đông Đức mời bạn của em
Dừa xanh xanh Bình Định
Đồng xanh xanh Tháp Mười
Tràm xanh xanh Hậu Giang
Là quê em ngoan cường
Nhớ, em nhớ, em càng chăm nhiều
Mai đây nắng chiếu sáng trời quê
Việt Nam thống nhất mời bạn em sang chơi
Mời bạn em đến chơi
Show full lyrics (33 lines) ▾
#25 Hải Vân & Minh Thúy Em Đi Thăm Miền Nam 1980 · Album · Việt Nam Bầu Trời Này Mặt Đất Này · Dihavina # TnS 0001-80 · Vietnam
Lyrics
English
Look, the morning sun shines down in countless rays
We gather round our teacher at playtime
Pairs of bright eyes look up at the map of Việt Nam
We listen closely to her gentle words
Here is the South, with its endless fields
With fragrant golden rice, white grain and clear water
The Cửu Long has built up our homeland with its silt
The rice of Tháp Mười grows green and lush on the alluvium
Our South holds so many rich resources
Fruit trees green and fresh all over the land of Cần Thơ
The pure white salt fields of Bạc Liêu, salty as love of home
Bananas on both banks of the slowly drifting canal
Mangroves of Cà Mau, coconut groves of Long Xuyên
The child of Châu Thành is a sacred torch
In the South of Việt Nam, young heroes
The golden name of Hồ Chí Minh City shines bright
The South has risen up time and again without retreating
Our dear older brothers gave their youth
So that we children can study and sing
Living happily and peacefully under our roofs
I only long for the day of reunification
When there will be no more bridge that divides us
We children dancing and laughing around Uncle Hồ
Young people of both regions living together in a day of freedom
Vietnamese
Kìa nắng sớm mai chiếu soi ngàn muôn tia sáng
Chúng em vây quanh cô giáo trong giờ chơi
Từng đôi mắt xinh nhìn lên bản đồ Việt Nam
Lắng tai em nghe lời nói sao dịu hiền
Đây miền Nam ruộng đồng mênh mông
Với lúa thơm vàng gạo trắng nước trong
Cửu Long đắp bồi nên quê hương nhà
Lúa xanh Tháp Mười tươi tốt vì phù sa
Miền Nam chúng em chứa bao tài nguyên phong phú
Trái cây xanh tươi trên khắp đất Cần Thơ
Ruộng muối trắng tinh Bạc Liêu mặn tình quê hương
Chuối hai bên bờ dòng nước kênh lững lờ
Đước Cà Mau, rừng dừa Long Xuyên
Em bé Châu Thành là ngọn đuốc thiêng
Miền Nam nước Việt thiếu niên anh hùng
Sáng tươi tên vàng thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
Miền Nam đứng lên đã bao lần không lùi bước
Các anh thân yêu đã hiến dâng tuổi xuân
Để cho chúng em tuổi thơ học hành vang ca
Sống vui êm đềm ở dưới những nếp nhà
Em chỉ mong một ngày thống nhất
Khi ấy không còn nhịp cầu cách ngăn
Đàn em múa cười xung quanh Bác Hồ
Thiếu niên hai miền chung sống ngày tự do
Show full lyrics (51 lines) ▾
#26 Moeder Ina Kinderen uit Vietnam 1980 · Single · Vandaag voor 't laatst / Kinderen uit Vietnam · Kant # 17501 · Netherlands
Notes
Kinderen uit Vietnam (Ina, Moeder)

Dutch. Post-war.
Notes
B side of "Vandaag voor 't laatst" (Kant 17501, (p) 1980, Stemra); 2:40; writers C. van Orsouw / John Kars — the same C. van Orsouw who wrote Ellen van Eijk's 1966 "De kinderen van Vietnam". Label Nameless Productions, cat Rights: Stemra. 'Children from Vietnam', B-side of 'Vandaag voor 't laatst' on Nameless Productions. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Genre: ♪ Schlager

1982

#27 The Clash Straight to Hell 1982 · Single · Straight to Hell / Should I Stay or Should I Go · CBS # A 2646 · UK
Annotation
The Clash, a British punk rock band that formed in London in 1976, which featured in 1982 (during the release of this single) Joe Strummer (guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass, vocals), Mick Jones (guitar, vocals, 1976-83), and Topper Headon (drums, vocals, 1977-82). In 1981 they released the single "This Is Radio Clash" (CBS # CBS A1797), which referenced the Vietnam War and napalm (a jellied gasoline mixture which the US government extensively used during the war, as previously discussed). The group followed this up in 1982 with the track "Straight to Hell" (CBS # A 2646) which mentioned Vietnam in the second and third verses. In 1981 they released the song "Charlie Don't Surf" on the album Sandinista! (CBS # FSLN 1), a reference to the 1979 Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The song referenced the use of napalm.

The track "Straight to Hell" (CBS # A 2646) dealt with the abandonment of Vietnamese children fathered by American soldiers during the war, known as "Amerasian". In the song the Amerasian child ask his American father - "papa san" (a Japanese word, but used by US soldiers in Vietnam to refer to older Vietnamese men and women) - to take him home to the US. It also contained a Christmas reference: "When it's Christmas out in Ho Chi Minh City" . Composed by Strummer, Jones, Simonon, and Headon. It appeared on the 1981 album Combat Rock (CBS # FMLN 2).& Vietnam War: Punk Songs
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
CBS A 2646 (CBS A 2646A A), "AA" side, 45 RPM, stereo, ℗ 1982 CBS Records, made in England, label printed with a black star on a camouflage background; "Straight to Hell (Edited Version)" (The Clash), published by Nineden Ltd., original sound recording made by CBS Records.

The picture sleeve front, marked "Double 'A' Side Single", shows a skull in a camouflage helmet with sergeant's chevrons over crossed machine guns and four aces; the back shows a dragon and lists "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and "Straight to Hell (Edit)", "Taken from the L.P./Tape 'Combat Rock' FMLN 2/FMLN 40-2"; cover by Left Hand Luke, © 1982 CBS Records. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
Y'wanna join in a chorus of the Amerasian blues?
When it's Christmas out in Ho Chi Minh City
Kiddie say papa san....take me home
See me got photo of you and mamma-san
Lemme tell ya 'bout your blood bamboo kid
It ain't Coca-Cola it's rice
Straight to hell
Oh papa-san, please take me home

1990

#28–30 Boublil & Schönberg Miss Saigon [Original London Cast] 1990 · Musical · Geffen # WX 329 · UK
3 of the 25 songs from this musical in the archive are in this collection
Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →
#28 Boublil & Schönberg Let Me See His Western Nose 1990 · Musical · Miss Saigon [Original London Cast] · Geffen # WX 329 · UK
Notes
Album line, contains Vietnam references. Note: need to catalogue songs. Musical set during Vietnam War. [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM]
Genre: ♪ Musical
#29 Boublil & Schönberg I'd Give My Life for You 1990 · Musical · Miss Saigon [Original London Cast] · Geffen # WX 329 · UK
Notes
Album line, contains Vietnam references. Note: need to catalogue songs. Musical set during Vietnam War. [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM]
Genre: ♪ Musical
#30 Boublil & Schönberg Bui-Doi 1990 · Musical · Miss Saigon [Original London Cast] · Geffen # WX 329 · UK
Notes
Album line, contains Vietnam references. Note: need to catalogue songs. Musical set during Vietnam War. [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM]
Genre: ♪ Musical

1998

#31 Elixir Saigon Battle Children 1972 1998 · Album · Elixir · Festival Mushroom # 336362 · Australia
Annotation
Jazz group formed in 1997 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The line-up featured: Katie Noonan (vocals), Nick Stewart (guitar), River Petein (alto saxophone), Martin Challis (poetry), and Isaac Hurren (tenor saxophone). This album featured the anti-war song "Saigon Battle Children 1972" (Festival Mushroom Records # 336362), in which the narrator made a comparison to their daily life with that of a child in the Vietnam War. As the narrator enjoyed the taste of "cashew and walnut" , the child ate "the bones of your neightbours' dog" . As the child "went without feet, a landmine exploding" , the narrator "sprained an ankle at basketball" . The line "while your skin seared from the heat of warfare" may be a reference to chemical weapon Napalm B - a jellied gasoline mixture, with polystyrene, benzene, and gasoline. Declared a war-crime since 1980, the US government extensively used this weapon during the Vietnam conflict, dropping 388,000 tons on Indochina between 1963 and 1973.123 As the child suffered from a napalm attack, the narrator was "feeling the warmth of a shopping centre" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
While I was learning to saviour the new taste of cashew and walnut in the autumn of that year
You were learning to eat the bones of your neightbours' dog as you fled from an earth gone moist
The leaves of war were torn from the jungle as a cavalry of shrapnel burnt away the air
You were learning to hold your breath while I was doing the same in a suburban swimming pool
When the dust of your family filled the lids of your eyes
Being left to see for yourself held quite a different meaning
While your skin seared from the heat of warfare
I was feeling the warmth of a shopping centre in winter
When you went without feet, a landmine exploding your underneath world underneath
I sprained an ankle at basketball
The words of an American god spat forth from automatic weapon
And you saw the tongues of the lamb inviting you to feast in a foreign language
And while I drew in crayon on the kindergarten wall
You were drawn in the crosshairs just before the smell of cordite
While your skin seared from the heat of warfare
I was feeling the warmth of a shopping centre in winter
Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾
Genre: ♪ Jazz

Unknown date

#32 José de Molina El niño de Viet-Nam Album · Historia verdadera de un sex-enio · Nueva Voz Latino Americana # JS-09 - 10 · Mexico
Annotation
José de Molina, born in 1938, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. He died 9 July 1998, in Tlalpan, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He released the anti-war song "El niño de Vietnam" ( "The Boy From Vietnam" ) (Nueva Voz Latino Americana ‎# JS-09/10) which is a Corrido song - corridos traditional spread news in Mexican territories through folk music in the late 18th century. Musicians continued this tradition in the US, singing about wars and political events, such as the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK.12 The song started with the narrator calling on young Americans to protest, and resist the draft call: "stop the Vietnam War...refuse to fight, oppose the laws made to kill" . The narrator then turned his attention to the impact of the war on the Vietnamese: "lonely children...orphans...women who wonder homeless" . The song referred to the US soldiers as "vile mercenaries" , who were committing a "massacre" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Double LP, "José de Molina presenta...", issued by Nueva Voz Latinoamericana A.C., Apartado postal 12-106, México 1, D.F.; cover number JS-09/10, label LP-JS 09, Disco 1 (Uno), Lado B, 33 1/3 RPM, yellow label with pre-Columbian figure logo. Disco 1, Cara B opens with "El niño de Viet-Nam" (arr. Grupo FAR), followed by a spoken "Texto"; Letra y Música: José de Molina; Textos: Ma.

Antonieta Lozano y Carlos Medina. Performers listed: Grupo FAR (Miguel Pizano, Ramón y Edgardo Olvera, con Víctor Hugo Santos), Grupo Tepeyolohtli, Grupo Cascabel; solo voices Lourdes Zubieta, Adriana Díaz de León, Othoniel Llanas and J. de Molina; texts read by Julia Alfonso, L. M. and José de Molina.

Cover paintings "Concilio sangriento" and "El túnel de los muertos" by René Alís; sleeve design Eduardo Rodríguez Solís.

The record is dedicated "a los hombres y mujeres que han caído en la lucha por la liberación de nuestros pueblos"; de Molina's signed note says it denounces the repression, torture and crimes of the 1971-1976 sexenio and that "El niño de Viet-Nam" and "Del Bravo a la Patagonia" were re-recorded from earlier releases. The gatefold reproduces the "Carta abierta al pueblo de México" by Emilio Gámiz Hernández and Elodia García de Gámiz about their disappeared son Jacobo, with photographs of "algunos de los mártires de la época en que vivimos". [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
Hear these laments, young American
They come from the East, crushed by your hand
Young and old alike
They ask you to stop, they want you to halt
The Vietnam War
Take off the blindfold and refuse to fight
Oppose the laws made to kill
And if there is a heaven, as it is written
Think first before you shoot
It is the sad weeping of lonely children
Left orphaned by your vile mercenaries
They are lonely women wandering without a home
Who cry out begging you to stop the massacre
Don't be immoral
Black and yellow people are your brothers
Do not kill them, have compassion on them
Because if you must make your history with blood
That same river will make you perish
Spanish
Oye estos lamentos joven Americano
Vienen del oriente aplastado por tu mano
Jóvenes y ancianos pues lo mismo da
Te piden que pares quieren que detengas
La guerra del Vietnam
Quítate la venda niégate a luchar
Oponte a las leyes hechas para matar
Y si existe el cielo como escrito esta
Piénsalo primero antes de disparar
Es el llanto triste de niños solitarios
Que huérfanos dejan tus viles mercenarios
Son mujeres solas que vagan sin hogar
Que a gritos te ruegan pares la masacre
No seas inmoral
Negros y Amarillos tus hermanos son
No los asesines tenles compasión
Porque si con sangre tu historia has de hacer
Ese mismo rió te hará perecer
Show full lyrics (39 lines) ▾
#33 ボーイスカウト日本連盟所沢第一団 [Boy Scouts of Japan, 1st Tokorozawa Troop] 愛をもとう [Let's Have Love] EP · 愛をもとう・火のおどり・夜のこだま · Nippon Crown # PRS-190 · Japan
Credited on the record as ボーイスカウト日本連盟所沢第一団.
Notes
Crown PRS-190, stereo (ステレオ), 45 RPM; "愛をもとう・火のおどり・夜のこだま", ボーイスカウト日本連盟所沢第一団.

The front shows uniformed boy scouts clapping in a circle around a flag in a schoolyard, with the text "南北ベトナム民族解放戦線(ベトコン)の子供達への愛の街頭募金 十万円突破記念" (commemorating the street collection of love for the children of the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) passing 100,000 yen).

The back prints an essay, "火と平和" by troop committee chairman 岡宏, contrasting fire as a gift for human happiness with weapons of mass killing, and ending "ぼくたちは火の正しい意味を悟り 平和のたいまつとなりたい". [From the record sleeve and labels]
#34–36 Loleh Bellon (narrator) Contes Vietnamiens pour enfants EP · Not On Label # CSV 001 · France
All 3 songs from this ep in the archive are in this collection
Notes
France, narrator play
Charity, public appeal for the children of Vietnam.
Victims of the war
Mix of spoken word and music
Protest, anti-war, discussion on picture sleeve.
Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →
#34 Loleh Bellon (narrator) Da - Trang EP · Contes Vietnamiens pour enfants · Not On Label # CSV 001 · France
Notes
France, narrator play
Charity, public appeal for the children of Vietnam.
Victims of the war
Mix of spoken word and music
Protest, anti-war, discussion on picture sleeve.
Notes
Full title: 'Contes Vietnamiens Pour Enfants Dits Par Loleh Bellon'. Credited artist is Loleh Bellon (narrator). Published by Comité Français Pour Le Soutien Au Peuple Vietnamien. Mono. Matrix: CSV.001,A 2 / CSV 001 B 1. Track A of the compilation. Vietnamese tales for children narrated over music, published by the Comité Français pour le Soutien au Peuple Vietnamien as a charity appeal for the child victims of the war. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Format: 33⅓ rpm.
#35 Loleh Bellon (narrator) Le Tailleur Et Le Mandarin EP · Contes Vietnamiens pour enfants · Not On Label # CSV 001 · France
Notes
Full title: 'Contes Vietnamiens Pour Enfants Dits Par Loleh Bellon'. Credited artist is Loleh Bellon (narrator). Published by Comité Français Pour Le Soutien Au Peuple Vietnamien. Mono. Matrix: CSV.001,A 2 / CSV 001 B 1. Track B1 of the compilation. Vietnamese children's tale issued by the Comité Français pour le Soutien au Peuple Vietnamien as a charity appeal for the child victims of the war. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Format: 33⅓ rpm.
#36 Loleh Bellon (narrator) Le Buffle, L'homme Et Le Tigre EP · Contes Vietnamiens pour enfants · Not On Label # CSV 001 · France
Notes
Full title: 'Contes Vietnamiens Pour Enfants Dits Par Loleh Bellon'. Credited artist is Loleh Bellon (narrator). Published by Comité Français Pour Le Soutien Au Peuple Vietnamien. Mono. Matrix: CSV.001,A 2 / CSV 001 B 1. Track B2 of the compilation. Vietnamese folk tale for children issued by the Comité Français pour le Soutien au Peuple Vietnamien as a charity appeal for the child victims of the war. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Format: 33⅓ rpm.
#37 Tran Van Minh Vietnamesische Volkslieder (5 untitled Vietnamese folk songs) EP · Minh singt seine Sehnsucht: Lieder aus Vietnam · Teldec # T 76 134 · Vietnam
Credited on the record as Tran-van-Minh (11 Jahre), kommentiert von Frau Jung, Terre des Hommes, Berlin.
Notes
Vietnamesische Volkslieder 1 (Minh, Tran Van)
Vietnamesische Volkslieder 2 (Minh, Tran Van)

Vietnamese folk music.
Sung By the Blind Tran Van Minh (11 Years Old).
Rescued during the war.
Commented By Frau Jung, Terre Des Hommes, Berlin - child relief charity.
Notes
Teldec "Telefunken-Decca" T 76 134 (matrices 45-9/56 466 and 467), West Germany, 7" 45 EP, undated; Terre des Hommes Berlin benefit record ("Der Reinerlös fließt in die Arbeit von Terre des Hommes"). Vietnamese folk songs sung by the blind eleven-year-old Tran Van Minh, with spoken commentary by Frau Jung of Terre des Hommes Berlin; sleeve text: Minh, born in Hué, lost a leg and his sight to shrapnel, was flown to West Germany by the Terre des Hommes airlift "Unternehmen Schöne Wolke" and lived among thirty Vietnamese children at the Friedensdorf Oberhausen; the songs are adult songs of longing for peace, for a future "like the spring in the North", for reunification, and a soldier's love song.

Cover photo H. J. Kartenberg, Gladbeck. Stated on center labels: gesungen vom blinden Tran-van-Minh (11 Jahre); kommentiert von Frau Jung, Terre Des Hommes, Berlin; Fabrikation: TELDEC Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH, Hamburg. Lacquer cut by Karl Schick at TELDEC-Studio Hamburg; photo H. J. Kartenberg. EP of five untitled Vietnamese folk songs with commentary by Frau Jung of Terre des Hommes, Berlin, manufactured by TELDEC, Hamburg. [From the record sleeve and labels]
#38 Consuelo Vidal Una niña de Viet-Nam Album · Voy en mi carrusel - Canciones infantiles de Olga Navarro · Areito # LD-3970 · Cuba
Credited on the record as Consuelito Vidal.
Annotation
A collection of Cuban children's songs, which featured the song "Una niña de Viet-Nam" ("A Girl From Viet Nam") (Areito # LD-3970).
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Track A6, sung by Consuelo Vidal with Orquesta EGREM (orchestration Luis Chanivecky); recorded at Estudios EGREM. Marta Falcón sings side B. Cuban children's songs by Olga Navarro.
#39 100 Vietnamese Orphans God Bless America Single · Foster Parents' Plan Vietnamese Shoe Campaign · Foster Parents' Plan # None · USA
Notes
Charity record - sung by 100 Vietnamese orphan children
Shoe campaign
Sung in English and Vietnamese
Notes
Foster Parents' Plan - Vietnamese Shoe Campaign, 45 RPM; "God Bless America" sung by 100 Vietnamese Orphans in English and Vietnamese. No catalogue number, writer credit or date on the label (song by Irving Berlin). [From the record label]
#40 Lil' Lennix Soul Searchers Orphan Child (Vietnam Song) Single · Women of Today / Orphan Child (Vietnam Song) · Clique # CLA 1004 · USA
Notes
Orphan Child (Vietnam Song) (Lil' Lennix Soul Singers) Soul / gospel [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM] Clique CLA 1004; Vinyl 7" (45 rpm); United States. [From Rate Your Music] Clique Records, Las Vegas, Nevada. [From the Rate Your Music label page]

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 22 themes ▾

Key stats

40 songs · 34 releases · 32 artists · 26 labels · 1966–1998

Time period
  • 1973 and 1975 share the peak, with five songs each.
  • 1972–75 holds 15 of the 31 dated songs — nearly one in three in four years.
  • 28 were released during the war years (to 1975); twelve came after.
  • Nine records are undated.
Artists
  • 32 artists for 40 songs. The most represented are Boublil & Schönberg and Loleh Bellon (narrator), with three each.
  • 13 of the artists are still unidentified beyond the record: no line-up, no biography.
  • Two are credited to various artists — compilations and cast recordings.
Songwriters
  • Songwriter gender is recorded for 16 of the 40 songs: twelve by men, three by mixed teams and one by women — women wrote 6% of those.
  • By performer: 15 men, 13 women, ten mixed groups and one not identified (recorded for 39).
  • 30 named songwriters. The most often credited are Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and Richard Maltby Jr, with three each.
Labels
  • 20 of the 26 labels appear exactly once; MF (2) has the most, with four.
  • Nine sit on a major or well-known imprint — Columbia, Geffen, CBS, EMI Electrola, Philips. The other 31 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
  • 9 of the 40 are French.
  • Then six German, five British, three Australian, three Italian, three Japanese, three Vietnamese, and six other countries.
Themes
  • By perspective: 23 peace, protest and anti-war; twelve post-war; four Vietnamese patriotic; one home front or soldier's perspective.
  • 45 distinct sub-themes across 40 songs.
  • Child is the single biggest subject — 24 songs, more than half.
  • Next come Vietnamese Perspective (18), Benefit Record (16), Anti-War (13) and Orphan (9).