My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

292 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.

“My Lai Massacre Scene” — bodies of women and children on the road leading from the village of My Lai, South Vietnam, 16 March 1968. Associated Press wire print of the photograph by Ronald L. Haeberle (b. 1940), then a US Army sergeant, from Life, © 1969. National Gallery of Art, 2018.177.582 Source ↗

One of the most controversial events of the war was the My Lai Massacre, which inspired 290+ songs.

Beyond My Lai and Anti-Calley, the songs in this collection most often also deal with: Anti-War, Pro-Soldier, Patriotic, Calley-Order.

Further reading: Jones, Howard, My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness (Oxford University Press, 2017).

#1 Big Bill Johnson Set Lt. Calley Free 1969 · Single · Set Lt. Calley Free / Pitchin' Woo · REM # 45-467 · USA

In the country song "Set Lt. Calley Free" (REM Records # REM 45-467), released in 1969, the narrator declared that "we're a sick society" , as the US had "crucified" and "nailed Lt. Calley to a tree" - presenting Calley as a sort of Jesus figure, wrongly accused and charged. The narrator wanted to free Lt. Calley because "he carried out his orders" i.e. Calley did his duty, and so not to blame for the massacre. The narrator questioned who would stand trial for the American soldiers killed in Vietnam. The narrator also indicated some resentment towards the lengthy war: "we Americans are tired of a war that can't be won" - which in the country music genre, usually featuring strong pro-government sentiments, represented a somewhat anti-war statement. Therefore, the song criticised the military establishment and government policy, while showing support for the soldier. The record label was founded in Lexington, Kentucky, then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where this song was recorded. Big Bill Johnson, born William Joseph Johnson on 3 May 1927 in Louisville, Kentucky, later moved to Texas. He died in Greenville, Texas, on 2 December 2006. He also had the nickname "The Tall Kentuckian", and wrote several songs about Louisville.¹²

REM 45-467 (9116), red label, 1006 Main St., Nashville, Tenn.; "Set Lt. Calley Free" (Big Bill Johnson), 2:47, Fayette BMI; produced by Bob Mooney. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Pro-Calley Anti-War Calley-Jesus Calley-Order Calley-Justice

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#2 Tom Parrott The Massacres of My Lai (Song My) and Truong An 1969 · Unreleased · Unreleased · Not On Label · USA

The song "The Massacres of My Lai (Song My) and Truong An" appears to be one of those never recorded. It originally featured in Broadside # 103, December 1969. It gave an account of the massacre, narrated from the perspective of a soldier who took part, who repeated the line that "orders came down from the brass for everything we done" - the official line taken by Calley and others in the platoon, that they were obeying orders. The soldier said that the platoon went out to "search and destroy, hunting for the VC" - the National Liberation Front (NFL), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam. They got to the hamlets of My Lai and Truong An, and "slaughtered all the old folks, all the women, all the kids" , on the grounds that they had "liberated" the area. They also "did it for America...in the name of god and country, for our wives, our folks and sons" . This song strongly condemned the massacre and the actions of Calley, taking an overall anti-war position.

Unreleased: featured in Broadside # 103, December 1969

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War VC Calley-Order

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#3 Baba Scholae Song My (My Lai) 1969 · Archival · Baba Scholae · Ad Vitam # AV 120920 · France

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ RockProgressive Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#4 Abbie Hoffman The Drug Company 1969 · Album · Wake Up America! · Big Toe # Big Toe 1 · USA

Annotation: see “Song My (My Lai)” above (same release).

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War LBJ Chicago Seven Nixon MLK

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordComedy

Also in: ▤ 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#5 Abbie Hoffman Our National Anthem 1969 · Album · Wake Up America! · Big Toe # Big Toe 1 · USA

The album Wake Up, America (Big Toe Records # 1) contained several references to Vietnam, such as the tracks "Our National Anthem" , "Chicago", and "The Drug Company" . On the track "Texas Tweezers" 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 her reputation. He then rhetorically ask the caller "what do you think My Lai was, a god damn Connie Island trip" .

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]

Theme: Anti-War

Genres: ♪ FolkSpoken WordContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#6 Tom Parrott Pinkville Helicopter 1970 · Compilation · Broadside Ballads Vol. 5: Time Is Running Out · Broadside # FW05312 · USA

The song "Pinkville Helicopter" (Broadside Records # BRS 312), first appeared on the front cover of Broadside # 105, February-March 1970. Pinkville referred to the US army codeword for the hamlet My Lai, considered to be a Viet Cong stronghold. The song took an anti-war position, and strongly criticised the soldiers involved, describing them as a "pack of mad dogs, just killing to see people dying" . He noted that the Lieutenant's gun (a reference to William Calley) was "smoky and hot from the killing" . The narrator also praised the efforts of a helicopter pilot that rescued wounded villagers, a reference to Hugh Thompson, Jr., who tried to stop the My Lai Massacre.² John Maciewicz on second guitar and harmonica.

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War Hugh Thompson

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#7 Mike Millius Ballad of Song My 1970 · Unreleased · Unreleased · Not On Label · USA

Mike Millius came out of the New York contemporary folk scene, like Phil Ochs and Tom Parrott, although probably less successful and less well-known than those two, only releasing one album during the 60s/70s period: Desperado (1969). He had nine songs published in Broadside, including the "Ballad of Song My" , appearing in # 105 (March 1970).¹ It was not recorded. The lyrics and notations featured alongside a newspaper article, which had the headline "Calley Meets With Wallace and Received Sympathy"- a reference to George C. Wallace, the Governor of Alabama. The lyrics criticised the actions of the soldiers, asking "why GI's even killed the children there" . It then accused the politicians of misleading the people: "the president is lying to you on TV" . The lyrics went on to make some general anti-war comments, such as about the military-industrial complex, which President Eisenhower warned about during his farewell address on 17 January 1961: "we'll make a war and sell lots of bullets" .² It referenced the number of American deaths in Vietnam and the impact it had on families: "do you know forty thousand young men died?...Left their...loves alone" . It also suggested that "there's forty thousand more in Canada" - meaning those who dodged the draft by leaving the country.

Unreleased - lyrics and notation appeared in Broadside Magazine # 105 (March 1970), featured alongside a newspaper article, which had the headline "Calley Meets With Wallace and Received Sympathy"- a reference to George C. Wallace, the Governor of Alabama.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Draft Draft Dodger Canada Border TV War

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#8 Gary Davis My Lai (In Remembrance of Polynices) 1970 · Single · Janis and Jimi / My Lai (In Remembrance of Polynices) · Pearce # 5837 · USA

- My Lai (In Remembrance of Polynices) (Davis, Gary)

- Calley / My Lai song. Folk rock. Anti-war. Anti-Calley
- From Independence, Missouri
- Pearce (# 5837). Sub-label of Cavern Records

- Pearce No. 5837, Side Two, orange and olive label; "My Lai (In Remembrance of Polynices)" (G. Davis), time 1:33, Limestone Pub. Co., BMI; "A Division of Cavern Sound Corp., 16400 E. Truman Rd., Indep., Mo." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#9 Matt McKinney Ballad of My Lai 1970 · Single · Ballad of My Lai / Hungry Road · Danrite # DR-115 · USA

Released in 1970, the country song "Ballad of My Lai" (Danrite Records # DR-115), released on a Dallas, Texas based label. Composed by Thurman McKinney and Donald Peck, produced by Chas Wright. The narrator blamed the massacre of women and children on the politicians and military, not on Calley, because they had "placed the gun in his hand" . This song also noted that Vietnam was a "war we could never win" - perhaps indicating that the war had been a mistake, a view in line with public opinion polls.¹ It does not really fit into either the "anti-war" or "patriotic" song category. It largely dealt with how the war affected soldiers and civilians.

Danrite Records DR-115 (SON 93751); "Ballad of My Lai" (Thurman McKinney – Donald Peck), time 3:30, "Mod Country"; Danrite Music BMI; producer Chas. Wright; "Natl. Dist. F.E.I. Sales – P.O. Box 701, Nashville, Tenn. 37202". Turquoise label. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Pro-Calley Anti-War Anti-Government Calley-Order Calley-Justice

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#10 Billy Starr A Letter From Vietnam 1970 · Single · A Letter From Vietnam / The Ode to Ira Louvin · Starjo # 1709 · USA

Billy Starr (1913-1981) - traditional country singer, born James William Stallard in Kentucky, USA.¹² He released the track "A Letter From Vietnam" (Starjo Records # 1709) in 1970, narrated from the perspective of a soldier writing to his mother, feeling regret that he had committed murder in Vietnam. However, he reported that the next day the platoon were going to "a place called My Lai" , where his life might be threatened by the Vietcong: "there might not be a tomorrow if something should go wrong" - and thus it sought to defend the position of Calley. The narrator also took a patriotic, pro-government position, arguing that the war would "make the world a better place for everyone to live" .

StarJo Records, record no. 1709 (PRP-38601), 45 RPM, white "D.J. Copy" label; "A Letter From Vietnam" (Billy Starr, Aileen Starr, Jody Starr, Gloria Blaylock), 2:30, StarJo Music, BMI; Sales & Distribution, Inc., 413 Cloud Springs Rd., Rossville, Ga. 30741. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley VC Soldier's Perspective Calley-Chaos

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#11 T.P. and the Indians Ally or Enemy 1970 · Single · Goodbye Good Times / Ally or Enemy · Dellwood # 3239 · USA

- Potential My Lai - reference to a massacre
- Leans patriotic / pro-Calley
- Garage rock
- Saddle Brook, New Jersey

- Dellwood Records 3239 AA, yellow label, "saddle brook, n.j. (201) 843-3239"; "Ally or Enemy" (Stepo-Carpenter), 2:15, Dellwood Pub. ASCAP; T.P. and the Indians; "Produced by Woody Gardella". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Draft Anti-War Soldier's Perspective My Lai My Lai-Type Pro-Calley

Genre: ♪ Garage Rock

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ Garage Rock Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#12–17 Rosko Massacre at My Lai 1970 · Album · Flying Dutchman # FDS-118 · USA

All 6 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

A spoken word release (Flying Dutchman # FDS-118) in which Rosko narrated the newspaper articles of Pete Hamill - an American journalist who in the 1960s wrote for the New York Post, reporting from Vietnam.¹ It took a highly critical view of the Vietnam War, the military, and the politicians of the era, such as President Eisenhower and President Nixon. Produced by Bob Thiele, founder of Flying Dutchman, it featured background music from Ron Carter (bass) and James Spaulding (flute). Nat Hentoff, music critic and historian, wrote the linear notes to the record. Hamill also wrote the words for the 1970 record Murder at Kent State University (Flying Dutchman # FDS-127).

Billboard noted the album on 28 February 1970, saying that "Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label again collaborated with WNEW-FM's Rosko...to spotlight writer Peter Hamill's description of the alleged 'Massacre at My Lai' in Vietnam. A dramatic contribution to anti-war literature...a followup to Robert Scheer's A Night at Santa Rita, another attempt at creative criticism against US militarism and censorship".² Hamill argued that while "poor, dumb Calley, will be court martialed" the politicians would be able to write their memoirs, and the military leaders would be free. But Hamill also said that following orders was not an acceptable excuse to commit a massacre. In the first track, "The War Crimes" , he described the war as "the obscene slime of Asia" .

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#19 Louis Calabro Latitude 15.09°N (Longitude 108.5°E) 1970 · Album · Century # 39359 · USA

Recorded in Bennington, Vermont, on 25 May 1970, the title "Latitude 15.09°N (Longitude 108.5°E)" referred to the geographical location of My Lai, as indicated on the map on the front cover of this LP. Written and conducted by Louis Calabro, born 1 November 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. He died on 21 October 1991 in Bennington, Vermont. The lyrics reflected the well-known photographs of the massacre, taking an anti-war perspective: "deep in the red mud...yellow eye rolled out...dead children" . The back of record said: "the oratorio was written in reaction to the incident at My Lai. My first thoughts on seeing the pictures of the 'alleged' massacre were of sheer horror and disbelief. I was appalled by the naivete and shallowness of all political systems, and by their instability to cope humanely and compassionately with the problems and conflicts which confront us. As with all victims in all massacres, the My Lai people will be outrageously forgotten and, as usual, man will have learned little or nothing. This work is no more than a simple bouquet in dedication to a people I have never known and yet have known all my life".

Title referred to the geographical location of My Lai, as indicated on the map on the front cover of this LP Century 39359, stereo, "mfg. by Century Records"; both labels read "Latitude 15.09°N (Longitude 108.5°E), an oratorio by Louis Calabro", "Premiere Performance", Bennington Community Orchestra and Chorus, narrator Frank Baker, soloist Kimball Wheeler, recording engineer E. F. Auchter (Side 1 and Side 2).

The front cover is a line map of Indochina with My Lai marked on the coast of South Vietnam.

The back prints the oratorio's seven-part text by Louis Calabro, beginning "The blood flowed like a flood" and ending "So let us sing Kyrie eleison", alongside a photograph of the conductor before the chorus. In his note Calabro writes that the oratorio was written in reaction to the incident at My Lai, that "the My Lai people will be outrageously forgotten", and that the work is "a simple bouquet in dedication to a people I have never known and yet have known all my life."

The recording was made from the premiere performance in Bennington, Vermont, on May 25, 1970, with a chorus of one hundred and an orchestra of eighty-five, mostly residents of Bennington and nearby communities, including students from Mount Anthony High School, the Hoosac School, the Buxton School, Williams College and Bennington College; it was the final work of a multi-media program on the theme of War sponsored by the Mayfest Committee of Bennington.

Cover sketch: Sarah Cook; photo: Greg Guma; jacket design: Christine Graham. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ Western Classical MusicClassical

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#20 The Shah The My Lai Incident 1970 · Single · The My Lai Incident / Introduction to a Calypsonian · Telco # TW-3427 · Trinidad & Tobago

Credited on the record as The Shah acc. by Telco All Stars Recording Orch..

The calypso song "The My Lai Incident" (Telco # TW-3427) by the Shah came out of Trinidad & Tobago in the Carribean, dealing with the My Lai Massacre, one of the most controversial events of the war, which inspired 290+ songs. This was the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese villages of My Lai and Song My by US forces on 16 March 1968, led by platoon leader Second Lieutenant William Calley. Most of the songs released from 1969-1971, which came out of the US, supported Calley, as reflected in public opinion polls, showing that people were protective of soldiers and veterans during war time. This song took an anti-Calley position, calling it a "sordid atorcity" , which is similar to most My Lai songs released outside of the US. He pleaded: "draw the line Uncle Sam, take your troops out of Vietnam" , saying that the world's eyes were on the US. He also called out President Nixon for hypocrisy: "Nixon, is it peace and love that you preach" . Also note the reference to Ernest Medina, who was a commanding officer of the platoon - he was court-martialed, but found not guilty at trial. The song was released in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Telco TW-3427 (SP-10864), 45 RPM; "The My Lai Incident" (S. Mohammed), Witelco Music Co.; The Shah accompanied by the Telco All Stars Recording Orchestra led by Richard "Boyie" Lewis; Telco Record Division, W.I.T.&E. Co. Ltd., Trinidad, W.I. Telco company sleeve: "Product of Telco Record Division, W.I. Telecommunications & Electronics Company Ltd.", P.O. Box 890, Port-of-Spain. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (23 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War VC Medina Nixon

Genre: ♪ Calypso

Also in: ▤ Latin & Central American, & Caribbean Music▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#21 Maxima Four Dead in Ohio 1970 · Single · Together Again / Four Dead in Ohio · GWS # TRG-42 · USA

The psychedelic garage rock song "Four Dead in Ohio" (GWS # TRG-42), released in 1970, covered the well-known Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song "Ohio" composed by Neil Young: "Nixon's coming...I here the drumming, four dead in Ohio" . This version started out with a spoken-word anti-war, revolutionary narrative. The speaker refused to "watch as a tide of apathy" took over. He declared that if the authorities wanted war, then "the revolution is what they will have" . It also contained a possible reference to the My Lai Massacre (March 1968), kept secret for over a year until reported in the US press between September and November 1969: "how dare they hope that genocides will slip by us unnoticed" . It could also refer to the indiscriminate bombing of Cambodia and the large number of Vietnamese deaths during the war. Released in Miami, Florida, Kevin McManus produced the record and Roger Hatfield worked on the arrangements.

GWS Recording Corp. of America, "World of Hits", 1175 N.E. 125th Street, Suite 413, North Miami, Florida; TRG-42 B; "Four Dead in Ohio", credited on the label to (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young); produced by Kevin McManus and D. Hieronymus; arranged by Roger Hatfield. Yellow label with globe logo. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-War Kent State My Lai Nixon Anti-Calley My Lai-Type

Genres: ♪ Garage RockPsychedelic Garage Rock

Also in: ▤ Garage Rock Songs▤ Kent / Jackson State Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#22 David Bowie Running Gun Blues 1970 · Album · The Man Who Sold The World · Mercury # 6338 041 · UK

Iconic and influential musician, associated with Pop Rock, Glam Rock, Art Rock, Psychedelic Pop, and New Wave, born David Jones on 8 January 1947 in Brixton, London, UK. He died on 10 January 2016 in Manhattan, New York, USA. Bowie's use of the term "gook" is the give away: "I broke the gooks, I cracked their heads" . A derogatory term for Asians used by US soldiers, it became widely applied during the Vietnam conflict. The song "Running Gun Blues" (Mercury Records #6338 041) is about a soldier who has returned to the home front with a murderous streak and thus it is a comment on the negative effects of the war. The line "I'll plug a few civilians" may be a reference to the My Lai massacre or general indiscriminate killing during the Vietnam War. It leans towards the anti-war perspective.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ RockGlam Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#23–25 Freddie Hubbard & Ilhan Mimaroglu Sing Me a Song of Songmy 1971 · Album · Atlantic # SD 1576 · USA

All 3 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

A very experimental jazz album (Atlantic # SD 1576) from Freddie Hubbard and Ilhan Mimaroglu, it tackled the themes of war, violence, and Civil Rights, and included spooky monologues and Vietnamese poetry recited by Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca. The title of the album referred to the mass killings of Vietnamese civilians in two hamlets in the village of Song My, known at the time as the Massacre at Songmy, currently called the My Lai massacre. The front cover is Pablo Picasso's painting "Massacre in Korea" (1951), which protested American involvement in that conflict and was a strong anti-war piece. Recorded September 14–16, 1971, at Regent Sound Studios, New York City.

The song "What a Good Time for a Kent State" (Atlantic # SD 1576) began with sparse piano playing with a poem. Then the trumpets and saxophones entered with a bang, and a choir sung the names of those killed at the Kent State demonstration - as mentioned above, only a few other tracks did this.

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#26 Terry Nelson & 'C' Company Battle Hymn Of Lt. Calley 1971 · Single · Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley / Routine Patrol · Plantation # PL-73 · USA

Credited on the record as C Company featuring Terry Nelson.

The track "Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley" (Plantation Records # PL-73), written by Julian Wilson and James M. Smith, defended the actions of Lt. William Calley. Set to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", it is certainly the most well known song on this subject, receiving large coverage in Billboard magazine. The single, awarded a gold record for selling over 1 million records, featured on the 1971 flag-waving album Wake Up America (Plantation Records # PLP-15). In October 1972 the two writers filed suit against Singleton Music, seeking $110,000 in unpaid royalties.¹

As noted above, on 17 April 1971, a Billboard headline claimed that the "Calley Disk Stirs Market; Supply Runs Behind Demand" and that this single had "become the nation's hottest single property". The article went on to say that "it takes a stroke of luck for dealers to get copies. Gwen Kesler, singles sales manager at Southland Distributors in Atlanta, has 100,000 copies of the single on order and said 'if I can get them, they're sold'. As of late last week 10,000 were delivered and she was expecting another 10,000...the Calley disk is selling 'like a goldmine...at least in orders".²

However, the article also noted a degree of controversy surrounding this song, with the cancellation of a cover by the famous country singer Tex Ritter: "the controversy raging over the conviction of Lt. William Calley, which sparked three fast-selling releases within the past two weeks, has also resulted in the cancellation of the distribution of still another. The cancelled disk is Tex Ritter's version of "The Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley" on the Capitol Records label. Capitol Records president Stan Gortikov told Billboard that 'we stopped the release of the 'Calley' record because his case is still under judicial consideration. Furthermore , if we want to glorify a war hero, let's find someone other than Lt. Calley". On 19 June 1971, Billboard reported university jukebox programers were censoring controversial songs on campus: "Increasingly, jukebox programmer...must consider the sensitive nature of lyrics....the Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley is an example".³

The narrator started in the third person, in the old familiar "once upon a time" - telling the listener that a boy grew up wanting to "serve his country" . Then switching to the first person, the narrator said that "my name is William Calley" . He sought to justify the massacre in the following ways: the threat of death; the uncertainty of battle; following orders. On the first point, the narrator described the difficulties and horrors of war: "I've seen my buddies ambushed...youthful bodies riddled by...V.C. bullets" . On the second point, he argued that "all the rules are broken" during war, and that in the Vietnam jungles "it's hard to judge the enemy" . Finally, the narrator emphasised the importance of doing one's duty, and to be able to stand before god, and say that "I followed all my orders and I did the best I could" . The narrator also criticised the anti-war movement, claiming that those "marching in the street...were helping our defeat" .

Plantation Records PL-73 (711-1466), green and gold label; "Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley" (Julian Wilson & James M. Smith), time 3:29, intro :13, Shelby Singleton Music, Inc. (BMI) and Quickit Pub. Co. (BMI); credited to C Company featuring Terry Nelson; produced by James M. Smith, recorded at Fame Recording Studio, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Rim: "A Division of The Shelby Singleton Corp., Nashville, Tenn., U.S.A." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (25 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Pro-Calley Patriotic Calley-Order Calley-Chaos Calley-Danger

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#27 John Deer The Battle Hymn Of Lt. Calley 1971 · Single · The Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley / Sittin' in Atlanta Station · Royal American # RA-34 · USA

The song "The Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley" (Royal American # RA-31), a cover of the track above, was one of three songs released in April 1971 about My Lai. As noted in Billboard on 17 April 1971, "three manufacturers of the record on release are claiming fast and surging disk jockey play and sales action....The second release is another version of Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley. This disk is by John Deer and is on the Dick Heard-owned Royal American. The single is a cut from the album bearing the same name".¹ This single bubbled under the Hot 100 on 1 May 1971, at # 114.²

Royal American RA-34A, red, white and blue label with stars; "The Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley" (J. Wilson, J. M. Smith), time 3:05 (:17 fade), published by Shelby Singleton Music, Inc. & Quick-It, BMI; produced by Dick Heard; Royal American Records, Inc., 813 18th Avenue South, Nashville 37203. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Pro-Calley Patriotic Calley-Order Calley-Chaos Calley-Danger

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#28 Various Artists The Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley and Other Hits 1971 · Compilation · Royal American # RAS 1006 · USA

Credited on the record as Various featuring John Deer.

A compilation of artists signed to Royal American (# RAS 10060), taking its title from the John Deer song above - a case of the record label taking advantage of a popular issue and positive sales, to promote their other artists. The compilation also included the Vietnam-related track Dear Mr. President by Leroy Woods (unrelated to the My Lai issue).

Sleeve title on Discogs: The Battle Hymn Of Lt. Calley. Producer Dick Heard; A5 produced by Ray Griff. Artists: John Deer, Van Trevor, Leroy Woods, Lynda K. Lance, Ray Griff, Harvie June Van (credited as Fate, Fed, & Harvie June). [From Discogs] Royal American, 813 18th Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee. [From the Rate Your Music label page]

Theme: Patriotic

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#29 Jones Brothers & the Log Cabin Boys Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley 1971 · Single · Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley / This Land Is Your Land · Time # 28371 · USA

Another cover of the track "Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley" (Time Records # 28371). Recorded in Charlotte, North Carolina. This promo copy had "July 1 1971" stamped on it.

Time Records, white label, PRP-28371; "Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley" (Julian Wilson-James M. Smith), time 3:29, Shelby Singleton Music Inc., BMI; "Recorded at Reflection Sound Studios, Charlotte, N.C."; telephone "A/C 704-375-5176" printed at the foot of the label. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Pro-Calley Patriotic Calley-Order Calley-Chaos Calley-Danger

Genres: ♪ CountryBluegrass

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#30 Jimmy Gordon Battle Hymn of Lt. Calley 1971 · Single · Battle Hymn of Lieutenant Calley / Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) · Clan Celentano # BF.ES.121 · Italy

Themes: My Lai Pro-Calley Patriotic Calley-Order Calley-Chaos Calley-Danger

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#31 Nelson Truehart Morning In My Lai 1971 · Single · Morning in My Lai / Letter Sealed with Tears · MGM # K14254 · USA

Another song mentioned in Billboard - "Morning in My Lai" (MGM Records # K14254), on 17 April 1971: "recorded by Nelson Truehart at the Nuggett Studios here (Nashville). The Sound 70 Singers supply the background music. The ballad, according to a spokesman, is also selling very fast".¹ Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Truehart also wrote a song dedicated the P.O.W.s in late 1971, recorded by his children The Truehart Kids - If Your Dad Were a Prisoner of War (Mallard Records Inc. # MR-4).² The narrator defended Calley, arguing that he followed his "order...to destroy the town" . He asked people not to judge Calley and to back him up, because "after all he's fighting for you and me" , which displayed support for the soldier, although did not provide a strong leaning towards the anti-war or patriotic side.

Yellow MGM "Special Disc Jockey Record", "Not for Sale", K14254 (71N-51289), date-stamped Apr 30 1971; "Morning in My Lai" (Johnson), 3:08, Rondee Music, ASCAP; arranged by Dennis Burnside, produced by Terry Burnside & Jesse Tharp; MGM Records, a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. In an MGM Records company sleeve ("The Greatest Name in Entertainment!") bearing a typed label "Nelson Truehart / Morning in My Lai / Letter Sealed with Tears". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order Calley-Justice Pro-Soldier

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#32 Merritt Jordan Pardon This Soldier (And Set Him Free) 1971 · Single · Pardon This Soldier (And Set him Free) / I'll Still Call You Mine · Plaza # 45-108 · USA

The song "Pardon This Soldier (And Set Him Free)" (Plaza # 45-108), released in Montgomery, Alabama, by country singer Merritt Jordan, received an endorsement from the state Governor George Wallace: "Dear Announcer: This song "Pardon This Soldier" expresses some of the sentiment concerning Lt. Calley's appeal for freedom. I feel that your listening audience would appreciate hearing the words and music. George C. Wallace, Governor". Dated 19 April 1971.¹ So this song supported Calley, calling on President Nixon to set him free because he served his country: "oh Mr. President, won't you set him free, he was doing his job for you and for me" .

This fitted in with a large degree of public support for Calley. According to Nixon's autobiography "The Memoirs of Richard Nixon" (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978), p.500: "public reaction to this announcement was emotional and sharply divided. More than 5,000 telegrams arrived at the White House, running 100 to 1 in favor of clemency." Two days after the Calley conviction, on 1 April 1971, Nixon placed Calley under house arrest during his appeal. Jimmy Carter, governor of Georgia, and George Wallace backed the move. Nixon went on to claim that "the whole tragic episode was used by the media and the antiwar forces to chip away at our efforts to build public support for our Vietnam objectives".²

endorsement from the state Governor George Wallace on the back of the picture sleeve: "Dear Announcer: This song "Pardon This Soldier" expresses some of my sentiments concerning Lt. Calley's appeal for freedom. I feel that your listening audience would appreciate hearing the words and music. George C. Wallace, Governor" Plaza 45-108 (9118), Side 1, mono, white "Radio Station Copy" label; "Pardon This Soldier (And Set Him Free)", written and sung by Merritt Jordan, 3:36, Acuff-Rose BMI; address 2832 Lansdowne Dr., Montgomery, Ala. 36111, phone 205-262-1560.

The sleeve reproduces a letter on State of Alabama, Governor's Office, Montgomery letterhead dated April 9, 1971 and signed by George C. Wallace, Governor: "Dear Announcer: This song, 'Pardon This Soldier,' expresses some of my sentiments concerning Lt. Calley's appeal for freedom. I feel that your listening audience would appreciate hearing the words and music." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley Nixon Calley-Justice Wallace

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#33 Mutt Cottingham Free Calley 1971 · Single · Free Calley / How Can It Be · Keepsake # KS1010 · USA

The track "Free Calley" (Keepsake Records # KS1010) - the title obviously explained Cottingham's view. He defended Calley on the grounds that he followed orders, and claimed that "justice was shattered when this senseless trial begun" . It referenced Fort Benning - the base were Calley undertook combat training in Georgia, and later, on 1 April 1971, placed under house arrest by Richard Nixon. It started with a military marching drum. Released in San Angelo, Texas. Written by Jerry Mack. Produced by Gorman Maxwell and Jerry Mack.

Keepsake Records KS1010A, © Copyright 1971, P.O. Box 5200, San Angelo, Texas 76901, Ph. 915/655-4540; "Free Calley" (Jerry Mack), 2:55, Westex Music, BMI; produced by Gorman Maxwell and Jerry Mack. Black-and-white label with a globe design. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order Calley-Justice Fort Benning

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#34 Smokey Harless Hang Lt. Calley 1971 · Single · Hang Lt. Calley / Six Days · Pabst # PA 71006 · Germany

Country singer Smokey Harless sung for US military personnel stationed in Germany in the early 1970s, and he released a couple records on German based labels. This included the patriotic song "Men of Vietnam", and an anti-hippie track called "Place for Them Called Hell".

The title of this song - "Hang Lt. Calley" (Pabst Music # PA 71006) - is misleading. It suggested that Calley should be punished for the massacre. But in fact Harless defended the actions of Calley, telling the government to "go ahead and hang Lt. Calley" , so that they will not "feel so ashamed" for training American boys to kill, and then sending them off to war - in others words, Harless suggested the government used Calley as a scapegoat, to cover-up their own responsibility. Like other Calley songs discussed above, he made a comparison to the death of Jesus: "they'll nail him to the cross" . The narrator also made a comparison on public attitudes towards indiscriminate killings - during the Second World War the US killed many civilians (men, woman, and children) when bombing Germany and Japan "at your applause and command" . But, the narrator suggested, in Vietnam, and the My Lai killings, people considered such actions to be a massacre.

Performed to troops stationed in Germany, all records released in Germany Pabst Music PA 71006 A, 45 UpM, stereo, GEMA; "Hang Lt. Calley" (S. Harless/F. Kersten/S. Harless), 2'58"; Fred-Kersten-Produktion; "Made in Germany by Pabstmusic Tongesellschaft Ferdinand H. Keller KG, Kaiserslautern".

The picture sleeve front, also naming "Six Days", shows a noose hanging from a wooden beam inside a cell with a barred window, with "Hang Lt. Calley" in dripping red lettering.

The back carries a note by producer Fred Kersten: on the day the Calley court-martial verdict was released Smokey sat down, drank a beer, got very angry and wrote the song "somewhere between the first and second beers", expressing the frustrations of the soldier "fighting in a no win war"; he is called "a true to life Nashville rebel".

The sleeve is signed in ink by Smokey Harless. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Jesus Calley-Order Calley-Danger

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#35 Free Blue Set Calley Free Part I 1971 · Single · Set Calley Free Part I / Part II · Triangle Sound # TR 001 · USA

The song "Set Calley Free Part I" (Triangle Sound Inc. # TR 001) - a pro-Calley track, which sounded like a presidential campaign song. Released by the obscure group Free Blue - unknown location and biography - the narrator argued that Calley "kills the way" the government / military "taught him" , yet they "call him a murderer" . At the end of the song, they posed the question: "is this the freedom we are all fighting for?" Thus it took the position that Calley did not bear responsibility for the massacre.

Triangle Sound Inc. TR 001, white label with microphone logo; Free Blue; Purple Rooster Music BMI; producer Bob Riley. Side A: "Set Calley Free Part I" (Dave Hall), 2:40. Side B: "Set Calley Free Part II" (Dave Hall - Robert Riley), 2:00. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Jesus Calley-Justice Calley-Order

Genre: ♪ Easy Listening

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#36 Free Blue Set Calley Free Part II 1971 · Single · Set Calley Free Part I / Part II · Triangle Sound # TR 001 · USA

The B-side song "Set Calley Free Part II" , is very similar to the one above, but largely spoken word. Once again, the narrator compared Calley's situation to the story of Jesus: "crucified...nailed to a cross" . The lyrics also suggested that the conviction of Calley undermined the US democratic system.

Triangle Sound Inc. TR 001, white label with microphone logo; Free Blue; Purple Rooster Music BMI; producer Bob Riley. Side A: "Set Calley Free Part I" (Dave Hall), 2:40. Side B: "Set Calley Free Part II" (Dave Hall - Robert Riley), 2:00. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Jesus Calley-Justice Calley-Order

Genre: ♪ Easy Listening

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#37 Rick Riddle Hang On Bill 1971 · Single · Hang on Bill / Sweet Lucy · Dixie # 107 · USA

Rick Riddle, born Arvin Doyle Riddle in Rector, Arkansas, on 20 August 1920, built a career in western and country music in Detroit following the Second World War, during which he served with the US navy aboard the U.S.S. Adair in the Pacific Theatre.¹² In 1971 he released the song "Hang on Bill" (Dixie Records # DR 107) which criticised the politicians for fighting a war which "we'll never win" . He warned that one day these leaders will have to "stand before god" . Riddle promised to fight the battle against "the enemy...cowards walking free in our land" , and pleaded with Calley to hang on while the campaign to set him free was in swing.

Arvin Doyle Riddle [birth name] Dixie Records DR #107; "Hang On Bill (A Tribute to Lt. Wm. Calley)" (Rick Riddle), time 2:10, Fred Henley Music, BMI, and Vogue Music, Inc., BMI; Rick Riddle. [From the record sleeve and labels] Dixie Records, P.O. Box 115, Madison, Tennessee. [From the Rate Your Music label page]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Anti-War Calley-Order Calley-Justice

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#38 Glenn Reifsteck The Fate of Lt. William Calley 1971 · Single · The Fate of Lt. William Calley / Spiders Web · Stars and Stripes # U.S.A. 001 · USA

The country music song "The Fate of Lt. William Calley" (Stars and Stripes U.S.A. # 001) took an overall patriotic position, presenting the conflict in Vietnam as a fight to "keep you and me free" - in line with government rhetoric. Yet the narrator, unlike the US government and military, viewed the My Lai massacre as a case of self-defense, either "to kill or to be killed" , thus relieving Calley of responsibility for the incident. Released in 1971, in Arnold, Missouri.

Stars and Stripes U.S.A., 1939 Melody Lane, Arnold, Missouri 63010, 001-A, Side 1, yellow label; "The Fate of Lt. William Calley" (Reef-Stek), time 2:38, published by Reifco Music, BMI; Glenn Reifsteck. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley Calley-Danger Calley-Order Calley-Chaos

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#39 Roger McDowell A Tribute to Lt. William Calley 1971 · Single · America, Now Join Hands / A Tribute to Lt. William Calley · Freedom Ring # 618 · USA

As the title suggested, the song "A Tribute to Lt. William Calley" (Freedom Ring # 618) supported Calley, arguing that he, and other soldiers "fought to keep us free" . The narrator expressed disgust that Calley sat in a prison, and said that he wanted to help him. "McDowell Enterprises", printed on the label, was based in Nashville, Tennessee.¹ Produced by Lou Tillman.

Freedom Ring 618, "A Division of Tillman-McDowell Enterprises", stars-and-stripes label with Liberty Bell; F-618-1 "America, Now Join Hands" (Roger McDowell), McDowell Music, BMI, 5:49 (SON 95291); F-618-2 "A Tribute to Lt. William Calley" (Roger McDowell), McDowell Music, BMI, 2:41 (SON 95292); a Lou Tillman production, arranged by Roger McDowell. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Justice Pro-Soldier

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#40 Roland Johnson William Calley 1971 · Single · William Calley / Fire in the Sky · Three Star # 9108 · USA

Roland Johnson (1921-2007) - nicknamed "Racehorse" for doing a 100 yard dash in 10 seconds, while playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers Triple A team. After an injury he turned to music, and wrote a campaign song for George C. Wallace, Governor of Alabama, helping to raise funds. Note that Wallace supported the campaign to free Calley in 1971, as seen in his endorsement of the record "Pardon This Soldier (And Set Him Free)". Before that Roland Johnson supported Governor "Big Jim" Folsom.¹ In 1964 Johnson became the Mayor of Garden City, Alabama. On 25 June 2001 the House of Representatives of the Legislature of Alabama paid tribute to his public service.²

Johnson released the song "William Calley" (Three Star Records # 9108), arguing that "those above him" in the army had made a mistake, and that Calley "was made a scapegoat" . Johnson felt that the "guilty ones" were free while Calley, doing his duty, had lost his liberty. This did not take a strong pro-government or anti-war position, but focused on support for the soldier.

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley Calley-Scapegoat Calley-Justice Calley-Order

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#41 The Adams Brothers The U.S.A. Soldier 1971 · Single · The U.S.A. Soldier / Place No Roses on My Grave · Double Shot # 155 · USA

The song "The U.S.A. Soldier" (Double Shot Records # 155) by the Adams Brothers, released in Hollywood, California, also viewed Calley as a scapegoat for the horrors of war: "a scapegoat to offer for a sacrifice" . The narrator argued that in "all wars...even innocent folks die" . The track started out with the story of Uncle Sam drafting a young man to fight in Vietnam. When he returned to the US, he faced criminal charges for the My Lai incident. Once again, the narrator compared the plight of Calley to the story of Jesus: "he took the blame, he took it for us all" . While the lyrics showed solidarity with the soldier, it did not take a strong pro-government / patriotic foreign policy position, or anti-war stance. Composed by Billy Adams, arranged and produced by Bur-K Studios Promotion in Motion Irwin Zucker.

Double Shot Records 155 (DS 354), 6565 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Calif. 90028; "The U.S.A. Soldier" (Billy Adams), time 3:00, Chett Publ./Hot Shot Music, BMI; arranged and produced by Bur-K Studios; promotion In Motion, Irwin Zucker. A Double Shot & Whiz Records "New Rush Release! Special!" promotional sheet, signed by Irwin Zucker, names the flip side "Place No Roses on My Grave", states that the record never mentions Lt. Calley's name but alludes to the episode and the Vietnam War, reports that it first broke with DJ John Elliott, WZKY, Louisa, Ky. ("phenomenal, unusual response"), and describes the Adams Brothers as well-known Evangelistic performers in the South, touring on behalf of the recording; it carries a photograph captioned "Fatigued G.I. at Lang Vei" and a red stamp "We're All Guilty!".

A lyric sheet, "written & recorded by the Adams Brothers", Copyright 1971, published by Hot Shot/Chett Music, prints the full words, which refer to My Lai. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (21 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Draft Anti-Government Pro-Calley Calley-Jesus

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#42 Butch Christofer We Done Wrong! 1971 · Single · We Done Wrong! / We'll Have Fun · Chicken Row # CR-1002 · USA

Credited on the record as Butch Christofer (And The High Camp Society Band).

The song "We Done Wrong!" (Chicken Row Records # CR-1002) can probably be classified as a song about My Lai and Calley - although it does not refer to either of those. Released by Butch Christofer and The High Camp Society Band, written by Arthur K. Weathers, and produced by Group V Productions. In the track, the first person narration starts off with a soldier heading to Vietnam with an open mind. However, the platoon encounters the Vietcong, which results in the killing of the enemy, as they were taught to do. They dumped the bodies in a pit: "we met old charlie, Vietcong, shot him dead... rolled him over in a open hole" . But someone stepped up to oppose the killings. Back in the US, with the support of the Congress, the soldiers are sentenced to life imprisonment by a jury, thus echoing the story of William Calley and the My Lai Massacre. The final line possibly made a reference to President Nixon.

Chicken Row Records CR-1002-A, Side 1, stereo, © 1971 GVP, green label with a rooster drawing; "We Done Wrong!" (Arthur K. Weathers), St. Elmo Music, BMI, time 2:29; produced by Group V Productions; Butch Christofer (And The High Camp Society Band). [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-War Nixon Anti-Calley Calley-Danger Calley-Order

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Rock

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]

#43 Johnny Nelms Lieutenant Calley 1971 · Single · Lieutenant Calley / Everything You Touch · Bagatelle # 4271 · USA

Credited on the record as Johnny Nelms (Texas State Rep.).

Johnny Nelms, the former Texas State Representative from Pasadena, Harris County, condemned the conviction of Calley in 1971, during the 62nd regular session of the House of Representatives.¹. On 8 May 1971 Billboard ran an article on the creation of a new record label, Bagatelle, in Houston, Texas, and the signing of Johnny Nelms. The three founders of the label, Byron Benton, Charles Benton, and Morris Sonny Hall received the writing and production credits on this record.² Unsurprisingly, the song "Lieutenant Calley" (Bagatelle # 4271) offered sympathy towards Calley, and it called for his freedom: "Lt. Calley, free him, and let him go" . The song leaned toward the patriotic camp, although it did not take a political stance, but rather displayed support for the soldier.

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley Calley-Justice Calley-Danger Calley-Order

Genres: ♪ CountryHonky Tonk

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#44 The Senators War's Cross 1971 · Single · War's Cross / This Is Our Land · Skylite # SR-1105 · USA

The pro-Calley song "War's Cross" (Skylite # SR-1105) by the Senators, of the country music genre, also compared Calley to the plight of Jesus, as seen on the 7" cover, which showed a soldier struggling to carry a wooden cross. Once again, like many of the songs above, it argued that Calley had only followed orders and therefore should not be held responsible for My Lai: "his order were to shoot on sight". While being a pro-soldier song, it did not take a pro-government foreign policy or anti-war position, but rather offered a US domestic perspective on the massacre. Released in Tennessee, United States; written by Jerry Free, Jack Rule, and Bettye Orr, and produced by Joel Gentry.

The lyrics made an interesting reference to US soldiers being sent to Vietnam in 1954 - the First Indo-China War between the French and Vietnamese took place from around 1946 up to the Geneva Conference in 1954. From that point onwards the US Eisenhower administration attached American foreign policy to preserving the Southern part of Vietnam and so US involvement started from around 1954-1955.

Skylite SR-1105, gold label, Side A; "War's Cross" (Jerry Free, Jack Rule, Bettye Orr), 2:34, Mt. Paran BMI; produced by Joel E. Gentry. The picture sleeve ("War's Cross / This Is Our Land", with "The Senators" in script) shows a line drawing, signed "Jud Phillips", of a helmeted soldier carrying a large wooden cross before a waving flag. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley Calley-Jesus Pro-Soldier

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Gospel

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#45 Lee Ofman Young Bill Calley 1971 · Single · K.O. # PMI 102 · USA

Credited on the record as Lee Ofman with Wayne Chaney & Friends.

The track "Young Bill Calley" (K.O. Records # PMI-102) argued that "Calley wasn't guilty all alone, he had help at hand" - this helping hand was the US government, yet to some extent that verse still recognised Calley's guilt over My Lai. The narrator said that Calley had been a "soldier by Uncle Sam" , who took "him away from his home" , putting a gun in his hand and sending him "down in Vietnam" . His purpose there was to fight, not to question "why or what for" . Therefore, the narrator suggested that the US government should bear some responsibility for the massacre.

Composed by Lee Ofman, and accompanied by Wayne Chaney - who released his own version of the song: "Young Bill Calley" (K.O. Records # PMI-101). Lee Ofman later became famous for composing the "Miami Dolphins No.1" football song in 1972. Ofman, currently a lawyer based in Franklin, Tennessee, studied at the University of Houston in 1968, the location of K.O. Records.¹²

K.O. Records PMI-102, 511 W. Alabama, Houston, Texas, 713/526 6397; "Young Bill Calley" (Lee Ofman), 3:15, LOSAC Music, BMI; Lee Ofman with Wayne Chaney & Friends; produced by Joe Ford & Lee Ofman. Red label. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley Anti-Government Pro-Soldier

Genre: ♪ Garage Rock

Also in: ▤ Garage Rock Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#46 Wayne Chaney Young Bill Calley 1971 · Single · K.O. # PMI-101 · USA

The song "Young Bill Calley" (K.O. Records # PMI-101) by Wayne Cheney had identical lyrics to the Lee Ofman track above - musically, this single was more uptempo, with a more garage rock feel. Released in Houston, Texas.

K.O. Records PMI-101, 511 W. Alabama, Houston, Texas, 713/526 6397; red label; "Young Bill Calley" (Lee Ofman), Losac Music, BMI, time 3:02; produced by Joe Ford & Wayne Chaney. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Soldier's Perspective Pro-Calley Pro-Soldier

Genre: ♪ Garage Rock

Also in: ▤ Garage Rock Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#47 Joe Watford Rally for Lt. Calley 1971 · Single · Rally for Lt. Calley / The Story of Ginny and Joe · Ginny & Joe # MW-222 · USA

A short spoken word narrative song, against a jazz background, called "Rally for Lt. Calley" , which said that the government and army had made Calley a scapegoat for all the killings in Vietnam. The narrator warned that the trial of Calley would make himself and citizens "afraid of doing our patriotic duty" as they might also end up a scapegoat. The narrator put significant emphasis on serving the country and patriotism, and solidarity with the soldier without any moral position. At the same time, the narrator strongly criticised the actions of the government and military. Composed by Joe Watford and released on the obscure private label Ginny & Joe (# MW-222).

Ginny & Joe MW-222, Side 1 (PRP-29121), 45 rpm, yellow label; "Rally for Lt. Calley" (Joe Watford); music by The Ltd's Combo. No running time is printed on the label. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley Calley-Order Calley-Scapegoat Anti-Government

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Jazz Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#48 Gene Marshall The Ballad of Lt. William Calley 1971 · Single · The Ballad of Lt. William Calley / America Is My Country · Preview # 1907 · USA

Gene Marshall (aka Gene Merlino & John Muir), born in San Francisco, California (and based in Hollywood), recorded over 10,000 song-poems - song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recoding companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee (around $200-400).¹ Hundreds of them dealt with political issues, including the Vietnam War.

The song "The Ballad of Lt. William Calley" (Preview Records # 1952) defended Calley and argued for a presidential pardon: "you deserve a pardon Lt. Calley" . Strangely, the lyrics also declared Calley to be fit for presidential office: "Calley would have been a splendid president" . Once again, this was a Calley song that did not make a political statement about the Vietnam War, although this song does have the feel of blind patriotism, backing the soldier no-matter-what. Marshall also released the records "The Story of William Calley" (Preview # 2139) and "The Battle of Mai Lai" (Preview # 2182).

Preview Records, 6311 Yucca, Hollywood, blue and silver label; 1907-1 "The Ballad of Lt. William Calley" (John Montague), 2:00; flip 1907-2 "America Is My Country" (John Montague), 2:31; both Arthur Music A.S.C.A.P. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Justice Nixon Song Poem

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#49 Gene Marshall The Ballad of Lt. William Calley 1971 · Single · The Ballad of Lt. William Calley / American Is My Country · Preview # 1952 · USA

- Song poem, traditional pop
- Hollywood, California
- Same title as above, but different lyrics

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Song Poem Pro-Calley Calley-Justice Pro-Soldier

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#50 Gene Marshall The Battle of Mai Lai 1971 · Single · The Battle of Mai Lai / Children · Preview # 2182 · USA

- "The Battle of Mai Lai"

- Label: Preview Records # 2182
- Songwriter: Don Whitmer

- Traditional pop
- My Lai Massacre - pro-Calley, followed order, scapegoat
- Led assault of the Vietcong, sent to Vietnam to fight for Vietnam
- Vicious death everywhere, Vietcong at night, Vietnamese by day (fog of war)
- Ordered to lead the charge and wipe My Lai from land
- Calley - hold your head up high, traitors told lies, you did what you were told
- If you killed civilians, they came from VC holes
- Sacrificial goat.
- It was an unfair trial, circus
- All your rifles were blazing, your men to defend, one GI is worth more than millions of Vietnamese (dangerous battle conditions)
- Reference to god, religion
- Ownership: vinyl

- Preview Records, 6311 Yucca, Hollywood; 2182-1; "The Battle of Mai Lai" (Don Whitmer), 2:45; Arthur Music A.S.C.A.P. Blue and silver label with spotlight and musical-note design. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order Calley-Danger Calley-Chaos

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#51 Henry Lewis Soldier's Prayer 1971 · Single · Soldier's Prayer / Living for Today (Hoping for Tomorrow) · LTD # 1001 · USA

- Soldier's Prayer (Lewis, Henry)
- Song poem?
- Traditional pop. Springfield, New Jersey, USA.
- Lt. Calley / My Lai type massacre described.
- Soldier's perspective. Potential song poem.
- Love my country, went to war to help people be free.
- But I was misled. I'm in front of a prosecutor - accused of killing 20 civilians.
- Captain said shoot to kill. I followed orders.

- LTD Records 1001 (1001), green label, 26 Millburn Ave., Springfield, N.J., (201) 467-1177 and (201) 661-2702; "Soldier's Prayer" (Hank Lewis), 3:02, Henry Prods. Ltd., B.M.I.; vocal arrangement by Jeff Bleeke. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Song Poem My Lai Pro-Calley Patriotic My Lai-Type Calley-Order

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#52 Johnny Campbell Behold the Voice of the People 1971 · Single · Behold the Voice of the People / Vietnam · Prestige Productions # PP71-127 · USA

Obscure traditional pop single, the song "Behold the Voice of the People" (Prestige Productions # PP71-127) by Johnny Campbell defended the actions of Calley. He recognised the killings that took place: "woman and children died" . However, the narrator thought that this "happened in every other war" , and that Calley had "carried out an order like a loyal soldier would" . While the narrator said that Calley "has done no wrong" , he then argued that "one man can't take the blame" - thus a contradiction, as the second phrase suggested that Calley had in fact done something wrong, but argued that he should not be a scapegoat and the only person held accountable for the atrocity. Campbell focused on the views of the public, who, according to the narrator, "cried loud and long" at the Calley verdict, and so demanded his freedom. Backing the soldier regardless of moral and ethical arguments, it displayed blind support and faith in the actions of the soldier.

Prestige Productions PP71-127, stereo, 45 RPM, red label, vocal; Side One (10439A): "Behold the Voice of the People" (J. Bowers – F. Winters), Johnny Campbell, 3:15; Side Two (10439B): "Viet Nam" (J. Bowers – F. Winters), Sid Linard, 1:41. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order Calley-Scapegoat Calley-Chaos Pro-Soldier

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#53 Carlyle Hughey The Voice From Beyond the Grave 1971 · Single · The Voice From Beyond the Grave / Mark in the Sand · Chart # 5127 · USA

In the song "The Voice From Beyond the Grave" (Chart Records # 5127), the narrator took on the perspective of the long-dead John Paul Jones, a US navy captain during the American revolution. The old, dead military leader expressed surprise at the treatment of Calley, who in the past would have been "a big hero" , receiving "a big parade" . The narrator then told the listener that in war "it's either you kill me pal, or I'll kill you" , and "that's the name of the game" . Therefore, this track backed-up Calley and excused the mass murder of civilians on the grounds that sometimes indiscriminate killings took place during war time. The narrator also might be implying that in the fog of war (i.e. uncertainty of battle), and with the threat of death, killings took place, and that civilian society "ain't got no right in casting judgement" on the justification, or proportionality of the deaths - kill first, to be safe. This single came out of Nashville, Tennessee, with the spoken-word narration backed by a traditional country tune. Produced by Slim Williamson.

Green-and-yellow Chart label, CH-5127 (CH-1071), stereo, "806 16th Ave., S., Nashville, Tennessee 37203"; "The Voice From Beyond the Grave" (Jack Tullas & Billy Smith), Sixteenth Avenue Music—BMI, time 2:15; produced by Slim Williamson. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Pro-Calley Pro-Soldier

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#54 Bill Bailey Indictment of a Nation 1971 · Single · Indictment of a Nation / My Friend A Man · Westpark # 6980 · USA

Credited on the record as Bill Bailey and the Paul Butts Assembly.

Out of Houston, Texas, came the song "Indictment of the Nation" (Westpark Records # 6980), which protested against the conviction of Lt. William Calley. Bill Bailey, born Milton Odom Stanley, was a constable from Harris County, Texas, in the United States. He took up radio broadcasting soon after high school in 1957, and hosted programs on major Houston radio stations. The Texas Senate paid tribute to him in 2005.¹

The spoken-word track argued that Calley did his duty, even though "he didn't like the win-less war" - interesting that by 1971 the 'win-less war' view was becoming more widespread, even in the largely pro-government country music genre. The narrator argued that Calley should not shoulder the blame for the atrocities committed, strongly criticising the role of politicians who sent men to war: "while politicians laughed and talked the soldier took a stand" . And therefore, he concluded: "indict the nation, we all must share the shame" - so the track did not dismiss the unlawful killings, but excused the role of the soldier. Also note the disapproval of the anti-war movement and draft dodgers: "Bill Calley didn't wait around, dodge, and protest" . Once again, this song did not neatly fit into the "patriotic" or "anti-war" camp, although it did have a strong anti-protest message, and blind support for the soldier.

The distribution company, Rack Jobbers, ran a full page advert in Billboard on 17 April 1971, that sought to drum up sales and highlight the record's newsworthy theme, claiming that "it is the record most in touch with the current national mood". It said: "Important Notice: First, it is not customary for us to run simple, plain-type ads, but due to the urgency of this message we have no choice. Last week, immediately following the Calley conviction verdict, a group of concerned citizens wrote "Indictment of a Nation". In it they expressed their opinion that the United States of America shares in the shame. Westpark Records released "Indictment of a Nation" by Bill Bailey April 7, 1971. The response was immediate and phenomenal. Heavy airplay, major markets. Sales action approaches the unbelievable. Westpark Record # 6980, "Indictment of a Nation" is the most timely and current record. It is the record most in touch with the current national mood. If you have not yet received shipment, you may expect it immediately as our presses are running 24 hours to meet the demand".²

Westpark Records 6980, black "D. J. Copy" label; "Indictment of a Nation" (B. Bailey-R. Dobbyn-A. Yancey), Soundville Music (BMI), 3:15; Bill Bailey and the Paul Butts Assembly, produced by Eddie Kilroy; "A Division of Jimmy Duncan Productions, Inc." [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (20 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Draft Dodger Anti-Protest Pro-Calley Anti-Government Calley-Order

Genre: ♪ Narration

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#55 Jimy Sims Ode to Vietnam 1971 · Single · Ode to Vietnam / Big Ole Teardrops · Music by Mark # 1-2003 · USA

Ode to Vietnam (Sims, Jimy)

- Country. Longview, Texas, USA. My Lai / Calley. Patriotic, anti-war.
- 'I won't go to Vietnam' - people say, Uncle Sam will put them in prison.
- Then Calley follows orders at My Lai, he is in prison.
- So who is the enemy? VC women and children carry guns
- Set Calley free and stop the war in Vietnam

- Music by Mark 1-2003, 45 RPM, side 1003 B, dark-blue label, Longview, Texas, Copyright 1971; "Ode to Vietnam", words and music by R. Rouse, 2:00, BMI. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (19 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-Protest Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley VC Anti-War

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#56 Ronnie Thompson Rusty the Soldier (Part 1) 1971 · Single · Rusty the Soldier (Part 1) / Rusty the Soldier (Part 2) · Boblo # 310 · USA

- Rusty the Soldier (Thompson, Ronnie)

- My Lai / Lt. Calley, defends Calley, country
- It's a no win war, in Vietnam for you and for me.
- Followed order, My Lai to take.
- Vietcong everywhere, set Calley free.
- Media have tarnished his name
- He's a scapegoat.

- Record World, 1 May 1971, by Lee Barry.

An original tune written on a big silver bird winging its way to a White House meeting with President Richard Nixon...that's the story of the latest composition from Macon's budding tunesmith Ronnie Thompson. After a 40-minute visit with imprisoned Army Lt. William Calley, Macon Mayor Ronnie Thompson became so overwhelmed with Calley's situation that he felt inspired to write a song about his friend, "Rusty the Soldier." The Mayor, a longtime friend of the Georgia recording industry, has just completed recording the tune with Bobby Smith in the big swivel producer's chair at the Starday-King studio.

In an interview prior to his recording session, Thompson asserted that he intended to donate all proceeds from the Federal label release to "Rusty's" defense fund. Present plans call for His Honor to personally deliver the first copy of "Rusty the Soldier" to Lt. Calley. By the way, Thompson had an army backing his session instrumentally in the rackin' person of Cold Water Army. Quite appropriately a "coming soon" LP from Cold Water Army is entitled "Peace!".

- Record World announced a Federal release; the record appeared on Boblo 310 (Bobby Smith Productions, Macon), dated 1973. Boblo Records 310 A/B, cream label, matrix 1459-45-310-A/B; "Rusty the Soldier (Part 1)", 3:11, and "Rusty the Soldier (Part 2)", 2:14, both (Ronnie Thompson), Jupace Music (BMI); produced by Bobby Smith; Bobby Smith Productions, 3035 Millerfield Rd., Macon, Ga. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order Calley-Scapegoat Calley-Danger

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Gospel

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#57 Ronnie Thompson Rusty the Soldier (Part 2) 1971 · Single · Rusty the Soldier (Part 1) / Rusty the Soldier (Part 2) · Boblo # 310 · USA

Annotation: see “Rusty the Soldier (Part 1)” above (same release).

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order Calley-Scapegoat Calley-Danger

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Gospel

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#58 John D. Loudermilk Lord Have Mercy 1971 · Single · Lord Have Mercy / When I Was Nine · Warner Bros. # 7489 · USA

- Lord Have Mercy (Loudermilk, John D.)

- Folk rock, protest against govt., patriotic.
- Born Durham, North Carolina, USA. Died Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
- War heroes in prison (reference to My Lai and Calley?)
- Cold War reference - moon race and aliens.

- Warner Bros. Records 7489 (PTN0025), white promotional label, "Promotion — Not for Sale"; "Lord Have Mercy" (John D. Loudermilk), Acuff-Rose Pub. - BMI, 2:56, intro :07; produced by Don Gant; "Warner Bros. Records Inc., a subsidiary and licensee of Warner Bros. Inc.", made in U.S.A. Issued in a green Warner Bros. company sleeve. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic Cold War Russia Demonstration Space Race My Lai

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#59 Dale Neal The Story of Lt. Calley as Sung for Gov. Wallace 1971 · Single · The Story of Lt. Calley as Sung for Gov. Wallace / Calley Was on the Ball · Globe [Smithville] · USA

- Country
- Smithville, Tennessee.
- Calley, My Lai massacre, Gov. George Wallace

- No catalogue number printed; only pressing-plant numbers PRP-28271/28272. Published by Smart-Brown Pub. Co. B-side "Calley Was on the Ball" (2:51) also by Robert Gunter. Location is the Globe label's (210 E. Broad, Smithville, TN).

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Wallace Pro-Calley Saigon VC

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#60 Chuck Newton Ode to Lt. Calley 1971 · Single · Aster # NR-1285 · USA

Credited on the record as Chuck Newton With The 36.

- Military march / fanfare, Pro-Calley, patriotic
- He answered call to Vietnam for you and me
- Was it different to WW2, we dropped bomb on innocent?
- Free Calley

- Billed "Chuck Newton With The 36" on the label. Spoken word over "America the Beautiful". Promo with the same side both ways; the label copy prints "Jim Baker". Mastered at Nashville Record Productions. Aster NR-1285, D.J. copy, white label with orange star-strip logo; "Ode to Lt. Calley", 3:07, with "Jim Baker" printed beneath the title; produced by Creative Production Co.; directed by Larry Hartgrove; the BMI credit is blacked out on the label; billed Chuck Newton with The "36". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley WW2 Atomic Pro-Soldier

Genres: ♪ FanfareSpoken Word

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#61 Ivan Lee The Cry of My Lai 1971 · Single · The Cry of My Lai / It Makes No Difference · Standard # GS-310 · USA

The traditional country song "The Cry of My Lai" (Gold Standard Records # GS-310) - one of the few songs that condemns the massacre, with the narrator telling Calley that "the devil possesses your soul" , against the background sound-effect of an infant crying. He asked: "hey lieutenant, can you still hear the small babies cry?" . He also wondered if Calley had acted as if in a childhood game: "did the frightened child remind you of a smiling boy, who plays war at home and the gun is only a toy" . Released in Nashville, Tennessee, written by Johnny Adams and Ivan Meece.

Standard Records, "Record Row", Nashville, Tenn.; Record Number GS-310-A, gold label with shield logo; "The Cry of 'My Lai'" (Johnny Adams & Ivan Meece), sung by Ivan Lee, 2:50, Junellin Music Co., BMI. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-War Anti-Calley

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#62 Sylvia Robinson Lieutenant (Had Any Lately?) 1971 · Single · "Lieutenant" (Had Any Lately?) · Stang # ST-5027 · USA

Credited on the record as Mother of Three.

The soulful track "Lieutenant (Had Any Lately?)" (Stang Records # ST-5027), out of New Jersey, took an anti-war line and condemned Calley - one of the few to do so. This record is performed by Sylvia Robinson. A year earlier she released the single "Have You Had Any Lately" (Stang # 5015) - the same melody and with almost identical lyrics, without the Calley references, written by Robinson.¹ Robinson did in fact have three children.² The song later appeared on the 1973 album Pillow Talk (Vibration Records # VI-126). The structure of the verses, formed by repeating questions ('how long' and 'how many') took a similarly effective approach to Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" - the narrator wanted to know "how many children did you kill" and "how much...of their blood did you spill" . She declared that Calley's actions made him "inhuman" and "not fit for society" , thus taking a strong moral position, in opposition to the war and the indiscriminate killings by a soldier despite orders.

Stang Records, "a div. of All Platinum Enterprises", ST-5027-A (ST-12011-GM-RE), 45 rpm; "'Lieutenant' (Had Any Lately?)" (Mother), 2:58, published by Gambi Music (BMI); credited to "Mother Of Three"; "Produced by: Mother". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-War Anti-Calley

Genre: ♪ Rock

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#63 Pete Seeger Last Train to Nuremberg 1971 · Single · My Rainbow Race / Last Train to Nuremberg · Columbia # 4-45398 · USA

Seeger's 1971 anti-war song "Last Train to Nuremberg" (Columbia Records # 4-45398) condemned the My Lai massacre and pointed the finger at several layers of society that had "blood upon" their "hands" . Nuremberg referred to the location of the criminal trials that took place after the Second World War. Therefore, in the lyrics, Seeger imagined those responsible for the My Lai atrocities to be together on a train, to face justice for their crimes. Firstly, it named two of the soldiers involved - the well-known William Calley, and Captain Medina (a commanding officer of the platoon in question - is this the only song to mention him)? He faced court-martial for war crimes, but was acquitted in 1971.¹ Seeger then moved on to the politicians, referring to Richard Nixon and "both houses of Congress" - wanting to know "who gave the orders?" and "planned the campaign" (which could have meant either the politicians or the military establishment). Seeger then turned his attention to the military-industrial complex, asking the question: "who manufactured the bullet" . Finally, Seeger took his analysis a step further, pointing the finger at all Americans, singing: "do I see the voters, me and you...who paid the taxes? Tell me, is that blood upon my hands?" . It featured as the opening track on the 1971 album Rainbow Race (Columbia # C 30739). The lyrics and notations appeared in Broadside magazine, # 104, January 1970.

Columbia 4-45398 (JZSS 154256), turquoise promotional label marked "Not for resale" and "Radio station copy", 45 RPM, stereo; "Last Train to Nuremberg" (P. Seeger), intro :10, 2:40, publisher Sanga Music, Inc. (BMI); produced by Bob Johnston. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley Medina Samuel Koster Nixon

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Pete Seeger Songs

#64 Pete Seeger Everybody Has the Right to Live 1971 · Unreleased · Unreleased · Not On Label · USA

The song "Everybody Has the Right to Live" - originally by Rev. Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, on the 1968 album Everybody's Got a Right to Live (which featured several references to the Vietnam War) - was updated in 1971.

In the May/June 1971 edition of Broadside Magazine, Pete Seeger wrote a letter, with rewritten lyrics, referencing the My Lai massacre: "can't you hear the women and children over in My Lai, Lt. Wm Calley, why do we have to die?" . Seeger's letter said: "Dear Sis and Gordon: There was much music in D.C. May 1-5 as well as April 24. Enclosed are some of the new verses Rev. Kirkpatrick and I made up for 'Everyone Has the Right to Live'."¹"Sis and Gordon" referred to Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen - who founded the mimeographed publication Broadside, in 1962, to promote contemporary folk and protest songs. It also had a music label: Broadside Records. It usually published both lyrics and notations of songs, as well as articles and interviews about folk music, and newspaper clippings of current events. While many of the songs would have been played at the folk clubs and festivals, not all of the artist recorded the songs.

Updated lyrics for the My Lai massacre published in Broadside Magazine #113, unrecorded

Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Pete Seeger Songs

#65 The Anonymous Soldier The Coward (?) of My Lai 1971 · Single · Produced For Peace # PC-101 · USA

- Coward of My Lai (Anonymous Soldier, The)
- Billboard 5 June 1971
- song
- Peace, anti-war, anti-Calley
- Psychedelic Rock
- Noted on record: "Produced for Peace. Artist Royalties from this record are payable to The Southeastn Fund for World Peace"
- Unknown artist, unknown location

- PC-101, "Produced For Peace (Artist Royalties from this record payable to The Southeastern Fund for World Peace)", cream label with peace symbol; "The Coward (?) of My Lai" (Lewis-Cason), Buzz Cason Publications, Inc., ASCAP, recorded at Creative Workshop; credited "Another Side of the Story by The Anonymous Soldier". Issued with both a mono label (time 3:06) and a stereo label (time 3:17). [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ PsychedeliaPsychedelic Rock

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#66 Abbie Hoffman Texas Tweezers 1971 · Album · Wake Up America! · Big Toe # Big Toe 1 · USA

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" .

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]

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ FolkSpoken WordContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] ▤ Spoken Word & Field Records

#67 Asylum Choir Ballad for a Soldier 1971 · Album · Asylum Choir II · Shelter # SW-8910 · USA

Asylum Choir - featuring Leon Russell (keyboards) and Marc Benno (guitar) - released the track "Ballad for a Soldier" (Shelter Records # SW-8910), which drew comparisons between the idea of being a war hero as seen in films and the actual reality of warfare. It did not mention Calley or My Lai directly, but, the narrator (in the Calley role), told the listener that he did not know "how many babies I had killed that night" , until he saw the "color photographs inside of a magazine" - a clear reference to the Ronald L. Haeberle photographs, originally published in black & white in the Plain Dealer on 20 November 1969, and a couple weeks later, in Life Magazine, which printed them in colour, on 5 December 1969. Overall this track took an anti-war position, criticising the actions of Calley.

Shelter Records SW-8910 (SW 2-8910), stereo, orange label, "Distributed by Capitol Records, Inc."; label credits "The Asylum Choir", cover credits "Leon Russell & Marc Benno"; "Ballad for a Soldier" (Leon Russell), 4:24, side 2 track 4, all selections BMI.

Back cover: produced by Leon Russell & Marc Benno, April 1969; recorded at Skyhill Studios, Los Angeles; "Hello, Little Friend" Cordell-Russell Music Co., all other songs Skyhill Publishing Co., Inc. (BMI); cover illustration Gagliano, liner photograph Carl Radle, photographics Ed Caraeff, design Wayne Kimbell; Shelter Recording Co. Inc., 5112 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles.

The front cover is a pale airbrushed double portrait of the two musicians; the back shows them at the studio mixing desk. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Protest Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#68 Slumstormerne Hvordan er dine drømme, Nixon? 1971 · Album · Det kan blive bedre kammerat · Demos # Demos 4 · Denmark

Danish political / musical collective, formed in 1971. The name of the group, Slumstormerne, is taken from the term used to describe those who occupied empty and condemned properties from the 1960s to the early 1970s in Denmark.¹² This album contained the song "Hvordan er dine drømme, Nixon?" ( "How Are Your Dreams, Nixon?" ) (Demos # Demos 4), which took an anti-war perspective, condemning the actions of the US president Richard Nixon. The opening line references the My Lai Massacre: "do they mark the stench of corpses from Mai Lai" .

"How Are Your Dreams, Nixon?" Opening line references the corpses of My Lai. Collective writing credit.

Show full lyrics (21 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War Nixon My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ RockPolitical Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#69 Gisela May & Orchestra Henry Krtschil So nah ist dieses Land 1971 · Compilation · ETERNA # 8 15 063 · Germany

Credited on the record as Gisela May, Orchester Henry Krtschil.

- GDR, East German various artists compilation
- Europe
- Gisela May - "Die USA-Kompanie von Son My"
- Anti-war, anti-Calley
- Song also featured on Schützt diese Welt - Lieder und Chansons

- Also on 1971 compilation "Schützt diese Welt - Lieder und Chansons" [NOVA / 8 85 009] ETERNA 8 15 063, stereo, AWA, VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin DDR; black ETERNA labels. Various East German performers (Gisela May, Gerry Wolff, Horst Schulze, Angelica Domröse); unless otherwise noted, arrangements by Gerd Natschinski, accompanied by the Orchester Gerd Natschinski.

Credits on the back: "So nah ist dieses Land" (Komposition und Arrangement: Wolfram Heicking; Text: Hans Krause), Gisela May with Orchester Henry Krtschil; "Wenn dieser Morgen kommt" (Komposition und Text: Dieter Süverkrüp; Arrangement: Henry Krtschil), Gisela May und das Ensemble Henry Krtschil; "Vier Studenten aus Kent" (Komposition und Arrangement: Manfred Schmitz; Text: Chris Hornbogen), Gisela May with Orchester Henry Krtschil; "Die USA-Kompanie von Son My" (Komposition und musikalische Einrichtung: Paul Dessau; Text: Horst Heitzenröther), Gisela May with Walter Olbertz, piano, and Wolfgang Preissler, drums.

Other Vietnam songs include "Dschungellied", "Saigoner Kinder" (Malvina Reynolds), "Mekong-Ballade", "Vietnamesisches Liebeslied" and "Reisbauern, Kämpfer, Genossen". Design by Rudolf Grüttner; cover photo by Thomas Billhardt of a Vietnamese mother in a conical hat holding a small boy.

Sleeve print code "Ag 511/01/72"; price 12.10 M. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Theme: Anti-War

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Kent / Jackson State Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#70–75 South Viet Nam Liberation Radio Orchestra Airs de Vọng Cổ 1971 · Album · Dihavina # 7103 · Vietnam

All 6 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

- "Sơn Mỹ crie vengeance"
- Vietnamese song

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#76 Birth Control The Work Is Done 1971 · Album · Operation · Ohr # OMM 56015 · Germany

Birth Control, a German progressive rock band formed in 1968 in West Berlin, released the song "The Work Is Done" narrated in the first person, which focused on the indiscriminate killing of a child in Vietnam: "I just killed a child, you know down in Vietnam" . Due to the theme and time period, this may have been influenced by the My Lai massacre, although it is not mentioned and no further information is known on the specific inspiration for the song.

Show full lyrics (23 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War Soldier's Perspective Civilian Casualties My Lai-Type

Genres: ♪ RockHard Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#77 Dale Neal Calley Was on the Ball 1971 · Single · The Story of Lt. Calley as Sung for Gov. Wallace / Calley Was on the Ball · Globe [Smithville] · USA

B-side of the Globe 45 (A-side "The Story of Lt. Calley as Sung for Gov. Wallace"). Written by Robert Gunter; no catalogue number printed (pressing-plant numbers PRP-28271/28272 only). Location is the Globe label's (Smithville, TN).

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Nixon Calley-Chaos Japan

Genre: ♪ Country

Also in: ▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#78 Det kan blive bedre kammerat Hvordan er dine drømme, Nixon? [How Are Your Dreams, Nixon?] 1971 · Album · Slumstormerne · Demos # Dem 4 · Denmark

The name of the group, Slumstormerne, is taken from the term used to describe those who occupied empty and condemned properties from the 1960s to the early 1970s in Denmark.

Themes: Anti-War Nixon My Lai Anti-Calley

Genre: ♪ Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#79 Gene Marshall The Story of William Calley 1971 · Single · The Story of William Calley / President Richard Nixon · Preview # 2139 · USA

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Nixon Song Poem Pro-Calley Anti-Communism

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#80 Gisela May Die USA-Kompanie von Son My 1971 · Compilation · So nah ist dieses Land · ETERNA # 8 15 063 · Germany

Credited on the record as Gisela May, Walter Olbertz (Klavier), Wolfgang Preissler (Schlagzeug).

Also on 1971 compilation "Schützt diese Welt - Lieder und Chansons" [NOVA / 8 85 009] ETERNA 8 15 063, stereo, AWA, VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin DDR; black ETERNA labels. Various East German performers (Gisela May, Gerry Wolff, Horst Schulze, Angelica Domröse); unless otherwise noted, arrangements by Gerd Natschinski, accompanied by the Orchester Gerd Natschinski.

Credits on the back: "So nah ist dieses Land" (Komposition und Arrangement: Wolfram Heicking; Text: Hans Krause), Gisela May with Orchester Henry Krtschil; "Wenn dieser Morgen kommt" (Komposition und Text: Dieter Süverkrüp; Arrangement: Henry Krtschil), Gisela May und das Ensemble Henry Krtschil; "Vier Studenten aus Kent" (Komposition und Arrangement: Manfred Schmitz; Text: Chris Hornbogen), Gisela May with Orchester Henry Krtschil; "Die USA-Kompanie von Son My" (Komposition und musikalische Einrichtung: Paul Dessau; Text: Horst Heitzenröther), Gisela May with Walter Olbertz, piano, and Wolfgang Preissler, drums.

Other Vietnam songs include "Dschungellied", "Saigoner Kinder" (Malvina Reynolds), "Mekong-Ballade", "Vietnamesisches Liebeslied" and "Reisbauern, Kämpfer, Genossen". Design by Rudolf Grüttner; cover photo by Thomas Billhardt of a Vietnamese mother in a conical hat holding a small boy.

Sleeve print code "Ag 511/01/72"; price 12.10 M. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#81 Gisela May Die USA-Kompanie von Son My 1971 · Compilation · Schützt diese Welt - Lieder und Chansons · NOVA # 8 85 009 · Germany

Credited on the record as Various Artists.

NOVA 8 85 009 (VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin), stereo LP, 1971 (Ag 511/01/71); Musikregie Dagmar Vorwerk; sleeve essay by Helge Jung (1971); design Gerd Semder, photo H. Hoffmann; full lyrics printed on the inner sleeve.

Also on the LP: "Willst du, daß wir weinen" (Asriel/Kahlau, Gisela May) — the 1967 Kämpfendes Vietnam song. Walter Olbertz, piano; Wolfgang Preissler, percussion. A recitative setting of a television interview with the My Lai company. GDR compilation of political songs/chansons. Design Gerd Semder; Tonregie Eberhard Richter, Horst Kunze; Musikregie Dagmar Vorwerk. Print code Ag 511/01/71; retail 10.10 M; printed VEB Gotha-Druck; rights AWA. My Lai (Son My) massacre.

Track B1 of the compilation. Song about the US company at Son My (My Lai), from the GDR compilation Schützt diese Welt - Lieder und Chansons. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Civilian Casualties Anti-War Anti-American Anti-Soldier

Genres: ♪ CabaretKabarett

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Kent / Jackson State Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#82–85 Denny Guy Denny Guy 1972 · Album · Daybreak # DR 2008 · USA

All 4 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

The song "My Lai Lad" (Daybreak Records # DR 2008) displayed sympathy with Calley, portraying him as a scapegoat, which somewhat conflicts with other songs on the album, which largely promoted peace. Denny Guy, a singer/songwriter born in Nebraska, based his career in Hawaii. This debut album received some coverage in Billboard, which wrote on 26 February 1972: "a strong bid for radio and chart action in this his album debut...Guy has the sound that could easily catch on the first time out".¹ However, this album failed to chart, and this appears to also be his last album. Audio magazine also reviewed the album, and praised the political material: "highlights are an anti-war treatise, Marching Song and a pro-humanity, anti-scapegoat piece, My Lai Lad".² The song "Trouble Maker" also commented on the war, demonstrations, and the counter-culture, while the final album track, "Country Ballad" , commented that "the war has ended in Vietnam, we're bringing our boys back home" .

Back to the My Lai song, the narrator presented Calley as a scapegoat for "the politician man" , whom had "put a gun into his hand" . Like many other songs, it compared him to the story of Jesus: "they're trying to crucify" . Instead, the narrator believed that "the whole world is to blame" . It contained several religious, Christian references. A strange mix of anti-war sentiment, with patriotic, pro-soldier content, it perhaps provided a representation of those in 1972 who did not have a strong role in the protest movement, but could see that the war was winding down. Yet the blind defence of Calley seemed to contradict with the narrator's Christian / religious sentiment found throughout the record.

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#86 Mason Proffit Were You There 1972 · Album · Rockfish Crossing · Warner Bros. # BS 2657 · USA

The country rock band Mason Proffit formed in 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana, led by The Talbot Brothers - John Michael Talbot and Terry Talbot. While their two previous records made the charts, this one failed commercially. The song "Were You There" (Warner Bros. Records # BS 2657) contained socially conscience lyrics, running through several injustices throughout history - from slavery, to the Holocaust: "you cried when Hitler killed the Jews" . It then moved to Vietnam, posing the question "were you there at My Lai?" , and then entering into a plea for people to protest: "come all of you, it's time to take a stand" .

Themes: Anti-War My Lai

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Rock

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#87 Yoko Ono Now or Never 1972 · Single · Now or Never / Move on Fast · Apple # 1853 · USA

The picture sleeve of the single "Now or Never" (Apple Records # 1853) featured a photo of the well-known and horrific photo of the My Lai massacre, taken by the US army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle, which must be one the most graphic images to appear on a Vietnam War single / album (it is also seen on Pete Hamill's Massacre at My Lai).¹² Released in 1972 by Yoko Ono, a Japanese born artist who lived in New York, she married John Lennon (1969-1980), performing with him in the groups Plastic Ono Band and John Lennon & Yoko Ono. The lyrics revolved around a series of questions, beginning with "are we gonna keep" , and with each verse ending with "people of America, when will we stop?" . The second verse below drew attention to Uncle Sam "sending our youths to war" . She also observed the "scaring of rice fields and infants" , and "watching dead bodies over dinner" (on TV or in the papers), presumably referring to My Lai and the Vietnam conflict.

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ Singer SongwriterContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#88 Clive Brandy Sam, You Made the War Too Long 1972 · Single · Suffer the Children / Sam, You Made the War Too Long · Polydor # 2079 014 · Australia

The song "Sam, You Made the War Too Long" (Polydor # 2079 014) - adult contemporary / easy listening, Australian, anti-war song, referencing the My Lai Massacre and Kent State shooting. The narrator said the US had it all after World War II, strong dollar etc. But got stuck in Asia, then Kent State at home, and the My Lai massacre in Vietnam.

B-side (A-side "Suffer the Children"). Label: written by Garrick, produced and arranged by Sandy Garrick; publisher Mountain Music; (P) 1972; distributed by Phonogram Recordings Pty Limited, made in Australia. Polydor 2079 014 (side 2079 014 B), 45 R.P.M., red label; "Sam, You Made the War Too Long" (Garrick), 2:42, Mountain Music; produced and arranged by Sandy Garrick; ℗ 1972; distributed by Phonogram Recordings Pty Limited, made in Australia. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Kent State WW2 ANZUS

Genre: ♪ Easy Listening

Also in: ▤ Australian & New Zealand Songs▤ Kent / Jackson State Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#89 Eva Kostolányiová Pieseň o Vietname 1972 · Single · Angela / Uspávanka matky z My Lai · Opus [Bratislava] # 90 33 0053 · Slovakia

Eva Kostolányiová, a Slovak singer, dancer, actor, born on 02 November 1942 in Trnava Region, "Slovak Republic" (1939 - 1945) (then occupied by Nazi Germany, thus a satellite state), and died on 03 October 1975, in Bratislava, former Czechoslovakia - both these location are now in the contemporary country Slovakia.¹²³ She started her career at v Slovenskom ľudovom umeleckom kolektíve–SĽUKu (The Slovak Folk Art Collective or SĽUK).⁴ This is a split release single, with three different artists. Kostolányiová recorded two of the songs, both of which dealt with the Vietnam War. The song "Pieseň o Vietname" (Opus # 90 33 0053) looked at the personal impact of the war: "voice of bombs... children dream of peace" , while other "talk about the law to whom belongs Vietnam" . The other song "Uspávanka matky z My Lai" focused on the My Lai Massacre. This took an interesting approach, with the narrator comparing their situation to those in My Lai: "my baby is already sleeping... My Lai are silent... hard to forget tonight" .

Show full lyrics (67 lines) ▾

Theme: Anti-War

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#90 The Covered Wagon Musicians The Rodeway Nine 1972 · Album · We Say No to Your War! · Paredon # P-1015 · USA

A "GI movement" anti-war record (Paredon Records # P-1015), 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". All the songs on this album were written and sung by active-duty GIs at the Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The group, formed in the spring of 1971, started their own publication called "Helping Hand".¹

The song "The Rodeway Nine" referenced the My Lai Massacre, Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), and General Westmoreland. Composed by Mark Lane and Jim Shaffer, the record booklet said the following about this song: "outside the Rodeway Inn where the Boise Chamber of Commerce were honoring General Westmoreland in August in 1971. Nine Covered Wagon members were arrested for 'disturbing the peace' and three others with 'interfering with the police'. This song played an important part in the state-wide campaign to win an acquittal for them. After the charges were finally dropped, some of the defendants filed charges against the policy on behalf of the Covered Wagon". So in the lyrics a group of Vietnam veterans confront Westmoreland - commander of US forces in Vietnam, 1964-1968 - holding him responsible for the massacre: "we pointed to the general, take him before others die, he was in charge of Johnson's My Lai" .

Paredon P-1015; the front cover reads "Songs written and sung by the Covered Wagon Musicians, active-duty Air Force people, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho" over a photograph of marchers in the desert carrying banners reading "We are taking the GI out of genocide" and "Bring 'em home" (the booklet states the cover photo was taken during the forty-mile march from Mountain Home AFB to Boise in August 1971, on the anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

The 16-page booklet lists the members alphabetically (A1C John Carson, A1C Dave Davis, Sgt. Tom Derreck, Sgt. Patrick Henry, A1C George Herkert, A1C Al Kramer, A1C Joe Massaro, Carolyn Mugar, Vic Pacania, Airman Penny Rand, A1C Jim Schaffer, A1C Tom Spaulding) and opens with an introduction calling it the first GI anti-war project to produce its own record, urging listeners to write to the group and subscribe to its paper, The Helping Hand, Box 729, Mountain Home, Idaho 83647.

"The Covered Wagon: Finding the Power to Affect Our Destinies", notes by Mark Lane, recounts the founding of the Covered Wagon GI project and coffeehouse in spring 1971, the burning of the first coffeehouse in November 1971, the arrest of nine members outside the Rodeway Inn in Boise at a dinner honouring General William Westmoreland in August 1971, the group's conscientious-objector counselling (68 honourable C.O. discharges in a year), and profiles of members including Tom Spalding, Steve Hawkins, Tom Mason, Jim Schaffer, Steve Miller, Gary Aker, Tom Tierney, Penny Rand and John O'Connor.

Each song is printed with full lyrics, credits, time and a short introduction; photographs show the Helping Hand committee, the "March Against Genocide", Moratorium Day banners at the 391st TAC Fighter Wing barracks on October 13, 1971, and the original Covered Wagon coffeehouse with a GI-painted copy of Picasso's "Guernica".

Recorded at the Covered Wagon; mixing and re-engineering by Jonathan Thayer, A-1 Sound Studio; booklet edited by Barbara Dane; photographs by Carolyn Mugar and Covered Wagon; booklet production by Collective Graphics Workshop; printing by Faculty Press; production supervised by Barbara Dane. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-War My Lai LBJ Westmoreland Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ CountryContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#91 Gore Vidal A Foot in the Mouth Trilogy: Mai Lai / Kent State / Manson 1972 · Album · An Evening With Richard Nixon · Ode # SP-77015 · USA

Original cast recording of Vidal's play (Shubert Theatre, 30 April-13 May 1972), Nixon played by George S. Irving; cast includes Susan Sarandon. Segment timings: Mai Lai 2:00 / Kent State 2:37 / Manson 2:01. "Mai Lai" spelling as printed.

Themes: My Lai Kent State Nixon Satire LGBTQ+

Genre: ♪ Spoken Word

Also in: ▤ Kent / Jackson State Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#92 Captain Foam Will There Ever Be a Time 1972 · Single · No Reason / Will There Ever Be a Time? · Bold [Massillon] # 377 / 358 · USA

The song "Will There Ever Be a Time?" (Bold Records # 377 / 358), released in 1972 by Captain Foam, an obscure psychedelic folk group, based in Ohio, took a general anti-war position, while referencing the My Lai massacre. Written and sung by Richard Bertram, produced by Nick Boldi, and engineered by Gary Rhamy, the song was recorded in Peppermint Productions Studios, in Youngstown, Ohio.¹ Firstly, it expressed opposition to war, counting the dead, and questioning why they had to "see them fall" . The narrator accused presidents of "trying to play god" . He then called for the "money that they spend to build the guns and bombs" , to be redirected towards clearing the "world of hunger" , which would contribute towards "peace and equality" . Then onto the subject of Calley and the massacre, the narrator argued that the "guns of...My Lai" represented a "curse upon the world" . Note the reference to the "end of the world" - the type of language found in Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction", and typical of songs about the Cold War and fears of nuclear annihilation.

Bold 377 (A) / 358 (B); runouts #1140-BR-359A / 359B. Produced by Nick R. Boldi for NRB Productions; engineer Gary Rhamy; recorded at Peppermint Productions (Youngstown, Ohio); published by Bolnic Music. On the 45 Bertram was joined by his brother Vince and drummer Mike McFadden. Date: Discogs 1972; Buckeye Beat gives 1971 (recorded c. 1970-71).

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ FolkPsychedelic Folk

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#93 Pete Atkin All the Dead Were Strangers 1973 · Album · A King at Nightfall · Philips # 6308070 · UK

Pete Atkin, a British singer/songwriter, performed the song "All the Dead Were Strangers" (RCA Victor # SF8336), written by Clive James, which provided an account of US soldiers in conversation after taking part in a massacre at a Vietnamese village, a reference to the My Lai killings. The soldiers brutally and graphically observed that "just lying there were ladies so old they hardly bled, thin kids who never needed a red hole in the head" . The soldiers found some comfort ( "helps you to remember or forget" ), that those killed were strangers, while they "were all in this together, we were friends" . As a helicopter took the soldiers away, and torched the village, the narrator cried out "why bother all the dead?" It took an anti-war position, by its brutal depiction of the massacre and its impact on the perpetrators. Atkin also released a Vietnam track in 1971 - Driving Through Mythical America, about the Kent State shootings.¹²

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-War Soldier's Perspective Anti-Calley

Genre: ♪ Singer Songwriter

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#94 Marie Rottrová Květy od My-lai 1973 · Single · Perpetuum mobile / Květy od My-lai · Supraphon # 0 43 1445 · Czech Republic

Czech artist Marie Rottrová, born 13 November 1941 in Ostrava - Hrušov, then part of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945), under Nazi German occupation. It subsequently became part of Czechoslovakia. Rottrová is currently based in Prague, Czech Republic. She released the song "Květy od My-lai" ( "Flowers From My Lai" ) (Supraphon # 0 43 1445) about the My Lai Massacre. This one used poetic language to describe hearing the news of the massacre: "tell me why the telegraph bring me sad news... where the sun went to sleep... it doesn't shine this morning" . Transciption provided by Stanislava Sebkova¹

Supraphon 0 43 1445 h, 45 rpm, matrix D 04856, ℗ 1972, OSA; "Květy od My-lai" (R. Kovalčík/V. Čort), Marie Rottrová with Flamingo, "Produkce F. Řebíček"; label rim reads "Made in Czechoslovakia" with the Czech rights-reserved notice.

The picture sleeve front, headed "marie rottrová" in green on purple, lists "Perpetuum mobile" and "Květy od My-lai" over a colour photograph of the singer, long dark hair and patterned scarf, standing between tree trunks; the back shows her leaning against a tree in a dark top and red brocade waistcoat, credited "cover © stanislav dvorský – photography © jaroslav kubec 1971". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (89 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#95 David Frye Dick Nixon's Solid Gold 1973 · Single · Nixon Meets the Godfather / Dick Nixon's Solid Gold · Buddah # DUAL 45 · USA

- Comedy, excerpt from 1973 album Richard Nixon: A Fantasy
- B-side: reference to troops in Cambodia and protests, Indochina
- Saigon, My Lai, and Da Nang

- B-side; promo excerpt from the 1973 Buddah LP "Richard Nixon: A Fantasy" (Buddah 1600). D.J. copy, not for sale, "DUAL 45", stereo, (378SB), plain white label; "Dick Nixon's Solid Gold", 2:27, published by Dafrye Leisure Enterprises Ltd.; produced by Joe Lauer and David Frye; "From the LP 'Richard Nixon: A Fantasy' 1600"; ℗ 1973, Buddah Records, Inc. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Nixon Cambodia Saigon My Lai Da Nang Satire

Genres: ♪ NoveltyComedy

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#96 Adrienne Rich The Phenomenology of Anger 1973 · Album · Reading at Stanford · Stanford Program for Recordings in Sound # CFS-3311 · USA

- Phenomenology of Anger, The (Rich, Andrienne)
- Poem in 9 parts. Part 4 references the My Lai massacre.

- Poem in nine parts; part 4 references the killing of the babies at My Lai and the "factory of facts" computing body counts.

Track B6, read live at Stanford (introduced by Barbara Gelpi). Spoken-word poem. CFS-3311, 33 1/3 RPM, stereo, ℗ 1973 by The Stanford Program for Recordings in Sound; Side 2, track 6: "The Phenomenology of Anger" (7:18).

The front cover is a black-and-white woodcut-style print of a woman with a bird, fish and hanging corn on a teal ground; the back says the cover includes the print "It Will Be Alright" (1970) by Sally Stillman, and carries a portrait of Rich by photographer Sissy Krook.

The sleeve states the poems were read at Stanford in January 1973, that Side 1 opens with an introduction by Barbara Gelpi, and that "this recording contains a valuable commentary on the American bombing of North Vietnam, occasioned by spray-paint inscriptions on campus buildings during her visit"; the recording was produced by students and staff in Branner Hall, Stanford University (Michael B. Stillman, Director, c/o The Branner Hall Office, Stanford, California 94305), with poems used by permission of W. W. Norton and Company.

Albert J. Gelpi's sleeve essay quotes Rich on "breaking down the artificial barriers between private and public, between Vietnam and the lovers' bed", and says poems like "The Phenomenology of Anger" "flare with frustrated rage at the armed waste-land men have made". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Civilian Casualties Anti-Calley LGBTQ+

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordPoetry

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#97 Richard Ryan From My Lai The Thunder Went West 1973 · Album · Ravenswood Poems · CRD # CRD 1005 · Republic of Ireland

One of 18 poems read by the poet; gatefold LP (UK). Spoken-word poem.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordPoetry

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#98 James Armstrong Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black 1973 · Single · Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black / Big Four · CMC # CM-1013-1015 · USA

The song "Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black" (CMC # CM-1015) was a fascinating track that combined the issues of race / Civil Rights and Vietnam. Sung by an African-American bluesy / soul artist, James Armstrong, the track defended Calley - "we are fighting here to kill or be killed" - and the narrator suggested that if Calley was black then his situation could be a lot worse than just house arrest - so this is also a reflection of 1960s / 70s race relations, as well as a Vietnam War song.

CMC CM-1015, teal label, 1119 E. Broadway, West Memphis, Ark.; "'Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black'" (Clide Fleming), E and M Publishing Co., BMI, time 2:43; arranged by Truitt & Porter, produced by Craft. [From the record sleeve and labels] Split single: A 'Big Four' by Sonny Blake (CM-1013), B 'Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black' by James Armstrong (CM-1015).

B-side arranged by David Porter and Paul Truitt. Producer Craft (Dan Craft). Published by E. & M. Publishers (BMI). A white-label variant exists (Discogs 11066939).

Themes: My Lai Patriotic Civil Rights Pro-Calley Pro-Soldier

Genres: ♪ BluesSoul

Also in: ▤ Blues songs▤ Civil Rights Songs▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#99 Various Artists Missing in Action 1973 · Single · Missing in Action / Air War - Winter Soldier II (Vietnam Veteran Testimony) · Rounder # 4505 · USA

Themes: Anti-War Vet Military P.O.W. M.I.A. Napalm

Genres: ♪ JazzSpoken Word

Also in: ▤ Ellsberg & Pentagon Papers Songs▤ Jazz Songs▤ P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#100 Karl Heinz (Karl-Heinz Ocasek) Letzter Zug Nach Nürnberg 1973 · Album · He hör mal zu! · AMIGA (VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin) # 8 55 317 · Germany

LP of German-language versions of US protest songs.

Liner notes (1973): H. P. Hofmann. Engineer: Siegbert Schneider; music director: Karl Heinz Ocasek. Orchestras: Günter Hauk (B5, B6), Martin Hoffmann (A2, A4, B1, B3), Walter Kubiczeck (A1, A6, B2, B7), Rainer Bloß Combo (A3, A5, A7, B4).

Pressed by VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Potsdam-Babelsberg. A cassette edition exists.

Track A7 of the compilation. German-language version of Pete Seeger's My Lai song 'Last Train to Nuremberg', from an LP of German versions of US protest songs.

Cover of Last Train to Nuremberg – Pete Seeger.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War Protest Civilian Casualties

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#101 Elmer Bernstein My Lai 1974 · Soundtrack · The Trial of Billy Jack · ABC # 853 · USA

The soundtrack to Tom Laughlin's 1974 sequel The Trial of Billy Jack contained the instrumental song "My Lai Massacre" , composed by Elmer Bernstein. The other films in the series were The Born Losers (1967), Billy Jack (1971), and Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977). The main character, Billy Jack (with a native American heritage), fought with the Green Berets in Vietnam. In the second film Billy Jack, he defended a hippie themed freedom school from people who did not like those influenced by the counter-culture. After the son of a corrupt police officer raped his girlfriend, and murdered an Indian student, Billy Jack kills him, resulting in his arrest.

The story thus continued in The Trial of Billy Jack - which contained two scenes similar to contemporary events related to the Vietnam War. Firstly, during Billy Jack's trial, he mentioned the My Lai massacre, and then recalled witnessing a similar incident - a flashback showed the killing of Vietnamese civilians. Secondly, students hold a parade, protesting about native rights and child abuse. The Governor called up the National Guard, who shot and killed four of the students - thus reminiscent of the Kent State killings. The New Yorker magazine reviewed the film 25 November 1974:

Theme: My Lai

Genre: ♪ Jazz

Also in: ▤ Jazz Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#102 Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel, Jo Speros, and Eddie Mekka We've Chosen You, Lieutenant/The Star of This War 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#103 Gene Curty, Eddie Mekka, and Company Overture/Indictment 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#104 Eddie Mekka, Joel Powers, Steven Boockvor, Clark James, Jim Litten, Jim-Patrick McMahon, Joseph Pugliese, Burt Rodriguez, and Tom Tofel Join the Army 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#105 Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, and Gene Curty Look for the Men With Potential/Kill 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#106 Eddie Mekka, Steven Boockvor, Clark James, Jim Litten, Jim-Patrick McMahon, Joseph Pugliese, Burt Rodriguez, and Tom Tofel I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#107 Donald Rayson McGrath, Walt Hunter, Steven Boockvor, Clark James, Jim Litten, Jim-Patrick McMahon, Joseph Pugliese, Burt Rodriguez, and Tom Tofel Eulogy/At 0700 Tomorrow 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#108 Jo Speros, Walt Hunter, Steven Boockvor, Clark James, Jim Litten, Jim-Patrick McMahon, Joseph Pugliese, Burt Rodriguez, and Tom Tofel The Quiet Village/The Attack/The Orders/The Massacre/Something's Gone Wrong 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#109 Chet D'Elia, Walt Hunter, Eddie Mekka, Eugene Moose, and Danny Taylor Twenty-Eight 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#110 Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, and Tom Tofel Let's Believe in the Captain/Final Report/I Will Make Things Happen 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#111 Joel Powers, Don McGrath, Burt Rodriguez, and Jim Litten He Wants to Put the Army in Jail 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#112 Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Eddie Mekka, Steven Boockvor, Clark James, Jim Litten, Jim-Patrick McMahon, Joseph Pugliese, Burt Rodriguez, and Tom Tofel There's No Other Solution/I'm Going Home 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#113 Eddie Mekka Here I Am On Trial for My Life 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#114 Burt Rodriguez The Conscience of a Nation 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#115 Gordon Grody and Eddie Mekka Damned No Matter How He Turned/I Won't Beg 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#116 Gene Curty and Company The Verdict 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#117 Alan K. Siegel, Joel Powers, and Company Finale 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#118 The Band Curtain 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#119 Jim Litten, Tom Tofel, Jo Speros, and Eddie Mekka The Star of This War - 2nd Version 1974 · Musical · The Lieutenant (A Rock Opera In 2-Acts) · Not On Label · USA

Broadway musical Double LP on plain light-green labels headed "The Lieutenant" with a drawing of an army helmet bearing a lieutenant's bar, © 1974, each side marked "Not for sale".

Side 1: "Overture/Indictment", "Join the Army", "Look for the Men with Potential" / "Kill", "I Don't Want to Go Over to Vietnam" / "Eulogy" / "At 0700 Tomorrow".
Side 2: "Quiet Village" / "The Attack" / "The Orders" / "The Massacre" / "Something's Gone Wrong", "Twenty-Eight".
Side 3: "Let's Believe in the Captain" / "Final Report" / "I Will Make Things Happen", "He Wants to Put the Army in Jail" / "There's No Other Solution" / "I'm Going Home", "We've Chosen You Lieutenant" / "The Star of This War" / "Here I Am on Trial for My Life".
Side 4: "The Conscience of a Nation", "Damned No Matter How He Turned" / "I Won't Beg" / "The Verdict", "Finale", "Curtain", "The Star of This War - 2nd Version".

The plain cream front cover reads "The Lieutenant — Original Broadway Cast".

Pasted on the back is a printed page (p. 44) giving the Lyceum Theatre production: opened Sunday, March 9, 1975, presented by Joseph S. Kutrzeba and Spofford J. Beadle, "By Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman, Chuck Strand"; director William Martin; choreography Dennis Dennehy; musical direction Chuck Strand; music arranged by Chuck Strand and Gus Montero; Eddie Mekka as the Lieutenant with Gene Curty, Joel Powers, Chet D'Elia, Eugene Moose, Danny Taylor, Don McGrath, Walt Hunter, Jim Litten, Burt Rodriguez, Gordon Grody, Alan K. Siegel, Jo Speros and Tom Tofel.

It describes "A Rock Opera in Two acts. The action alternates between Vietnam and the United States over a three-year period", notes the show "Closed March 16, 1975 after 9 performances and 7 previews", and carries Bert Andrews stage photos of Burt Rodriguez, Eddie Mekka, Jim Litten, Tom Tofel and Jo Speros. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MusicalRockMusical Theatre

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#120 Jerry Taylor Amnesty From America 1974 · Single · World International # WI-1002 · USA

- 1974
- Country, patriotic, My Lai, M.I.A., draft dodgers, Nixon, Watergate, Ford.
- People fought to keep America free, times have changed.
- Welfare on the rise, busing children (anti-Civil Rights), communists, protestors
- Nixon resigned, Ford gave him amnesty
- Amnesty also for draft dodgers - but what about the M.I.A. in Vietnam?
- What about Lt. Calley, put on trial and in prison for doing his duty?

- Promo with the same song both sides (mono/stereo); distributed by IRDA (IRDA 009); lacquer cut by Mack Evans at Masterfonics, Nashville. Location is the label's (5023 Temple Rd., Nashville). World International WI-1002-A (IRDA 009), D.J. copy, white label with globe design; "Amnesty From America" (Jerry Taylor), 3:40; produced by Jim Baker; distributed by International Record Distributing Assoc., 911 17th Ave. South, Nashville, Tn. 37212. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Patriotic My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order M.I.A. Draft Dodger

Genres: ♪ CountrySpoken Word

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#121 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson H20 Gate Blues 1974 · Album · Winter in America · Strata-East # SES-19742 · USA

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.

Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War Kent State Jackson State Nixon LBJ Dow Chemical

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkJazzSoul

Also in: ▤ 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs▤ Jazz Songs▤ Kent / Jackson State Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Civil Rights Songs▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#122 David Mitchell My Lai/ Remuera/ Ponsonby 1974 · Compilation · New Zealand Poets Read Their Works · Waiata # NZPRW R 1 · New Zealand

- David Mitchell – My Lai/ Remuera/ Ponsonby
- New Zealand, poetry. My Lai massacre.

- From "Pipe Dreams in Ponsonby" (1972); recorded within a 6:53 Mitchell segment (D3) on the 2-LP anthology; reissued on "Classic New Zealand Poets in Performance" (2006). Primary location is Auckland (based), birthplace Wellington.

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Civilian Casualties

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordPoetry

Also in: ▤ Australian & New Zealand Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#123 Storm Lt. Calley bjuder upp 1974 · Album · Stormvarning · Harvest # 4E 062-35010 · Sweden

- Lt. Calley bjuder upp
- Swedish prog rock
- My Lai massacre

- Opening track (A1); "Lt. Calley asks you to dance". Lyrics Werup/Sersam, music Karlberg. Recorded Take 3 Studios, Åkarp, May-June 1974.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ RockProgressive Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]

#124 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson Pardon Our Analysis (We Beg Your Pardon) 1975 · Album · The First Minute Of New Day (Midnight Band) · Arista # A 4030 · USA

The Scott-Heron track "Pardon Our Analysis (We Beg Your Pardon)" (Arista Records # A 4030), featuring his long-term collaborator Brian Jackson, attacked President Ford for pardoning Nixon after his resignation in 1974. While those who "get caught with a nickel bag...will do big Ben" (i.e. those caught with cannabis will go to jail for ten years), the politician who "tried to fix America" received no prison sentence. He then went on to list others, who Scott-Hero thought were unjustifiably pardoned: "they pardoned William Calley, 22 dead, and America in shock" .

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ Soul, Gospel & FunkSoul Jazz

Also in: ▤ Jazz Songs▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#125 The Tune-Timers In Defense Of 1975 · Single · In Defense Of / She's a Marriage Breaker · Command Performance # CP 252 · USA

- Song poem
- Hollywood, California, USA
- Traditional pop.
- "In Defense of" - Lt. Calley and the My Lai Massacre

- Command Performance Records, 6000 Sunset Blvd, Suite 209, Hollywood, California 90028, CP 252-A, 45 RPM, ℗ 1975 Command Performance Records, gold label; "In Defense Of" (Alfred King), 2:35, published by Dart Music (BMI). [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Song Poem My Lai Pro-Calley Calley-Order Civilian Casualties Nixon

Genre: ♪ Traditional Pop

Also in: ▤ Song Poems▤ US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]

#126 Gil Scott-Heron We Beg Your Pardon America (Promo) 1975 · Single · We Beg Your Pardon America / Superman (Ain't No Such Thing As) · Arista # AS-0117 · USA

We Beg Your Pardon America (Scott-Heron, Gil)

Political commentary, mainly about Watergate.
Reference to My Lai and Lt. William Calley.

Vietnam War: My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

Arista Records AS-0117-DJB (2118-S-BW), stereo, white label marked "Promotional Copy"; "We Beg Your Pardon America" (Scott-Heron-B. Jackson), 5:17, Brouhaha Music, Inc., ASCAP, ℗ 1975 Arista Records, Inc.; produced by Perpis-Fall Music, Inc.; Arista Records Inc., 1776 Broadway, New York, New York 10019. In an Arista company sleeve. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Nixon Watergate My Lai Anti-Calley Ford Atomic

Genre: ♪ Narration

Also in: ▤ Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]▤ Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

#127 Bill Oliver Fourth of July in Chu-Lai 1976 · Single · Fourth of July in Chu-Lai / Little Rocks and Big Holes · Dubious # 66x33 · USA

- Fourth of July in Chu-Lai
- contemporary folk, released in Austin, Texas, USA, post-war, anti-war, protest
- Paints picture of US presence in Vietnam
- Reference to Vietnamese refugees in US.
- Also lists Vietnamese cities and areas, including My Lai

- "Little Rocks and Big Holes (In the Road)" is side A. Recorded at MacAdams Bros., Austin; Texas Deck Music (BMI); no printed writer credit. Dubious Records 66 x 33, Side 1, BMI, 4:23; "Fourth of July in Chu-Lai" by Bill Oliver, published by Texas Deck Music, ℗ 1976 Bill Oliver. Musicians: Bill Oliver (vocal, guitar, harmonica), Glen Waldeck (drums), Nancy Needles (viola), Rich Latimer (bass), David Dodson (electric guitar); engineers Alan MacAdams and Dick Snider.

The cream label shows a drawing of a farmer ploughing behind a draught animal, with the slogan "Speak for Themselves". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-War Protest Refugees My Lai Military 4th July

Genres: ♪ FolkContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ US Military & Veteran Songs▤ Vietnamese Refugees & Boat People

#128 Holly Near & Jeff Langley Broken Promises 1976 · Album · You Can Know All I Am · Redwood # RR-3600 · USA

Credited on the record as Holly Near With Jeff Langley.

- Broken Promises
- My Lai massacre and Vietnam
- Contemporary folk

- Sleeve billing "Holly Near With Jeff Langley". Words Holly Near, music Jeff Langley, (c) 1975; the insert note pairs the tactics used in Vietnam with those used against Native Americans (Amherst's smallpox blankets - "blankets and bombs") and calls for reparations. Personnel: Warren Bryant (percussion), Roy McCurdy (drums), Peter Marshall (acoustic bass), George Stavis (banjo), David Sherr (piccolo); string quartet Marcy Dicterow, Shari Zippart, Marilyn Baker, Judy Perett; supporting vocals Women's Choir, Friends of the Provisional Theater, Jeff Langley, Rob Moitoza.

Produced by Near, Langley and Julie Thompson. Redwood Records, 33.3 rpm, stereo, cream label with a redwood tree drawing; "Holly Near with Jeff Langley — You can know all I am (a collection of short plays)", ℗ 1976 Redwood Records, all selections copyright Hereford Music, ASCAP; Redwood Records, P.O. Box 996, Ukiah, California 95482.

Side 1 (Act One), track 6: "Broken Promises", 2:18, words by H. Near, music by J. Langley.

The front cover shows Holly Near against a brick wall; the back shows a smiling Jeff Langley.

Produced by Holly Near, Jeff Langley, Rob Moitoza and Julie Thompson; engineered by Jerry Hall; musical arrangements by Jeff Langley; recorded at the Upside Down studio, Hollywood, California; cover photo Julie Thompson, back cover photo Robert Kalkman, liner photos, layout and design Molly Rhodes; the album is dedicated to Connie Cox (1922-1975) "who was a great inspiration to many young musicians in Ukiah, California".

The lyric sheet's note for the song says "The war in Vietnam is not over and won't be until reconstruction, friendship and understanding heal the wounds", and the chorus links "Indians and Vietnam". [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Wounded Knee Indigenous Rights Vietnam Analogy Genocide

Genres: ♪ Singer SongwriterContemporary Folk

Also in: ▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#129 Doonesbury's Jimmy Thudpucker Stop 1977 · Album · Greatest Hits With The Walden West Rhythm Section · Windsong # BXL1-2589 · USA

- "Stop"
- Reference to My Lai massacre
- Soft rock

- Track A4. Writer credit on the record is simply "Thudpucker". Windsong was John Denver's RCA-distributed label.

Themes: My Lai Protest Protest Analogy

Genres: ♪ PopSoft Rock

#130 Godley & Creme An Englishman in New York 1979 · Single · An Englishman in New York / Silent Running · Polydor # POSP 80 · UK

- "An Englishman in New York"
- UK group
- Reference to My Lai
- Art pop

- Lead single from "Freeze Frame" (Polydor, November 1979); No. 17 in Australia, no UK chart entry. The Netherlands 7" carries a 3:52 edit.

Themes: My Lai Vet Disabled Vet

Genres: ♪ RockArt Pop

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#131 Thomas Kylau My-Lai 1979 · Album · Sagt mir wie ich meine sprache find' · KHP # KHP 1001 · Germany

- My-Lai
- West German - born in then German port town of Memel, now Klaipėda in Lithuania
- Chanson

- Track B1. Sleeve: text Thomas Kylau, music Kylau and Uli Harmssen, arrangement Harmssen; recorded 20 June and 21 August 1979 at FDT-Studio, Bremen; produced by Harmssen and Kylau; KHP-Records c/o Harmssen, Bremen (label-derived city). Kylau vocals, Harmssen guitar/Polymoog, Siegmar Fetter flute; label credit "Thomas Kylau & Uli Harmssen". The song is a parable of a mandarin and the emperor's tailor; My Lai is named only in the closing line as the land the legend comes from.

Theme: My Lai

Genre: ♪ Chanson

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#132 Cold Warrior and the Mercenary Band Vietnam 1980 · EP · Extended Play · t.m.i. # 807-63 · USA

The art punk / post-punk group Cold Warrior and the Mercenary Band, out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, released the song "Vietnam" (t.m.i. Products # 807-63) on their 1980 EP, which took an anti-war position. Showing concern for the possibility of "another military adventure" , the narrator asked the listener to "remember Vietnam, Lt. Calley, and the My Lai massacre...the invasion of Cambodia and Laos" . The lyrics also focused on the military-industrial complex, as mentioned by President Eisenhower during his farewell address on 17 January 1961: "in Washington, the Pentagon war machine is getting...tanks into production, along with cruise missiles" .¹ The narrator suggested that instead of spending money on weapons, the funds should go towards "education, housing...a national health insurance" . Finally, the lyrics scornfully remarked that Henry Kissinger received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, despite his role in the controversial Christmas bombings over Hanoi and Haiphong in 1972 (Operation Linebacker II).

t.m.i. products 807-63, Side one, stereo, a 45 R.P.M. stereo "Extended Play" with three tracks: Side One "Jean-Paul Sartre Is Dead" (3:12) and "Vietnam" (1:59), Side Two "Beatsickness" (3:12), all by F. Lackey and the Mercenary Band, © 1980.

The back of the sleeve credits Francis J. Lackey (Cold Warrior) on vocals and the Mercenary Band: Joe Bloggs (electric guitar), Dennis J. Childers (drums), Hans (organ), Christopher Koenigs Berg (fretless bass), Reid Paley (alto sax) and Stephen A. Sciulli (synthesizer); recorded at Sound Seven Studios (engineer Lee Hollihan) and The Sound Castle Studios (engineer Michael Mazzei); special thanks to Susan K. Bidish, Jim Laugelli, Judy Von Hofen and Stacy Weiss; cover photo by Stacy Weiss, graphic design by Magna Graphics Inc., "A T.M.I. Product".

The front-cover photograph shows the group gathered on the steps outside a Rockwell International building, most of them hiding their faces behind open pamphlets. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Cambodia Laos Kissinger

Genres: ♪ PunkArt PunkPost-Punk

Also in: ▤ Punk Songs

#133 Arthur B. Rubinstein Sunrise at Pinkville 1983 · Soundtrack · Blue Thunder · MCA # 6122 · USA

The soundtrack to John Badham's 1983 Vietnam War film Blue Thunder, about a Vietnam veteran (helicopter pilot) with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), contained the song "Sunrise at Pinkville" (MCA Records # MCA 6122), a reference to My Lai. The 1997 CD reissue also had the additional track "Pinkville Strafing Run" (Super Tracks Music Group # ARCD 01). In an interview with Randall D. Larson in CinemaScore, # 13/14, 1985, Rubinstein spoke about the soundtrack:

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicClassical

#134 Arthur B. Rubinstein Pinkville Strafing Run 1983 · Soundtrack · Blue Thunder · MCA # 6122 · USA

Annotation: see “Sunrise at Pinkville” above (same release).

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicClassical

#135 The Pogues Boys From the County Hell 1984 · Album · Red Roses for Me · Stiff # SEEZ55 · UK

The song Boys From the County Hell (Pogues, The)

Themes: My Lai Medals My Lai Analogy

Genres: ♪ RockCeltic Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#136 BAP Drei Wünsch frei 1984 · Album · Zwesche Salzjebäck un Bier · Musikant # 1C 066 1469141 · Germany

- "Drei Wünsch frei".
- Deutschrock from Cologne, Germany.
- Reference to My Lai massacre

"Wo sind die Schlachten an der Marne? Wo ist My Lai, Hiroshima"
______________
"Where are the battles of the Marne? Where is My Lai, Hiroshima"

- Sung in Kölsch (Cologne dialect). Released 25 May 1984 (EMI Electrola / Musikant); album No. 1 in Germany. Lyrics Niedecken, music BAP.

Themes: My Lai My Lai Analogy Hiroshima WW1

Genres: ♪ RockDeutschrock

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#137 Bill McKenna Vietnam: Still Part Of Who I Am 1986 · Album · Vietnam: Still Part of Who I Am · FPOSF # 1102108 · USA

Bill McKenna served with the marines in Vietnam, and returned to the US disabled. He became a regular performer at the Skidmore Freedom Fest. He died in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1995. The title on the front cover, "F.P.O San Francisco" , referred to the US military postal system, either known as APO (Army Post Office) or FPO (Fleet Post Office). The San Francisco gateway dealt with overseas mail to Vietnam.¹² He released this Vietnam-themed LP in the rock-pop genre in 1986, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The title song "Vietnam: Still Part of Who I Am" (FPOSF # 1102108) looked at a Vietnam veterans attempt to find his place in society - which had labelled Vietnam a failure and a mistake. It can be viewed as part of a 1980s, Reagan-era trend of nationalism, or attempt to overcome the "Vietnam Syndrome" - the perception that domestic controversies over the war led to the US taking a less interventionist position in US foreign affairs. This term also applied to veterans, who may have felt guilt or shame about the war, influenced by the domestic climate they returned to in the US.³

Ronald Reagan spoke about this on 18 August 1980: "for too long, we have lived with the Vietnam Syndrome....As the years dragged on, we were told that peace would come if we would simply stop interfering and go home....We dishonor the memory of 50,000 young Americans who died...we give way to feelings of guilt as if we were doing something shameful, and we have been shabby in our treatment of those who returned. They fought as well and as bravely as any Americans have ever fought in any war. They deserve our gratitude, our respect, and our continuing concern".⁴ Many war films of the period fitted into this climate of trying to overcome the Vietnam Syndrome, such First Blood [Rambo] (1982), Uncommon Valor (1983), and Missing in Action (1984).

So narrated in the first person, the veteran said that originally he did not want to go to Vietnam, but the experience and memories had helped to define him. But when he returned he "found the country in flames" , and the government "were freeing draft dodgers while holding Calley to blame" - which indicated sympathy for the plight of Calley, and of course, criticism of those who avoided the draft, and possibly the anti-war movement. He concluded that the veterans had "come of age" and were no longer "naive" , and thus they could "be proud of Vietnam" and "love" the "country" .

Front cover "F.P.O. San Francisco / Vietnam / Still Part Of Who I Am", with a map of South Vietnam marked with the four Corps areas and Highway One, surrounded by snapshots of a young Marine in Vietnam; jacket made in Canada.

The back carries McKenna's note, signed "Bill McKenna, 'Wild Willie', 233-4008": his tour of duty changed him forever, the 22 months "in-country" and the condemnation he met on returning home, and his offering of these memories so that veterans "may share again the pride in each other that only we can know". Service printed: '68–'69, 7th Engineer Battalion, 1st Mar. Div., I Corps; '69, 3rd Amtrac Bat., 3rd Mar.

Div., I Corps. Dedicated "to all my brothers who served, especially to Animal, Doc, Lee, Freddie, Sonny, Mavrellis, Savo, Turk, Crazy Paul Harrington, Jim Mason, Matey and the more than 58,000 who were left behind." Tracks: side one Vietnam: Still Part of Who I Am, Billy's Friend, Kentucky Boy, The Veteran; side two R & R Woman, Vietnam Memories, Flashback, Không biết, America, Jake's Song. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Show full lyrics (15 lines) ▾

Themes: Vet Military My Lai Pro-Calley Draft Dodger Patriotic

Genres: ♪ Singer SongwriterPop Rock

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs▤ PTSD Songs▤ US Military & Veteran Songs

#138 Obsession My Lai 31568/Take No Prisoners 1986 · Album · Scarred For Life · Enigma # 3212-1 · USA

Heavy Metal / Power Metal band formed in 1983, in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, led by the vocalist Michael Vescera, released the song "My Lai 31568 / Take No Prisoners" (Enigma Records # 3212-1) in which, after a lengthy guitar intro, entered the familiar sound-effects of helicopter propellers spinning round and round, dealt with the My Lai Massacre, although in the song title, the band incorrectly put the date as 15 March. The narrator presented a stark and vivid portrayal of the massacre, re-imaging the scene of destruction and mass murder, starting with drawing the line between "good and evil...heaven or hell" . Then it moved onto the platoon with "weapons all loaded" , claiming "the order's been given" - which they must follow - "our hearts say its wrong, but we have no choice" . The soldiers then proceeded with the mass murder of civilians: "woman and children, no all them dead... mission complete" . It noted the "terror stricken on every ones face" .

Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy Metal

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#139 Impetigo My Lai 1987 · Album · All We Need is Cheez · Not On Label · USA

Impetigo, a death metal band from Bloomington, Illinois, released this live demo cassette in 1987, which included the Vietnam War song "My Lai" . It featured as a bonus track on the 1990 album Ultimo mondo cannibale (Wild Rags Records # WRR-020). This EP was reissued on CD in 1999 (Bizarre Leprous Production # BLP 019). The band featured Stevo Dobbins (vocals, bass), Mark Sawickis (guitar), Scott Bross (guitar), Dan Malin (drums). The lyrics leaned towards protesting the actions of Calley, who had killed "some reds...like your daddy said" - thus placing it within the context of the Cold War and the 1950s/60s fear of communism.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ MetalDeath MetalGoregrind

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#140 Grinder Agent Orange 1989 · Album · Dead End · No Remorse # NRR 1007 · Germany

Thrash Metal group, formed in 1984, in Frankfurt, Germany, and disbanded in 1991. Members included Adrian Hahn (vocals, bass), Andy Ergün (guitar), Lario (guitar), Stefan Arnold (drums), Andi Reichert (bass) David Hoffman (bass, guitar). The song "Agent Orange" (No Remorse Records # NRR 1007) combined the issues of the the defoliant / herbicide used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, which had long tern negative health effects, and the My Lai massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968.

The vivid lyrics conjured the familiar images used to portray the Vietnam conflict, including the helicopters and jungles: "caged into the chopper, crossing the green" . It recalled the reasons for fighting: "patriotic to fight for stars and stripes, heroic left his home to invade a land" . However, there are no more "war games" , as they are in the "hell of Vietnam" . The soldier is then "trying to forget Operation My Lai" , and noted "it's been hard to watch 'em die" , also the narrator also expressed a cold side: "didn't really mind to hear some Viet Cong's women cry" . Back in the US, the veteran cannot hide from the crimes committed: "cruelties censored, war can't be ignored" . He wanted to be "out of sight again... where mortality's unseen" .

Show full lyrics (64 lines) ▾

Themes: Agent Orange My Lai Helicopter Jungle Vet Flag

Genres: ♪ MetalThrash Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#141 Jewel The Vietnam Requiem 1991 · Album · Revolution in Heaven · Classic Trash # CTRCD 9101 · Netherlands

Heavy Metal band, formed in 1986, Haarlem, Netherlands, and disbanded in 1992, shortly after this, their only album. The final song "The Vietnam Requiem" was split into eight parts, which included documentary clips, included quoting Lyndon B. Johnson, US president (1962-1968). It referenced many well-known themes and episodes, including combat conditions, search and destroy, the Tet Offensive, the My Lai massacre, missing in action (M.I.A.), killed in action (K.I.A.), medals (the Purple Heart and Silver Star), and the treatment and impact on the veteran. Sections 1-6 focused on the combat zone: "Hueys sliding up to combat zone... lock and load and on patrol" .

Sections 7-8 focused on the post-war negative impact of the war, on those that fought: "it’s all over now...our youth was blown away" . It also contained descriptions of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - frequently referenced in post-war 1980s songs about US veterans, often connected in songs to stress, shell shock, flashbacks, nostalgia, and feelings and dreams related to an event: "it left scars in their minds... back home, still in the jungle"

The veteran also recalled various place names, familiar sayings, and infamous events: "Khe Sanh, My lai, didi mow" - Khe Sanh was a reference to an area of Vietnam that played a critical role in the war, including The Battle of Khe Sanh, and the US Khe Sanh Combat Base - the city and province are frequently referenced in song, most famously by Australian band Cold Chisel, with the song "Khe Sanh" (1978). My Lai was a reference to the massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968. "Didi mow" - this was a phrase adopted by US military personnel during the Vietnam War, from the Vietnamese "đi đi mau" ("get lost") - popularised in the movie The Deer Hunter (1978).¹ The song concluded with another reference to a Vietnam War film - Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - once again showing the huge impact of films on culture.

Show full lyrics (56 lines) ▾

Themes: Combat Search & Destroy Tet Offensive My Lai M.I.A. K.I.A.

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs▤ P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs▤ PTSD Songs

#142 The September When Not Impressed 1991 · Album · Mother, I've Been Kissed · WEA # 9031-73588-1 · Norway

- Norwegian pop rock.
- "Not Impressed" - Reference to My Lai

- LP, CD and cassette all 1991 (vinyl wins). Collective band writing credit.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ RockPop Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#143 Shock Treatment My Lai 1993 · Album · Media Distortion · A-Wat # 015 · UK

- My Lai
- Punk
- Bristol, UK

Show full lyrics (23 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-Calley Calley-Order Genocide Holocaust My Lai Sexual Violence

Genre: ♪ Punk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Punk Songs

#144 Screeching Weasel El Mozote 1993 · EP · El Mozote / Janelle · Lookout # Lookout 73 · USA

- "El Mozote"
- Hardcore punk
- Reference to My Lai massacre

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: El Salvador Genocide My Lai My Lai Analogy

Genres: ♪ PunkHardcore Punk

Also in: ▤ Vietnam as Comparison▤ Punk Songs

#145 Dog Faced Hermans Calley 1994 · Album · Those Deep Buds · Alternative Tentacles # VIRUS 151CD · UK

Dog Faced Hermans formed in Edinburgh, UK, in 1986, and played post-punk noise rock, incorporating folk influences and experimental instrumentation. The band consisted of Marion Coutts (vocals, trumpet, bells, tuba), Colin McLean (bass, guitar, steel drum), Wilf Plum (drums, percussion, saxophone, bells, foghorn), and Andy Moor (guitar, viola, tube).¹ In 1994 they released the album Those Deep Buds which included the startling song "Calley" (Konkurrel # K155c), that recalled the horror of the My Lai Massacre.

The narrator imagined turning up at Calley's place of work, a jewelry store in Columbus, Georgia (which he did in fact work since 1975, called V.V. Vick). She wanted to question him on what happened: "oh Mr Calley...a moment of your time about My Lai" . At which point the music intensified and increased in volume, as the narrator then imagined herself running from the scene of the massacre: "choking on the smoke...I was running from the...heavy men behind me...in uniform with implements" . She described the killing as "easy work" and that the soldiers had "no need for caution, no opposition, no defending" .

Also issued in the Netherlands on Konkurrel (K155c).

Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ PunkPost-Punk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Punk Songs

#146 Aardvarks My Lai 1994 · EP · Eyes · Not On Label · Germany

- Mi Lai
- Thrash metal
- Germany, Europe

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy MetalThrash Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#147 My-Laï My-Laï 1995 · Album · Attila's Horses · Not On Label # REF 7778777.2 · France

Heavy Metal group, formed in 1991, Reims, France, slow the music up for the song "My-Laï" (# REF 7778777.2) - also the name of the band - in which the lyrics recalled the event of the My Lai massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968 - "it was in 1968...in a Sunday morning...let us put a life away" . The narrated "wanted to know the truth" of why Calley committed the crime.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Calley-Chaos

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#148 Jara My Own Private Lieutenant Calley 1995 · EP · Still Life / Jara · The Sunflower Tribe # sfl001 · USA

Jara - My Own Private Lieutenant Calley

Split 12" (four tracks per band); this is B2. Recorded at Sleepless Nights (Madison, WI) and The Living Room (Goleta, CA).

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ PunkEmoHardcore Punk

Also in: ▤ Punk Songs

#149 The Seahorses Sale of the Century 1997 · Single · Love Is the Law · Geffen # GFSTD 22243 · UK

- "Sale of the Century"
- Britpop
- My Lai

- Track 3 of the UK CD single (28 April 1997); not on the 7" or cassette, so CD is the format for this song.

Themes: My Lai My Lai Analogy

Genres: ♪ RockBritpop

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#150 Art Studio My Lai 1997 · Album · Off Limits · Splasc(h) # CDH 656.2 · Italy

- My Lai (Art Studio)
- Jazz
- Italy

- Recorded 10-11 December 1997, Colori Studio Sound, Lessolo; the CD dates from 1997.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ JazzAvant-Garde Jazz

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Jazz Songs

#151–154 My Lai 3.16.68 1997 · EP · Divot # DVT007 · USA

All 4 songs from this ep in the archive are in this collection

- "3.16.68"
- "Ruthless"
- "15 Minutes"
- "Short Horn Champion"

- My Lai themed EP

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#155 David Rovics Song for Hugh Thompson 1998 · Album · We Just Want the World · Liberation · USA

David Rovics, a contemporary folk singer born in 1967, in New York, is currently based in Portland, Oregon. He has written and recorded dozens of songs on various wars, such as Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Arab-Israeli dispute, and on other political, social, and environmental issues.¹ On this album, self-released, featured the track "Song for Hugh Thompson" , which paid tribute to Hugh Thompson Jr. - a US army helicopter pilot, who tried to stop the My Lai massacre, reported the incident over the radio, and later to his superiors. He received the Soldier's Medal in 1998.² The lyrics told a version of his story, in the third person. It set the scene, with Thompson in Vietnam "fighting for old glory on a far off foreign shore" , just like many other soldiers. He then came across the unlawful killing of civilians, and Thompson "decided at that moment to fight for what was right" . In doing so, he "served his country well" and "saved the lives of a dozen kids" .

Show full lyrics (25 lines) ▾

Themes: Anti-War My Lai Anti-Calley Hugh Thompson

Genres: ♪ CountryCountry Pop

#156 John York My Lai 1999 · Album · Claremont Dragon · Taxim # TX 2038 · Germany

The song "My Lai" (Taxim Records # TX 2038) by John York, a American singer/songwriter based in California, focused on the life of a Vietnamese child, called My Lai, born to an American serviceman who fought in Vietnam. The child lived in poverty, on the streets of Vietnam: "young girl dreaming under cardboard sheets" . Meanwhile, her father watched the "sun...sinking over Palm Beach" . The Vietnamese mother waited for a "letter from the States" to save them from destitution and provide then with a new life. But the father had "left you alone, My Lai, without a home" . York named the child My Lai as a symbol of an American destroying, or abandoning, a child's life.

The album notes said that this song "tells of a child born of the union between a Vietnamese woman and an American airman during the height of the war. As the child's hope of a better life in America proves forlorn, she is consigned to a life of poverty and despair. The girl's very name recalls the outrage in March 1968 that brought an end to the innocence in us all".¹ The music contained oriental instrumentation (sounding a cross between Vietnamese and Chinese music), such as a guzheng (an 18 strings or more zither), dumbek (goblet drum), and xiao flute.

Show full lyrics (16 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Vietnamese Girls

Genres: ♪ RockFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#157 Shed, Inc. My Lai 1999 · Album · Other · Discorporate Tape # DT997 · USA

Credited to "Shed Incorporated"; release date 17 October 2000 against the 1999 in the title.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ FolkIndie Folk

#158 JxTx Massacre at My Lai in a Classroom 1999 · Compilation · We Will Not Obey · Achieve # ACH002 · USA

- Massacre at My Lai in a Classroom (JxTx) (aka Jorge Anthony Tapia)
- Free The P.O.W.'s (Anarcho-Acoustico)
- Acoustic punk

Themes: Genocide My Lai My Lai Analogy

Genre: ♪ Punk

Also in: ▤ Vietnam as Comparison▤ Punk Songs

#160 Rodney Oakes Threnody for the Victims of My Lai 2000 · Album · Music for Midi Trombone · Innova # innova 542 · USA

- Threnody for the Victims of My Lai
- Electronic jazz / classical composer

- Composed 1999 for MIDI trombone; the liner notes say it commemorates the killing of Vietnamese civilians on 16 March 1968 and reflects on how young men are trained for such violence. Released 1 October 2000.

Themes: My Lai Civilian Casualties

Genres: ♪ Western Classical MusicElectroacoustic

Also in: ▤ Jazz Songs

#161–163 Various Artists Wizards of Gore: A Tribute to Impetigo 2000 · Album · Razorback # RR06 · Brazil

3 of the 4 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#164 Louie Logic Trail of Tears 2002 · Compilation · Debacle in a Bottle: A Not Album · Pot to Piss In · USA

Obscure East Coast Hip Hop artist, born Louis Dorley in Brooklyn, New York, USA. The song "Trail of Tears" (Pot to Piss In) - the title of course referred to the forced displacement of Native Americans by the United States government (1830-1850), featured in the later part of the song. This track also contained a verse about the Vietnam war, recalling the draft and referencing the US president Lyndon B. Johnson: "nineteen sixty-five, after the draft captured a class... Johnson ships our young men" . It then moved onto the My Lai Massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968: "countless Vietnamese died at Lieutenant William Calley's cold order" . It noted the indiscriminate killing: "both daughters and sons killed and carried to mass graves" .

Themes: Indigenous Rights Da Nang My Lai Guns Draft LBJ

Genres: ♪ Hip HopEast Coast Hip Hop

Also in: ▤ Draft Songs▤ Rap / Hip Hop Songs

#165 Carlo Actis Dato Quartet My Lai 2003 · Album · Swingin' Hanoi · Splasc(h) # CDH907.2 · Italy

- My Lai
- Carlo Actis Dato Quartet
- Jazz, Italy

- Credited on the sleeve as "Actis Dato Quartet". Recorded 12-13 January 2003; the CD dates from 2004.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ JazzAvant-Garde Jazz

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Jazz Songs

#166 Witek Kornacki, Felix Huber & Lech Wieleba My Lai 2003 · Album · East-West Inspiration · Documents # 221862-311 · Switzerland

"My Lai"

by Witek Kornacki, Felix Huber & Lech Wieleba. Klezmer group based in Switzerland, artists from Poland and Switzerland.

2xCD on Documents (Membran, Germany); "My Lai" is CD2 track 9.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ JazzKlezmer

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Jazz Songs

#167 Magrudergrind My Lai Massacre 2004 · EP · Owned!! · Punks Before Profits # PBP017 · USA

Grindcore group, formed in September 2002, in Washington, DC, USA, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York, USA, its original line-up included Avi Kulawy (vocals), Chris Moore (drums), Marc Levin (guitar), and Mourice Alvarado (guitar, backing vocals). They released the song "My Lai Massacre" (Punks Before Profits Records # PBP017) - the lyrics are difficult to decipher, but presumably it's a reference to My Lai Massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ MetalGrindcore

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#168 Rabid My Lai 2004 · Insance for Brains! · Not On Label · USA

Rabid, Death Metal group formed in Moravia, New York, USA. They released the track "My Lai" - a cover of the Impetigo song, from the 1987 EP "All We Need Is Cheez", about the My Lai Massacre. As noted under that listing, the lyrics leaned towards protesting the actions of Calley, who had killed "some reds...like your daddy said" - thus placing it within the context of the Cold War and the 1950s/60s fear of communism.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ MetalDeath Metal

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#169 Embrace The End Fathers Right Hand (My Lai) 2005 · Album · Counting Hallways to the Left · Abacus # CR13 · USA

Released in 2005, the hardcore metal song "The Fathers Right Hand (My Lai)" (Abacus Recordings # CR13) told the story, through violent lyrics, of a Vietnam veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): "reliving the horror each night, a victim lost forever" - possibly of My Lai, based on the song title. It also alluded to drugs use: "Even through morphine eyes...now carry this addiction" . Both drugs and PTSD are themes frequently found in post-Vietnam War songs.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Drugs PTSD

Genres: ♪ MetalMetalcore

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs▤ PTSD Songs

#170 Janus Kadaverstern 2005 · Album · Nachtmahr · Trisol # TRI 255 CD · Germany

Gothic Metal group, formed in 1995 in Rödermark, Hessen, Germany. It members were: Dirk Riegert [aka Rig] (vocals), and Tobias Hahn [aka Toby] (programming, piano). Note: this group is different from the more well-known progressive rock group Janus, also based in Germany, but from the UK, who also released a Vietnam War song ("Napalm Sticks to Kids"). The song "Kadaverstern" (Trisol Music Group # TRI 255 CD) referenced the My Lai massacre while recalling "Treblinka", a Nazi extermination camp: "Treblinka is daily for me, Soweto and My Lai... the war is never over" .

Show full lyrics (46 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Holocaust Genocide Anti-War Apartheid

Genres: ♪ MetalGothic Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#171 Misery Index Unmarked Graves 2006 · Album · Discordia · Relapse # RR 6675 · USA

Death Metal band, formed in 2001 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, with a revolving line-up, lead by Jason Netherton. The song "Unmarked Graves" (Relapse Records # RR 6675) referenced multiple conflicts and war crimes / massacres, including the My Lai Massacre: "From Nanking to Mỹ Lai, from Srebrenica to Algiers... their spirit lives in defiance of it all" . It also referred to multiple genocides throughout history, such as Wounded Knee Massacre (1890) in North America, the Srebrenica massacre (1995), part of the Bosnian War, and The Darfur genocide (2003-present), part of the War in Darfur.

Themes: My Lai Genocide Bosnian War Srebrenica Massacre Tiananmen Square Wounded Knee

Genres: ♪ MetalDeath Metal

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#172 Proudflesh My Lai My Love 2006 · Album · Proudflesh · Wired Gnome # WG2 · USA

- "My Lai My Love"
- Punk
- Formed San Francisco, CA, United States

Themes: My Lai My Lai Analogy

Genres: ♪ PunkMelodic Hardcore

Also in: ▤ Vietnam as Comparison▤ Punk Songs

#173 The OaKs For Hugh Thompson, Who Stood Alone. My Lai Massacre, Vietnam, 1968 2007 · Our Fathers And The Things They Left Behind · Not On Label · USA

American rock / alternative folk band The Oaks, formed in Orlando Florida, led by Ryan Costello, released this anti-war, politically infused album in 2005, as the US continued to be involved in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Costello spent two years in the latter battle zone, working with refugees. This provided the inspiration for many of the songs contained on this album.¹ In the track "For Hugh Thompson, Who Stood Alone. My Lai Massacre, Vietnam, 1968" , the group looked back to the Vietnam War, by praising Hugh Thompson Jr. - a US army helicopter pilot, who tried to stop the My Lai massacre, reported the incident over the radio, and later to his superiors. He received the Soldier's Medal in 1998.² The lyrics told of Thompson stepping out of the helicopter with "the eyes of the village" fixed on him. At which point he attempted to stop the massacre. The narrated posed the question: "did justice plant herself as an anchor in you mind?"

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Protest Hugh Thompson

Genres: ♪ RockIndie

#174 The OaKs Hugh Thompson, The Aftermath 2007 · Our Fathers And The Things They Left Behind · Not On Label · USA

At the end of the album, the song "Hugh Thompson, the Aftermath" imagined Thompson in Vietnam after the incident: "as you lay in your bunk that night" , contemplating the "sorrow of the world found...in a jungle village" . The lyrics also considered how Thompson's actions would be received within the army ranks.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Protest Hugh Thompson

Genres: ♪ RockIndie

#175 Revolution 9 My Lai 2007 · Album · Music by Numbers · Scarab # ABJKMN 3 · USA

- My Lai
- Electronic
- Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

- AllMusic describes "My Lai" as a moody, politically pointed instrumental.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicSynthpop

#176 Carne Humana My Lai 2008 · EP · Intracorporal Exposiciòn · Costa Rica

- My Lai (Impetigo Cover)
- Carne Humana

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ MetalGoregrind

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#177 Alistair Cooke My Lai 2008 · Compilation · The Essential Letters From America: The 1960s · BBC Audio # 9781405677776 · USA

- "My Lai Home Service, 9 June 1968".
- Spoken-word, radio broadcast. BBC

- Final track of disc 2 of a 2CD BBC Audio selection of 1960s Letters, linked by Matt Frei.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ Spoken WordRadio Broadcast

#178 The Reel Banditos Narration: Wars Back Home / My Lai 2008 · Album · Indochina · Not On Label · Germany

Themes: RFK My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicTrip-Hop

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#179 Christian Bland & The Revelators Ho Chi Minh 2010 · The Lost Album · The Reverberation Appreciation Society # RAS-001 · USA

- Murder At My Lai
- Formed Austin, Texas, United States
- Psychedelic Rock, Neo-Psychedelia

Theme: Ho Chi Minh

Genres: ♪ RockPsychedelic Rock

#180 Christian Bland & The Revelators Murder at My Lai 2010 · Album · The Lost Album · The Reverberation Appreciation Society # RAS-001 · USA

Annotation: see “Ho Chi Minh” above (same release).

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ RockPsychedelic Rock

#181–205 Enrico Sabena My Lai Four 2010 · Soundtrack · Not On Label · Italy

All 24 songs from this soundtrack in the archive are in this collection

- film score, 24 tracks, classical
- Itanlian composer
- My Lai massacre related

01 My Lai Four Intro
02 That's the Way It Is
03 My Lai Four Main Theme
04 Mother and Son
05 Soldiers
06 My Lai's Village
07 Minefield
08 My Lai Sunset
09 The Soldier's Pain
10 Serenity in My Lai
11 Life in My Lai
12 Sad
13 The Grandmother
14 Mother and Daughter
15 The Two Girl
16 Presentiments
17 The Attack
18 The Cages
19 The Suicide
20 Crazy Soldiers
21 Soldiers Vs Soldiers
22 Hopeless
23 The Mausoleum
24 Where Are You

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#182 Slaughter-Fetus My Lai 2010 · Album · II · Human Ignorance # HI-02 · USA

- Texas Industrial noise
- My Lai
- Entire album focused on war crimes

- Every track on the tape is named for an atrocity (Nagasaki, My Lai, Abu Ghraib, Military Rape Massacre, Hiroshima).

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicHarsh NoiseIndustrial

#206 Sic Alps My My Lai 2011 · Napa Asylum · Drag City # DC455 · USA

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ RockLo-Fi

#207 Dead City Ruins My Lai Massacre 2011 · Album · Midnight Killer · Impedance # IMP028 · Australia

- My Lai Massacre
- Hard rock / heavy metal
- Formed UK
- Based in Australia

- The CD is dated 6 May 2011.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ RockHard Rock

Also in: ▤ Australian & New Zealand Songs▤ European Songs

#209 Tom Flannery My Lai 2012 · Love and Streets · Not On Label · USA

- My Lai (Flannery, Tom)
- Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Singer/songwriter

Show full lyrics (27 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley Vet

Genre: ♪ Singer Songwriter

#210 Vinnie Paz And Your Blood Will Blot Out the Sun 2012 · Album · God of the Serengeti · Enemy Soil # ES-CD-1201 · USA

This album featured the first two solo efforts from Vinnie Paz to reference the Vietnam War. The first was in the song "And Your Blood Will Blot Out the Sun" (Enemy Soil Records # ES-CD-1201) which contained an anti-war protest message, suggesting that people did not need government or orders to carry out a massacre, referencing the My Lai Massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968: "murder doesn’t need a lobbyist or an ambassador, ask the survivors of the Mỹ Lai massacre" . The other song, "You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train" , provided an anti-war, anti-government take, featuring a sample from Howard Zinn, a US intellectual and historian, which referenced the Vietnam War.

Themes: Anti-War Genocide My Lai My Lai Analogy

Genres: ♪ Hip HopEast Coast Hip HopHardcore Hip Hop

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Rap / Hip Hop Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#211 Vinnie Paz You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train 2012 · Album · God of the Serengeti · Enemy Soil # ES-CD-1201 · USA

Annotation: see “And Your Blood Will Blot Out the Sun” above (same release).

Themes: Anti-War Anti-Government WW2 Korea Propaganda War Lineage

Genres: ♪ Hip HopEast Coast Hip HopHardcore Hip Hop

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Rap / Hip Hop Songs

#213 Elvis Depressedly My Lai (Amy's Version) 2012 · Album · Mickey's Dead · Orchid Tapes # OCT042 · USA

- "My Lai (Amy's Version)"
- Reference to My Lai massacre
- Group formed 2011, Columbia, SC, United States
- Currently Asheville, NC, United States
- Bedroom Pop, Slacker Rock, India Folk

- Digital 1 July 2012 and Orchid Tapes cassette, both 2012. Primary location is the current base (Asheville); formed Columbia, SC.

Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai My Lai Analogy Genocide

Genres: ♪ PopBedroom PopLo-Fi

Also in: ▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#214 Carter Burwell My Lai 2012 · Soundtrack · Seven Psychopaths · Lakeshore · USA

Score cue from Martin McDonagh's "Seven Psychopaths" (2012); the film's fourth psychopath is a former Viet Cong fighter avenging his family, killed at My Lai. Digital 23 October 2012 preceded the CD (Lakeshore LKS343072, 20 November 2012).

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ Western Classical MusicFilm Score

#215–223 Anonymous My Lai 2013 · Album · Victimology # 022 · Serbia

All 8 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection

- Electronic, noise
- My Lai themed - self-released
- "done by a 10+ year veteran of the noise scene, this European HNW project draws inspiration from historic battles and war atrocities"¹

Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →

#216 Black Spring Monolith My Lai 2013 · EP · Rebirthing the Goat · Germany

- "My Lai"
- Doom metal
- Germany

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ MetalBlack Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#224 Sgt. Rock My Lai 2014 · Compilation · Demos Cassette Collection 1987 · NoVisible Scars # Scar 037 · USA

My Lai - thrash, metal

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ MetalThrashcoreCrossover Thrash

Also in: ▤ Metal Songs

#225 Cranial Crusher My Lai 2014 · Album · Cranial Attack · Obskure Chaos Distro · Brazil

- Cranial Crusher - My lai
- Thrash metal
- Brazil

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ MetalThrash MetalCrossover Thrash

Also in: ▤ Latin & Central American, & Caribbean Music▤ Metal Songs

#226 Michael Nhat Jesus Was A Gook 2015 · Album · Heads on Sticks · Not On Label · USA

Show full lyrics (47 lines) ▾

Themes: My Lai Genocide Gook VC Anti-Government Civil Rights

Genres: ♪ Hip HopExperimental Hip Hop

Also in: ▤ Civil Rights Songs▤ Rap / Hip Hop Songs

#227 Jasons Thåm Sát Mÿ Lai 2015 · Album · Inferno · Mob Rules # MR-2 · Japan

- Thåm Sát Mÿ Lai
- Japanese metal

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ MetalThrashcoreCrossover Thrash

Also in: ▤ Japanese Songs▤ Metal Songs

#228 Chadwick Stokes Our Lives Our Time 2015 · Album · The Horse Comanche · Ruff Shod # RS20151 · USA

- "Our Lives Our Time"
- Singer/songwriter.
- Reference to My Lai massacre and Hugh Thompson.

- Stokes describes the song as a protest at contemporary US politics (AllMusic).

Themes: My Lai Hugh Thompson My Lai Analogy

Genres: ♪ Singer SongwriterFolk Rock

Also in: ▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#229 The Reel Banditos My Lai (String Version) 2015 · Album · Indochina (2015 Expanded Edition) · Not On Label · Germany

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicTrip-Hop

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#230 The SlayerKing My Lai 2016 · Album · Sanatana Dharma · Finisterian Dead End # FDE008 · Greece

Doom Metal group, formed in 2013 in Athens, Attica, Greece, with the members Efthimis K (vocals, bass), Kostas K (guitar), and Anna E (drums). The song "My Lai" (Finisterian Dead End # FDE008) is presumably referencing the My Lai Massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968 - although the lyrics do not appear to be specifically about that, more being used as a comparison.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ MetalDoom Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#231 Ephelant The New Scum 2016 · Album · How to Sew Wounds with Words · Dirty Laboratory · USA

- "The New Scum"
- Hip hop

Themes: Agent Orange Laos Palestine My Lai Analogy Vietnam Analogy My Lai

Genres: ♪ Hip HopPolitical Hip Hop

Also in: ▤ Rap / Hip Hop Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#232 Devil's Witches Black Cauldron 2017 · Album · Velvet Magic · Forbidden Place # FPR019 · UK

Devil's Witches, aka James Abilene, Heavy Psych / Doom Metal artist, based in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, released the song "Black Cauldron" (Forbidden Place Records # FPR019), which included the line "My Lai massacre only 9 years old, just a victim of the war you sold" - a reference to My Lai Massacre - the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968.

Themes: My Lai Anti-Government Anti-Calley Anti-War

Genres: ♪ MetalHeavy PsychedelicDoom Metal

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#233 Human Fault My Lai 2017 · Album · Poslední propadne peklu · Cecek # CR 191 · Czech Republic

- "My Lai"
- Hardcore punk
- Czech Republic

- Recorded at Davos Records studio, Vyškov; CD with lyric booklet.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ PunkHardcore Punk

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Punk Songs

#234 Lt. Prelude Thảm sát Mỹ Lai 2018 · Album · Harsh Noise War · Italy

- Harsh Noise Wall
- Released in Italy, Europe

Two tracks, both 19:55: the title track and an Alternative Version. The notes cite the 16 March 1968 massacre and that only one of 26 soldiers charged was convicted. Released 6 February 2018.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicHarsh Noise Wall

Also in: ▤ European Songs

#235 Lil Keed Ain't Seen My Face 2018 · Mixtape · Keed Talk to 'Em · Young Stoner Life · USA

Lil Keed, Pop Rap / Trap artist born Raqhid Jevon Render on 16 March 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The song "Ain’t Seen My Face" (Young Stoner Life) contained a small reference to the My Lai massacre as a comparison to violence in the US: "chopper send a nigga sky-high... niggas burnt out, call 'em My Lai" - this was a disproportionate comparison, as the My Lai Massacre involved the mass murder of between 300-500 civilians in the South Vietnamese area known as "Pinkville", containing the hamlets, known as My Lai 4 and My Khe 4, and throughout the area of Song My, by US forces on 16 March 1968.

Themes: City & Community Violence Genocide Guns My Lai My Lai Analogy Violence Metaphor

Genres: ♪ Hip HopPop RapTrap

Also in: ▤ Rap / Hip Hop Songs▤ Vietnam as Comparison

#236 Yakisoba My Lai 2018 · Album · Yakisoba / Botched Anastomosis J-Pouch · Gorenoise Shit · Italy

Yakisoba - My Lai (Impetigo Cover)

Themes: My Lai Anti-Calley

Genres: ♪ MetalGoregrind

Also in: ▤ European Songs▤ Metal Songs

#237 Ölü Körpe My Lai, 1968 2018 · EP · Vol. 2 - Mira, la bruja no esta quemada · Watch Pineapple Press # WAC10 · Indonesia

- My Lai, 1968
- Electronic, ambient
- Indonesia

- Creative Commons release, February 2018; the EP notes speak of "massacre and cover-ups". Composer from the archive.org creator field.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicAmbientDrone

#238 Lt. Prelude Thảm sát Mỹ Lai (Alternative Version) 2018 · Album · Thảm sát Mỹ Lai · Harsh Noise War · Italy

Track 2 of the digital album: the alternative version of the title track, also 19:55. Released 6 February 2018 on the Italian netlabel Harsh Noise War.

Theme: My Lai

Genres: ♪ ElectronicHarsh Noise Wall

Also in: ▤ European Songs