Song Poems

246 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.

Song-poem advertisements: “Poems Needed for Songs” (Columbine Records, Hollywood) and “Poems Wanted” (Nashville Music Productions)

A collection of Vietnam War Song Poems

This forms part of the larger Vietnam War Song Project, an interpretive examination of over 6,500 Vietnam War songs identified, revealing how the war's significance is represented through music. The project also collects spoken-word recordings about the conflict. This unique collection of voices advances scholarship by providing insights into people’s views about the war over time as represented in music, looking at diverse communities and vibrant music scenes. It is crucial in developing our knowledge of the war and the humanities, through the use of a digital research platform.

Note: The VWSP has identified, to date, 245+ song poems about the war.

YouTube playlist: Song Poems

Citation: Justin A. Brummer, Vietnam War Song Project (VWSP) — Song Poems, vietnamwarsongproject.com/list/song-poems, accessed 12 November 2026

Further acknowledgement: Two other key sources and contributors are Phil Milstein, the founder of the American Song-Poem Music Archives, and Bob Purse, author of the song-poem blog The Wonderful and the Obscure.

Context

Beyond Song Poem, the songs in this collection most often also deal with: Patriotic, Soldier's Perspective, Religion, Anti-War.

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'Start Campaign Against Fake Music Publishers': Billboard, 30 September 1922, warning amateur song writers about song sharks.

What's a Song Poem?

These are song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recording companies—usually in response to an advertisement—that have been set to music for a fee. The term "poem" was used as it had broader appeal; that is, any person's writing could be transformed into a song, and it was a word easily understood.¹ Originating in the U.S. in the early 1920s, the industry grew significantly during the 1960s, coinciding with the Vietnam War era.²³

From the perspective of the songwriter-consumer, this can be seen as "vanity music production," with non-professional, amateur writers paying a commercial company to set their poems or lyrics to music, and the companies sending back the results on vinyl. From the production side, this has been viewed by the professional music industry as exploitation, earning the nickname "song sharks" or "song sharking"—referring to the promise to turn poems into hits for financial gain.

Advertisements were typically found in music magazines, comics, and lifestyle journals for a general audience. The costs ranged from $200–$400.⁴ As this was a mass-production business, songs were produced in an assembly-line fashion, with musicians and vocalists in studio sessions recording many songs with little practice and recycling tunes. The feel and aesthetic of the records were often amateur, with quirky, awkward lyrics and rushed production. Musically, it was mainly traditional pop, but also country, soul, and garage.

These recordings have become a subject of interest to a limited group of researchers and collectors of obscure records because of their quirky lyrics, unpolished musical production, and unique role in the music industry. The release of the 2003 film Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story, the 2003 compilation The American Song-Poem Anthology, and 2004's Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story, drew some limited mainstream media coverage. The New York Times covered the topic in 2003 with the headline, "Just Plain Folks Write Songs, Too"⁵, while The Guardian noted, "Music by the metre: Long before Pop Idol, there was another way for people with an inflated sense of their own abilities to pursue stardom. David Stubbs endures some song-poems"⁶. PBS also profiled the industry, stating: "An engaging look at the fascinating subculture of the song-poem industry, where a dream and a song come together as ordinary people mail in their poems to be set to music for a fee"⁷NPR's headline ran: "Songs from the Common Man".⁸

Of the total output of the industry, hundreds of these recordings addressed political issues, including the Vietnam War, and provided a significant window into public opinion during the conflict. Many were composed by women, and by people who felt they had the disposable income to pursue the service, even if they were often financially strained.⁹¹⁰

Written by Dr. Justin A. Brummer, Founding Editor, VWSP

Sources

Prominent artists

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'The Anatomy of a Songshark' by Helen King, SRS Open Forum column in Songwriter magazine, late 1970s.

For an extensive list of labels and artist, see the American Song-Poem Archives, by Phil Milstein

Prominent artists:

Prominent labels

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'Have Your Poems Set to Music' advert for Crown Music Co., New York, from a mid-1970s Marvel (Iron Man) comic.

Prominent labels:

Hallmark

M.S.R. Records

Nu-Sound Records

Preview Records

Sterling Records

Tin Pan Alley

1960s-70s

US president John F. Kennedy press conference, on military action in Laos, 23 March 1961.

Pre-Gulf of Tonkin: 1960-1964
While many of these early songs may have been intending to refer to US troops in Germany, or Korea, or representing general Cold War fears, they were released in the run-up to the "Vietnam era" and the Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964), which led to a major escalation of US involvement in the conflict, and thus included in this list, as cultural perspectives. The criteria is the same as for the war years - the songs included mention Vietnam, or the lyrics deal with war-related themes, such as the draft, napalm, prisoners of war, demonstrations, references to soldiers and veterans, war & peace, and expressions of patriotism.
War Years: 1964-1975
Released during the key war years, the songs included mention Vietnam, or the lyrics deal with war-related themes, such as the draft, napalm, prisoners of war, demonstrations, references to soldiers and veterans, war & peace, and expressions of patriotism. While the war goes back to the 1954 Geneva conference, following the Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964), the US significantly expanded its presence in the region and its defence of South Vietnam, and thus using this date as the beginning of the core war years. These run to the collapse of South Vietnam (30 April 1975), in two periods: (a) 1964-1972, the years of major US combat involvement, up to the peace agreement; (b) 1973-1975, from the Paris Peace Accords (27 January 1973), which brought US troops and prisoners of war home, to the collapse of South Vietnam.

1961

#1 Roger Smith Land of Liberty 1961 · Single · I Get Rainy River Blues / Land of Liberty · Salamanca # CP-6441 · USA

Notes

- "Land of Liberty" (Roger Smith)

- Label: Salamanca Records # CP-6441
- Songwriter: Stan Johnson, Bob Formica (male)

- Traditional pop, song poem.
- Jamestown, New York.
- Label founded by Robert Formica
- Vietnam-era generic patriotic.
- Tribute to the flag

- Salamanca Records CP-6441, yellow label, 515 Clinton St., Jamestown, N.Y.; "Land of Liberty" (Stan Johnson - Bob Formica), Salamanca Music Pub. (BMI), time 1:52. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Song Poems

Context

Prominent artists

Prominent labels

1960s-70s

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1980

Unknown date

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