Archive › Albums & compilations › Baptism

No scan on file yet

Artist Joan Baez

Release Baptism

Year 1968

Label Vanguard # VSD-79275

Format LP · Album

Country USA

Language English

Songs here 3 in the archive

Citation: Justin A. Brummer, Vietnam War Song Project (VWSP) — Joan Baez, Baptism; cite each song by its SongID

Joan Baez

Baptism

1968 · Album · Vanguard # VSD-79275 · USA

3 songs from this release are in the archive, listed below in catalogue order. Track positions are not recorded; the release may carry other songs that do not reference the war. Most common themes: Anti-War.

Annotation

As discussed above, Joan Baez played an active and important role in the 1960s/70s protest and civil rights movement. She was born on Staten Island, New York, on 9 January 1941. Her father was born in Puebla, Mexico, and she has spoken of identifying with the Mexican-American community. Released on this 1968 album (Vanguard Records # VSD-79275) were several songs about war in general, the theme of the A-Side.¹ Released during the Vietnam-era, they took an anti-war stance. The track "Song in the Blood" , a poem by Jacques Prevert, reflected on the "great puddles of blood on the world" and wondered "where is it all going?" The song "I Saw the Vision of Armies" was a poem by Walt Whitman, which looked at the battle scene, the symbol of the flag, and the suffering of mourning families: "through the smoke of the battles, pierced with missiles...a few shreds of flags....battle corpses, myriads of them...they suffered not, the living remained and suffered" . The song "Minister of War" was by English Orientalist Arthur Waley, which looked at the role of government in sending people to war: "we are the king's claws and fangs, why should you roll us on from misery to misery, giving us no place to stop in or take rest?" The album reached #84 in the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

Sources