(The Two Wars Of) Old Black Joe

Annotation

The monologue gospel / soul track "(The Two Wars Of) Old Black Joe" (House of the Fox # HOF-2), released on a Nashville, Tennessee label, was another Civil Rights / race relations track connected to the Vietnam War. It told the story of Old Back Joe, an African-American soldier who "had been to Vietnam", won a Purple Heart medal for bravery, and had slept and ate along with everyone, "like any other infantry man", no matter white or black. The soldier is killed in Vietnam, and his "flesh and bones" are returned to the US, "his country...his home" - thus highlighting that he was no different to the white soldiers. However, nobody greeted the body on its return, and the white people in his town do not want him buried next to their family, although they are eventually forced to by a judge. So this song primarily focused on the disparity between the treatment of African-Americans in the US, such as the continuation of segregation, and the role played by African-Americans in the Vietnam conflict. The sleeve of the record said that the song was dedicated to Bill Henry Terry, K.I.A. in the Vietnam War, but refused burial at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama, because he was African-American. His family filed a lawsuit and faced threats from the KKK.1. Furthermore, it was dedicated to Eugene Williams, K.I.A. in Vietnam, but denied burial in a "Caucasian‐only" cemetery in Florida.2Sources1Find a Grave: Bill henry terry↩2The New York Times: Blacks get equal rights even in death↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — US Domestic Perspective Songs

The monologue gospel / soul track "(The Two Wars Of) Old Black Joe" (House of the Fox # HOF-2), released on a Nashville, Texas label, was another civil rights / race relations track connected to the Vietnam War. It told the story of Old Back Joe, an African-American soldier who "had been to Vietnam", won a Purple Heart medal for bravery, and had slept and ate along with everyone, "like any other infantry man", no matter white or black. The soldier is killed in Vietnam, and his "flesh and bones" are returned to the US, "his country...his home" - thus highlighting that he was no different to the white soldiers. However, nobody greeted the body on its return, and the white people in his town do not want him buried next to their family, although they are eventually forced to by a judge. So this song primarily focused on the disparity between the treatment of African-Americans in the US, such as the continuation of segregation, and the role played by African-Americans in the Vietnam conflict. The sleeve of the record said that the song was dedicated to Bill Henry Terry, K.I.A. in the Vietnam War, but refused burial at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama, because he was African-American. His family filed a lawsuit and faced threats from the KKK.1. Furthermore, it was dedicated to Eugene Williams, K.I.A. in Vietnam, but denied burial in a "Caucasian‐only" cemetery in Florida.2Sources1Find a Grave: Bill henry terry↩2The New York Times: Blacks get equal rights even in death↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Old Black Joe had been to Vietnam / Had killed himself a thousand times / Old Black Joe was the bravest soldier you ever wanted to see / Had won a purple heart, maybe two, maybe three / He slept in a ditch and ate out of a can, like any other infantry man... / Then one day Old Black Joe was sitting on a hill / And that was the day he got himself killed / They shipped his flesh and bones in a box back to his home / No one was to greet him, no one was around / Sister, brother, not even the mayor of the town / His body just lay there for a day or two / Until the white folks figured out what to do / Didn't want to bury him in their white cemetery / Then came along a judge, and said 'I'll be damned' / This here boy has been to Vietnam... / This is his country, this is his home / Well the white folks fuss and cuss... / You should have see those folks... / To move the bodies of their kin / Brothers, sisters, and friends to the outside of town... / You know it takes a lot of hate to move the dead... / But there was no place to go... / So they all had to come back to bury those bodies next to Old Black Joe

Notes

House of the Fox HOF-2 (HO-Fox-5566), "A Subsidiary of Lelan Rogers Enterprises, Inc., Nashville, Tenn., U.S.A."; "(The Two Wars Of) Old Black Joe" (Dr. William Truly, Jr., Danny Rogers), House of the Fox Music, BMI, 4:24, "From the album Dr. William Truly, Jr. 'Poet to All Mankind'"; "Proudly produced with humility and respect by Lelan Rogers". The label top is printed with a fox-fur pattern. The picture sleeve prints the song's opening verses and is dedicated to PFC Bill Terry, Birmingham, Alabama, and Spec. 4 Poindexter Eugene Williams, Ft. Pierce, Florida. [From the record sleeve and labels]

Themes

Soldier's Perspective · Purple Heart · Medals · Civil Rights

In collections

US Domestic Perspective Songs [War Years] · Civil Rights Songs · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs