Another Christmas Without My Son

Annotation

The track "Another Christmas Without My Son" (Jewel Records # 155) is a monologue by Rev. Oris Mays, backed by a gospel choir. Oris Mays, born in Lambert, Mississippi, 1935, moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he worked at the Boston Street Baptist Church. In Memphis he fronted the first African-American TV gospel program. He died in Memphis on 21 April 1996. In 1966, Oris Mays released the patriotic Vietnam record "Tribute in Prayer (From a Soldier in Viet Nam)". However, by 1970 Rev. Oris Mays' views on Vietnam had taken a radical change, presented here from the perspective of a father who lost his son in the war. He particularly considered the discrepancy between the draft and voting age: "he was just eighteen when they took him away, he couldn't even vote", and thus posed the question to the politicians: "will Congress do something to right these wrongs?"

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: His room is entry, his closets is bare / Because of the cloths he could no longer wear / The things we used to were so much fun / But now another Christmas without my son / He was just eighteen when they took him away / He couldn't even vote, he had nothing to say / They rushed him off to a lonely field / Placed a gun in his hand and taught him to kill / I wonder will there ever come a time when are young sons will have something to say / About all the evil existing in our country today? / Or will they have to stand by and wait until they are 18... / Will Congress do something to right these wrongs? / And safely send our sons back home

Notes

Jewel Records "Devotional Series", Jewel 155, SL 1735; "Another Christmas Without My Son" (Rev. O. Mays-J. Wyatt), Su-Ma, BMI, time 2:45; produced by Rev. Oris Mays. Stock copy on a light-blue label ("Produced by Jewel Records - 728 Texas St., Shreveport, La."), shown in a Ronn/Jewel/Paula Records company sleeve, "A Product of Jewel Records, 728 Texas St., Shreveport, La."; the promotional pressing is a white label marked "DJ Copy" with the number Jewel DS 155. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born 1935, Lambert, Mississippi, USA. Died 21 April 1996, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Themes

Anti-War · Christmas · Home Front Perspective · K.I.A. · Voting Rights · Anti-Government

In collections

Christmas Songs · Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs