21st Birthday
1967 · Columbia DO-4785 · Australia
- Artist
- Tex Morton
- Title
- 21st Birthday
- Release
- The Cream in Between / 21st Birthday
- Year
- 1967
- Label
- Columbia # DO-4785
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Australia
- Songwriter
- Tex Morton
- Genre
- Folk · Contemporary Folk
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation
Tex Morton, a country artist born Robert William Lane on 30 August 1916 in Nelson, New Zealand. He died 23 July 1983 in Sydney, NSW, Australia. (1) He released several records under the nickname The Yodelling Boundary Rider. The song "21st Birthday" dealt with the Vietnam War, looking at the home front perspective, of the parents of a soldier killed in action (K.I.A.). The song was released in 1967 on single (no image available at the moment): 21st Birthday (Columbia (EMI) # DO-4785). The song told of the soldier's friends arriving at his parents house to celebrate his 21st birthday, unaware of what had happened. A closer look at the shelf with letters and "you'll see a draft card... the nice letter and the medal they sent". The father concluded that: "our boy full of love has died now of hate" - which perhaps leans towards the anti-war side of the debate. This song also appeared on a few compilations, such as Encores (1970) - the back of the sleeve, with regards to this song, said that: "I knew the people involved in this real life story. Like many country songs, it tells a story which is self-explanatory". (1) Note that Tex Morton also released the Vietnam War song "The Widow…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Australian & New Zealand Songs
Tex Morton, a country artist born Robert William Lane on 30 August 1916 in Nelson, New Zealand. He died 23 July 1983 in Sydney, NSW, Australia. (1) He released several records under the nickname The Yodelling Boundary Rider. The song "21st Birthday" (Columbia (EMI) # DO-4785) dealt with the Vietnam War, looking at the home front perspective, of the parents of a soldier killed in action (K.I.A.). The song told of the soldier's friends arriving at his parents house to celebrate his 21st birthday, unaware of what had happened. A closer look at the shelf with letters and "you'll see a draft card... the nice letter and the medal they sent". The father concluded that: "our boy full of love has died now of hate" - which perhaps leans towards the anti-war side of the debate. This song also appeared on a few compilations, such as Encores (1970) - the back of the sleeve, with regards to this song, said that: "I knew the people involved in this real life story. Like many country songs, it tells a story which is self-explanatory". (1) Note that Tex Morton also released the Vietnam War song "The Widow Next Door" in collaboration with Sister Dorrie, discussed below. Thanks to Andrew Smith for…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Tex Morton, born Robert William Lane on 30 August 1916 in Nelson, New Zealand. He died 23 July 1983 in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Themes
In collections
Australian & New Zealand Songs · Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs