The Aussie Bush Hat

Annotation

Dig Richards, rock and roll artist born 12 September 1940 in Dunedoo, NSW, Australia. He died 17 February 17, 1983, in Sydney, NSW, Australia. He did a tour of South Vietnam in 1966, performing for the troops. On his return, he wrote and released the patriotic song "The Aussie Bush Hat" (CBS # BA-221372), in which he told a story of his visit, as stated in the final line of the song: "this story is true, it happened to me in South Vietnam were I was with an AFO show on June 22nd, 1966". The Aussie bush hat, also known as the slouch hat, is a distinctive Australian hat that has one side of the brim turned up or pinned to the side of the hat, often used in the military.1 The story told of a soldier who approached Dig Richards, and recalled how is friend died, while trying to help a child in a village, used as "Viet Cong bate" - referring to the "VC" - the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Vietnamese: Mặt trận Dân tộc Giải phóng Miền Nam Việt Nam) (NLFSV or NLF), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam. He gave Dig Richard "his mate's bush hat", to remind him of the "little girl and the soldier at Bar Ria", and "why we have to be here". Ba Ria was a reference to the base Nui Dat, by the city of Bar Ria, in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province, Vietnam, where the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) were stationed.2 Note: the line "the digger told me" - Digger is a military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, which came to prominence during World War One, although some sources indicate it may have been used since the 1850s. Digger probably originally referred to a miner - extensive research has been conducted on the etymology of the term and its introduction into military terminology.34.Sources1Wikipedia: Slouch hat↩2Wikipedia: Nui Dat↩3Internet Archive (Wayback Machine)↩4Wikipedia: Digger (soldier)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Australian & New Zealand Songs

Dig Richards, rock and roll artist born 12 September 1940 in Dunedoo, NSW, Australia. He died 17 February 17, 1983, in Sydney, NSW, Australia. He did a tour of South Vietnam in 1966, performing for the troops. On his return, he wrote and released the patriotic song "The Aussie Bush Hat" (CBS # BA-221372), in which he told a story of his visit, as stated in the final line of the song: "this story is true, it happened to me in South Vietnam were I was with an AFO show on June 22nd, 1966". The Aussie bush hat, also known as the slouch hat, is a distinctive Australian hat that has one side of the brim turned up or pinned to the side of the hat, often used in the military.1 The story told of a soldier who approached Dig Richards, and recalled how is friend died, while trying to help a child in a village, used as "Viet Cong bate" - referring to the "VC" - the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Vietnamese: Mặt trận Dân tộc Giải phóng Miền Nam Việt Nam) (NLFSV or NLF), the political and military resistance to the US and South Vietnamese government from within South Vietnam. He gave Dig Richard "his mate's bush hat", to remind him of the "little girl and the soldier at Bar Ria", and "why we have to be here". Ba Ria was a reference to the base Nui Dat, by the city of Bar Ria, in Ba Ria–Vung Tau province, Vietnam, where the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) were stationed.2 Note: the line "the digger told me" - Digger is a military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, which came to prominence during World War One, although some sources indicate it may have been used since the 1850s. Digger probably originally referred to a miner - extensive research has been conducted on the etymology of the term and its introduction into military terminology.34 Sources1Wikipedia: Slouch hat↩2Wikipedia: Nui Dat↩3Internet Archive (Wayback Machine)↩4Wikipedia: Digger (soldier)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Over a sad land, ridden with fear, a chopper lifted us to a place called Ba Ria / And as I climbed on the stage and the men cheer / I wonder why had I come to sing my songs here / And after the show in a tent with a beer / A soldier from Sydney started to bend my ear / With a story of his mate who wasn't here to see the show, in a place called Ba Ria / The digger told me, my mate was looking forward to seeing the show / Not so much you, the girls, you know / Nothing against you, but there's no place to go, and all the boys wanted to see the show / Then last night we got escort duty, take the doc into the village you / Where a child had been hurt, she was only aged three / Just another job for my mate and me / When the doc saw the kid it was already too late / You could see by what they'd done it was Viet Cong bate / He yelled, get out, it's a trap, don't wait / Doc and me got out, but the zapped my mate / Until then the soldier's voice was steady and set, then it broke / And I saw that his eyes were red / Before I left he told me that he wanted me to have his mate's bush hat / Flying back over this land of fear / The bush hat in my hand still wet with tears / I thought of the little girl and the soldier at Bar Ria / And now I know why we have to be here / This story is true / It happened to me in South Vietnam were I was with an AFO show on June 22nd, 1966 / And to remind of it always, I have the Aussie bush hat

Notes

Produced by Robert Iredale; matrix MX151820. CBS BA-221372, orange label, 45, marked "Control"; "The Aussie Bush Hat" (Watson - Weston), 2.53; "Made in Australia by a registered user of the trade marks". [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born 12 September 1941, Dunodoo, NSW, Australia. Died 17 February 1983.

Themes

ANZUS · Patriotic · Digger · VC · Ba Ria · Slouch Hat

In collections

Australian & New Zealand Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]